Mary Knight, South Anna District Chair

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804-798-2462

South Anna District is located between West Patrick Henry Road to the North, the Hanover County line to the west, the Hanover County line to the south and Interstate 95 to the East. It includes four precincts: Farrington, Montpelier, Rockville, and Elmont precincts. South Anna is heavily impacted by new development and demands on its infrastructure as reflected in the following account by South Anna District Chair and resident, Mary Knight.

A River Runs Through It

South Anna District is mostly a rural district with several small towns and villages. However, like other areas of the country, South Anna District is feeling the effects of the economy. At the same time, we are having to come to grips with issues such as development and traffic congestion. To compound matters, we often feel that County government is not listening to our needs. Here is an example.

About ten years ago, the citizens of one area of the South Anna District learned that a high-end golf course and residential community were being planned in the district.  About 90 houses starting at $700,000 were planned.  Today about 60 houses have been built and there are 27 empty lots.  The development and golf club are in bankruptcy.  One house has foreclosed and several have sold far below the original asking price.

 When this development was being considered, the citizens voiced their concerns at a Planning Commission Meeting.  We were concerned about environmental issues, especially water pollution since a river runs right through the community and would be impacted by runoff from fertilization of the golf course. We also wondered how our daily lives would be affected by increased traffic and congestion.  And even though we expressed these concerns, we felt that the planning commission had already made up its mind in favor of the development and that the meeting with citizens was just window dressing.

We need to elect more Democrats to County government so that citizen input really counts. Maybe by choosing insightful and well informed leaders, who value citizen input, situations like this can be avoided in the future.