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Dividing McDowell
Historic preservation, growth should balance
BY JAMES JACENICH • STAFF WRITER
 | | Highland supervisors met with representatives from Civil War preservation groups to decide how to divvy up McDowell. Three groups already own much of the core area. What remains open to development lies in the designated growth corridor on both sides of U.S. 250 west of McDowell. (Map courtesy the SVBF) |
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MONTEREY - With assurances from Howard Kittell, executive director of the Shenandoah Valley Battlefields Foundation, that most of the McDowell battlefield had been protected and growth areas west of McDowell will be respected, the McDowell Battlefield Preservation Plan committee set its next meeting for 7 p.m. Sept. 20 in Staunton at the Central Shenandoah Planning District Commission office.
The meeting between the Shenandoah Valley Battlefield Foundation, the Civil War Preservation Trust, the Lee- Jackson Foundation, the Highland County Board of Supervisors, and county administrator, ended on a positive note with supervisor Jerry Rexrode saying he hoped to have the final version of the battlefield preservation plan in the comprehensive plan by Jan. 1.
County representatives want as much land as possible left open for development, while battlefield preservationists want as much land as necessary to interpret the May 1862 battle.
Between now and September preservationists and development advocates will mark out its claim on the core area.
Committee member Bryan Obaugh, former chair of the McDowell Battlefield Advisory and Review Committee, did not attend the meeting. Obaugh had planned to be out of town before the meeting was scheduled. When Kittell asked where he was, Rexrode quipped, "We handcuffed him and put him to a tree." Then, chuckling, he said, "No, he's out of town."
The lighthearted mood of the meeting continued throughout the session, in spite of the heat outside and the whir of the fans in the Stonewall Ruritan building cafeteria.
Supervisor Lee Blagg attended, but did not speak at the meeting.
Growth versus preservation
"We are trying to establish a preservation plan," said Rexrode. "Maybe we'll finally see what we want to have. The board's concern is growth in the county. Preservation is in perpetuity. Where is the county going to grow in the future?
"We want to look and see where we should butt heads and where we shouldn't butt heads," he said, adding he didn't think those eager to preserve battlefield-related properties would want more than is already protected.
"We need to incorporate a preservation plan into our comprehensive plan," he said.
"The thing that I am concerned about is that the people of McDowell ought to tell us where they wish expansion to be - that goes in the comprehensive plan," said Don Hower of McDowell, a member of the foundation's board of directors.
"You can work that into the goals and objectives of the comprehensive plan," said Doug Gutshall, a member of the Highland County planning commission.
"I'm not speaking for Lee (Blagg), I'm thinking of myself," said Rexrode, saying the county would look for development expansion from the McDowll Gas 'n Go west, on both sides of U.S. 250.
"You need to say that, that's exactly right," said Hower.
"That's what we're looking at," said Rexrode. "North to Doe Hill - that is an area that Lee (Blagg) is more familiar with. We need to come to mutual agreements what is south and what is east. Under the preservation plan, you basically have everything east, don't you, toward Staunton?"
"There are a couple of important parcels along U.S. 250," said Kittell. "I think if they came up for sale we would want to look at them. I've always felt we should own Cedar Knob (one of the parcels behind the old mill owned by Sidney Simmons). That was where the federal lookouts were."
"The top of Sitlington Hill (south of U.S. 250) was one of the most important parts of the battlefield, and you have that," said Gutshall. "What about some of the smaller pieces along U.S. 250 east of the village?"
"That's not really what you would consider (an area for) planning and development," said Rexrode. "Planning and development is what you are going to do down the road, 15-20 years from now. You'd buy a big parcel. Even if you owned the mountain, I don't think that would interfere with any planned development."
Rexrode moved looked at a map provided by the foundation. "This property over here on Strait Creek is in a study area," said Rexrode. "That is one of our major growth areas - U.S. 220 north."
"From the (foundation) perspective, we have really not focused any energy or money on study areas," said Kittell. "We have limited ourselves to core areas. The only time we would look at a study area is if a parcel overlapped from the core area.
"Within that line (core area) and (outside) organizations' property, if development were proposed (in the core area) would anyone be upset about that?" said Kittell. "That is a question that still remains for organizations to answer. My sense is they are fairly satisfied."
"People are afraid they are not sure where you want to go with it (core area)," said Gutshall. "If we could just state how we plan to go with this. Put it in writing so they can see it."
"I think we have to do a balance," said Rexrode. "If someone wants to buy (a certain parcel), I certainly wouldn't want to be the one to inflict restrictions."
"It has to meet certain criteria for us to purchase it," said White. "It has to have historical significance."
"Here is where we want to grow … we could look at it and evaluate it and say, yes sir," said Hower. "We have a system to evaluate and grade it. We could grade every area where the town wants to grow … we need to know where the town wants to grow."
"We could react to what the town wants to do," said Ackerly.
"It sounds like we are there right now, we need a map to show it," said Kittell.
"One of the problems we are running into is with conservation easements. You (the foundation and other groups) know where you are going when you buy a piece of property, it is bought in perpetuity," said Rexrode. "The county don't know where it's going. We have no idea, once a piece of property is bought up, we don't know.
"We have to look at every parcel in the county," Rexrode said. "If we want a growth area, we need to spell it out."
"We can have an agreement," said Kittell. "We will stay away from growth areas."
"I don't think we're that far off (from an agreement)," said Rexrode.
"I think it's a great idea to identify the tracts that are in the core that need to be preserved," said Gilmore. "We, as an organization, are very excited about it. We work nationwide with 384 (Civil War) sites. In a lot of places, the (battlefield) is long gone. But here, McDowell is
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