What Will Happen to Hampton Manor?

The survey marks appeared while I was out of town recently, and I hope they’re not about what I and my neighbors dread: the end of Hampton Manor as we know it. The wooded acreage between the Traveling Trail and the Hampton Manor neighborhood is slated for development. I don’t know the principals behind the project, but enough of the neighborhood crashed their initial fact-finding meeting that they had to move to a larger room. We weren’t invited and only found out through word of mouth. From what we heard at the meeting with the property owner, nothing is set in stone, but I’m suspicious. How will this impact us?

The property owner said she grew up in Hampton Manor and still loves it. All the more reason to work with the neighborhood, not against us. Cutting though this established neighborhood with new entrances and more traffic will destroy it, take my word. That’s not love. This 50+ year-old community is a Winchester icon, with new generations moving in. The streets are active with walkers, dogs, kids and bikes. Don’t force your development entrance through this neighborhood. That’s all we ask.

I’ve lived in Clark County since 2000 and in Hampton Manor for the last three years. I have no City Hall connections, but I do have a connection with this neighborhood, as do the dozens of other families who live here. Who. live. here. Not in New York City. We’ll be here long after you’ve sold out and moved on. You may have roots here, but so do we, and I don’t think yours trump ours.

I don’t begrudge the development, although I mourn the potential loss of more green space within town, when there’s so much land just minutes away. I hope the developers will leave as many trees as they can, especially as a wooded buffer next to Hampton Manor. That’s all it would take. Why not plan an entrance from the beginning of your project that doesn’t damage the integrity of this unique Winchester neighborhood? It seems quite doable. Aerial views show at least two other entrance options that make far more sense.

I ask for transparency, too. Let us know what’s going on. Let’s get the discussion out there. It’s not just Hampton Manor that’s impacted, but also Windridge, Colby Road, Boone Avenue and the already busy (read: dangerous) Bypass intersections at Colby and at Boone.

The neighborhood is awake. We want to protect our community, and I for one don’t want to go down without raising my voice. Our request is simple. Don’t slice through Hampton Manor with more entrances. Don’t run more traffic through the neighborhood or recklessly bulldoze the woods. (Some old growth trees still survive in there.) It seems there are ways to develop that would please everyone, not just the few who want to make a buck and get out of Clark County. You have many choices right now for your project. We don’t and can only hope you really do love and respect Hampton Manor.

Carro Susan Ford

Hampton Manor resident