CHESTERFIELD COUNTY, Va. (WRIC) — After a recent proposal for a new housing development near 288 and Hull Street Road, residents are expressing their concerns.
The new Cloverleigh development project partners with Northern Virginia Developer Kettler to bring hundreds of new homes to the area. The plan has designed apartments, condos and townhomes as a part of this project, along with parks and other amenities.
Neighbors in the area have already created an online petition voicing their concerns about this project. One concern that is top of mind for many residents is additional traffic.
“We’re already at a point where the traffic is saturated, where the intersection just has a lot of people going through it,” Matthew Monteiro, a resident, said. “And the traffic engineers are telling us, hey, this intersection has a lot of traffic. They’re rating it an F, there’s a reason for that rating.”
The developers’ current plan to combat this concern is to widen the lanes on Old Hundred Road and add traffic lights.
Residents say instead of the county focusing on short term solutions, they should understand the long term impacts that this project has. Residents are worried about future school capacity issues, county resources and long-lasting environmental impacts. One of these impacts is wild animals moving into other neighborhoods in the area.
“We already have a problem in the Brandermill area with foxes, raccoons, some of which have come back positive for rabies,” Sangeeta Darji, a resident, said. “And obviously that poses a danger to not only domestic animals, but the kids.”
Neighbors understand that development is going to happen overtime. However, they are asking the county and developers to implement proper infrastructure before making any final decisions.
“They can go somewhere else and get some more money from somebody else,” Monteiro said. “This is affecting people’s lives.”
Cloverleigh is currently still in the planning phases.