Council approves McIntosh Village special-use permit for 267-home PRD after amendments

Staunton City Council voted unanimously May 14 to approve a special-use permit (SUP) for McIntosh Village, a planned residential development (PRD) that would allow 267 single-family homes on about 77.31 acres. The approval carries the planning commissions 21 recommended conditions plus council amendments clarifying the Middlebrook access requirement, adding limits on phased clearing, and requiring landscaping of the buffer in consultation with city staff.

The developer, Augusta Properties LLC, proposes clustering homes under the PRD process that allows smaller lots than the underlying R-2 zoning (the developers plan sets a 5,000-square-foot minimum lot size compared with the R-2 8,750-square-foot standard). Planning Manager Tim Hartless told council the proposed overall density would be about 3.5 units per acre (below the R-2 maximum of 4.9 units per acre) and that the planning commission recommended conditions intended to protect neighboring Green Spring Valley and Shenandoah Heights, including a 45-foot open-space buffer and a 30-foot perimeter setback for peripheral lots.

Developer civil engineer Justin Schimpf told council the PRD approach reduces grading, limits tree removal and can reduce the need for blasting compared with a by-right buildout. "We have no interest in blasting rock at all," Schimpf said, adding the team plans geotechnical testing and designs that step houses with the contours to minimize cut-and-fill. He said the developer accepted the need for a Middlebrook connection and the planning commissions conditions but asked council to allow any of three identified connection options so long as the city engineer signs off. Council amended condition 2 to allow any of the three master-plan entrance options to serve as the Middlebrook connection provided the city engineer determines the construction meets applicable federal, state and local standards.

Residents who spoke at the public hearing voiced concerns about traffic, water and sewer capacity, noise and vibration from blasting, foundation damage, potential radon release associated with rock disturbance, loss of trees and neighborhood character, and impacts on Staunton City Schools. Kristen Siegel, chair of the Staunton City School Board, and Superintendent Dr. Eric Irizarry urged council to consider the schools long-term fiscal timing: the school division has absorbed recent enrollment increases and noted a gap between when new housing generates students and when new tax revenue is shared with schools.

Deputy Chief Adam Dolan outlined the citys blasting-permit process and safeguards, saying certified blasters must carry insurance and that the fire department requires an on-site fire representative and monitors seismograph readings and air-blast limits. "We require a pre-site survey, insurance and we are on-site for every blast," Dolan said; he added the authority to enforce permits and revoke blasting privileges if work does not meet standards.

Hartless said staff has engaged an on-call engineering firm (Wiley Wilson) for preliminary water modeling; early assumptions (multiple possible connections and 8-inch water lines) showed little to no pressure impact on Green Spring Valley, but Hartless emphasized that final modeling depends on infrastructure-construction plans and will be re-run when actual plans are submitted. The planning commissions conditions also require traffic and stormwater analyses and limit construction entrances from existing neighborhoods.

Councilors debated the trade-offs between a by-right R-2 buildout(which would not require a public hearing and could spread homes sitewide) and the SUP-driven PRD (which clusters lots and allows the city to impose project-specific conditions). Several councilors said the SUP provides more checkpoints and safeguards during infrastructure review.

With the amended conditions on access, phasing/clearing and buffer landscaping, the council voted to adopt the SUP. The developer accepted the conditions as amended. The next steps for the project include submission of a preliminary plat, infrastructure construction plans, required state and city reviews of stormwater and water modeling, and final plats before building permits can be issued.

Action and next steps: the councils approval is limited to the SUP and attached conditions; the project still must satisfy infrastructure and engineering reviews (including a required traffic impact analysis and infrastructure construction plans) before building permits or certificates of occupancy can be issued.