What's Going on in Loudoun
Citizens are organizing, meeting, and speaking out. The people's voice is being heard. And elected officials are beginning to listen.

Aldie Meeting
ParkFamily in park
Rural ZoningDevelopment of rural area Outer BeltwayMap of proposed roads and developments
The Tri-County Parkway and Manassas Battlefield Bypass proposals would help developers in Loudoun County and make traffic worse.Take action now!  View map (PDF)



Mark Your Calendar!

There are several community meetings and public hearings in the next two weeks.  We hope you will join us for these important events.

In this update:

Upcoming Events
1. Thurs, May 5:  Route 50 Area Community Mtg
2. Tues, May 10: Phil Bolen Park Hearing
3. Wed, May 11: Tri-County Pkwy Hearing
Also....
4. Supervisor Jim Burton Wants Your Comments re: Western Zoning

1. Aldie/Rte 50 Area Community Meeting
Thursday, May 5th at 7:30 PM
Location:  Aldie Elementary School

View the invitation

A local citizens group, Citizens to Save the Transition Area, is sponsoring a community meeting this Thursday, May 5th at 7:30 PM .  Participants will discuss developer proposals to build up to 22,000 houses along Route 50.  The invitation reads:

"You are invited to attend a community meeting about the proposed zoning changes that would allow as many as 22,000 new homes to be built along Route 50 between Watson Road and Gum Spring Road. The meeting will be held on Thursday, May 5th, at 7:30 p.m. at Aldie Elementary School on Meetinghouse Road.

Ed Gorski, Loudoun County Land Use Officer for the Piedmont Environmental Council, will offer a fact-filled presentation of the six Dulles South CPAMs currently under review by the Planning Commission, followed by a question and answer session. He has 29 years of planning experience including a long career working for Loudoun County.

The county has not provided residents with the information they need to voice their concerns at the public input sessions. Come learn the facts and the impact that these sizable developments will have on your quality of life. This meeting is organized by the Citizens to Save the Transition Area."

2. Phil Bolen Park Public Hearing
Tuesday, May 10th at 7:30 PM
Location:  Leesburg Town Hall
View details

The Leesburg Town Council will hold a public hearing on Phil Bolen Park (SE of Leesburg), a piece of land slated to become a park and also the subject of a developer proposal (Creekside) to build more than 4,000 houses.  The Town Council is working with the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors to address this proposal.

Phil Bolen Park was supported by the taxpayers in 2001, when 62% of citizens voted to fund the construction of park facilities in the referendum.  The developer, Creekside LLC, wants permission to build houses on county park land, Phil Bolen Park (SE of Leesburg). In return, the company would give the county parkland south of the current site along Goose Creek.

Here's how to support Phil Bolen Park:

1. Attend the public hearing and tell the Town officials:
--We need Phil Bolen Park now, not more houses!
--More than 60% of the citizens voted to build Bolen Park at this location – it is time for the County to heed the voter’s voice!

 

What You Can Do

1. Tell VDOT to help commuters, not developers!
Both the Tri-County Parkway and the Manassas Battlefield Bypass studies have reached critical decision-making points. 
Read more; take action

2. Want a community meeting in your neighborhood?
Citizens from around Loudoun are organizing community meetings in their neighborhoods.  Interested in organizing a meeting near you?

3.  Write a Letter to the Editor.
  • To the Washington Post and the
    Post's Loudoun Extra
  • 
To the local Loudoun Papers

3. How Fast is Loudoun Really Growing?
Would you believe that Loudoun is being burdened with almost 25% of Virginia’s growth each year?

4.  Ask Questions, Share Your Ideas.
Visit
http://www.loudounsfuture.org/
or e-mail Andrea McGimsey at [email protected]




In the News:

Subdivisions Impose Social Divide
By Washington Post, 5/1/2005

Renewed Push for Land-Swap Plan
By Washington Post, 5/1/2005

Magic Numbers: What's the Housing Count in Western Loudoun?
By Loudoun Times Mirror, 4/26/2005

Creekside Debate Heats Up
By Loudoun Times Mirror, 4/26/2005

In County of Theatrics, Parody Set the Stage for a Battle in Court
By Washington Post, 4/25/2005

 


 

2. If you cannot attend the public hearing, send an email to the Town Council and let them know of your support to build Bolen Park now. The entire Council can be emailed at: [email protected].

3. Tri-County Parkway Public Hearing
Wednesday, May 11th, 5:00-8:00 PM (come anytime)
Location:  Arcola Elementary School
View details

Say NO to an Outer Beltway in Loudoun!  Officials are considering the construction of two new 4/6-lane highways through the Dulles South area of Loudoun County–the Tri-County Parkway and the Manassas Battlefield Bypass. While you sit in horrendous traffic on Route 50, I-66, and the Greenway, officials are spending millions studying these north-south highways that would bring more traffic into our community, not less.

In fact, one possible route runs right through land owned by developers—where the developers want to build up to 22,000 new houses.  If that route is approved for the Battlefield Bypass and the Tri-County Parkway, it would be almost impossible to stop those massive development proposals.

Sound familiar? In the past several years, developers have pushed for various pieces of an outer beltway project including the Western Transportation Corridor (WTC), the Tri-County Parkway, and the Manassas Battlefield Bypass.

Your voice will make the difference.
1.)  Submit comments on the Tri-County Parkway and the Battlefield Bypass.
2.  A
ttend the public hearing on Wednesday, May 11 (come anytime between 5:00-8:00 PM)

Fairfax and Prince William residents are organized with the message “push the highways west,” and without Loudoun voices, that could become reality. Please also deliver the “No Outer Beltways” message to the Battlefield Bypass study—the current preferred route would make construction of the Tri-County Parkway much more likely.

4. Message from Supervisor Jim Burton
Supervisor Jim Burton (Blue Ridge District) wants to hear from Loudoun citizens about the rural zoning!  Read below for more information and please email Supervisor Burton your thoughts. 

Dear Neighbors,

On Thursday, May 5th at 6:30 pm the Board will hold its first special session to discuss the future of the Western zoning. My position has been that 20- and 50-acre zoning (with 10- and 20-acre clustering) makes the most sense for the County in terms of County finances, roads and traffic, education, groundwater, and the viability of the rural economy. So far, I have been unwilling to consider a reduction of these numbers.

I spent three years studying, debating and arguing various densities for the West. The result of those three years of study, debate, and argument was the AR-1 and AR-2 zoning the prior Board instituted within the Revised Comp Plan and Zoning Ordinances. I still believe this is the best zoning.

My question for all of you however is how firm I should stand on this position. If a compromise density between 3-acre zoning and 20-/50-acre zoning were offered, should I accept it? If so, what is the minimum density, that you, my constituents, would find acceptable?

I will continue working for 20-/50- acre zoning as long as I know that you support me in that effort. However, if you think my efforts would be better spent seeking out a compromise position acceptable to four other supervisors, then I will pursue such a strategy over the next few meetings.

I hope that all of you will take some time to respond to this email with your own thoughts. And, I hope you will pass this email on to your friends in the Blue Ridge District, so that I can hear from the maximum number of residents. A response prior to the May 5th meeting would be particularly helpful.

Best regards,

Jim Burton
Supervisor, Blue Ridge District

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Andrea McGimsey
Campaign for Loudoun's Future

http://www.loudounsfuture.org/
mail to [email protected]
Together, We Are Fighting to Protect the Quality of Life in Loudoun


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