Leesburg Intensifies Opposition To Crosstrail

Leesburg officials said they are prepared to take legal action if necessary to stop a 500-acre mixed-use development that received approval last week from the Loudoun County Planning Commission.

The proposed Crosstrail development, which would include 1,200 homes, offices, a movie theater, restaurants and other commercial buildings, is on land southeast of Leesburg that the county owns but that the town has considered for annexation.

Leesburg officials oppose the project, citing concerns about traffic and the proximity of the homes to Leesburg Executive Airport, and they contend that county officials are violating a 1982 agreement requiring that any development there be planned jointly by the two jurisdictions.

The Planning Commission approved the project by a vote of 5 to 2 on Monday night, with one abstention and one absence, despite a recommendation from county staff to deny the rezoning application because of the development's potential effect on local roads. Planning Commission members supporting the project said they were swayed by the developer's offer to increase its transportation proffers by $3 million.

The Loudoun Board of Supervisors will consider the application by Peterson Cos. and could vote on it as early as this fall.

The Planning Commission also recommended that the Loudoun County Sanitation Authority provide water and sewer service to the property, although Leesburg officials had planned on doing so. The developer has said it would prefer getting those utilities from the county, whose rates are much lower than Leesburg's water and sewer rates for out-of-town users.

Leesburg Town Council member C. Kelly Burk said town officials would consider legal action if they could not reach an agreement with the county on developing the land. The land is zoned for offices, and town officials want it to retain that designation.

Burk said that if Leesburg files a lawsuit, the town would be arguing that Leesburg officials haven't been fully involved in the planning process, in violation of the town's 1982 agreement with the county. She said a suit also would address the move to make the county sanitation authority, not Leesburg, the utility provider. Leesburg has long planned to provide utilities to the area and has the system to do so, Burk said.

"I mean, how shortsighted can they be? They're going to spend millions and millions of dollars for infrastructure that's already there," she said.

Loudoun sanitation officials said they studied the feasibility of extending water and sewer service to Crosstrail and found that they could provide service to the area within about three years for $28 million, which would be paid by the developer.

Supervisor Jim E. Clem (R-Leesburg) said he hoped the town and county could agree on the development proposal. But he said that the land was not town property and that the county would ultimately decide what is done with it.

Clem also said he approached town officials in 2004 and 2005 to discuss annexing property outside of Leesburg, including the land now proposed for Crosstrail. At the time, they weren't interested, he said.