December 30, 2009

Biscuit Run has officially been transferred to the state of Virginia to become a state park. The previously planned residential development is a large piece of property in Albemarle County near Old Lynchburg Road and Route 20.

After much debate, the Albemarle County Board of Supervisors approved plans a few years ago for a 3,100-home development on the property. However, the developers recently changed those plans and decided Wednesday they would rather sell the land to Virginia to create a state park.

The Biscuit Run community was expected to bring in hundreds of thousands of dollars in property taxes to Albemarle County. While it's a project county officials have worked on for years, they say they are looking at the glass as half full.

"It's going to take away 3,100 homes we had planned here," said Albemarle Supervisor, Ken Boyd. "but, it's also going to take away the need for the schools and the infrastructure that would go along with all those houses. And in these economic times, there's really no market for people to building houses anyway."

Others say having a state park near by is a golden opportunity.

"It will provide much more to our community, and enriching our community in many more ways than a development with 3,100 homes would," said John Cruickshank, the Chair of the Piedmont Group of the Sierra Club.

Governor Tim Kaine said buying Biscuit Run brings his administration closer to the goal of preserving 400,000 acres during his time in office. Boyd says the county has a similar goal of preserving land. This decision pushes them forward on that goal.

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