[EyesOnIvy] Ivy heads to the Supreme Court!

[Brian Wheeler]

MEDIA RELEASE
Ivy Community Association
http://www.albemarlematters.com/ica.htm

Release: Immediate
Contact: Tom Hutchinson
(434) 295-8781 (h)
(434) 924-1723 (w)

IVY COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION APPOINTS EXPANDED BOARD AND VOWS TO FIGHT
FAULCONER CONSTRUCTION IN THE VIRGINIA SUPREME COURT

(Ivy, Virginia – September 16) At a general meeting of its membership
yesterday, the Ivy Community Association announced the appointment of 5
new members to its Board of Directors [Board of Directors:
http://www.albemarlematters.com/ica.htm] and the membership voted
unanimously to appeal a recent Albemarle County Circuit Court decision
to the Virginia Supreme Court relating to a zoning determination for
Faulconer Construction in the Ivy Business Park. The Association also
made strategic plans to encourage a huge turnout at a critical Planning
Commission meeting scheduled for 6:00 PM on September 23, 2003 at the
County Office Building. The Planning Commission is considering the
approval of critical slope waivers.

“We have been fighting against heavy industrial development on
Morgantown Road in Ivy Virginia for the past 2 and one-half years, and
we are not going to stop now," declared Brian Wheeler, Secretary of the
Ivy Community Association and Past President of the Murray Elementary
PTO. The Association, which recently received its non-profit status from
the IRS, has been leading an effort to prevent Faulconer Construction
from relocating its corporate headquarters and heavy industrial repair
facility and storage yard to a site adjacent to Murray Elementary School
in Ivy.

Tom Hutchinson, President of the Ivy Community Association and a
Morgantown Road resident, said "Our community has decided it will raise
another $20,000 to pay for legal costs related to this appeal. It is a
shame we have to do that to get the County to open its eyes to the true
operations Faulconer has planned for Ivy, to protect the welfare of
children attending school on Morgantown Road, and to protect the
aesthetic resources of this historic area, but we have no choice."

Since 2001, Faulconer Construction has been unable to get an acceptable
site plan approved by the County's Planning Department. "The original
site plan was withdrawn in 2001 and our legal case actually relates to a
zoning determination made in that period that gave Faulconer the green
light to operate on any light industrial site in the County," observed
Brian Wheeler. Faulconer has submitted several site plans since 2001,
one of which is currently under review by the Albemarle County Planning
Department.

Tom Hutchinson believes that Faulconer Construction's operations storing
and repairing huge earth moving equipment makes it a heavy industrial
operation incompatible with any light industrial property. "These wide
loads will not fit on Morgantown Road with a school bus or even a
mini-van. If Faulconer thinks we have been a thorn in their side, they
haven't seen anything yet. We plan to have another 200 people at the
Planning Commission hearing next week when they review the site plan. If
any plan moves forward, we will review every single detail to ensure
they comply with all aspects of the
County's zoning ordinance."

The Ivy Community Association and Albemarle County officials have both
met with Jack Sanford, President of Faulconer Construction, to try and
identify other sites in the County that would be more appropriate for
his firm. Faulconer Construction sold its current property on Woodburn
Road to the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) to make way for
the proposed Western US 29 bypass. They currently lease the property
back from VDOT and have right of first refusal to buy it back, should
VODT seek to release the property from the bypass project. 
####