Request for Review and Reconsideration of the Townes of Perrowville Development Due to Traffic, Safety, Infrastructure, Emergency Response, and Land-Use Concerns

We, the undersigned residents and concerned citizens of Bedford County—particularly those living in and around the Perrowville Road and Forest/Farmington area—respectfully request that the Bedford County Board of Supervisors delay approval of the proposed Townes of Perrowville development until critical concerns are fully addressed.

We support responsible growth. However, the current proposal raises significant unresolved issues related to public safety, infrastructure capacity, and adherence to zoning principles.

Key Concerns

1) Continual changes to the plan without sufficient neighbor awareness.

This proposal originated as a 53-unit project, changed to an 82-unit project with fencing and landscaping dividing it from Farmington, and is now amended to a 66-unit project within 8.6 acres, still described by staff as a “maximum density project.” 

Neighbors were not made aware of the latest version presented to and passed by the Planning Commission and had no opportunity for public comment even though the previously offered mitigation of fencing and landscaping separating the property from Farmington has now been removed and reduced, respectively, increasing the impact on existing residents. 

This raises concerns that the transition between existing homes and the new development will be less defined, and that noise, lighting, and general neighborhood impacts will be more noticeable. Most importantly, visual and physical access to Farmington backyards and the community pool and clubhouse will be much more easily gained. 

2) Traffic study considerations 

Perrowville Road serves two nearby schools on opposite sides of the roadway, already creating concentrated congestion, reduced speeds, and frequent turning conflicts. Such a development will increase turning movements, intensify congestion during peak school hours, and elevate accident risk in an already constrained corridor. 

In a January letter from VDOT to the Bedford County Director of Community Development, VDOT stated:

“Perrowville Road traffic volumes have increased approximately 40% since the last analysis.”

The May 5th Planning Commission packet did not include an updated traffic study. The most recent traffic study available to the public indicated that left-turn lane warrants were met, meaning a dedicated turn lane was justified based on projected traffic volumes. 

The study identified a back-to-back taper condition that would require a VDOT waiver, indicating that the proposed entrance configuration did not meet standard roadway spacing requirements without exception.

This raises concerns about whether the proposed design adequately addresses safety and traffic flow under actual operating conditions, especially considering the solar plant’s pending opening and the well-documented inherent danger of left hand turns.

Furthermore, we are concerned that this development will lead to more cut-through traffic in nearby residential areas to circumvent delay and/or accidents near the proposed development entry site, impacting children’s safety and overall quality of life. This is particularly true of Farmington, given its unique geographical relation to the site, with entrances to the north and south of the land in question.

3) Unverified sewer and water capacity for the current plan 

Just prior to the Planning Commission vote on April 7th, 2026, a statement was made suggesting that water and sewer capacity had been addressed. However, official correspondence raises serious questions. Documents secured under FOIA reveal that the latest water capacity request and BRWA grant pertaining to this project were made in 2022, using the original 53 townhomes in the capacity formula. 

In an email dated April 13, 2026, Bedford County Director of Community Development Jordan Mitchell confirmed:

“We do not have any records to send you related to the current proposed development… However, I did include correspondence from the preliminary plan review in 2022…”

A May 4th updated email from BRWA revealed no further advances in this area.

This indicates that neither requests nor grants related to water or sewer capacity for the current proposal were on file at the time of the April 7th or May 5th Planning Commission votes, raising concerns that infrastructure considerations rely on outdated assumptions and that the project may be advancing without documented capacity verification for its actual scale. 

4) School capacity and student impact

Bedford County Public Schools have already identified capacity concerns in the Forest area and have begun proposed redistricting discussions in response to growth pressures.

In April 2026, Bedford County Public Schools notified families that Forest Elementary School had already reached capacity and that additional residential development was expected to further increase student populations.

In light of this strain, the school system has already adopted an “overflow model” that acknowledges the need for students from new residential developments to be assigned to schools outside their immediate communities when nearby schools exceed capacity thresholds.

Additional residential density would further increase crowding, transportation demands, and the reassignment of students away from nearby community schools. 

5) Emergency response and first responder capacity 

Bedford County operates a combination Fire and Rescue system that relies heavily on volunteer personnel; the system has recently been acknowledged as strained. 

Our county’s fire and EMS base is approximately 80% volunteer. In many cases, responders must travel to stations before apparatus can be deployed.

Response times are affected by traffic congestion, roadway design, and call volume. Increased residential density will raise demand for services while also introducing potential delays due to worsened traffic conditions.

This raises concerns about whether emergency response can remain timely and reliable under increased pressure. We believe it prudent to have these critical problems both studied and remedied before adding development.

6) Development, Land Use, and the Comprehensive Plan

Bedford County’s Comprehensive Plan emphasizes the importance of balancing growth with preservation of the community’s character, natural resources, and infrastructure capacity.

The Plan reflects a commitment to preserving the rural character, natural resources, and quality of life that define Bedford County. It also states:

“Because of its ability to produce high sustainable yields with minimal effort and ecological damage, prime farmland should remain as farmland and not be developed.”

The Plan further supports housing flexibility only in areas served by adequate infrastructure. However, the concerns outlined above raise serious questions about whether that standard has been met in this case.

At the same time, the County’s own data shows that growth pressures are substantial and concentrated, particularly in the Forest area. 

7) Cumulative Concern

Considered together, these concerns represent a substantial increase in density without clear evidence that impacts have been fully reevaluated.

Our Request

We respectfully ask the Bedford County Board of Supervisors to:

•  Delay approval of the Townes of Perrowville development 
•  Require independent verification of traffic impacts 
•  Ensure full VDOT review without reliance on waivers or exceptions 
•  Confirm water and sewer capacity for the current plan 
•  Review zoning calculations for consistency and compliance 
•  Evaluate fire, EMS, and law enforcement capacity, including response times 
•  Require updated analysis that accounts for nearby development impacts 
•  Evaluate school capacity, redistricting impacts, and transportation demands

Growth is not the issue. Responsible evaluation of growth is.

We respectfully urge the Board to ensure that this proposal aligns with infrastructure capacity, public safety needs, and the County’s long-standing commitment to preserving its character before moving forward.

By signing this petition, I confirm that I am a resident of Bedford County or the surrounding affected area and support the concerns outlined above regarding the Townes of Perrowville development.