Press Release
Campaign for Loudoun's Future

For Immediate Release:
June 7, 2006

FOR MORE INFORMATION
Laura Olsen, 202-244-4408 ext. 4#
Andrea McGimsey, 703-726-0646
Maps of Development Proposals
33,724 Units Proposed
Costs of Dulles South Proposals

Residents Urge Passage of the New Rural Zoning Proposal

And Ask Supervisors to Reject Grandfathering Subdivison Proposals Citing Taxes, Traffic, and the Benefits of Loudoun's Rural Economy

Read Statement from Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director, Coalition for Smarter Growth on regional impacts (PDF file)

(Leesburg, VA – June 7, 2006) The Loudoun Board of Supervisors is on the verge of a key decision about the future of Loudoun County that will impact all County residents and the entire region. Two public hearings will be held this week on the proposal to enact new rural zoning rules for Loudoun County. This proposal halts overdevelopment that would overrun the County with traffic, while supporting the County’s thriving rural economy of wineries, bed and breakfasts, equestrian industry, and sheep, cattle, and produce farms.

“The Board of Supervisors has a unique opportunity to protect all taxpayers by approving the new rural zoning proposal as quickly as possible,” said Andrea McGimsey, director of the Campaign for Loudoun’s Future. “By enacting the rural zoning plan, the Board of Supervisors will protect the County’s burgeoning rural economy, eliminate more than 30,000 residential units from the County’s current zoning, and take nearly 300,000 potential daily vehicle trips off our already clogged highways.”

“The rural zoning proposal is a sensible compromise fiscally, socially, politically, and environmentally that will sustain our growing rural economy. I congratulate the Board majority for coming this far over the past year,” said Malcolm Baldwin, a Lovettsville property owner who has a vineyard and raises sheep on a farm he has owned for 14 years.

Reject Proposals to Grandfather Developer’s Plans

Residents are concerned that the Board of Supervisors may decide to "grandfather" hundreds of subdivision plans that developers hurriedly filed in the last year, so that they would be exempted from the new rules. This legislative decision could lead to more than 1,000 new houses.

“I moved from Fairfax and invested in my home in Ashburn because of Loudoun County’s excellent plans to manage growth. I was dismayed when our elected representatives did not re-advertise and reenact the rural zoning, according to the specifications set out by the Virginia Supreme Court,” said BK Gogia, who leads Ashburn Citizens United, a local citizens group concerned with reasonable growth. "It is imperative that our elected officials get the new rural zoning in place immediately, with no grandfathering, to protect our tax base and get our traffic under control. As the CEO of INFERX, a high tech firm in Tyson’s Corner, good, consistent planning of our communities and reasonable commutes are critical to the well-being of my employees and my business."

“Let the property owners play by the rules and apply for what’s permitted under the new rural zoning,” added Baldwin.

Taxes, Traffic & Loudoun’s Rural Economy

Residents cited three key reasons to enact the rural zoning proposal and abolish the chance of grandfathering developers’ subdivisions: taxes, traffic, and the rural economy.

Taxes

Residential development costs the government more money in services than it makes from taxes. Every new house that is built in Loudoun costs taxpayers in school construction costs, additional police and fire personnel costs, and much more, totaling over $6,000 a year per house. In contrast, rural and agricultural lands actually save taxpayers money, because farms and open space generate more tax revenues than they demand.

"My neighbors and I in Ashburn support the efforts of our elected leaders to adopt rural zoning that protects the rural economy, which is a vital part of Loudoun's tax base. Good rural zoning means less competition for the County’s financial resources. Our taxes are needed for community services like recreation centers and schools in the eastern part of the County," said Sandy Sullivan, resident of Ashburn.

Traffic

In addition, should the rural zoning plan not pass, 300,000 daily car trips would be added to Loudoun’s already congested roads, as new residents drive east to get to jobs.

“Ashburn traffic is out of control,” said McGimsey, a resident of Ashburn. “Because there are very few jobs in rural Loudoun, we know that one house per three acre zoning means many more cars cutting through Ashburn on the way to jobs to the east of us. I urge the Board of Supervisors to do the right thing and enact the new rural zoning as soon as possible.”

Loudoun’s Rural Economy Benefits All Residents

Loudoun’s rural economy not only provides the entire region with locally-raised fruits, meats, and dairy that are becoming ever more important in our increasingly health-conscious society, but also drives tourism.

“The rural west provides, and the east enjoys, tourism, horseback riding, fresh farm meat and produce, and vineyards and wine. A rural west reduces taxes and traffic in the east and west,” said Baldwin. “My sheep don’t go to school or drive SUVs. Rural Loudoun’s private owners also protect historic civil war landscapes for all Loudoun citizens, and all Americans. We in the west want Loudoun’s East to be a livable, enriching community.”

"We need to protect the rural character of our County. I know I enjoy going to western Loudoun, and tourism is an important part of our local economy," said Sandra Chaloux, a suburban resident in Dulles South.

“As a winemaker, my business depends upon customers who want to visit the rural setting that is western Loudoun County. The rural zoning plan allows that to continue,” said Doug Fabbioli, winemaker at Windham Winery and owner of Fabbioli Cellars. “The rural zoning plan needs to be enacted as quickly as possible and the liberal grandfathering should be rejected.”

Background on Loudoun’s Rural Zoning

In March 2005, the Virginia Supreme Court reversed the rural zoning laws on a technicality; instead of a law requiring no more than 1 house per 20 or 50 acres, the zoning temporarily reverted to the previous 1 house per 3 acres, which opened up the possibility of up to 45,876 new houses to be built. After the Loudoun Board of Supervisors refused to re-advertise the rural zoning, hold public hearings and reenact the 2003 zoning, hundreds of developers rushed to try to get site plans approved before rural zoning could be reinstated. An immediate outcry from landowners led to supervisors drafting a new rural zoning ordinance which, although falling short of the effectiveness of the original rural zoning, would do less damage to the rural landscape by allowing only 13,936 new homes.

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