Ice skaters are one step closer to seeing a rink return to Central Virginia after the Greene County Board of Supervisors approved a special use permit for the project Tuesday night.
Supervisors voted 4-1 to approve the permit for Charlottesville-based Ice Park Holdings LLC, which will allow developers to proceed with their plans to construct a rink off U.S. 29 in Ruckersville.
“This is a positive enhancement for Ruckersville,” said Chairman Steve Catalano.
Supervisor Francis McGuigan was the lone vote in opposition to the project, citing the county’s aging water infrastructure which has prompted water main breaks and boil-water advisories for years now.
Plans presented to the county call for a 32,000-square-foot facility on Deerfield Drive with a 200-by-80 foot rink, a restaurant, showers and 200 spectator seats. Ice Park Holdings’ proposal says the rink could accommodate 50 to 100 visitors every day and would be suited to host ice skating lessons, hockey leagues for all ages, free-form skating, curling and birthday parties.
“University of Virginia and James Madison University have inquired about using the space, bringing additional business and tourism opportunities,” Greene County Planning Director Jim Frydl told the board at its Tuesday meeting.
Frydl and other officials have emphasized that the rink would diversify business in the county and prime Greene for long-term growth.
“The concept plan fits within the Comprehensive Plan for future land growth, which calls for a mix of residential and commercial use,” Frydl told the board.
McGuigan said that growth and development, however, are already taxing the county’s water supply. Water, he noted, is something ice rinks need by necessity.
“We’ve been told we have a water crisis. I find it disturbing we’re not considering water,” McGuigan told his colleagues on the board.
Jim Veale said the water supply had been taken into consideration. Veale is a member of the Friends of the Charlottesville Ice Park, a group dedicated to returning an ice rink to Central Virginia after Charlottesville’s Main Street Arena was demolished in 2018 after 22 years in operation.
“If the rink is fully booked and used in one-hour cycles, the ice is recycled and scraped in between sessions with the Zamboni machine," Veale said. "It resurfaces the ice, and it’s not a lot of water used to resurface the ice. It’s the first time the ice is laid down that will take the most water, but that will take only a few inches of water. It’s similar to filling a shallow swimming pool, once. Ice is just a few inches thick. Only in the case of special circumstances will the rink need to be redone completely."
Frydl added that other businesses would actually consume much more water.
“When compared to major restaurant chains or large retail stores allowed by-right in this district, many other uses in this area would have higher water and traffic usage and still be allowed by-right. We didn’t identify anything particular that would be greater usage than is already allowed,” he said.
Developers still have plenty to do before an anticipated fall groundbreaking.
“The next step is for the applicant to create and submit an engineered site plan and building permit. Once those are approved, then construction can begin,” Frydl told The Daily Progress after the meeting.
Source: www.dailyprogress.com