Holly Acres' Fate Now With Circuit Court

State officials informed Prince William County staff in late November that if Holly Acres mobile home park is allowed to rebuild in the floodway, the county may not be able to get any federal grant assistance for any future natural disaster, could lose its membership to the National Flood Insurance Program and could drive the cost of premiums for all residents who have flood insurance.

Because of those risks, the Board of County Supervisors today in a unanimous vote decided to appeal the Board of Zoning Appeals decision to allow the mobile home park owner to rebuild lots in the floodway. The case is now heading to Circuit Court. 

County attorney Angela Horan said that there may be a way – with county staff, the mobile home park owner's legal counsel and Federal Emergency Management Agency officials – to work on bringing back 14 rebuildable pad sites to Holly Acres and still stay in the insurance program. The board formally adopted the request for the three parties to discuss those sites as a part of its appeal. 

A floodway is the most-dangerous part of the floodplain, and county ordinances prohibit building any habitable structure in a floodway. Prince William County has some of the strongest floodplain policies in the state, according to the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation. The mobile home park existed before these regulations were adopted, which makes it a nonconforming use.

According to a letter from the Virginia Department of Emergency Management to county staff, if the county issues building permits in the floodway to replace destroyed mobile homes, then it could jeopardize its participation in the National Flood Insurance Program.

There could be numerous results from allowing the mobile home park to rebuild, according to the VDEM. Flood insurance holders could be charged an annual fee of $50 and the policy premiums could increase by at least 10 percent or more. 

The worst case scenarios are that the county would lose its NFIP standing, which could prevent the county from getting any federal relief for any future natural disaster—and not just for flooding.  The state’s letter says that the county could become liable for flood claim damages if it is not participating in NFIP. 

“The BZA was unaware of the Commonwealth’s view of the potential consequences of its decision,”

The crux of the mobile home park’s appeal of the Board of County Supervisors decision to not allow any new building in the floodway at Holly Acres and the BZA’s ruling is State Code section 15.2-2307, which states that owners can rebuild or repair any residential or commercial structure if it is damaged or destroyed by natural disaster. But the code also states that any rebuilding must comply with local flood plain regulations adopted as a condition of the NFIP. The county’s local flood plain regulations prohibit the building of any habitable structure in a floodway.

Mark Moorstein, the attorney representing Holly Acres owner Henry Ridge, said state code trumps any local ordinance because of the Dillon Rule. Moorstein sent an email to the press before today's meeting that states the county's assertion that it risks its inclusion in the NFIP if it permits the park owner to rebuild in the floodway is "completely untrue."

"NFIP is set up for new construction, and exempts mobile homes," Moorstein wrote. "The staff report ignores this completely. Further, there is no statement from the state, only a second hand hearsay conveyance of the information. No citation, no authority, no statement. Susan Rolsch's memo to the Board of December 5, page 8, recognizes this in IV(A)(1)(a): 'Noncompliance … may compromise County participation …' The hyperbole surrounding the report, clearly polemical, evidences less of the a neutral "staff" report, than a clear desire to appeal."

Another argument Moorstein has presented is that the county commissioned a watershed study in 2009 that offered several recommendations to mitigate flooding in the Rt. 1 corridor and at Holly Acres. 

The chief recommendation was to replace three undersized culverts, and mainly the CSX culvert that is adjacent to Holly Acres. The study, which specifically mentions Holly Acres, also recommended that the county further research the watershed upstream or it could purchase the Holly Acres mobile home park to remove the nonconforming uses. The study estimated that it would cost $1 million to $2 million to mitigate the flooding there. The study cites previous studies in 1977, 1981 and 1995 that pinpointed the same problems that were causing flooding.

But the county staff report released today states that the cost estimate was not intended to address flood impacts on the Holly Acres property.

“Rather, it addresses the greater watershed impact,” the staff report states. “Reduction of the flood impacts to specific residential or commercial properties in the vicinity of the CSX culvert would require significant additional detailed engineering, which would have to include evaluation of impacts to properties downstream of the culvert.”

The 2009 study also recommended that the county further investigate downstream from the CSX culvert, but no action was ever taken on the report. CSX officials so far have not responded to repeated requests for comment. 

Former 36th district Senate candidate and contractor Tito Munoz said at Tuesday’s meeting that he believes more could be done.

“As a builder, I think the county has not done everything possible to do the right thing,” said Munoz during citizens’ time. 

After the Sept, 8 storm, and deemed uninhabitable. The county destroyed all of these mobile homes because county officials said the mobile homes sustained damage that was more than 50 percent of its assessed value.

On Nov. 21, the Board of Zoning appeals unanimously overturned the county’s original decision to not allow Ridge to rebuild in the park. As of Dec. 5, no rebuilding has occurred at Holly Acres.

Henry Ridge, who owns Holly Acres, said during an interview Monday that Hurricane Agnes in 1972 brought 18.2 inches of water into Holly Acres, which displaced people in about 16 homes. Ridge said the residents were back in their homes that within three weeks because they were allowed to make necessary repairs to prevent further damage from flooding, which was not allowed this time around after Tropical Storm Lee.

Ridge said Tropical Storm Lee dropped nearly 12 inches of rainfall and had residents been allowed back into their homes to make necessary repairs, at least 10 homes could have been saved. To Ridge, the issue goes beyond safety; he wants to be able to rebuild so people can move back in. Ridge said he believes the county is looking down on the residents of the mobile home park.

“They look at them than less than human it seems like,” Ridge said. “Holly Acres didn’t create the flood. We need to look at the source of the problem. There’s undertones here. Man can’t look up in another man’s heart to see what his motivation is." 

Before voting on this issue, Chairman Corey Stewart addressed the board about the difficult decision ahead of them.

“This is a classic case of the heart versus the head and it is a difficult one. The heart tells you it wants to see the people back in their neighborhoods and their homes back by Christmastime,” said Stewart. “Your head tells you if you do that you’ll put them in jeopardy."

Woodbridge district supervisor Frank Principi said that it was not safe to allow homes to be put back into a floodway. “Our first priority is not only health and safety of the residents but also of the first responders," said Principi.