Growth, Development & Traffic

Citizen input in planning for Loudoun’s future is critical — particularly when some are pushing for more residential development at a faster pace than the county and general public have planned for.

Middleburg Planning Commission Conditionally Approves Banbury Cross Reserve Project

The Middleburg Planning Commission conditionally approved the Banbury Cross Reserve project at their special meeting in August, citing the three conditions noted in Loudoun County staff’s final report. Per Middleburg regulations, the applicant has 90 days to fulfill the conditions. Local news media have reported a lawsuit challenging the title to the property, which would have an as-yet unknown impact on the project.

Banbury Cross – Public Hearing on July 27

Banbury Cross – Public Hearing on July 27

Today I wanted to give you an update about the proposed Banbury Cross residential development outside of Middleburg. This proposal was first submitted back in June, 2019 and was rejected by the Middleburg Planning Commission after the public hearing in September due to deficiencies in the application. Reconsideration of the application has since been delayed due to a variety of factors including Covid-19.

Banbury Cross Update

Banbury Cross Update

The Middleburg Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on July 27, 2020 for the Banbury Cross residential development application, which had its first public hearing in September 2019.

The application is for 28 clustered lots that are between 1 and 4 acres in size and 10 Rural Economy lots that are a minimum of 25 acres each. The entire development is on 570 acres that lay partially within the One Mile Subdivision Control Limits of the Town of Middleburg. It has been in a holding pattern since the Middleburg Planning Commission denied the application in September. In its rejection, the Commission required the applicant to fix many deficient and missing details that the Commission had noted.

Loudoun Development Tracker

Loudoun County continues to be one of the fastest growing jurisdictions in the nation. Therefore, both the number and types of development applications filed each month can be overwhelming. In an effort to track development applications that could impact important natural, cultural and historic resources, as well as the quality of life for Loudoun residents, PEC has created a shared spreadsheet that anyone can view.

Banbury Cross Application

Banbury Cross Reserve is the first major cluster subdivision application in at least 10 years in the AR-2 Rural Policy Area to move forward. It sets a precedent for other developers who may contemplate larger scale residential subdivision opportunities in the area. PEC remains concerned with the unnecessary impacts of intensive rural housing development associated with the proposal.

Loudoun Comprehensive Plan update nears June 20 vote

Thanks to intense community involvement by residents in the Transition Policy Area (TPA) and across the County, the Board has backed off of the Planning Commission’s (PC) vision for the future of the TPA. Instead of the ~24,000 additional units that were included in the PC draft, it now appears that the maximum additional units would not exceed ~4200 units. This total does not subtract out land that would not be developed due to streets and sidewalks, and other public infrastructure.