[EyesOnIvy] Daily Progress 9/5/03: Decision on Ivy project upheld

[Brian Wheeler]

The Daily Progress, September 5, 2003

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Decision on Ivy project upheld

By David Dadurka  / Daily Progress staff writer

An Albemarle County Circuit Court judge has upheld a zoning decision
that would let a local construction company move forward with its plans,
opposed by neighbors, to build an office and equipment yard in the Ivy
community.

Judge Paul M. Peatross Jr.’s written decision, issued Thursday, ends a
nearly two-year legal battle over Faulconer Construction Co.’s proposed
move into the neighborhood.

“The battle is not over,” said Tom Hutchinson, whose home is adjacent to
land were Faulconer plans to build its headquarters.

Hutchinson, who asked the court to overturn the decision to allow the
contractor’s office, said he and fellow Ivy residents are considering an
appeal to the state Supreme Court.

Thursday’s decision allows Faulconer to approach Albemarle’s Planning
Commission with a revised site plan. The Planning Commission will hold a
public hearing [September] 23.

Faulconer has proposed to build an office and maintenance facility on 27
acres off Morgantown Road zoned for light industrial use.

Jack W. Sanford Jr., Faulconer Construction’s president, was out of town
and unavailable for comment.

A lawyer representing Faulconer Construction said the company and
Albemarle County have a “strong case” and that he doesn’t expect the
state Supreme Court to grant an appeal if one is sought.

“Faulconer would like to relocate as soon as they can,” John W. Zunka
said.

Faulconer leases office space on Old Ivy Road and operates an equipment
yard on Woodburn Road. It would be more efficient, he noted, to have
both buildings at one site.

The company, which employs about 150 people, develops roads and bridges.

Ivy residents have protested the proposed facility since 2001, claiming
that the company’s tractor-trailers would have to travel down a narrow
stretch of road near a preschool and an elementary school.

They also have claimed that the company’s storage of dynamite and
chemicals would create environmental hazards.
Faulconer has no plans to store explosives on the site, Zunka said,
adding that its revised site plan calls for less disturbance to natural
slopes on the site.

“Faulconer is trying to be a good corporate neighbor,” he said.

Hutchinson said he believes Peatross “erred very badly” in his decision.

“The fact that [the proposed site] is adjacent to an elementary school
and the headwaters of Ivy Creek has yet to be addressed,” he said.

Frank Buck, a lawyer representing Hutchinson and other Ivy residents,
said the decision did not address the disparity between what the
county’s zoning administrator described as the company’s repair shop
activities and what actually occurs at the company’s maintenance
facility on Woodburn Road.

“Their decision is only as good as the information presented,” Buck
said. “The information presented at the [Sept. 11, 2001, zoning appeal]
hearing was grossly inaccurate.”

Contact David Dadurka at (434) 978-7299 or ddadurka at dailyprogress.com.