Update on Crosstrail Vote

Take action!
Crosstrail vote delayed
Planned retail along the Route 50 Corridor

Other issues we are tracking
Kincora: Town center + 1,400 new houses in Ashburn
Ridgewater Park: 1,843 new houses near Ashburn
Developer-led changes to Loudoun's zoning rules

Crosstrail Vote Delayed

Despite more than a year of review, the Board of Supervisors did not vote on the Crosstrail proposal as expected on May 15. They are now expected to vote on Tuesday, June 5. You can watch the meeting online starting at 9:30 AM.

Ask the Board of Supervisors to vote no to Crosstrail without further delay. While multiple revisions have been made to the proposal, serious concerns about its impact remain unresolved. Hundreds of you have spoken out against it, county staff recommended denial, and the Town of Leesburg opposes it.

We are concerned about this proposal because:

1. It would add 1,000 new houses next to the Leesburg Airport where the county growth plan had called for keynote employment uses. The proposal would change this land from office space to 1,000 houses with regional retail, likely big box stores, and some office space.

2. It would be too close to the Leesburg Airport. Building houses on this land hurts the future economic vitality of the airport.

3. Proposed traffic offsets are woefully inadequate and spell gridlock for the southeast quadrant of Leesburg with a negative impact on all traffic in the Leesburg area.

More information:
County staff report
Summary of outstanding issues (PDF)
Prepared by the Piedmont Environmental Council

Retail on Route 50

The Board of Supervisors is considering two proposals for retail development on Route 50, Dulles Landing and Arcola Center-The Shops, that would add more than 1.5 million square feet of retail.

However, enough retail is already zoned for the area and is waiting to be built. A county retail study concluded that 1.4 million square feet will be needed through 2030. 724,600 square feet of retail space exists now, and 1.3 million square feet of retail space is approved but not yet built. See the chart below for more information.

Tell the Board of Supervisors:

• Say no to Dulles Landing and Arcola Center-The Shops. These projects would oversaturate the market -- will storefronts sit empty for years?
• Please conduct real traffic impact studies for these proposals. We need to know the traffic impacts these proposals would have on our local roads and the already-unbearable Route 50 corridor.
• Ensure that already approved retail development is built with a main street design that is compact and pedestrian friendly, as outlined in the approved Route 50 CPAM.

Dulles Landing
The Board of Supervisors may vote on this proposal as early as Tuesday, June 5.
 
Details
800,000 square feet of retail at Route 50 and Route 606
Right in access from Route 50
No traffic impact analysis
Strip mall design; not the compact main street design that was envisioned
Wal-Mart Supercenter is the proposed big-box

More Information
County staff report
  
 

Arcola Center-The Shops
Public Hearing: Wednesday, June 13, at 6:00 PM at the County Government Center
 
Details
750,000 square feet of retail at Route 606 and Evergreen Mills Road
20,212 additional daily vehicle trips will be generated by this retail development
Strip mall design not the compact main street design that was envisioned
Target and Lowes are the proposed big-box

More Information
County staff report
Article about Buchanan properties and Arcola Center-The Shops
 

Kincora: 1,400 New Houses in Ashburn

The Planning Commission held a public hearing on May 21 for yet another town center, called Kincora. We will let you know when a public hearing is scheduled with the Board of Supervisors.

The proposal calls for a town center at the intersection of Routes 7 and 28 -- right across from Dulles Town Center, and just down the road from the recently-approved One Loudoun. How many town centers can eastern Loudoun handle so close to each other?

Our concerns include:

• Town centers are being considered on an individual basis without a comprehensive community plan for our eastern communities, like the county is supposed to have done.
• The Route 7 corridor has enough built and planned retail to meet demand for the next 20 years, according to the recent Route 7 Retail Study commissioned by the county.
• This land was set aside for keynote employment, but the developer is planning 1,400 new houses plus commercial, office, and retail space. We don't need to accept 1,400 new houses that will add to our taxes and traffic in order to get the new jobs.

More Information
Kincora website
Summary of outstanding issues (PDF)
Prepared by the Piedmont Environmental Council

Ridgewater Park: 1,841 new houses on land zoned for 63 houses

Status: CPAM denied. Rezoning request put on hold by the developer until later this year. County staff recommends denial of these new houses. We'll let you know when action is needed.

Proposal: Ridgewater Park Rezoning Application
Community: Leesburg
New Houses: 1,841
Developer: Lansdowne Development/Hobie Mitchell

Our concerns include :

1. Impacts on the Goose Creek Reservoir (eastern Loudoun's drinking water)
2. Traffic on Route 7, the Greenway, and local roads in Leesburg and Ashburn
3. It would change part of the Transition Area to suburban densities and set a dangerous precedent
4. Too close to the Leesburg Airport and Luckstone Quarry
5. Loudoun taxpayers will pay over $50 million in capital costs plus operating costs

Developer-Led Changes to Loudoun's Zoning Rules

Developers are trying to reduce open space and increase the number of new houses in eastern Loudoun. A developer-led committee is recommending significant amendments to our county's zoning ordinance that would increase developer profits while leaving us with the burden of increased taxes and traffic.

If approved, these changes would allow developers to build more houses per acre than previously allowed without a public hearing -- and they wouldn't have to pay proffers for the extra houses. Does this make sense when there are still more than 30,000 new houses approved but not yet built?

Tell the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors:

• Don't allow developers to make changes to the zoning ordinance that would further degrade our environment while increasing our taxes and traffic.
• It is unacceptable to consider wholesale changes to our county's zoning ordinance without a fair and transparent process with meaningful citizen engagement.
• It is important that regulations currently in the zoning ordinance remain there, rather than be moved to administrative documents without public oversight.

The changes are currently under review by the Planning Commission, and the Board of Supervisors will likely hold a public hearing in the next few months.

More Information
Proposed amendments to the zoning ordinance (PDF)

What is zoning? An ordinance that divides the county into different districts or zones.  The land in each zone is assigned specific use or uses, either "by right" or as a "special exception." Zoning also determines how our communities look by guiding where and how buildings are placed in relationship to each other, whether and how environmental features like streams and trees are protected, and amount of impervious areas allowed.

--Campaign for Loudoun's Future

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Together, We're Fighting to Protect the Quality of Life in Loudoun

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