Spotsylvania supervisors deny 40-home Lake Anna rezoning after weeks of public concern over algae, wells and traffic

Spotsylvania County supervisors voted to deny a rezoning request for about 131.9 acres at Lake Anna that would have allowed 40 single-family homes and a common dock area, rejecting the applicant's revised plan and proffers after an extended public hearing on May 28.

Residents who spoke at the hearing cited recurring harmful algae blooms (HABs), shallow water at the Pamunkey branch, concerns about septic systems and well yields, and added boat and vehicle traffic that they said would jeopardize public safety and lake health. Brad Curley, who lives roughly a half-mile from the site, urged the board to "reject this request to change the zoning from RA to PRR-3," saying the narrow upper Pamunkey branch is already crowded and that 40 new boat slips would worsen sediment disturbance and blooms.

The applicant's attorney, Tory Williams, said the project was redesigned after earlier community objection to a proposed RV park and that the current proposal reduces density and adds mitigation. Williams noted the developer had proffered reforestation, 50-foot riparian buffers, a 100-foot lakeside setback, a right-turn lane at the Dacebridge Road access and a package of HAB-related commitments including space and access for monitoring equipment, a water aeration system and five years of lake testing. Williams said a hydrogeological study by Stantec estimated the site could support the proposed water demand and that Dominion approval remains a separate technical step for any boathouse construction.

Many nearby property owners challenged those assurances on technical and practical grounds. Mary Radloff said the site sits on the Ellisville Pluton and that groundwater in that geology is fracture-controlled and therefore unreliable, so new wells could deplete neighbors' supplies. Several speakers from waterfront associations including the Runnymede Property Owners Association and Lake Anna civic groups urged a pause on development in this sub-basin until HAB mitigation work and long-term monitoring prove effective. "This development does not meet the criteria in the comprehensive plan," Runnymede president Earl Milke said, pointing to repeated swim advisories and the community's ongoing lake-repair work.

Planning staff had recommended approval with the applicant's proffers dated April 19, 2024; the Planning Commission had recommended denial by a 7-0 vote. Staff's analysis acknowledged multiple concerns (traffic sight distance on Dacebridge Road, potential groundwater impacts, and loss of agricultural acreage) but concluded that the project's proffers, preservation of historic structures and mitigation payments to schools and recreation made approval supportable. The applicant also proffered deed restrictions protecting three historic structures on the property and a $7,200 contribution for monthly lake testing.

After hearing more than a dozen residents and the applicant's response, the board voted to deny the rezoning. Chair Lane announced the result in open session. The denial leaves the site zoned Resort Agricultural (RA), allowing by-right uses limited under that district.

Next steps: the applicant may revise and resubmit a new plan in the future; the county noted Dominion Electric Company retains permitting authority for docks and buoys on Lake Anna and that hydrogeological or HAB-monitoring studies may be updated in any future application.