The Catholic Mission of Crozet (Our Lady of the Rosary) is looking to purchase 11.32 wooded acres on Half Mile Branch Road, near the intersection of Hillsboro Road, in the historic village of Yancey Mills for the purpose of constructing an outsized church building(s) and parking lot.

*UPDATE* In a Facebook message on July 6, 2021, Rev. Msgr. Timothy Keeney, Pastor for Our Lady of the Rosary, said:

"We want to be able to have a master plan to have a 600-seat church so that if we ever grew to 1000 families, with a few Masses, 2-3 Masses, we'll be able to cover that size parish." [see full video at https://fb.watch/v/fYG8-5TN7/]

The scale, scope, and location of this proposal would:

- Exacerbate existing traffic problems: already heavy traffic and speeding, and at a hazardous intersection, near the crest of a hill with limited sight distance, presenting extreme safety challenges for the neighborhood, pedestrians, cyclists, and community at large—particularly on Saturday evenings and Sunday mornings (typical times for services) when hundreds of automobiles travel the same country road on their way to visit vineyards, orchards, parks, etc.

- Adversely impact the rural, historic character of the village of Yancey Mills, part of the Greenwood-Afton Rural Historic District, listed on the National Register of Historic Places (NRHP Reference #11000258; 15001053).

- Create a parking lot larger than the Harris Teeter parking lot on 250. For comparison, the Hillsboro Baptist Church in Yancey Mills has only 37 spots.

- Cause significant stormwater runoff feeding into the Stockton Creek Water Supply Watershed (Streamsite 02030800, [HUC#] 02080204).

- Fragment or destroy 11 acres of native forest, which is part of a larger swath of interconnected greenspace which serves as a wildlife habitat and migration path.

We sincerely want our Catholic friends and neighbors to find a suitable site to put down roots for their faith community to flourish and grow. However, we believe that the attendant challenges of traffic, access, ecology, infrastructure, character, and community safety that a project of this scale would require make it clear that this is simply not that site.

For the reasons listed above, we, the undersigned, are opposed to the construction of a large church building(s) and parking lot by the Crozet Catholic Church on 11.32 acres of wooded land in the historic village of Yancey Mills.

Please add your name and Join Us in supporting a green, clean, authentic, and SAFE Crozet for now and always.