Letter submitted to Bristow Beat by Jake Klitenic, owner of Madera Farm
Prince William County citizens can have their voices heard at a Planning Commission meeting to decide on the Madera Farm Special Use Permit Mar. 20, 7 p.m. in the McCoart Building at Government Center in Woodbridge.
Before the community voices its opinions, Jake Klitenic, owner of Madera Farm, wanted to clarify issues he believes have been misrepresented through signs and publicly disseminated information.
Claim: This will be a "Stump Dump."
Fact: This is not a stump dump at all.
Opponents to Madera Farm are using a derogatory and misleading slogan to disparage Madera Farm. Opposition has put up signs saying "Stop the Stump Dump" in several places in and around Nokesville.
The problem is that the signs are a lie.
The SUP specifically says,"The site shall not be used for landfill (debris) and/or dump heap use."
Wood materials are produced when new subdivisions are built and from other forestry activities. For example, the neighborhoods springing up near the intersection of Vint Hill Road and Sudley Manor is producing a huge amount of trees and stumps that were cleared for development.
In the past this material would have been dumped in a landfill, buried or burned. We take that material and turn it into mulch and it goes right back into the community.
Claim: There will be too much noise.
Fact: There will be minimal noise for a farm operation and there is already a train running through the property.
The farm equipment we will be using includes front loaders, trucks and the grinders used for making mulch. The sounds from our equipment are dwarfed by the sound of the locomotives that pass throughout every day. The trains can be heard for miles, so the notion that we will be a noise burden is unfair.
Moreover, Madera Farm has extensive noise buffers. The land will have a large forest easement, berms and a natural downslope, which will all minimize noise. The farm is also in an isolated location, with no home within a ¼ mile of the SUP area. In fact, there is no home located within 1000 feet of the entire property – remember the SUP will only be on a small portion of the 125 acres.
Claim: The farm will be a fire hazard.
Fact: Fire control is taken very seriously and prevention is handled in a variety of ways.
Madera Farm will have a huge wet pond - at least an acre - and a dry hydrant that will supply fire equipment in the event of an emergency. There is an access road that doubles as a fire break which encircles the entire SUP area, and it is designed specifically to accommodate fire equipment. Lastly, there will be berms and landscape buffers that will add further layers of protection.
Additionally, Madera Farm has purchased its own water tanker truck to remain on site for fast reactions in the event a mulch fire breaks out.
The area surrounding the property enhances fire prevention as well. The land that Madera Farm sits on is in a natural depression, which helps by keeping wind currents less severe.
Claim: Area roads will become congested with trucks.
Fact: Trucks will be kept only on certain roads to reduce congestion.
We are committed to keeping traffic congestion down. Not only will our trucks be kept on the Route 28 truck route, but we will also be limiting the number of trucks that will be on the farm at any one time. The Special Use Permit allows for an average of 3 trucks per hour maximum. This will go a long way in minimizing the impact to this already busy stretch of Route 28.
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