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NAO-2014-0456 Ladysmith Road Commercial Retail Center

Published May 13, 2015
Expiration date: 6/11/2015

The district commander has received a joint application for federal and state permits as described below:

APPLICANT
Blackwood Capital, LLC
Attn: Marc Greenberg
7301 Boulder View Lane
North Chesterfield, VA 23225

WATERWAY AND LOCATION OF THE PROPOSED WORK:  The project is located in the South River a tributary to the York River, at Tax Map #52-5-1, 52-5-1A, 52-5-1B, 52-5-1D, and 52-A-123 on Ladysmith Road (Route 649) in Caroline County, Virginia.

PROPOSED WORK AND PURPOSE:  The applicant proposes to construct a 42.50-acre commercial retail center to include the realignment of Green Road within a desired corridor for Caroline County, VA. The project proposes to impact 2.69 acres of wetlands to include 2.427 acres of Palustrine emergent wetlands (PEM), 0.017-acres of Palustrine Forested wetlands (PFO) and 0.253-acres of Palustrine open water (existing pond POW). The proposed impacts area associated with fill for a storm water outfall, the construction of retail center building, parking, infrastructure and the realignment of Green Road.

In addition to the required Department of the Army permit, the applicant must obtain a Virginia Water Protection Permit from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) assuring that applicable laws and regulations pertaining to water quality are not violated and a permit from the Caroline County Wetlands Board.  Project drawings are attached.

OFFSITE ALTERNATIVE ANALYSIS:  Alternative 1 includes adequate acreage and road frontage within the corridor of Interstate 95 and Route 1 and allows access from Interstate 95; however rezoning for commercial business from the county would be required. Environmental constraints for the site include a stream with narrow forested riparian corridor that divides the northern third of the property from the southern 25 acres of the property. Based on mapping review, development of this site would potentially impact approximately 1,200 linear feet of stream and an unknown quantity of potential forested wetlands (located in southwest corner of site).

Alternative 2: The site is not located on the desired direct road frontage to Ladysmith Road and has no visibility from Ladysmith Road, which is viable for the retail center. Although the site has access from U.S. Route 1, the site was dismissed, as it requires rezoning from industrial development to commercial.

Alternative 3:  The site contains adequate road frontage and sufficient distance from Interstate‐95 entrance and exit ramps with visibility from Ladysmith Road within the desired development corridor of Interstate 95 and Route 1. The site is currently zoned for rural preservation and would require rezoning for the proposed commercial development.  After recent timbering, the site is currently regenerating to shrub scrub saplings. The site includes approximately 1,700 linear feet of stream located parallel to the frontage road adjacent to Ladysmith Road and extends further south and into the central and eastern portions. In addition, further investigation by infrared aerial mapping depicts possible wetlands perpendicular to the stream system and established neighborhood adjacent to Alternative 3 site. 

ONSITE ALTERNATIVE AND AVOIDANCE AND MINIMIZATION:  

The Virginia Department of Transportation requires the relocated Green Road intersection must be no less than 1,320 feet from the Interstate 95 entrance/exit ramps. As proposed, the Green Road intersection is at this minimum distance of 1,320 feet away is proposed in a location to avoid impacts to forested wetlands and streams on the subject site. Several layouts of the proposed development has been explored, however the applicant requires the large retail center have visibility from Lady smith Road, ingress and egress from Green Road and storm water managing facilities.

AUTHORITY: Permits are required pursuant to Sections 401 and 404 of the Clean Water Act (Public Law 95-217) and Title 62.1 of the Code of Virginia.

FEDERAL EVALUATION OF APPLICATION:  The decision whether to issue a permit will be based on an evaluation of the probable impact including cumulative impacts of the proposed activity on the public interest.  The decision will reflect the national concern for both protection and utilization of important resources.  The benefits, which reasonably may be expected from the proposal, must be balanced against its reasonably foreseeable detriments.  All of the proposal's relevant factors will be considered, including conservation, economics, aesthetics, general environmental concerns, wetlands, cultural values, fish and wildlife values, flood hazards, flood plain values, land use classification, navigation, shoreline erosion and accretion, recreation, water supply and conservation, water quality, energy needs, safety, food and fiber production, mineral needs, consideration of property ownership and, in general, the needs and welfare of the people.  The Environmental Protection Agency's "Guidelines for Specification of Disposal Sites for Dredged or Fill Material" will also be applied (Section 404(b) (1) of the Clean Water Act). 

The Corps of Engineers is soliciting comments from the public; Federal, state, and local agencies and officials; Indian Tribes; and other interested parties in order to consider and evaluate the direct, indirect, and cumulative impacts of this proposed activity.  Any comments received will be considered by the Corps of Engineers to determine whether to issue, modify, condition or deny a permit for this proposal.  To make this decision, comments are used to assess impacts on endangered species, historic properties, water quality, general environmental effects, and the other public interest factors listed above.  Comments are used in the preparation of an Environmental Assessment and/or an Environmental Impact Statement pursuant to the National Environmental Policy Act.  Comments are also used to determine the need for a public hearing and to determine the overall public interest of the proposed activity.  Anyone may request a public hearing to consider this permit application by writing to the District Commander within 30 days of the date of this notice, stating specific reasons for holding the public hearing.  The District Commander will then decide if a hearing should be held.

Preliminary review indicates that:  (l) no environmental impact statement will be required; (2) after conducting the NAO ESA Project Review Process, no listed/proposed/candidate species and/or designated/proposed critical habitat under the Endangered Species Act of 1973 (16 U.S.C. 1531-1544, 87 Stat. 884), as amended) will be affected.  Based on this no effect determination, no further coordination with the Fish and Wildlife Service is required.  (3) no known properties eligible for inclusion or included in the National Register of Historic Places are in or near the permit area, or would likely be affected by the proposal. Additional information might change any of these findings. 

For compliance with the Coastal Zone Management Act of 1972, as amended for projects located in Tidewater, the applicant must certify that federally licensed or permitted activities affecting Virginia's coastal uses or resources will be conducted in a manner consistent with the Virginia Coastal Zone Management Program (VCP) and obtain concurrence from the Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), Office of Environmental Impact Review (OEIR). We have not received a certification from the applicant prior to publication of this public notice.  It is the applicant’s responsibility to submit a consistency certification to the Office of Environmental Impact Review for concurrence or objection and proof of concurrence must be submitted to the Corps prior to final permit issuance. A template federal consistency certification can be found here: http://www.deq.virginia.gov/Programs/EnvironmentalImpactReview/FederalConsistencyReviews.aspx#cert .  For more information or to obtain a list of the enforceable policies of the VCP, contact the Department of Environmental Quality, Office of Environmental Impact Review at (804) 698-4330 or e-mail: ellie.irons@deq.virginia.gov or john.fisher@deq.virginia.gov.

COMMENT PERIOD:  Comments on this project should be made in writing, addressed to the Norfolk District, Corps of Engineers (ATTN:  Regena Bronson), 1329 Alum Spring Road, Suite 202, Fredericksburg, Virginia  22401, and should be received by the close of business on June 11, 2015.

PRIVACY & CONFIDENTIALITY:  Comments and information, including the identity of the submitter, submitted in response to this Public Notice may be disclosed, reproduced, and distributed at the discretion of the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  Information that is submitted in connection with this Public Notice cannot be maintained as confidential by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers.  Submissions should not include any information that the submitter seeks to preserve as confidential.

If you have any questions about this project or the permit process, contact Regena Bronson at 540-548-2838 or email regena.d.bronson@usace.army.mil.