Media Release
Campaign for Loudoun's Future
For Immediate Release:
November 6, 2007
For more information
Stewart Schwartz, Coalition for Smarter Growth, 202-244-4408
x121
Rebecca Perring, 202-244-4408 x122
Other civic group members available for interviews -- call for information
SMART GROWTH WINS BIG
IN LOUDOUN BOARD
OF SUPERVISORS RACES
Loudoun Residents Vote Overwhelmingly
for
Better Growth and Transportation Management
Loudoun voters have spoken, electing a smart growth majority to
the Board of Supervisors.
“Tonight’s results are a victory for the thousands
of Loudoun residents who have fought for better growth management
and planning over the past four years,” said Stewart Schwartz,
Executive Director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth. “Candidates’ focus
on better growth management helped them win a majority of votes
in 8 of the 9 districts.”
“This election was a referendum on the growth issue, and
the results illustrate voter unhappiness with the developer-driven
agenda of the past four years,” said Malcolm Baldwin, a resident
of Lovettsville.
Recognizing that growth and transportation issues resonated deeply
with voters, winning candidates from around the county ran on platforms
based on better growth management And pledged to restore integrity
and public trust to the Board of Supervisors office.
“We call on the outgoing Board of Supervisors to respect
the will of the voters during their final two months in office,” said
Leesburg resident Ann Jansen. “Loudoun residents should
be the ones determining the future of our County, not big developers.”
The Loudoun Board of Supervisors is scheduled to consider four
major development proposals and the Countywide Transportation Plan
(CTP) starting next Tuesday, November 13, 2007. Decisions
on the CTP and specific development proposals should be deferred
where legally permissible or denied.
“Voters clearly showed they know that the best way to deal with problems
like traffic and taxes is to get a handle on where and how we grow,” said
Schwartz. “ Instead of approving tens of thousands of new houses in addition
to the approximately 30,000 new houses already in the pipeline, the County
Board can now focus on fixing the transportation, design, and public services
challenges of Loudoun’s communities.”
“After four years of delay, it’s time to get back to implementing
our county’s 2001 Comprehensive Plan,” said Gem Bingol of the
Piedmont Environmental Council and Leesburg resident. “We look
forward to working with the new Board of Supervisors to meet our common challenges
and make our communities even better places to live.”
For the past four years, Loudoun County has been the target of
national developers and their proposals for massive increases in
residential development beyond what the roads, schools and other
community services could handle. A VDOT study showed that additional
development proposals in the Route 50 corridor would gridlock roads
in Loudoun, Prince William and Fairfax.
The Campaign for Loudoun’s Future released a Platform earlier
this year, calling on the county’s incoming leaders to get
back to the vision set forth by the 2001 Comprehensive Plan to ensure
a better economic future and protect the integrity of the suburban,
transition, and rural areas.
Platform
for Loudoun's Future (pdf)
Recommended
Initiatives for Smart Growth in Loudoun (pdf)
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