Protect Loudoun Taxpayers
Loudoun faces a $250 million budget shortfall this year, due in part to our fast pace of residential growth in the past decade. 37,000+ new houses* are still in the pipeline and unmet service demands are likely to increase our tax bills. We can't afford to continue approving new houses.

Say No to Braddock Village
Ask the Board of Supervisors to say no to Braddock Village, a proposal for 499 new houses just west of Stone Ridge. Residential growth doesn't pay for itself at the current tax rate, unless a house is assessed at more than $1 million.^ Approving this proposal would affect the tax bills of all county taxpayers. Schools, teachers, fire & rescue, etc., are needed to serve these new houses. 

Oppose Taxpayer Subsidies for Developers
Email or call your legislators** and ask them to oppose SB 768, a sweetheart deal for developers. Then thank Senator Mark Herring for leading the fight to oppose Senate Bill 768 and standing up for taxpayers. Is it fair to ask us to pay even more for new development?

Thank you for standing up for Loudoun County,

Gem Bingol, Piedmont Environmental Council
On behalf of the Campaign for Loudoun's Future

*Based on the 2006 Annual Growth Summary.
^2006 Fiscal Impact Committee report to the Loudoun Board of Supervisors
**Enter your address, then on the results page scroll down and click "Send a Message to my Senator and Delegate." You can also call them at 1-800-889-0229.

Braddock Village is Back: Public Hearing 2/11

Ask the Board of Supervisors to say no to Braddock Village, a proposal for 499 new houses on land currently zoned for only 66 houses. The land is in the Transition Area near Stone Ridge, south of Braddock Road, west of Route 659 relocated, and east of Lightridge Road.

The Board of Supervisors will hold a public hearing for Braddock Village on Monday, February 11, 2008, at 6:30 PM at the County Government Center. You may remember this proposal -- the last Board of Supervisors considered it in December, but didn't vote on it due to a notice violation.

We remain concerned about Braddock Village because:

• The proposal does not match the vision for this area set forth by our Comprehensive Plan.
• The previous Board of Supervisors said no to the Dulles South/Transition Area CPAM, and the surburban style of development it proposed. It would have allowed up to 33,800 new houses in an area with no jobs and little infrastructure. Now the current Board of Supervisors should say no to this rezoning application, which is in the same area of the CPAM.
• Approval of this proposal would set a dangerous precedent for the Transition Area. It could open the whole Transition Area to suburban development.
• We shouldn't have to accept new houses in order to get school sites, parks, and ballfields.
• It would add 499 new houses where only 66 houses are currently allowed, on land behind the airport. Can Route 50 handle even more traffic?
• The Planning Commission recommended denial of Braddock Village in March 2007.
• There are already 37,000+ houses in the pipeline. Does it make sense to continue approving new houses?

We will send more information soon.

Oppose SB 768: A Taxpayer Subsidy for Developers

Thank our Senator Mark Herring for leading the fight against SB 768, and then ask your Senator and Delegate to oppose SB 768. You can also call your legislators at 1-800-889-0229.

Developer lobbyists are trying to pass a bill through the General Assembly that would significantly increase our burden as taxpayers for every new house built. Senate Bill 768 would end the proffer system, which is the way local governments get developers to help pay for roads, schools, and other needs created by new development. The proffer system isn't perfect, but it doesn't make sense to replace it with a system that allows developers to pay up to 50% less.

Your Taxes Shouldn't Subsidize Increased Profit for Developers
This bill, patroned by Senator Watkins of Chesterfield County, would drastically shift the burden of past and future growth onto existing Virginia taxpayers in these ways: The bill would end the proffer system, which is how developers make contributions for rezonings, replacing it with very low impact fees. The impact fees would be capped at $5,000 for most of Virginia and $8,000 in Northern Virginia.

The impact fees would not be paid until building permits are issued, requiring taxpayers to spend tax dollars upfront in order to prepare necessary infrastructure.

The bill will require property tax increases on every homeowner to make up for money not being contributed by builders for infrastructure costs. The increase in the home seller’s Grantor's Tax has been dropped from the bill--meaning the burden will simply shift to the property tax paid by all Virginia homeowners.

Local and State Government Would Be Hit Hard
Capped by the state, the proposed impact fees would be far less than the current value of cash and in-kind proffers, and would be reduced by so many loopholes that they could shrink to virtually nothing. Furthermore, developers could evade these fees by developing in rural areas where impact fees cannot be imposed under this law. The restrictions on proffer contributions and the low fees would mean big reductions in developer contributions for parks, libraries, affordable housing, schools and transportation. The builders were happy to support last year’s huge transportation tax and fee increases on Virginians, but now would reduce their own contribution to the transportation needs that they generate – meaning yet more costs to state taxpayers.

Virginians Want Better Growth Management
SB 768 runs counter to the desires of Virginia voters who want better management of growth. The November 2007 elections were all about growth and its costs in Loudoun and many other Virginia counties. Concern about growth also played a key role in the 2005 Governor’s election.

New Loudoun Board of Supervisors

Find out which district you live in

The Board of Supervisors can be reached by calling their comment line at 703-777-0115 or emailing them at bos@loudoun.gov.

Don't know which district you live in?
There are 3 ways to find out:

1. Type your address into this form from the State Board of Elections. On the results page, your district is listed as "District Name," under polling place address.

2. Look at this map. Or, click on a district map in the table above -- you zoom in to see more detail.

3. If you can't tell by looking at the maps, call the Voter Registration Office at 703-777-0380. They are happy to assist you.

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

Please Help Us Reach You Better
Did this email get tagged as spam? Was the formatting difficult to read? Find this useful? Send comments to: info@loudounsfuture.org

Unsubscribe
To remove your email address from further communications, please send an email with "unsubscribe" in the subject line to:
members@loudounsfuture.org