The BOS plans to Vote on a Motion to Sell the Criglersville School to Developer Schapiro at their meeting on January 24th after a session of public comment . Contrary to its statement on November 8th that it would issue an RFP this spring for new proposals, the BOS will release a proposed revised contract with Felix Schapiro Jan 10th, for public review. The BOS’s contract with Mr. Schapiro expired September 15, 2022. At its Nov 8th zoning meeting, the BOS told residents it would put out a new Request for Proposals this spring. Our Robinson Rose Community Alliance opposes the sale based on the current facts, which are: 1) The Criglersville Community will block any historic district designation. The community has the notarized signatures to block Schapiro’s bid to gain a historic designation for the school by putting the entire community into a historic district—which he pursued without any notice or consultation with residents whose properties he proposed for the district. 2) It is highly unlikely that the school qualifies as “historic” in its own right. To qualify, it would have to have “achieved historical significance more than 50 years ago due to (1) the attendance of a historically important person, (2) it serving as a location for an important event or trend, (3) representing an important architectural or engineering design, or (4) has the “potential to answer important research.” 3) If the school building is not Historic nor in a Historic District then it can not be renovated because it is in a federal floodplain and FEMA will only let the property owner invest 50% of the value of the property in renovations. The County claims the appraised value is approximately $150,000 therefore investments in the building would be limited to $75,000. 4) FEMA is not likely to change the floodplain. The current floodplain designation was evaluated and reasserted by FEMA in the past five years. The area has had substantial flooding in the past 20 years. 5) Without historic district or historic building designation Mr. Schapiro will not be able to renovate the building. He could tear it down and rebuild above Floodplain elevation. According to the experts we have consulted, that would require millions of dollars. To what end? 6) The BOS has told us that the property will remain A-1. Therefore, the options for the site are limited. Ideas, such as wineries and breweries, are regulated and require onsite production, such as 52% of grapes grown on the property. That’s not possible due to the lot size and soil condition of the property. Furthermore, Virginia Code grants the State Licensing Board the ability to refuse an alcohol services license near churches, homes and cemeteries….for obvious reasons. If it were to come to that, the community would forcefully oppose such a license. 7) Schapiro has made no new proposal, so the BOS does not have any new information on what the property might be used for. After turning down multiple, higher, fair price offers from local citizens on the grounds that the county “wanted to see something done with the property,” it would be disingenuous and irresponsible to sell the property at a deep discount to this—or any—developer without a plan. The Criglersville community is concerned that that leaves it vulnerable to the whims of an unreliable developer and potential future harm to the well being of the village. 8) Selling the school into this fact pattern scenario would most likely lead to the demolition of the school. The BOS chose to sell the property as is, rather than demolish it, because the Madison community expressed a strong preference that the building be preserved for a public benefit. Preserving the building would require both substantial community cooperation and investment. No one can tell us why the developer still wants the property…..but who wouldn’t want 5 acres in Madison for $25,000? Over the past 6 months, the community has invested a lot of time learning about septic engineering, FEMA, and historic districts. We’ve had multiple experts in real estate development, hospitality, historic buildings, and soil engineering review Schapiro’s proposals. Every expert says those proposals are unsubstantiated, wishful thinking. We are now well-versed on these issues, which is more than we can say for the BOS, the county planner, or the reporters who have been writing on this to date. Schapiro’s flimsy and often misleading presentations to the the BOS have only added to the confusion. The lack of information the BOS has had on salient, substantive issues related to this property is shocking. Too much has been written about “fairy gardens” (whatever they are) and other meaningless reprisals from Schapiro’s various proposals. Residents of Criglersville and Madison are tired of it. If county staff, the media, and Schapiro stopped blowing sunshine up each other’s skirts for a minute and started looking at these substantive facts it would be clear to all why this sale is a bad deal for the county. The reason they are reconsidering the sale now is out of concern of a lawsuit threat by Schapiro, which tells you (A) what kind of developer they are dealing with, and (B) the negligence of the county entering a contract without proper legal review to protect the interests of the county and its citizens. Some members of the BOS and county staff have treated the concerns of the Criglerville community and other Madison residents dismissively as “NIMBY” (Not In My Backyard). This attitude is wrong headed and unproductive. This is a complex piece of property with many issues. We have legitimate concerns that deserve serious consideration. The residents who have come together against the sale of the property to Schapiro are not JUST in Criglersville. We’ve had hundreds of signatures from around the county and a large cohort in our valley at large. Residents care about the precedent that this sale sets for our Madison community.
HOW YOU CAN HELP US STOP THIS SALE: - Write or call the BOS: Click here for their contact information. - Add your name to a letter of opposition, click HERE - Share: We hope you will share this information with your neighbors - Attend: Put January 24th on your calendar to attend the BOS meeting. Time is TBD We greatly appreciate your interest and support! Thank you, Samantha Guerry Chair, Robinson Rose Community Alliance PS. Sign up for updates: https://www.robinsonrosecommunity.com
Comments