Press Release

For Immediate Release:
November 29, 2004

FOR MORE INFORMATION:
Laura Olsen, CSG 202-244-4408 or 202-320-4578
Andrea McGimsey: 703-726-6046 or 703-477-4722

13,767 Loudoun Voters Tell Elected Officials Don't Double the Size of Loudoun

The Campaign for Loudoun’s Future released information on the 13,767 petition signatures from voters opposing proposals by developers to double the size of Loudoun County. The petition signatures were gathered by volunteers at the polls on Election Day.

“We took the map and a petition to the voters and 13,767 voters clearly said –‘Say no to these developers. Don't double the size of Loudoun. Hold on to the existing plan and focus on current traffic, school and neighborhood needs.’ The Planning Commission was clearly out of step with voters. Thousands of citizens are asking the Supervisors to pay more attention to their constituents,” noted Andrea McGimsey with the Campaign for Loudoun's Future.

Anna Chamberlain, a voter in the Broad Run District, said, “I signed the petition because my supervisor promised to better manage growth during the election last year. I certainly hope our supervisors don’t think these proposals -- proposals that the county staff thought should be rejected -- are a better way to manage growth.”

Volunteer Petition Drive
Over 100 volunteers with maps of the development projects and flyers collected signatures at 36 of the 52 polls in Loudoun County. The signatures were gathered mostly in eastern election districts and precincts and not fully countywide. The number of signatures collected was limited only by the number of volunteers, polls covered and amount of time the volunteers could spend at each polling place.

“People were signing the petition with enormous enthusiasm,” said Glenn Gillis, a post office worker who lives in the Potomac District and gathered signatures at the polling place at Algonkian Elementary School. “With more volunteers at my polling place, I think 95% of voters would have signed the petition.”

“We weren’t able to be at every poll, and many were only covered part of the day. But the response was the same at each location -- overwhelming interest in signing the petition. Nearly every voter I spoke to signed the petition, but I wasn’t able to talk to even half of the people there,” said McGimsey who was at her polling place, Broad Run High School in Ashburn.

Signatures Match Votes in Last Election

The high volume of signatures indicates the depth of feeling about growth issues and priorities in Loudoun County. In each district, the number of petition signers is 4 to10 times the margin between candidates in last year’s elections for Board of Supervisors. In two districts, more people signed the petition than voted for either candidate.

“The growth issues in Loudoun clearly cross all political boundaries. People are very concerned about what the Board might decide,” said Laura Olsen of the Coalition for Smarter Growth. “With only partial coverage of the polls, in nearly every district the number of petition signatures gathered by volunteers is near or surpasses the amount of votes candidates received in last year’s election.”

More petition signatures were gathered in the Arcola precinct, which covers Brambleton, Kirkpatrick Farms, StoneRidge and the rural areas east of Route 15, in the Dulles district than any other precinct the county --1,053 voters at that precinct signed the petition.

Democracy in Action
Darrell Schwalm, of Sterling, volunteered at the polls with the petition because he is concerned about the manner by which these decisions are happening. He said, “The amount I pay for taxes keeps going up every year and yet the community I live in, Sterling, gets almost nothing in return. I believe it is wrong for the Board of Supervisors to change the comprehensive plan through the back door by approving amendments and settling frivolous court cases allowing tens of thousands of additional homes to be built.”

Schwalm was also concerned that most people didn’t know about these proposals. He noted, “Many people I talked with were surprised and outraged about the proposals and grateful that I was there with information. They are resentful of developers who pack houses onto lots, contribute tens of thousands of dollars to pro-development politicians, and then walk away with millions of dollars in profits.”

The petition, directed to Loudoun public officials, asks them to say no to the 42,000 new houses proposed by developers and the associated 400,000 additional car trips it would bring, and to prioritize existing road and school needs while protecting the county plan and laws that put reasonable limits on future growth.

People can still sign the petition on the web at: www.LoudounsFuture.org and the group will continue collecting signatures at additional events in the next few months before submitting the final petition to the Board of Supervisors.

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The Campaign for Loudoun’s Future is a network of individual citizens and community based organizations deeply concerned over the impact of the 20 proposed comprehensive plan amendments on our communities and quality of life.

Our membership consists of active citizens and local organizations. These organizations include: Audubon Naturalist Society, Citizens for a Better Leesburg, Coalition for Smarter Growth, Eastern Loudoun Voters, Eastern Loudoun School Association, Goose Creek Association, Gum Springs Regional Homeowners Association, Loudoun Wildlife Conservancy, Mount Zion Church Preservation Association, Piedmont Environmental Council, Preservation Society of Loudoun County & the River Creek Regional Homeowners Association.

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At www.LoudounsFuture.org, You can find:

  • Maps showing the location and size of the 20 requested density increases and their relation to the Western transportation corridor

  • Initial assessment of the traffic the proposals will generate