This forum tomorrow in Nokesville is another opportunity for you to show up and speak up.
At the Haymarket event earlier this month, sponsored by County Supervisor Candland and State Delegate Hugo, citizens were determined to show their support for maintaining the Rural Crescent. Over 150 people came to Battlefield High School’s auditorium, with the majority expressing in one way or another, that the Rural Crescent is part of the fabric of Prince William County. Pull on the threads that make it what it is, and it all unravels.
There were farmers who shared their struggles with farming in a county that does little to support their industry. And larger lot owners shared that threats of highways in the county Comprehensive Plan not only don’t preserve open space, but truly put their land at risk. It was made clear at the meeting that developing the Rural Crescent is NOT a preservation tool – not for farming, not for open space, not for our collective quality of life in PWC. Changing the Rural Crescent is just a tool for development, plain and simple.
There have been few details from the Prince William County Planning Office of the actual recommendations for Rural Crescent changes. So the question remains, what IS the plan to dismantle the Rural Crescent? We do know that clustering will be the tool used to significantly increase density in the rural areas. If we allow our countryside to be highly developed, then we all pay to support the associated infrastructure, with never-ending costs for more roads, more schools, more teachers, more fire and rescue support services, etc. in our rural area. Nothing is free.
But if we invest in REAL long-term preservation tools, Prince William County will stand out as a 21st century model of healthy communities. We need the recommendations that were made twenty years ago, when the Rural Crescent was created as an urban growth boundary, to be finally implemented. One of those suggestions was a robust Purchase of Development Rights program. We need look no farther than our neighbors in Fauquier and Stafford counties for workable programs that will embrace our county’s commitment to EVERYONE’s quality of life, from the west to the east, from our population centers to our more rural landscapes (preservation tools).
It’s up to us, each one of us, to protect what makes our county special – the only Virginia locality that reaches from the Potomac Shore all the way to the Bull Run Mountain. Protecting our Rural Crescent and our quality of life requires being engaged.
Voice your opinion on the moves afoot for the Rural Crescent at the meeting tomorrow, September 18, in Nokesville.