Community Input: The Barns at Manor Line & Manor Line Campgrounds

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Community Input: The Barns at Manor Line & Manor Line Campgrounds

My name is Edwin Wright and my main farm is at 4151 Gooney Manor Loop in Browntown. Thank you.

I've been reaching out to neighbors for years, but it's hard to reach our entire community at once, so we're adding this page to get accurate information out to our community and answer questions about our current projects in Browntown. My family has had a farm in Browntown for three generations, and I moved back here eleven years ago specifically to find ways to protect it from becoming a residen

tial subdivision. In that time I have expanded our farming operations from cattle and hay to include pigs, goats, sheep, and honey bees, and we will continue to farm and share our local products with the community, but like so many local farmers who have off-farm jobs to make ends meet, main line agriculture can only get us part of the way to our goal of saving our family farm. Since I was a little kid I've watched with an ache in my heart as other family farms in our area were slowly pulled apart for new houses, leading to many new wells, new traffic, and light pollution. But if you look around the county for alternatives to residential subdivision , you also see successful campgrounds, event spaces, wineries, breweries, and other outdoor recreation. Warren County has been both an agricultural community and a tourist destination for a long time - and bringing these two features together is a comparatively low impact way of creating success stories for family farms and our community by resisting housing development in the Ag district. On these two parcels, for example, creating new campgrounds and events spaces would add less than half as much traffic annually as new houses, and less than one fifth as many wells compared to residential subdivision on the same acreage. Allowing us to embrace these recreational uses instead of more houses fits with the County's comprehensive plan by protecting the view-shed provided by our open fields and preserving the rural feel of our community. These plans will create local jobs, add to the tax base without putting a burden on schools or emergency services, and help protect the things we love, and love to share, about Browntown.

08/08/2022

A reminder that there’s a BCCA meeting tonight at 7:30.

And some thoughts for the meeting:

Did you know that when I was a kid we had a gas station and multiple convenience stores right in the middle of Browntown? No, I’m not advocating for bringing back a gas station or changing the zoning of any of our land to accommodate density. The point is that in order to have a realistic shared vision of the future we need a realistic shared understanding of our past – why is Browntown the way it is and how we can make it better in the future. And we need to be speaking the same language about planning and zoning issues. These could be the best things that might come out of any community visioning process: education, knowledge, understanding. If every time anyone tries to do anything other than just build more houses they get vilified, we’re going to end up with just more houses like the dozens that are going in on the west side of Gooney Manor Loop right now. Farmland lost is farmland lost forever, and we are dangerously close to losing our rural character, rustic nature, dark skies, and open spaces permanently.

So, what do we want to see in Browntown? In a world where change is certain, how do we choose a pattern of growth and change that protects the things we love, and love to share, about Browntown? And who gets to decide? Politicians who don’t even bother reading proposals before voting on them? The developers responsible for hundreds of new houses and subdivisions? A small, but very loud, group of selfish naysayers who don’t even bother getting involved with local planning issues except to complain? The even smaller group of quiet, hardworking landowners who are still holding on to old family farms in the face of mounting development pressure? Will we get to choose a desirable path that protects our rural character by sharing and using our land or will we get forced into a much less desirable outcome by fear, lies, and misunderstanding? What have other communities done when faced with these issues? What has worked and what hasn’t?

Starting last winter, the BCCA has hosted a series of visits from the Alliance for the Shenandoah Valley, a non-profit that focuses on helping communities in the Shenandoah Valley chart a future for themselves. Come out tonight to the BCCA meeting at 7:30 to have your voice heard about whether to let the Alliance continue this process, and check your email or the BCCA newsletter for the questionnaire they distributed for feedback. And, as always, if you’re interested in joining Manor Line’s volunteer days or learning more about our agritourism events, just drop me a line.

See you on the loop!

