1	Dulles South Area Community Meeting Citizens to Save the Transition Area June 2, 2005
2	Agenda Mission Objective of Meeting Comprehensive Plan Dulles South CPAMs Greenvest Proposal Misperception Greenvest Marketing Conclusion What can you do?
3	Citizens to Save the Transition Area Mission Statement To foster reasonable and responsible growth in the Dulles South Transition Area To keep the current Comprehensive Plan or begin a study for a new one with extensive public input
4	Objective of Meeting To inform residents about the potential impact of six developer proposals (CPAMs or Comprehensive Plan Amendments) To provide a call to action
5	Comprehensive Plan Comprehensive Plan is a policy document that dictates the desired growth for the county. Comprehensive Plan is the long term vision for the County: changes should come with significant public input. Comprehensive Plan was developed with three years of public input and research.
6	Comprehensive Plan Amendments (CPAMs) Developers have submitted six proposals in Dulles South to change the County’s Growth Plan (called CPAMs or Applicant-Initiated Comprehensive Plan Amendments) Developers want to rezone the Dulles South Transition Area from approximately 1 unit per acre to 3.5 units per acre—similar to Ashburn Village, South Riding and other suburban subdivisions.
7	What does this mean? Planned density goes from 5,000 units to 22,000 housing units 22,000 units= 60,000 new people
8	74% of the Land Would be Developed
9	Size is Almost Double the Town of Leesburg
10	Required Services 11 New Schools 7 elementary schools 2 middle schools 2 high schools 542 new teachers 81 new paid professional fire and rescue personnel 126 new sheriff’s office personnel
11	Total Costs 11 new schools= $355.8 million in construction costs $97.8 million a year in operating costs Total annual operating costs=$162.3 million (school and non-school)
12	Impact - Traffic 200,000 more trips per day Minimal improvements to Route 50 Route 50 East of Gum Spring Road hit hardest Gridlock on Route 606 and Route 15
13	Impact - Education Frequent school boundary changes Overcrowding 11 new schools mean higher operating costs Not enough highly qualified teachers to keep up with rate of growth
14	Impact - Taxes Property taxes will increase if we keep increasing the rate of growth Each child costs $10,000 a year to educate but each household pays less than $10,000 a year in property taxes and many families have more than one child To break even, every single family detached home will need to be assessed at $950,000 Housing is a money loser for the County!
15	Greenvest Proposal would create the most impact
16	Greenvest Density Largest proposal encompassing 4,200 acres Approximately 15,000 units 6,600 single family homes 4,500 townhomes 3,900 condominiums Projected population of roughly 40,000
17	To Put the Size in Perspective… South Riding will be 5,715 units Ashburn Village will be 5,055 units Brambleton will be 6,240 units Kirkpatrick Farms will be 1,417 units Stone Ridge will be 2,792 units Greenvest would be the largest development in the Mid-Atlantic region!
18	Greenvest CDAs $415 million in infrastructure costs will be financed through bonds Bonds are repaid through special assessments imposed on residents in the Community Development Authorities (CDAs) CDA Assessment is in addition to the County’s property taxes, e.g., $2,000 a year for a single family detached home for the life of the bond or 30 years Annual assessments are subject to change, may increase and are NOT tax deductible
19	Issues with CDA Proposal Greenvest Claims CDAs finance improvements without cost to existing taxpayers in the County Bonds will be issued by CDA not Loudoun County CDA will not affect the County’s premier Aaa credit rating Facts CDAs do not pay for operating costs only construction costs. Growth does not pay for growth! Loudoun County will be an indirect guarantor CDA debt would be counted against the county as overlapping debt
20	Issues with CDA Proposal Greenvest Claims County has no responsibility for repayment of bonds Repayment of debt thru proffer contributions from developments that will derive benefit but are not in CDA boundary Facts Big three rating agencies expect the county to step in and fulfill the obligation should default or repayment troubles occur Use of County proffers to pay Greenvest costs is unlikely. CDA boundary is unclear and Greenvest has not ruled out including existing properties.
