Loudoun Letters to the Editor
Sunday, January 29, 2006; Page LZ08
Stop Development Now
These are dark times for residents of Loudoun County who believe that development should be carefully planned and never rushed. As I write, developers are racing to beat the new zoning restrictions that will likely impact western Loudoun later this year ["Proposal Prompts a Rush to Build," Metro, Jan. 8]. One of these "loophole" developments would have a significant negative impact on the village of Unison and surrounding historic landscape.
Our community was relieved to hear that a majority of the Loudoun Board of Supervisors say they support the Clem-Burton zoning proposal, which would stop many of these developments before construction could start. We were also pleased to see that Virginia law does not support the notion of "liberal vesting," which would allow "loophole" developments without required subdivision permits to proceed even after rezoning.
Now the word is out that some backroom deals may have occurred among these same developers and some members of the board. These deals would delay the implementation of Clem-Burton until 2007 to allow all the "loophole" developments to go forward. That would destroy our historic countryside, raise our taxes, dramatically increase traffic on our narrow country roads and potentially threaten public health.
The situation is so dire that The Washington Post editorialized recently about the problem ["How to Ruin a County," editorial, Jan. 20], saying, "Unless the forces of reason somehow prevail, a stampede of developers is on the verge of pillaging Loudoun County beyond repair."
We could not agree more. Let's stop the backroom deals. It is time for those elected officials who behave as agents of the developers to instead serve the interests of the everyday citizen taxpayer. Loudoun County needs implementation of the Clem-Burton zoning proposal now, not in 2007.
Steven Chase
Unison
