Project Summary
Timmons Group worked with the Southampton County Industrial Development Authority (IDA) to develop an environmental land plan for a 492-acre parcel zoned for industrial development. The majority the property was historically used for no till soybean and cotton production, but there were 150 plus acres that remained wooded and contained high-value wetland and upland communities.
Keeping the County’s overall objective of developing an industrial park with over two million square feet of warehousing or light production and rail access in mind, Timmons Group worked to develop a sustainable site development approach that both minimized and mitigated environmental impacts. We identified a portion of the site adjacent to the wooded communities that was suitable for wetland creation and stream restoration. Through master planning efforts, we recommended that Southampton County devote 238 acres (containing the 150 plus acres of high value wetland and uplands) to the development of a wetland and stream mitigation bank. The bank not only offsets impacts from the Industrial Park that cannot be compensated as part of the Park’s development, but also produce a source of income for the County to fund the Industrial Park infrastructure development.
The Industrial Park was sited over the portions of the property containing low-quality isolated farmed wetlands and emergent ditches that had been highly altered during fifty years of farming activities. We conducted a pre-application site visit with the US Army Corps of Engineers (COE) and the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) to discuss the project and measures being taken to site the Industrial Park in the most environmentally sensible area all while avoiding the high quality WUS present on the project.