21	What does this mean to you? County taxes will increase to pay for $111.8 million in annual school and non-school operating costs incurred from Greenvest proposal alone Existing residents who derive benefit from the improvements could be included in the CDA boundary Loudoun County’s premier credit rating could be lowered which means higher interest rates and taxes to all residents If the County abolishes the CDA under mounting pressure from residents, debt will then have to be repaid by all taxpayers
22	Greenvest Proposal and Schools Projected number of new school children=8,202 6 new schools are required: 5 elementary schools 1 middle school 1 high school
23	Issues with School Proposal 5 elementary schools are required but only 4 are being proposed by Greenvest Construction cost estimates fall approximately $55.3 million short Greenvest will oversee the design and construction of the school buildings and is responsible for cost over-runs What construction standards will Greenvest use and will these standards meet the County’s? Will Greenvest cut corners to contain costs?
24	Greenvest Proposal and Roads $192 million for regional road improvements Route 659 (Gum Spring Road)-relocate and create 4 lanes Route 621 (Evergreen Mill Road)-4 lanes from Route 659 to Arcola development entrance Route 50-4 lanes from end of current 4 lanes to Broad Run Village development (Watson Road) Braddock Road-4 lanes from Route 659 to Lenah development entrance
25	Issues with Road Proposal Construction cost estimate is short by $112 million Used VDOT not Northern Virginia estimates Greenvest is only making road improvements that are needed for their properties No Route 50 improvements east of Route 659 or west of Watson Road No Route 15 or Route 606 improvements
26	Parks and Recreation Greenvest has only proposed $10 million for one 200 acre regional park Average cost for a regional park of that size is $20 million Greenvest properties will require 84 athletic fields at a cost of $50 million Who will pay for these fields? 2 recreation centers will need to be built at a cost of $50 million Who will pay for these centers?
27	Misperception We can’t afford by-right development Fact: County pays for by-right services and infrastructure with or without rezonings For example: 2,800 homes are currently allowed by-right on the 4,200 acres where Greenvest wants to build 15,000 homes 15,000-2,800=12,200 units that Greenvest would owe the County in proffers (or CDA bonds in this case) County has obligation to pay for the 2,800 homes regardless
28	Comparison of Rezoning vs. By-Right Costs
29	Rezonings Cost More 15,000 units vs. 2,800 units Taxpayers would pay millions in annual operating costs to cover teachers, deputies and emergencies workers for 12,200 additional homes A minimum of $224 million in infrastructure costs allocated to the taxpayer as a result of the rezonings* Not to mention the cost to our quality of life, rezonings would add 200,000 additional car trips per day
30	Greenvest Marketing
31	Road Brochure Key Message: CDA bonds will pay for the needed roads up front Critique: Proposed roads are mainly connector roads not commuter roads Connector roads such as Braddock do not need to be 4 lanes. Four lanes are only required with high density development. Route 50 improvements are insufficient to handle the volume generated by these developments. The 200,000 additional daily car trips will cause gridlock.
32	School Brochure Key Message: Greenvest will build, design and fund the needed schools before overcrowding sets in. Critique: Greenvest is not funding schools, property owners in the CDA are through special assessments Greenvest’s proposal is one school short which could lead to overcrowding with 8,202 new students Greenvest should not be building and designing our schools. The County has high facilities and programmatic standards and no parent would want to send their child to a substandard school.
33	Workforce Brochure Key Message: Greenvest will provide affordable housing for the County’s workforce Critique: 12.5% of the units will be set aside as workforce housing Price reduction is 75% of market value or $450,000 for a single family home at 2005 prices. Is this affordable housing for a teacher or firefighter? Housing costs will most likely increase because projected delivery is 2007 Assessment would increase burden by up to $2000 annually on top of taxes!
34	Conclusion The Dulles South Transition Area lacks the infrastructure and services that would be required for a population almost double the size of Leesburg. If these CPAMs are approved, residents will experience more traffic, higher taxes and a lower quality of life.
35	What can you do? Attend PEC’s Community Visioning Session on June 8^th at Arcola Elementary School Attend and speak at Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors public hearings Write the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors Write letters to the editor of local papers Inform your friends and neighbors Make a donation in support of our campaign