01/10/2022

Dear Friends,
I’m looking forward to the Board of Supervisors meeting tomorrow night at 7pm and wanted to give you an update about our four Conditional Use Permit applications in Browntown. Not being a social media person I tend to write novels instead of snippets, but here’s an attempt at both:

Short Version:
Today we notified the Board of Supervisors that tomorrow we will ask them to table two of our applications while we gather more data, reduce the initial capacity of another from 100 campsites to just 50 to be phased in over the next 3-5 years, and to consider approving one rural events center as is.

Longer Version:
First, we discovered through this process that there is an error In VDOT’s comments. Understandably, VDOT assumed that the speed limit on Gooney Manor Loop couldn’t reasonably be more than 35 mph. Since it’s unposted, however, the actual speed limit on the section of Gooney Manor Loop between Fetchett Road and the Cool Springs Church is 55 mph! Since we’ve already determined not to use the existing entrance to the Wellspring Road property for these projects because we think the existing deeded access is too steep for emergency vehicles, we will need almost double the sight distance than expected for a new entrance at our main farm farther up Gooney Manor Loop to access the Wellspring Road property. We have contacted a group of traffic engineers to come and complete, at our own cost, a series of speed studies at this location and several other locations around Browntown, but these studies won’t be completed until late winter or early spring. So, on Tuesday evening we will be asking the Board of Supervisors to table two of our applications. Then, when these studies are complete, we will bring the results back to the community and the Board of Supervisors to help advocate to VDOT for reduced speed limits and other safety improvements around our community.

We’re also serious about our gradual and phased approach to change, so in response to some of our neighbors who have voiced concerns about the initial scale of our campgrounds we will be asking the Board of Supervisors to approve our campground permit at 2905 Gooney Manor Loop, but with an initial capacity of 50 instead of 100 sites, which we will phase in over the next 3-5 years.

The fourth permit we will leave unchanged. Since we are a working farm and will continue to host agricultural activities and agritourism events, the event center permit at 2905 Gooney Manor Loop is the permit that has the least additional impact, increasing the event size for events like weddings and retreats we can hold in the long run from 100 to 200 attendees.

These past few months have been full of very positive feedback and constructive conversations, and I want to thank everyone who has come out to voice their support, or concerns, or to ask questions. We have been engaged in agriculture, agritourism, and conservation programs for many years, and it wasn’t until we made these four applications that anyone from the community came to us with concerns about traffic or fire and EMS access around our farm. I share community concerns about the impact of future changes around Browntown, and I think this shows that there are some preexisting conditions that need to be addressed around Browntown, but these shouldn’t be a barrier to positive change. For example, in my lifetime the population of Browntown has more than doubled, but we have fewer full time and volunteer firefighters in the South River District now than we did then. We’re fortunate that most of us live within a 5–10-minute drive of a fire station, but without additional people and equipment when our one fire crew is out on a call the response time for a second incident shoots up exponentially. Agritourism and recreational uses generate far less traffic and fire risk than residential development, and we hope the Board of Supervisors and our community can help us in maintaining the open space and rural feel of our community by protecting and promoting alternative uses for agricultural land and making this conversation a vehicle for positive change.

Thank you!

01/02/2022

Happy New Year!

And thank you for continuing to reach out with ideas about agritourism and farm based projects for the community! As we chart a path forward, I also believe it's important to look back and see where we've been. Here is an aerial photograph of the Browntown Valley from the 1945, and a couple of pictures of our home place and main farm.

The mill at our main farm and our old family farmhouse date back to the 1830's, and while our mill is the last one of it's kind in the area (still standing thanks to my grandparents preservation efforts), it was just one of many that used to stand along the creeks of the Browntown Valley. Only a few generations ago we were a bustling town with bars, stores, mills, a tannery, barrel stave makers, and other industry. In the mid 20th century passenger rail service regularly made stops in Limeton and Bentonville. My mother was the last generation of people to go to school in the building that is now the Browntown Community Center. And when I was a kid we had multiple grocery and convenience stores and a gas station right in the middle of Browntown. In my lifetime the population of Browntown and the number of houses in our little valley has more than doubled. Roads have gotten paved and expanded. Power and communications services drag their heels sometimes, but grow and adapt to serve the increasing population here. So, what do we really mean when we talk about the historic character of our community in a place that's constantly changing? If you have pictures, maps, or stories of Browntown from years gone by, feel free to share them here or come share them with the Gooney Valley History and Preservation Club. Thanks!

