Once again, Prince William residents find themselves fighting to protect the best land-use tool in Northern Virginia, the county’s “rural crescent.”
This urban growth boundary was designed to ensure investment of critical infrastructure dollars in the “development areas” of the county, as opposed to pushing housing density in the county’s rural western stretches, where there are fewer roads, schools and other basic infrastructure, such as connections to the county’s sewer and water lines. Introducing new growth in the rural crescent, which will require high-dollar infrastructure investments, is the opposite of smart growth.
You may ask, what is the definition of smart growth? It is planned economic and community development that works to curb urban sprawl.
Some in the county are pushing the position that in order to “save” the rural crescent, we must “develop” the rural crescent. Don’t be fooled. Their flawed solution, which they have yet to fully identify for their contrived “problem,” is to allow high-density “cluster” housing developments, which would introduce public sewer connections into the rural crescent. This “solution” is, in actuality, a developer scheme.
What is the benefit for county residents when rural crescent restrictions on high-density housing are lifted? None. The approval of the Avendale development, under the guise of the Vint Hill Road re-alignment, is tangible proof of this. Instead of the previously allowed 12 homes on the Avendale property, which was in the rural crescent, the Prince William County Board of Supervisors instead approved almost 300 homes when they agreed to the Avondale rezoning.
Schools are not less crowded, they are bursting at the seams in the west end. And the county’s east end fights for every dollar to re-develop aging areas. Vint Hill Road is not less congested, its congestion has never been worse. Residents who have lived along that road for decades will confirm this. Ask the homeowners who had their land taken through eminent domain, was it worth it? No.
Instead of a $1 billion road bond, maybe it’s time we had an “investment bond” to catch up with all the housing development county leaders have approved. Some county officials continue to believe that if they exchange land for higher-density housing development, somehow the basic infrastructure needs will catch up. But all they are doing is digging the same hole deeper. This fits the definition of insanity.
Some county officials behave like someone selling off their organs to cover their debts. At some point, you run out of organs, your body shuts down and you still have the debts.
Outstanding analysis Elena. You and County Executive Berne Ewert were instrumental in developing the Rural Crescent, and there is no rationale to re-zone for development today. This is also a bad time to attempt to build new infrastructure given the 2016 State law that prohibits localities from asking for proffers. When the County needs to add an elementary, middle, and high school, it will cost someone over $100 million to build just 3 schools. Ans as Elena points out, the East end of the County is in desperate need to improve roads and schools……….SAVE THE RURAL CRESCENT!!!!