The Fredericksburg City Council on Tuesday night unanimously approved on first reading two ordinances related to the Jeremiah Community supportive housing project, signaling that the planned 31.7-acre development championed by Micah Ecumenical Ministries and SupportWorks Housing (formerly Virginia Supportive Housing) will move forward.
A pair of resolutions, including a special-use permit for institutional housing, will be voted on at the Jan. 14 city council meeting, along with the second reading for both ordinances. But councilors and Mayor Kerry Devine said Tuesday that they plan to approve those measures.
“I think that this has been the long game, and all of the literal years have kind of boiled down to this one moment,” Micah Executive Director Meghann Cotter told the Free Press on Wednesday morning. “What happened last night is not just a vote; it’s the culmination of community leaders coming to a place where they’re making a decision that we can and should be.”
Tuesday’s votes came at the conclusion of a nearly three-hour public hearing, during which a majority of commenters voiced support for the project.
Mary Washington Healthcare Senior Vice President Xavier Richardson said that the healthcare nonprofit remains a committed partner in the project. MWHC was initially listed as a co-applicant on the project but was not able to sign proffers as the hospital system is not technically an owner of the development.
“We are very, very, very much supportive of this effort,” Richardson said.
Bryan Stelmok, president of the Central Park Townhomes Association, reiterated his board’s opposition to the project as planned, insisting that Roffman Road and Bakersfield Lane be connected per the city’s small area plans.
While Stelmok acknowledged that the majority of Jeremiah Community residents won’t have vehicles, he argued that the expansive support services they require will add traffic to the adjacent neighborhood.
“All of that traffic is going to come out of Roffman Road and cut through our neighborhood to get to the Wicklow [Drive] light,” he said.
Stelmok also noted that Ward 4, where the project will be constructed, consists predominantly of low-income, tax-credit housing.
“We are putting this project into the most burdened part of the community as is,” he said. “How are we going to add more burden to that by not connecting this road? That’s all we’ve asked for.”
Some of the most pointed comments came from Devine. The mayor said that she has taken into consideration the various concerns raised during the public process, which consisted of five public hearings including Tuesday’s — plus a city council work session.
“The original MOU referred to 30-50 units, and now we’re at 109 units,” said Devine, referring to a 2022 memorandum of understanding entered into among the city, Micah Ecumenical, Virginia Supportive Housing and MWHC.
“I think we need to understand that there is still concern about how this plays out,” she added. “We are responsible for the specifics of this project.”
Specifically, Devine stressed the need for a community center to be in place for the first phase of residential units, which would number 40 single and duplex small homes.
“I think housing people there without the supports is potentially a real detriment to the long-term success of the project,” Devine said.
If the city council passes the remaining four votes on Jan. 14, the next step for Jeremiah Community is site planning. That process could take six to nine months, Cotter said.
“I don’t want to get too hopeful,” she said, “but a really big thing happened last night.”
Duffy announces resignation
Toward the conclusion of Tuesday’s meeting, Tim Duffy choked back tears as he announced his resignation as Ward 3 councilor.
“Tonight is my last council meeting,” said Duffy, who has served since 2014. “I find myself in a situation where some things have happened with my family that are kind of overwhelming.”
Duffy said the prostate cancer he was originally diagnosed with in 2019 has returned, and that that’s one of the factors behind his decision.
“I need to re-prioritize some things. My family needs me, and I need them,” he said.
Duffy’s resignation is effective Jan. 1, Devine said, and the city will advertise the process to fill the Ward 3 seat he’s vacating. After Duffy finished speaking, his fellow councilors and Devine migrated over to his spot behind the dais to embrace him.
“I didn’t think I’ve cried at a council meeting in a long time, if ever,” Devine said.
Xavier Richardson is a member of the Free Press board. Meghann Cotter is a member of the Free Press journalism advisory committee.
