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      • Is Rockwool “toxic”?
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      • Our Schools
      • Our Water
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    • Solar Energy Details
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The Orchard and NorthPort Station

What Happened to NorthPort?

The City of Ranson, Jefferson County, WV was a leader in the “Sustainable Cities” movement before Rockwool.

We received over $1 million in planning grants and assistance from three federal agencies to integrate affordable housing, economic development, and transportation to build a livable community. Ranson was one of only two cities, of 1,700 who applied, to get all three grants: DOT, EPA and HUD.

The NorthPort Feasibility Plan that showcased the idea of a multi-modal community featuring 1,000 homes (single family, townhomes and apartments), 10 parks and 800,000 sq ft of office and commercial space.

What happened? Rockwool came to town and secretly negotiated a rezoning application giving them an extra 100 acres of industrial land, a Land Use Restriction Agreement and a Right to First Refusal.  Rockwool has removed the legal avenues to build homes at Jefferson Orchards.  No homes means no mixed-use community built around mass transit connecting us to Washington, D.C.

CCAR/JCV Community Sourced Website Submit Additions or Edits: jcvwebteam@gmail.com

2018
September 16
TOXICAgriculture

TOXIC Agriculture – Focus on farm life and all it entiles with a special section deducated to: wine production, horses, and bees. Need Lead Info Collector: ______________

Categories Northport, RockwoolTags northport-timeline
May 1
Ranson Planning Commission aprpoves Rockwool Site Plan for the construction of the facility

May 2018: The approval of the vertical site plan (full engineering of the facility) will be used for the building permit application. 2018-05-07 Planning Commission – Public Agenda (site plan appoval)

Categories Northport, RockwoolTags northport-timeline
April 28
West Virginia will pay Maryland $1.5 million to keep MARC service for a year. Then what?

April 28, 2018: The future of MARC is uncertain. Maryland, which operates the MARC system, threatened to end West Virginia service in Summer of 2018, unless WV paid $3.2 million to continue it (the cost to provide service).  MTA CEO Kevin Quinn says WV has never subsidized the service. In May…
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Categories Northport, RockwoolTags northport-timeline
April 11
HEPMPO 2045 Long Range Transporation Plan Adopted

April 11, 2018: In addition to vehicle replacements, there are several other capital projects planned for the HEPMPO region, including: Northport Station: a new MARC transit station and EPTA bus transfer center on the Jefferson Orchards property abutting Route 9 and the CSX railroad line. The station is proposed to replace…
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Categories Northport, RockwoolTags northport-timeline
March 8
Charles Town Comprehensive Plan Adopted

March 8, 2018: The City’s conservation efforts must go further than just conserving farmland. Charles Town can take action to ensure that its soil, land, water, wilderness, and air are protected for future generations. This requires the City to partner with various organizations, state/federal agencies, and its residents. 2018-Feb-CharlesTownComprehensive Plan-compressed

Categories Northport, RockwoolTags northport-timeline
February 1
West Virginia & Maryland MARC Train 5-year Agreement Ends

February 1, 2018: MARC has been operating trains in West Virginia since the 1970s under a series of intergovernmental agreements between the  states. WV and MD have been in negotiations since October when the 5 year agreement between the 2 states ended. MTA has tried over the years, including when the…
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Categories Northport, RockwoolTags northport-timeline
2017
October 18
Ranson Planning Commission approves Rockwool Site Plan for the site work and grading

October 18, 2017: The approval of the horizontal site plan (footprint of building) will be used for the building grading permit application. 2017-10-18 Planning Commission – Full Agenda-1068-compressed

Categories Northport, RockwoolTags northport-timeline
October 3
PILOT Agreement is Signed

October 3, 2017: PILOT stands for “Payment in Lieu of Taxes.” Typically PILOT agreements appear to be haphazard, secretive, and calculated in an ad-hoc manner. What’s more, payments in lieu of taxes typically generate relatively little revenue, as a share of overall municipal budgets, and often are not a reliable…
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Categories Northport, RockwoolTags northport-timeline
October 1
Rockwool and the Owners of Jefferson Orchard records a Land Use Restriction Agreement

