A procedural mistake will extend a decision and give the public another opportunity to comment on a large housing development that could double Elliston’s population.
A public hearing on the proposed development – which was not planned – is set for Nov. 10 after information about a piece of the property was mistakenly omitted in legal advertisement published ahead of an Oct. 13 board of supervisors meeting, according to a Montgomery County news release.
The omitted parcel included 47 of the property’s 60 acres, according to the release. The information was included in the Sept. 9 planning commission advertisement and in notifications sent to adjoining property owners, the release says, but was “inadvertently left out of the legal advertisement for the board of supervisors hearing.”
Developer Stateson Homes had originally filed a request to rezone more than 276 acres of the historic Fotheringay house property into a mixed residential development. In the original application, 13 acres of land were reserved for five years with an option for the county to purchase it but if the county decided not to, then 400 housing units would be constructed.
The request was later amended on a Sept. 4 revised application by removing the 13 acres from the parcel and reducing the total acres to 263 and the total housing units to 349.
“It was just that a parcel number basically got left out so instead of making it look like we were trying to hide anything or leave anything out, we’re just gonna redo the whole thing,” said county spokeswoman Jennifer Harris.
A vote on the proposal had been deferred by the board to the Oct. 26 board meeting. Now, no action will take place at that meeting.
As Cardinal News previously reported, a crowd packed the Oct. 13 meeting, which lasted nearly until midnight after 33 people spoke, most of whom opposed the project.
The Nov. 10 hearing will take place during the board’s 7:15 p.m. meeting at the County Government Center, 755 Roanoke St., Christiansburg.
