An ongoing dispute between residents of the Virginia Heritage at Lee’s Parke subdivision and Spotsylvania County officials didn’t get resolved at Tuesday night’s board of supervisors meeting.
Back in August, Chris Yakabouski, the supervisor for the Battlefield District, where the neighborhood is located, made and later rescinded a motion to provide the community’s Homeowners Association $400,000 to settle a dispute regarding the premature release of performance bonds to builder Lennar Homes.
On Tuesday, Yakabouski made a different motion: he requested that staff explore the legality and costs associated with the county taking over all stormwater management facilities and ponds in Virginia Heritage.
The current HOA costs for inspections and maintenance are more than $47,000 per year and are anticipated to rise to more than $54,000 by 2028. The board voted unanimously to direct staff to research the possibility and return with a recommendation but did not move forward on implementing any such plan.
Yakabouski said stormwater management is among “stacks and stacks” of issues in the community but noted that the county taking over the facilities is one of the options the HOA put forward in July when it increased pressure on the supervisors to act by requesting $1.3 million in relief.
Yakabouski urged his fellow board members to visit the community or view it on Google Maps to examine if there is a lack of adequate easement to reach the pond.
Virginia Heritage residents showed up to the meeting to voice their concerns for the third time in the past two months.
Steve Lehr said he and his neighbors were “blindsided” by an Aug. 26 staff report that declared the road to the pond was accessible. Lehr said the HOA did not receive any advance notice about the presentation and questioned whether the supervisors were aware of it. Yakabouski confirmed that they didn’t know what would be included in the presentation.
“We were dismayed and disappointed that you, the board, accepted that report without any question,” Lehr said. “It definitely appears that you, the board, have not adequately addressed nor corrected the past issues and mistakes as you promised, at least as they apply to Virginia Heritage.”
Lehr said the county’s presentation on Aug. 26 showed an accessible and “pristine” access road, before alleging that the photograph was from at least 20 years ago. He described the presentation as “one-sided,” “disingenuous” and “intended to protect the county rather than addressing and correcting the previous issues.”
“Additionally, it was stated during the presentation that there were adequate easements and common areas within Virginia Heritage to allow access to the stormwater pond without having to construct a road,” Lehr continued. “What wasn’t said was that these easements and common areas do not adequately support the transport of any required heavy equipment to the site for repairs that may have been required.”
Lehr cited one example of a contractor who attempted to maneuver a pickup truck with equipment down the road but instead ended up significantly damaging a homeowner’s yard and creating a sinkhole.
“[Virginia Department of Environment Quality] regulations require an access road that is suitable for use without erosion,” Lehr said. “The failure of the Spotsylvania County staff to require road construction details from the developer when the plans … were approved was a violation of both county and DEQ regulations that were in effect at that time.”