12/30/2021

For more than 7 years we’ve had the same invitation on our website – https://www.manorlinebeef.com/ – to come visit the farm and see how we do things. These past few months we’ve continued to host dozens of open houses and tours, and we love sharing the farm with visitors. So, in case you hadn’t come across our website yet, we’re expanding that invitation to social media, and you’re invited. I’d be delighted to meet up to give you a tour, share stories of Browntown, and hear about your projects and vision of the future. Please drop me a line to set up a time in advance, or come on up to 2905 Gooney Manor Loop any Thursday or Sunday afternoon from 3:30-5:30 through the end of January. Thanks!

12/29/2021

There seems to be a lot of confusion and misinformation about the impact on traffic of different uses of land in Browntown.

So, here’s a map comparing the projected annual impact on traffic of our current proposals for campgrounds and small event spaces to the minimum by right residential development (no special permits needed) of the same acreage. This is the max for 7-10 years from now with our phased approach and gradual change.

Short version - tripling the number of vehicle trips per day, even a decade from now, sounds like a lot until you consider the context. That same number of vehicles up here on one of the least traveled roads in the county adds up to less than a 10% increase annually on Browntown Road in Browntown, and less than a 1% increase annually by the time you turn onto 340 from the Browntown Road.

At every point, that’s less than half the annual impact of by right residential development on the same acreage and less than a quarter of the impact that the houses that are currently under development by our neighbors on Gooney Manor Loop will add. Also, recreation and agricultural uses don’t usually put traffic on the road during normal commute times, so most people’s daily drives will seldom encounter more traffic from these proposed applications, whereas all those new houses will put people on the road at the same time, year round.

Regardless of what I do with my land or other farmers do with theirs, we're facing a massive influx of new houses, and ever-increasing development pressure. So, even if campgrounds and dedicated event spaces don't find a home here in Browntown, I hope you remember that residential development tops the list of the highest traffic generators in our area. Every new house adds (and has added) an average (an AVERAGE!) of just under 3650 vehicle trips per year to our roads. And there are more than twice as many houses in the Browntown valley now than when I was a kid. Let’s work together to grow in a way that protects the things that make this place a desirable place to live in the first place!

12/26/2021

So, I wanted to make this as a poll, but y'all know I don't really do social media, so please respond in the comments for now while I figure it out...

What would you like to see in Browntown? What would you do if you were trying to save your family farm?

Campgrounds
Wineries
Breweries
Events Centers
Weddings and Reunions
Social Dances
Parks and Trails
Playgrounds
Hunting & Fishing
Bike Trails
Pick-Your-Own Produce
Farm-Table Dinners
History Tours

Or something else?

Remember, we're trying to protect the things that make Browntown an appealing place to live in the first place, and also grow toward a more sustainable future, together.

Thanks!

12/21/2021

Welcome to our community input page. We've been reaching out to neighbors for decades to talk about the future of Browntown and to share our plans to protect our land here. I moved back here eleven years ago specifically to find ways to protect our farm from being split up in little pieces for more houses like so many other family farms in our area. If you look around the region for alternatives to residential development you can see many successful campgrounds, event spaces, wineries, breweries, and other outdoor recreation that represent success stories for protecting family farms and our community. That's the direction we'd like to go. What do you think?

Address

2905 Gooney Manor Loop
Browntown, VA
22610

Telephone

+15406352113

Website

http://www.manorlinebeef.com/

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