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.
It’s been 18 months since the official start of the Loudoun Comprehensive Plan review and it’s been an interesting journey. Hopefully you were able to read my blog post from this past November, or caught the incredible editorial by the Loudoun Times Mirror in December: Current comprehensive plan draft would sacrifice our quality of life.
Read below for some important upcoming community meeting dates and opportunities to take action!
Counting down the days…No, I’m not talking about Tuesday’s national elections! Next Wednesday, November 7, is also an important opportunity for civic participation, because the Loudoun Planning Commission is holding a public hearing on the draft Comprehensive Plan.
Loudoun County has been studying alternatives for the future of Route 15, and while they’ve said they want to preserve the historic and rural character of the road, new county documents show their intent is a four-lane divided expressway, which would attract more traffic.
This paper was prepared by Ian Lockwood, PE, of the Toole Design Group, for the Catoctin Coalition, Journey Through Hallowed Ground, Piedmont Environmental Council, Coalition for Smarter Growth, and Southern Environmental Law Center. In it, he advocates for traffic calming along the critical stretch of roadway on Rt. 15 north of Leesburg in order to make the road safer, reduce congestion and increase accessibility. Read the paper >>
The Loudoun County Comprehensive plan is being revised through a process called Envision Loudoun. It is a particularly important policy framework for a county like Loudoun, which is consistently one of the fastest growing jurisdictions in the U.S…Unfortunately, upon reading the released draft, I don’t believe it represents the majority of Loudoun resident’s values and interests expressed in the Envision Loudoun public input phase.
I want to let you know about a critical transportation decision before the Board of Supervisors pertaining to Rt. 15 north of Leesburg. The County originally proposed 4-laning Rt. 15 from Battlefield Parkway to White’s Ferry Road, but then expanded the proposal to widen an additional 1.5 miles north to Montresor Road. Alternatively, we support putting a roundabout in place of a traffic light at the White’s Ferry intersection, and maintaining the road north of that at two lanes (with improved shoulders).
Last November, I wrote to you about a rezoning the Loudoun Board of Supervisors is considering for True North Data. The proposal will be back up for a vote on Thursday, January 18.
Last week I wrote a post about Public Drinking Water Supply and the Loudoun Transition Area, but this time, I want to drill down into a specific development proposal that would impact water quality: the True North Data center application. This rezoning, just upstream of the Goose Creek reservoir, would place a highly impervious use in the same subwatershed as the public water intake.
The question facing Loudoun today is this: How much are we willing to increase development in the environmentally sensitive Transition Area? Particularly when we know the result would be a long-term reduction in water quality and increased cost to taxpayers…
True North Data is being proposed on an environmentally sensitive site in Loudoun’s Transition Policy Area. At the same time, the Board of Supervisors is asking citizens what they would like for that area’s future as part of a Comprehensive Plan review…. Read more in this email alert from PEC field representative Gem Bingol.