|
 Phase
2 purchase of Crow's Nest moves forward.
An
important step in the effort to save Crow’s Nest is nearing final
stages. Under the leadership of Governor Tim Kaine, the funds for
the purchase of additional land on Crow's Nest have been assembled, and on
March 3, 2008, the Stafford County Board of Supervisors voted to approved
a revised contract for the "Phase 2" purchase of an additional
1,100 acres on Crow's Nest. (Read the news
story.)
Virginia
Governor Tim Kaine at the dedication ceremony for a portion of Crow’s
Nest.
HISTORY
Beginning
in 2003, the organizing efforts of supporters of Save Crow’s Nest helped
to stop proposed development on the 4,000-acre peninsula and served as a
catalyst for renewed efforts to purchase and preserve the land.
The
effort to assemble funds to save Crow’s Nest was propelled forward when
Governor Tim Kaine launched his “Renew
Virginia” initiative, which included the goal
of protecting 400,000 acres in the state by the end of 2010. The
purchase of Crow’s Nest became a part of this initiative.
In
December of 2007, the Stafford Board of Supervisors reached a deal to
purchase much of the Crow’s Nest peninsula in two phases. The
first phase involved the purchase of 1,770 acres for $19 million, which
was completed in 2008. That purchase was made possible by state
funds, including a $9.5 million loan from the Department of Environmental
Quality that will be repaid by Stafford County. “Phase 2” of the deal
was an option to purchase an additional 1,100 acres for $16.4 million,
with a deadline of December 2009 to complete the purchase.
Parcel
"A" (green) is the first purchase completed in 2008. Parcel "B"
(yellow) is the Phase 2
purchase. The areas in red, totaling more than 1,000 acres, remain
unprotected.
THE
CURRENT DEAL
Three
factors have combined to make a re-negotiation of the terms of the Phase 2
purchase possible.
First,
Governor Tim Kaine has continued to spearhead efforts to assemble the
money needed to close Phase 2 of the deal. This includes funds from
the Department of Conservation and Recreation, the Department of
Environmental Quality and an $800,000 grant by the state’s Virginia Land
Conservation Foundation.
Second, the House passed the
Costal and Estuarine Land Protection Act, which
reportedly contains $3,000,000 million prioritized for the Phase 2 purchase of
Crow’s Nest. As of this writing, the budget bill must be passed by
the Senate and signed by President Obama. This is the last piece of
funding needed for the purchase and it is not yet completely certain.
Third, the
free-fall in the real estate market created massive financial troubles for
real estate developers everywhere. In this climate, the owners of
Crow’s Nest lowered their asking price by $2 million in exchange for
moving the purchase deadline forward to July 2009. On Tuesday, March
3, the Board of Supervisors unanimously agreed to these changes to the
Phase 2 purchase contract.
ANALYSIS
We have come
a long way from protesting to prevent the destruction of Crow’s Nest to
discussing its imminent preservation. Everyone involved with Save
Crow’s Nest and the broader effort to preserve the peninsula should be
proud of their work.
However, we
at Save Crow’s Nest have always insisted on two principles:
1.
The entire Crow’s Nest peninsula should be saved; and
2.
Preservation should be done in a fiscally responsible manner.
Unfortunately,
while the current deal represents another milestone in the effort to save
Crow’s Nest, it falls short on both these counts.
First, the
deal does not include properties in the area known as “Crow’s Nest
Harbour” (the red areas on the map above), so a significant portion of the peninsula remains unprotected and the work
of preserving Crow’s Nest remains unfinished. These “Harbour”
properties have a variety of owners but Stafford Lakes LP, the developers
with whom the main deal has been made, is among the owners and their
property might have been included in the revised phase 2 purchase.
It was not, and a golden opportunity was missed to strike a deal that
might have helped lead to the eventual preservation of the entire
peninsula.
Second, once
again, taxpayers are paying higher than fair market value for the land,
making this is a sweetheart deal for developers. Even the reduced
purchase price for Phase 2 is a higher per acre cost than the per acre
appraised value of the land in 2006--near the height of the real estate
bubble! A purchase based on today’s fair-market value would have
left additional funds available to apply towards the purchase of the
remaining Crow’s Nest properties.
But, on
balance, this deal is an important step forward and it makes clear that
where there is a political will, there is a way. Assuming this Phase
2 purchase is completed, we can now focus on making sure the remaining
parcels of land on Crow’s Nest are preserved.
Again,
thanks for everything you have done over the years to permanently protect
all of Crow's Nest. Let your elected leaders—from Governor
Kaine down to the Board
of Supervisors—know of your support for the preservation of the
entire peninsula. |
