This week’s iteration of the Planning Office Rural “Preservation” Plan is still a “Development” Plan. They have just played more shell games. Their most current Sept. 17, 2019 recommendations can be accessed here. Some of the initial highlights, after a preliminary review:
- The Planning Office’s latest recommended PDR program is a tortured version, unique only to PWC. It actually enables an extinguishment and exchange of protections after 25 years! How is this permanent “preservation” of open space?
- Their “improved” and recommended TDR program still has high density housing, with sewer, going directly back INTO the Rural Crescent.
- And now, their recommended cluster development falls under a newly created zoning classification called “Conservation Residential District,” with quadrupled allowable lot density in the Rural Crescent, with sewer, on parcels as small as 40 acres. It’s now very easy to pick out the developers and speculators who have hit the jackpot with this latest recommendation.
- For all of these gyrations, Planning Staff has yet to identify any credible land trust that would consider holding any remaining land in a permanent conservation easement, or how open space will be preserved.
These are all significant red flags.
Additionally, what happens to any remaining Rural Crescent open land when the recommended high density development takes place across multiple rural area pockets? From the Recommended Rural Area Plan:
“Public Facilities: PF POLICY 1: Plan for public facilities, such as schools, police, fire and rescue, transportation, and potable water and sewer within the Rural Area, but ensure that these facilities are compatible with the rural character.
ACTION STRATEGY: PF 1.2 Coordinate the location of new public facilities with the Open Space and Corridors map to help fill gaps in corridors and reinforce Rural Area policies.”
They have laid out for us, clearly and concisely, that their plan will require more schools, more services, new water and sewer infrastructure, and more roads – more taxes and less green. Citizens will lose – countywide. This Recommended Rural Area “Development” Plan is simply bad policy.
There is a better way. There are actually proven, workable and viable land preservation incentives. Learn about them on September 30.
The Prince William Conservation Alliance (PWCA) is hosting a forum on what is required for credible PDR programs, Conservation Easements, and TDR programs.
Please, come and learn the facts. This community is too smart to fall for parlor games, and the stakes are too high not to call out slight-of-hand tricks.
Monday, September 30
Rural Area Incentives with Countywide Benefits:
A Community Conversation
Doors open: 6 PM
Program: 7 PM
Giuseppe’s Restaurant
15120 Washington St.
Haymarket
Food and drinks available for purchase
Presentations followed by Q&A
Purchase of Development Rights
Twenty-two Virginia localities have PDR programs. Hear about how these programs work and benefit local farms, many of which reinvest funds received into their agricultural operations or agri-business.
Speaker Julie Bolthouse is the Fauquier County Land Use Representative of the Piedmont Environmental Council. Julie grew up in Northern Virginia and attended Virginia Tech, where she earned a Masters degree in Urban and Regional Planning, and a Masters degree in Natural Resources.
Transfer of Development Rights
The presentation will explain Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) programs: their purposes, operations, advantages, and disadvantages. It will highlight areas where TDRs have been successful and discuss their use and potential in Virginia.
Speaker Shelley S. Mastran, is a Professor in Practice of Urban Planning at Virginia Tech in Northern Virginia, where she teaches Land Use Planning, Natural Resources Planning, Planning for Parks, and practical studios. She is a co-author of Saving America’s Countryside and the Better Models for Development series with Ed McMahon.
Conservation Easements
Conservation easements permanently protect open spaces and rural lands. They can encompass the full range of keeping land in private ownership, creating public recreation opportunities, preserving wildlife habitat, and/or enabling stewardship of working farms – they are tailored to each property.
Speaker Alan Rowsome is the Executive Director of the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust. Previously, Alan was the Senior Director of Government Relations for Lands at The Wilderness Society and National Chair of the Land & Water Conservation Fund Coalition.
Bring your questions and comments to share!
Sponsored by Prince William Conservation Alliance
703.499.4954, alliance@pwconserve.org, www.pwconserve.org