Consideration of Jeremiah Community Continues at City Planning Commission Meeting
Public hearing on the project to continue next month.
By Adele Uphaus
MANAGING EDITOR AND CORRESPONDENT
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The Fredericksburg Planning Commission’s consideration of Micah Ministries’ Jeremiah Community will continue next month.
Following staff’s recommendation, Chair David Durham on Wednesday declared that a public hearing on three requests from Micah and its partners would continue to the Commission’s September 25 meeting, “to provide the applicant time to continue to address issues,” according to the staff memo.
The public hearing has already been continued over once from July, highlighting the complexity of the project.
The application from Micah Ministries and its partners Virginia Supportive Housing and Mary Washington Healthcare requests a rezoning and a special use permit for “institutional housing” to build 189 housing units, as well as support services, for individuals experiencing chronic homelessness on a 25.9-acre parcel near the Bragg Hill neighborhood in the city.
The parcel is currently zoned for residential use and the request is to rezone it to Planned Development-Residential.
The application also asks the city to vacate a 1.3-acre right-of-way linking Roffman Road and Wicklow Drive.
The Planning Commission needs to make a recommendation to City Council by October 9 that considers whether the property is suitable for the proposed use, whether there is a need for the proposed use, how the project impacts public facilities and transportation, and whether the proposed use and the vacation of the right-of-way are “in harmony” with the city’s Comprehensive Plan.
Kelly Machen, the city’s zoning administrator, said that since the July review, the applicants made a number of changes to the general development plan following staff recommendations.
These include
shifting the project off existing stormwater facilities
decreasing proposed land disturbance
showing proposed architecture and floor layouts
protecting a large heritage tree
creating a buffer around an existing stream
project phasing—50 housing units and a community center to be built first, followed by remaining units, then the Virginia Supportive Housing project, and then the medical building and remaining community centers.
proffering improvements to Roffman Road to bring it to city standards
proffering a return of the Roffman Road right-of-way to the city if Jeremiah Community is not built
Commissioners had questions about the proffers, the proposed phasing, and the right-of-way on Wednesday.
Adam Lynch asked why there are no financial proffers to offset any impact on public safety and public schools.
The application narrative notes that residents will be single adults “as a condition of occupancy” but that “there could be an occasion that a few children may [temporarily] reside in the Project.”
Attorney Charlie Payne, representing the applicants, reiterated Wednesday that the project is not expected to impact public school enrollment because children won’t regularly live there. He also said the project will mitigate public safety impacts by providing on-site supportive services for the resident population.
But Lynch said that he would like to see the proffer statement include an explanation of why financial proffers for schools and public safety are not necessary.
“We would require [that] if this were a traditional development,” he said. “I would like to see that. We need to apply rezoning standards consistently.”
Commissioner Mary-Margaret Marshall said she is concerned about the proposed phasing, in which housing units would be built first.
“It’s obvious that this is a need,” she said. “But I want to see the foundational pieces in place. We have a responsibility to think about the future of this property.”
Payne stressed that housing is the priority for this population and that Micah Ministries is already providing the supportive services—case management, financial support, connection to mental health and substance abuse support services, and basics like hygiene and food.
“The supportive services will follow quickly,” he said.
Right-of-way questions
The Roffman Road right-of-way continues to be a sticking point for staff and some commissioners.
Vacating the right-of-way completely would require an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan. The original application requested this because the nature of the site, with its steep slopes and wetlands, means development has to be concentrated in the east, where the right-of-way is.
Staff asked the applicants to shift the development off the right-of-way rather than request a vacation. The revised general development plan still shows the right-of-way as vacated but proffers a condition whereby the right-of-way will be returned to the city if the community isn’t developed.
City Attorney and public works staff have reviewed the new proposal and still find it “problematic,” because it shows “building encroachments in the potential right-of-way area.”
“It is also unclear whether the proposal presents suitable grounds to be determined in compliance with the Comprehensive Plan,” the staff memo states.
Staff have proposed “a more appropriate approach to modifying the Roffman Road right-of-way” that involves moving proposed buildings off it and shifting part of it.
Durham asked Machen if the Comprehensive Plan’s envisioning of a connection between Roffman and Wicklow Drive by extending the right-of-way is still important, given the fact that Jeremiah Community doesn’t require that connection.
“It is vital to ensure there is a long-term option,” Machen replied.
Payne said the applicants will continue to work on the right-of-way issue.
“I think we’re getting there,” he said.
Public comments
Citizens who spoke at Wednesday’s public hearing were divided among those in support of the project and those with concerns about its impact on existing neighborhoods and the number of special requests it is asking the city to grant.
Gloria Taharannt, longtime renter in Bragg Hill, said the community used to have “a bad reputation” and she worries that reputation could return.
“Now it’s a decent place to live, and you want to dump 180 men here?” she asked. “I want to continue feeling safe. I get that people need homes, but this kind of project would send things back to how they were.”
The application narratives states that residency is available to single adults and is not restricted to males.
Victor Arvaneh, another area resident, said he supports the project but opposes the location. “[This project] puts the community in jeopardy,” he said.
Gary Johns, who lives on Bakersfield Lane, said he wants to see the supportive services such as the medical center be in place first, before the housing.
Bea Paolucci said the city is being asked to approve too many exceptions to its codes and ordinances.
“You’re being asked to approve three exceptions,” she said. “You don’t do this for any other developers. You need to follow your ordinances and codes.”
But Kenyo White, another Bragg Hill resident, said she has personal experience of the type of assistance Micah Ministries provides and welcomes Jeremiah Community in her neighborhood.
“I would love to see this in my area,” she said. “Just mix us all together here and we will all get along.”
Leslie Martin, a professor of sociology at the University of Mary Washington, addressed concerns about the effects of “concentrated poverty” in one area of the city.
She said decades of study have shown that “what caused the issues that came from [low-income] neighborhoods is not the concentration of poverty but the withdrawal of institutional support.”
The presence of Jeremiah Community in Bragg Hill could “bring more institutions and resources to the community,” she said.
Mark Houghton, who managed Micah’s Hospitality House for several years, said members of the unhoused community are not people to be feared.
“Shame on us if we’re painting all 200 people who will live [in Jeremiah Community] with the same brush” that might apply to only one or two, he said.
And Bill Miller, a formerly homeless Navy veteran who is now housed through Micah, said Jeremiah Village will provide hope and a choice to those who become unhoused.
“People are more inclined to misbehave when they have nothing to lose,” he said.
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Nice job, Adele. Correction: That would be Leslie Martin (UMW prof), not Miller.