Following is for-the-record citizen input regarding the PWC Rural Area – Rural Crescent:
Rural Crescent – Reject the Planning Office recommended Rural Area Vision Statement
Planning Director Rebecca Horner said on September 24, 2019 that no one has objected to the statements in her recommended vision statement, and that she wants feedback on the recommended Vision Statement for the Rural Area – Rural Crescent.
I reject the entire “Vision Statement” the Planning Office included in their recommended Rural Area Plan, published on 9/17/19. I do not want the Planning Office’s recommended Rural Area Vision Statement to be adopted for our county. The recommended vision statement does not serve the purposes of the PWC Rural Area – Rural Crescent.
An effective vision statement is an inspirational or motivational statement that is meant to drive the organization, and also clearly demonstrates the organization’s goals to all stakeholders. The recommended Rural Area vision statement does not meet this inspirational or motivational guideline, it is not clear, and it only addresses some stakeholder’s interests.
In particular, I am totally against this clause in the recommended vision statement: “The County: honors and respects property rights of county landowners.”
At the September 24 Planning Office meeting, I asked the Planning Office panel to explain what is meant by this statement. Ms. Horner’s opening response was: “Longtime landowners’ development potential was taken away from them in 1998 when the Rural Area was formed.” She closed her answer by saying that we need to take care of those landowners who have been in this county for so long, some for more than 40 years.
These points of view by our Planning Office are totally out of line.
First of all, no landowner is prevented from selling land that they own in the Rural Crescent – they can sell their land today. Rural Crescent land can be sold so that low density housing (1 house per 10 acres) can be built/developed by right. The county zoning and land use policies already in place are commitments made by this county to all of us with homes and properties inside and outside the Rural Crescent.
With her answer, Ms. Horner has officially made it very clear to the citizens of our county that she and her office are more concerned about the desires of speculators and developers, than about the rights of all the citizens living within and outside of the Rural Crescent.
Mr. Mark Granville-Smith and other large landowners who have weighed in on the proposed Rural Crescent “development” plan are speculators. I, too, am a speculator. Speculator is just a more refined way to say that all of us are Gamblers. I gamble in many ways. I have gambled that by focusing on Arab, Welsh, Connemara and Warmblood breeds, that we will produce horses that are more marketable, and with better health and attitudes than other breeds. I gamble that the breeds of hens I have will lay more eggs. I am gambling that my 1993 full bed 4WD diesel crew cab dually Chevy Silverado truck is going to keep serving me for everything we do on our property.
All of us landowners are gambling that the land we own will be more valuable in the future. The difference between me and these vocal landowner speculators is that I own almost 11 acres in the Rural Crescent, whereas they own hundreds of acres.
If I ever choose to sell my property, I will enter the typical real estate gamble to get the best possible fair market price for my land. The other difference between me, these speculators, and some other aging landowners, is that I won’t be complaining to the county that I need to be special-cased, that the zoning rules need to be changed for me and my land, and that somehow I am entitled to more than the market will bear for my land when I want to sell out.
I’ve been a landowner in this county for 21 years. Are my landowner rights only 50% as important as the rights of those who have owned land in the county for 40 or more years, or who own more land than I?
The statements made and positions taken by the Planning Office with their recommended “Vision Statement” open a pandora’s box of problems for our county. If adopted, it will lead to destructive manipulations by speculators and developers, who are only concerned with making their profits; and it will result in outcomes which go against the declared purposes of the Rural Crescent.
Finally, the recommended vision statement is not focused on what this county should be aspiring to for our Rural Crescent, which comprises 52% of the area of the county.
Following below is the vision I recommend for the Rural Area – our Rural Crescent. Please adopt this vision statement:
“The Prince William County Rural Area (also referred to as the Rural Crescent in the PWC Comprehensive Plan):
- Is a permanent countywide asset, with an enduring rural landscape, dominated by agriculture, woodland, protected open space, and other undeveloped land.
- It is characterized by a unique composite of protected natural and historic assets, with residential development in rural spaces of no less than 10 acre lots with no public sewer, and rural-based businesses, agricultural and equine uses and economy.
- It is a workable growth boundary and economic engine for the county, by sustaining working agricultural lands, protected open space, and tourism.
- The Rural Area is visually and spatially distinct from adjoining areas of the county, through implementation and utilization of a range of management tools and standards, such as PDR, 10-acre lot minimums, and permanent conservation easements. These tools and standards maintain long-term economic, environmental, and social sustainability for the entire county.
- The Rural Area incentivizes and accommodates a variety of activities and lifestyles associated with rural areas, including farming of all types, low density residential living (planned and designed not to dominate the landscape), rural businesses, cultural heritage, passive recreation, open space preservation, and enjoyment of the natural environment.
- The county’s natural and heritage resources are protected and enhanced in the Rural Area, which are fundamental to the health, safety, welfare, sustainability, and enjoyment of current and future generations.”
By contrast, this Vision Statement will help the county government, county citizens, and county businesses fulfill all the purposes outlined in our Comprehensive Plan for the Rural Area – Rural Crescent. It outlines and motivates all of us to aspire to a Rural Area vision which will benefit all of us today, and our children’s children tomorrow.
Please, do not adopt the Sept. 2019 Planning Office recommended Rural Area vision statement.
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NOTE: To ensure that this citizen input is included for-the-record, and to contribute to a comprehensive review of the impacts and issues being raised, the distro for this message includes the PWC Planning Office, the PWC Planning Commissioners, the PWC Board of County Supervisors, the PWC County Executive, and the Clerk of the Planning Commission.
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Please ensure these complete comments are included in the county record.
Karen Sheehan
Gainesville District