Richmond Times Dispatch
Sunday, October 29, 2006

Magnolia Green, a massive subdivision planned for Chesterfield County's western Hull Street Road corridor, could bring up to 2,785 new students to the county.

That's enough to fill two elementary schools, half a middle school and half a high school.

The development, where construction on the first 686 housing units is set for next year, could mean bad news for school officials struggling to stay ahead of growth and relieve crowding. They say even the new Cosby High School, plus four more new schools funded by a 2004 bond referendum, will not be enough.

"We don't control the growth," said Chesterfield School Board Chairman Marshall W. Trammell Jr. "It's kind of frustrating for us. We have absolutely no control over what gets approved."

Magnolia Green was rezoned 15 years ago, though developers are just now moving forward with plans to build on 315 acres of the 3,892-acre property. The entire plan calls for 4,886 units and 650 acres of neighborhood retail, commercial and office uses, but there is no timeline for the construction.

"It's pretty problematic," Trammell said. "We still don't know what the projected build-out time is . . . and you can't make plans based on that."

A 1991 staff report about Magnolia Green said most of the expected 2,785 students 1,417 -- would be elementary-school age.

At the time, there were no schools in the division's five-year capital-improvement plan in the area of Magnolia Green, other than Alberta Smith Elementary School, which opened in 1993, and the replacement Manchester High School, which opened in 1992, both on Bailey Bridge Road. But those schools were built to relieve other crowded schools at the time, not to accommodate even more students.

Trammell said a bond referendum might be the only way to pay for more schools once Magnolia Green fills out, though it could be a decade before that happens.

Magnolia Green's initial 686 units probably would generate about 300 students. Current schools could absorb that many, but long-range planning for upward of 3,000 new students is difficult.

The zoning plan designates 210 acres for school or park space. If used for schools, that is 60 acres for two elementary schools, 50 for a middle school and 100 for a high school. That land is free for the school district. By comparison, the district paid about $3.7 million for Cosby's 98 acres.

Sites for schools must be chosen wisely, said School Board member Tom Doland, whose Matoaca District includes Magnolia Green. Schools should be accessible to existing roads, he said, so the district doesn't have to help build roads.

As School Board members, "we're not supposed to be in the road-building business," Trammell said.

Even with land designated for new schools, the division still must pay for the schools' construction. Other than a new elementary school scheduled to open next fall, there aren't any other new schools proposed for that area. That new elementary school will be south of Hull Street Road near the intersection of Otterdale Road, which will be extended, and Harper's Mill Parkway.

A major concern with Magnolia Green is that it was rezoned without cash proffers.

The application was filed in June 1989, just before the county began accepting cash proffers, which are per-lot payments made by a builder to help offset the development's impact on public services and infrastructure.

The per-lot fee for Magnolia Green is $2,800. Chesterfield's current cash proffer is $15,600, and officials are considering raising that to more than $22,000.

Chesterfield schools spokeswoman Debra Q. Marlow said the reduced proffers affect schools because funding comes from the Board of Supervisors, and less money means less for all public projects, not just schools.

Chesterfield parent Mary Vail Ware is a member of the redistricting committee for the new western elementary school. She said the committee is focused on how to redistrict to relieve current schools, though future developments such as Magnolia Green loom in their minds.

"We'll have good recommendations, but our recommendations won't please everyone because we can't solve the larger problem" of development, she said. "And the School Board can't solve the problem."

Added fellow committee member Shelly Schuetz: "You can't leave a school with 100 [empty] seats, anticipating growth."

Residents will have to realize "there is no new school planned after this one" for that area.  "It looks like the relief will be for a short time," she said. But "everyone will have to be gearing up for trailers again."

All Real Estate Articles

Instantly read the rest of this important information! Just fill out the form below and click the SUBMIT button at the bottom of the form. You'll automatically become a VIP Buyer and receive this report and unlimted access to over 75 real estate reports!   Your Contact Information  (Please complete all fields)   First Name: Last Name: Daytime Phone: Evening Phone:       E-mail: Home Plans Buying Selling None City: State/Province:         Copy The Word In The Image.

[ ..More About Richmond Magnolia Green ]