SUFFOLK, Va. — A proposed residential development at the old VDOT facility in Suffolk is facing opposition from residents concerned about its impact on a bald eagle nest located on the property.
Developer Ryan Homes wants to rezone the property at 1700 N. Main St. from commercial to residential to build a housing community. The Suffolk City Council is set to discuss the proposed rezoning ordinance at next week's meeting on April 15.
Suffolk City Council member Tim Johnson said the situation has been ongoing for quite a while.
"There’s been lots of ups and downs and back and forths and it is still not approved for what's going forward, but the citizens in our city great many of our citizens have been in opposition because they think the site itself is too much value and too much history to the city of Suffolk, to develop it in this way," Johnson said.
Part of that value includes a bald eagle nest found on the backside of the Main Street property. I went out to see the nest for myself and saw an eagle sitting there.
"You can view it from across the river and it stirred up another whole pot," Johnson said.
Suffolk resident Erin Clemow heard about the eagles in January and decided to take a look for herself.
"I’m not originally from Suffolk, but I've talked to a lot of people who are born and raised here and what they’re telling me is basically they would love to see it as green space they would love to see it as a park, and that plays hand and hand with our eagles our Suffolk eagles right over there," Clemow said.
After finding the nest, Clemow reached out to several organizations, including U.S. Fish and Wildlife and the Virginia Department of Wildlife Resources.
"I just started talking to them trying to figure out what we had to do, what steps we had to take in order to make sure that this nest right behind me is protected," Clemow said.
Clemow also contacted Bryan D. Watts, Ph.D., the director of the Center for Conservation Biology at William & Mary. In an email, Watts explained the rules for building near eagle habitats.
"Developers are required to seek consultation about planned construction activity near an active nest. Consultation in this case would typically involve a site visit with the state or federal biologist that would lay out what if any restrictions (time of year restrictions, spatial buffers) would be required," Watts said.
"I just want to make sure that this is protected I wanna make sure that if it is rezoned that the developer with go through the proper protocol," Clemow said.
I reached out to Ryan Homes regarding the proposed development. A spokesperson for the homebuilder company did not have a comment for this story.
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