October 2017: Rockwool and the Owners of Jefferson Orchard records a Land Use Restriction Agreement prohibiting any type of residential dwelling on the remaining land in Jefferson Orchard that is not zoned Industrial (212 acres of land planned for Transit Oriented Development). With the recording of this agreement – no…
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Categories Northport, RockwoolTags northport-timeline
September 5
City Council Approves Rezoning of Jefferson Orchards

September 2017: This rezoning increases the total acreage under Special District-Industrial by an additional 100 acres, taking away one the two Villages from the 2012 plan 2017-09-05 City Council – Full Agenda-1062

Categories Northport, RockwoolTags northport-timeline
August 7
Planning Commission Public Hearing on Rezoning and the Land Development Plan & Plat

August 7, 2017: Votes to Recommend Approval to the City Council 2017-08-07 Planning Commission – Full Agenda-1058 (1)

Categories Northport, RockwoolTags northport-timeline
July 18
City Council Meeting (Approval of Ranson-Rockwool MOU and the PILOT Agreement)

July 18, 2017: 1) Ranson City Council Public Hearing on the recommended zoning text amendments as prepared by the Planning Commission. 2) Council approved the execution of a MOU between Rockwool and the City of Ranson with timelines 3) Council approved the excution of the PILOT Agreement (payment in lieu of…
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Categories Northport, RockwoolTags northport-timeline
July 10
Ranson Planning Commission Public Hearing on Zoning Ordinance Amendments

July 10, 2017: Amendments include the addition of the word “stacks” to a list of different parts of a building that do not need to meet building height limits. Planning Commission voted to recommend Approval to the City Council. 2017-07-10 Planning Commission – Full Agenda-1054

Categories Northport, RockwoolTags northport-timeline
July 7
Rockwool Announcement

July 7, 2017: Roxul officials were attracted to final city site in large measure for its access to major highways, water and sewer lines, and future abundant gas and electricity resources. With more than 400 acres, the site also offers considerable room for the company to grow its operations in the…
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Categories Northport, RockwoolTags northport-timeline
June 1
Special District – Industrial Workshop with Planning Commission

June 2017: Special District – Industrial Workshop with Planning Commission 2017-06-05 Planning Commission – Full Agenda-1051 (1)

Categories Northport, RockwoolTags northport-timeline
March 1
Renew the LDPP for Jefferson Orchards (5 year extension)

March 2017: On April 18, 2012 the Planning Commission approved the application of the land development plan and plat for the properties Lakeland Place and Lloyd’s Landing, Jefferson Orchards, and Clay Hill Farm. After 5 years of inactivity, the LDPP expires. During this meeting – the LDPP was approved for a…
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Categories Northport, RockwoolTags northport-timeline
February 1
Rockwool announces that their search for a American location is complete

February 2017: Rockwool announces that their search for a American location is complete 2017-01_EN (Rockwool Annual Report and Expansion Plans)

Categories Northport, RockwoolTags northport-timeline
January 19
Rockwool site selection consultants visit sites suggested by JCDA in the RFP – one of the sites is Jefferson Orchards

January 2017: At the same time Rockwool is meeting with representatives from the City and the JCDA discussing heavy manufacturing at Jefferson Orchards, the 2017 Ranson Residential Market Analysis was completed by Duggal Residential Advisors for the Council and Planning Commission to review

Categories Northport, RockwoolTags northport-timeline
January 1
Rockwool Site Consultants visit Jefferson Orchard same month Ranson Housing Market Analysis is completed

January 2017: At the same time Rockwool is meeting with representatives from the City and the JCDA discussing heavy manufacturing at Jefferson Orchards, the 2017 Ranson Residential Market Analysis was completed by Duggal Residential Advisors for the Council and Planning Commission to review. 2017 – Jan – Ranson-WV-Housing-Study-1.25.17-Reduced-File-Size

Categories Northport, RockwoolTags northport-timeline
2016
September 1
JCDA submitted a proposal in response to Rockwool’s site selection consultant Request for Proposals (RFP)

Fall 2016: The Rockwool project began in the fall of 2016 when the Jefferson County Development Authority responded to Deloitte Consulting who is a site selection consultant. Deloitte was working on behalf of a confidential client (at the time) that was seeking to identify a community and a site to support…
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Categories Northport, RockwoolTags northport-timeline

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