The latest round of amendments to Stone­house faces a public hearing at the Planning Commission on Wednesday evening. It's the fourth time since September the hearing has been scheduled.

This time, developer David Guy of GS Stonehouse Green Land expects clear sailing to build more than 3,500 homes and almost 3 million square feet of commercial space.

GS Stonehouse Green Land is the third owner in the 16-year history of the project. Several factors offer insight on how to get a project approved these days.

The developer has complied with suggestions by planners and set a course for others to emulate.

Environmental. "We are particularly pleased with the environmental improvements they have made over the original master plans," Kadec said in an e-mail. "They have even agreed to include benefits originally proposed (but not implemented) by the earlier developer for Stonehouse Glen."

Water. The company has offered more than $15,000 in cash for the county to buy water quality monitoring equipment and to build three monitoring stations, as well as almost $5,000 a year to fund water sampling.

Educational. Company officials have also offered to include a low-impact development learning center within the main recreational facility to teach residents how to keep their properties eco-friendly.

Graywater. The developer is looking to make use of rainwater and reclaimed water. If possible, the company plans to store and treat reclaimed water for re-use to irrigate common areas.

Traffic. GS Stonehouse has revamped the traffic plan within the compound because homeowners are more likely to drive to Williamsburg and the Peninsula than Richmond, as originally thought. The reworked plan scraps the idea of a Route 30 off-ramp from Interstate 64 and abandons plans to use Ware Creek Road. Instead, the company hopes to build an intersection at Bridge Road and Rochambeau and widen Rochambeau to four lanes between Bridge and Croaker roads.

Workforce. The weakest leg of the amended proffers may be affordable housing. GS Stonehouse has proffered $1,000 per unit for a total of $3.65 million in cash contributions and has agreed to build at least 125 workforce units at an average price of $250,000.

Senior planner Ellen Cook noted, though, that affordable housing is defined as being priced at or below $160,000 -- not $250,000 -- and that she was uncomfortable with affordable being computed by an average.

"The proffer as worded allows for the possibility of selling one or two homes at artificially very low prices, which would allow the rest of the units to be sold for more than $250,000, and potentially a great deal more than that amount," she wrote in a staff report.

Schools. The development is also expected to draw more than 1,500 new students to the area, which GS Stonehouse Green Land has addressed by altering the school proffers and offering $7.29 million in cash. Originally the planned development called for two school sites. The amended proffer allows for one 113-acre site for both an elementary and middle school and will also host four softball fields and an eight-court tennis complex.

Amenities. The developer has given up plans for a second golf course and a number of pools, but has added a sand volleyball court, a community garden and canoe launches. GS Stonehouse has also reserved two boat slips for county emergency personnel or for the Coast Guard and set aside 10 acres for county use. Plans remain for the preservation of Stone House historical site and 11 "pocket parks" scattered throughout the development

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