The Danville City Council is waiting for results from a traffic study before voting on a proposal for a luxury RV park in the city. No date has been set for the council to revisit the proposal.
The RV park, called the Palace Resort, was recommended for approval by the city’s planning commission in May. Alongside its approval, the planning commission recommended that a traffic impact analysis be conducted to address resident concerns.
The proposal initially was scheduled to go before the city council June 6, before the recommended traffic analysis was complete. The vote was postponed until June 20, but during that meeting, the item was “tabled without a predetermined return date,” Renee Burton, the city’s director of planning and zoning, said in an email.
The Palace Resort is proposed for a 46-acre parcel on Jenny Lane near Goodyear Boulevard. It would include 333 RV sites and amenities such as pools, spas, restaurants, a clubhouse and pickleball court.
Eight residents spoke in opposition to the project at the planning commission meeting, chiefly because of traffic and road safety concerns at the proposed location.
Residents of Pittsylvania County, where the project was first proposed, had similar concerns. It was recommended for approval by the county planning commission in September before being voted down by the board of supervisors in November.
Danville City Councilman Lee Vogler on Thursday said the council wants to see the results of a traffic study before voting.
Such studies are often conducted when a locality is considering a new development. They can project and analyze present and future traffic conditions and answer questions about traffic impact.
“Instead of taking it out there for a vote when it might not be ready for it, I think everybody just decided to keep working on it and try to dot all the I’s and cross all the T’s,” Vogler said.
Traffic studies usually take three to six months, he said.
The project’s developer, Joe Cubas, declined to comment while this process is underway.
Despite the delay, the council remains excited about this project, Vogler said, and added that Cubas has been great to work with.
“He’s gone above and beyond as far as meeting with residents. He’s done everything right,” Vogler said. “Everyone is committed to trying to find the best solution possible for everybody, for the developer, for our taxpayers and the city as a whole.”