Town Council devoted most of a marathon 6:00 to 9:00 p.m. session on Thursday, February 12th, to the first of at least two public hearings on Salamander Development's request to change the town's street plan to accommodate the long anticipated 49-residence development to be built on the north side of Middleburg.

Town Planner and Zoning Administrator Will Moore opened the hearing by focusing two key issues:

1. Salamander's request that the streets in the development be designated "private property," eventually to be owned and maintained by the development's Home Owners Association; and

2. Granting final approval for two street entrances linking Middleburg's existing street grid to the new development: confirming the western entrance, approved in 2007, at Chestnut Street and Stonewall Avenue; and moving the second, from an originally designated right-of-way through Middleburg Community Center property to a new location at Reed Street and Stonewall.

Technically, these changes depend on Town Council approval of amendments of the town's zoning map, adopted along with Salamander's pre-resort construction proffers in August 7, 2007.

The requested changes represent the final stages of a long series of negotiations: a "Visioning Committee" report in 2004; the crucial "Memorandum of Understanding" between the Town and Salamander in 2005, and an ongoing series discussions with Town Staff and its Planning Commission ever since.

Salamander's current request was submitted in early December 2014, revised on January 20 after discussions with the Town, and is expected to be revised again after discussions with the Town Planning Commission on January 29, and a February 4 meeting with Town Staff and the Town Attorney.

The currently proposed "look and feel" of Salamander's new 49-residence development appears to be no longer in doubt. Salamander's Prem Devadas describes it as a world class residential development designed to complement and enhance a world class resort.

His organization's goal, he says, has always been to seamlessly integrate its resort and spa, and now it's private residences, into both the architecture and spirit of Middleburg.

Those goals, he continued, reflect not only his stakeholder's emotional commitment to the Town and area, but good business. What is good for Middleburg, he notes, is good for Salamander. The image and appeal of both are co-dependent.

Private Streets

Salamander has requested that the streets on its property be privately owned and maintained because it is convinced that its standards for both construction and maintenance are higher than those of the Virginia Department of Transportation, which (with rare exception) currently owns and maintains all of Middleburg's streets.

Under the new proffer Salamander Development would build and maintain the streets outlined in its proffer until such time as the new development's Homeowner's Association was financially capable of assuming those responsibilities.

The new streets and the new homes they will serve, according to Salamander, will be built and maintained to standards consistent with a world class resort. New owners and residents would expect and demand that issues like pothole repair and snow removal, for example, be taken care of immediately and not be dependent on Virginia state equipment, staff, or timelines.

Nor are private streets "unusual" according to Salamander. Most, if not every world class resort in the United States owns its own streets for precisely the reasons outlined.

Salamander also promised that the new development would not be "gated." It's streets, though privately owned, would be accessible to all, deliberately designed to be an integral part of the Town of Middleburg.

Speaking to public concerns about fire department and police access, Police Chief A.J. Panebiaco said he and his department are satisfied that law enforcement and emergency service access is more than adequate.

The Town Planning Commission and several members of the public attending the hearing expressed concern about guarantees. What would happen, they asked, if the houses in the proposed development just didn't sell, or if economic conditions made it impossible for Salamander or the new Homeowners Association to meet its obligations.

Bonding was one answer: a completion bond to be returned to Salamander only after construction has been completed and approved; and a two-year maintenance bond.

A revised proffer by Salamander is expected to further address those concerns.

The Town Planning Commission, at its January 29 meeting, according to Town Planner Moore, responded favorably to Salamander's assurances, but required formal guarantees in a revised proffer that there would be no gates or "other obstructions" preventing free public access to the new development.

Town Council Member Bundles Murdock noted pointedly her preference for both VDOT ownership of the new streets and an overall design for the development that would more closely reflect the traditional grid pattern of Middleburg's streets.

Access Roads

Access to the new development will be through two new intersections on Stonewall Avenue: one at Chestnut Street and one at Reed.

Pending VDOT approval both intersections will be 4-way stops.

According to Town Planner Moore, "It is not entirely clear why the eastern access point [to the new development] was originally shown through . . . Community Center property."

Public concerns focused mainly on traffic and public safety at the two new intersections. Forty-nine new residences could reflect as much as a 20% increase in the total population of Middleburg. The increase in the number of cars based in Middleburg, in addition to staff and guest traffic in and out of the Resort and Spa, critics charged, could pose serious threats to safety on Stonewall Avenue.

Hearing to Continue

After more than two hours of discussion Council "adjourned" rather than "closed" its public hearing, pending the submission of a final, revised, proffer from Salamander reflecting its responses to concerns raised officially by the Town and by the public.

A second round of public comment is expected to be scheduled as soon as the revised proffer is in hand, and will be advertised.