An edge of Nash Lake is pictured above. 
The Woodland Pond Parkway and Nash Road intersection is located south of the proposed development.
A cash proffer revision for a proposed 33-lot subdivision on 79 acres off of Nash Road received a 4-0 vote of approval recommendation from the Chesterfield Planning Commission last week.
Cypress Glen was originally approved under two separate cases covering 28 homes at 10940 Nash Road, but the new case combines them into one and reduces the cash proffer amount to $9,400 per house for a total of $310,200. Earlier proffers were pegged at $19,801 and $21,663 for a total value of $560,989. The value of the off-site road improvements tied to the reduced proffers is estimated at $311,553, according to a county staff report.
In lieu of paying the proffers, the developer, George Emerson, has the option of widening the westbound lane of Woodpecker Road 12 feet for a distance of 350 feet to provide for a travel lane with a 4-foot wide shoulder.
According to a county planning document, Woodpecker Road improvements were provided because the majority of Nash Road has or will be improved by other developments.
Emerson’s representative, attorney Kerry Hutcherson, said Monday that the revised proffers are in accord with the county’s road cash proffer policy that was approved Sept. 28, 2016.
During public comment, concerns were raised by nearby residents about Nash Lake potentially flooding due to runoff from the new development. Residents also requested improvements to Nash Road instead of Woodpecker, which is located 2.1 miles south of the proposed development.
Planning staffer Darla Orr said that one of the two original cases was submitted in 2004. She noted that the Woodland Pond subdivision is located west of the proposed development and The Highlands is to the south.
Woodland Pond Lakefront Association board member and chemist Joe Lewis – who said he moved to the area 22 years ago – noted that two protected species moved into the area within the past three years: bald eagles and barking tree frogs. Lewis said the frogs only live in southeastern Virginia and Chesterfield County. Lewis said he’s “very worried. I see a lot of silt and water contamination coming into our lake.” He and others asked that the case be postponed.
Hutcherson said that none of the 33 lots would be located next to or on Nash Lake, noting that another property separates Cypress Glen from that body of water. He said that any environmental impacts would be addressed through construction plans – which were already been approved by the county. “This is a cash proffer amendment case, not a rezoning case,” he said.
Scott Smedley, the county’s environmental engineering director, said that stormwater sediment basins would be addressed during the project’s construction phase and that any protected species would be identified during the wetland permit process, which involves the Army Corps of Engineers.
Dale District Planning Commissioner and Chairman Michael Jackson asked Emerson if would be willing to transfer improvements from Woodpecker Road to Nash Road. “I think it’s a good idea,” Emerson said, adding that he would talk to his project engineer and get back to the county.
The case now goes before the Chesterfield County Board of Supervisors at its Aug. 28 meeting.
