Five Minute Action:
Ask Supervisors to Reconsider Rt 50 Proposal

There is a call from the Dulles South community and at least one member of the Board of Supervisors to reconsider the recent approval of Dulles Landing, a proposal for strip mall development along Route 50.

More than enough retail is already zoned for the Route 50 area and is waiting to be built, according to a recent county retail study. But the Board of Supervisors recently approved Dulles Landing and Arcola Center-The Shops, totaling an additional 1.5 million square feet. For more information, please see the chart below and read the letter below from Families for Dulles South.

Ask the Board of Supervisors to reconsider their approval of Dulles Landing. Community concerns about Dulles Landing include:

1. Current businesses are struggling in South Riding and Stone Ridge.  Excess retail and a Wal-Mart Supercenter will put them out of business.  More than 2.8 million square feet of retail is approved (including Dulles Landing) for the Route 50 corridor, while only 1.4 million square feet can be supported by 2030.

2. No traffic impact study has been done for this proposal. Wal-Mart Supercenters typically bring 20,000 daily car trips.  With the recently approved Arcola Center-The Shops adding 20,000 daily car trips, this could mean 40,000 additional daily car trips on Route 50 and Route 606.  Route 50 currently has 30,000 daily car trips.

3. We need high quality jobs. The recently-approved Arcola/Route 50 CPAM called for well designed office and retail uses on this site. The Dulles Landing proposal would change this land to regional and strip mall retail, including big box stores -- and no office space.

Letter from Families for Dulles South

Dear Neighbors,

We want you to be aware about the retail situation on Route 50.  Target, TJ Maxx/Homegoods and Lowe's are coming in The Arcola Center-The Shops which was recently approved.  Phase II of The Arcola Center will bring an upscale retail center like Fairfax Corner called Main Street.  Home Depot is coming in South Riding.  Other retail centers that have been approved but are unbuilt are Gum Spring Village, Avonlea Plaza and East Gate near Poland Road.  This brings the total approved retail to more than 2.8 million square feet.  To give you an idea how much retail this is, the Dulles Town Center is 1,538,800 square feet.

One of the applications that was recently approved is called Dulles Landing.  The Dulles Landing application is 80 acres adjacent to The Arcola Center-The Shops and along Route 50 at the intersection of Route 606.  This application is 100% retail, a strip mall that would include a Super Wal-Mart.  The reason we am highlighting this one is the Board of Supervisors plans to reconsider the application this Tuesday.    

We think the county can do much better than the Dulles Landing application.  We were promised an attractive gateway into Loudoun County along Route 50.  Most people I have spoken with about this would rather see businesses that can provide higher paying jobs closer to home and can generate more business tax revenue to the County (so our personal property taxes don’t continue to increase so drastically).   A retail market analysis conducted by the county concluded that the Route 50 corridor can support 1.4 million square feet of retail by 2030.  We have one big box strip mall with The Arcola Center-The Shops.  Do we need two? 

If you are concerned about the amount of retail that is being proposed, please e-mail the Board of Supervisors and ask them to reconsider the Dulles Landing application at bos@loudoun.gov (include your name and address).  Timing is tight so your e-mails would need to be sent before Tuesday.  Happy 4th of July!

Sincerely,
Families for Dulles South

--Campaign for Loudoun's Future

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Together, We're Fighting to Protect the Quality of Life in Loudoun

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