Nancy Reynolds, who owns property that abuts the HopeTree campus, speaks in front of the Salem courthouse on Friday about recent developments surrounding the controversial project.
A handful of concerned Salem residents gathered Friday morning to spread the word about upcoming meetings regarding the controversial HopeTree development.
Nancy Reynolds, whose property abuts the HopeTree property in north Salem, and Mark Nayden, who lives on North Broad Street, led the conversation. Alongside the group of some 20 residents that gathered in front of the courthouse in Salem to show support were Vice Mayor Jim Wallace and Councilman Hunter Holliday, both of whom voted against the rezoning.
The Salem City Council approved the rezoning 3-2 in June, with Mayor Renee Turk and council members Randy Foley and Bill Jones on the prevailing side. But in July, five citizens filed lawsuits against HopeTree Family Services and the council to challenge the decision to rezone the property from single family residential to planned unit development. The lawsuits cite alleged improper procedures as grounds for reviewing and possibly reversing the council's decision.
In August, in reaction to the lawsuits, HopeTree submitted a new rezoning application and requested that the city approve the rezoning plan again. In the rezoning narrative for the new application, HopeTree stated that it "does not wish for any uncertainty surrounding the procedural processes to detract from its efforts on behalf of those HopeTree serves."
In light of the resubmittal, the Salem City Council will have a joint public hearing and special meeting with the city's planning commission on Nov. 13. After that, the council plans to consider the rezoning application on first reading at its Nov. 25 meeting. The application will come before the council for second reading and adoption, if it chooses to do so, Dec. 9.
On Friday, Reynolds alleged that this is Turk's way of ensuring that the plan is approved and said it would be a "lame duck, fast-tracked" vote. Turk, along with Wallace, is up for reelection. Out of the four candidates running for the three open city council seats, Turk is the only one to express support for the HopeTree rezoning decision. Jones is not running for reelection.
"This is about the HopeTree PUD and Mayor Turk's last attempt to push it through before the new city council is sworn in," Reynolds said.
"Mayor Turk knows that the individuals elected to take office on Jan. 1 will most likely vote against the PUD, and in essence, this is an end run around the will of the people," she added.
Turk did not respond in time for publication.
The new rezoning application is "substantially similar" to the original one HopeTree submitted in December , according to the application's rezoning narrative. The main difference between the two applications is the owner's name, which was updated on the new application to be "Virginia Baptist Children's Home and Family Services" doing business as "HopeTree Family Services (Salem CI)" and formerly known as "The Virginia Baptist Children's Home" and "Baptist Orphanage of Virginia." Additionally, the new application includes more information on the review process for the traffic study, as well as the traffic study concurrence letter, which was not available at the time the original application was submitted.
HopeTree resubmitted the application to "provide certainty in, and to show its community partners and supporters that it values the Salem community's perspective of, this rezoning process," according to the narrative.
The HopeTree development would be the largest of its kind in the city's history. The organization, which provides services and support to at-risk children, people with intellectual disabilities and their families, plans to sell 37 acres to a developer. The developer will then build up to 340 residences on the property. Commercial spaces, such as a small hotel, restaurants or office spaces, are also permitted by the planned unit development zoning designation. The planned unit development has been a large topic of conversation during this year's election.
"We are all entitled to our opinions," Nayden said. "A healthy debate is important to a well-functioning government. But the most significant way to resolve that debate is through our elections, which are in three and a half days."
Lily Kincaid (540) 986-5851
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