Meadowbrook to be Neo-Traditional?

For a few years now, the Town of Leesburg has been volleying back and forth with Centex Homes and Washington-VA Traditional Sites, Inc., over the proposed Meadowbrook subdivision, located off Masons Lane between Route 15 and Evergreen Mill Road.  The last proposal, deemed incomplete by the town in January 2006, prompted a lawsuit; the Circuit Court ordered the town to review the application but the state Supreme Court overturned the decision.   While  a couple of revised plans have been submitted since then, the town wasn’t satisfied with any of them.

Now, Washington-VA Traditional Sites, Inc., has come to the town with a plan to put just over 400 residential units there.  (The original Centex proposal included 1200 single family homes, plus 156 multifamily and assorted retail and office space.)  The current proposal dangles some pretty big carrots for the town: the land for the right of way for Battlefield Parkway, and a 150 foot buffer along Route 15, with an estimated worth of $4 to $6 million.

The big problem that has to be overcome is that the proposal conflicts with the town’s Zoning Ordinance; the town decided to look at amending the text of the ordinance to fix the conflict.  To do that, the matter must go before the Planning Commission for review and then be considered by the Town Council, with public hearings at both stages.

Neo-traditional communities are typically defined by their interconnectedness, both with the way the streets are laid out, and with sidewalks throughout.  Many have a variety of architectural designs and home types, with detached garages behind the homes to allow for front porches and a true ‘neighborhood’ feel.  (The picture at the top here is of a neo-traditional community in Purcellville,  Village Case.) It remains to be seen what the Meadowbrook developers have in mind to make that community neo-traditional.

Cheers,

Heather

*note: much of the information about this article came from the front page story in the May 1 Leesburg Today print edition.  I could not locate the article online to link to it.  Not sure if that means they have an issue with some of the reporting contained in the article, but I’ll keep an eye out for future updates on this proposal. ~H. *