To the Editor: ReStore’N Victory

0
1371

ReStore’N Victory

The recent Circuit Court decision that overturned the Board of Zoning Appeals approval of the mega-gas station on Route 250 was a terrific victory for Crozet. The entire community owes an enormous debt of gratitude to the many people who achieved the win that reversed the 2011 BZA decision. Many thanks to Duane Zobrist, Craig Marshall, other attorneys at the Zobrist Law Group, T.J. Aldous, (formerly of the Zobrist Law Group), Marcia Joseph, and the Freetown and Crozet community members who worked tirelessly on the ReStore’N Station court case over this past year and a half. This decision is an important milestone in the community’s long-fought battle against this bad project that would forever change the gateway to Crozet and the lives of the people who live adjacent to the development.

While many of us intuitively knew that adding a second floor to the proposed building, and more than doubling its square footage, was not in “general accord” with Albemarle Supervisors’ attempts to reduce the size of the project in 2010, it took community members willing to step forward with a lawsuit and the Zobrist Law Group’s excellent work and countless hours of service (much of it donated), to see the case through to its successful conclusion.  Mr. Zobrist and other community members hung in there on a case that was hard for many of us to grasp as winnable.

This legal success will have long-reaching effects on Crozet. While we don’t know what the final disposition of the development will be (appeals and the like are possible), we do know that this win will throw a serious roadblock in the way of this ill-conceived venture. Among the many ill effects of the project, the quality of life for Freetown neighbors would be seriously degraded by a looming and over-sized building sucking the local aquifer dry, and an already bad traffic situation for the three nearby schools would become even worse if a large gas station were to be built on the site.  Thank you, Zobrist Law Group and all Crozetians who worked on this case. We can support their efforts by showing up to future hearings for the project. Please stay tuned.

Mary Rice
Crozet