As part of of our extensive community engagement, we created a survey to better understand residents’ ideas about desirable places to walk, ride or run for transportation and exercise. We also asked about the barriers they face and solicited their suggestions for a better-connected community.
Our Region
PEC focuses on nine counties and one city in the northern Piedmont of Virginia: Albemarle, Charlottesville, Clarke, Culpeper, Fauquier, Greene, Loudoun, Madison, Orange, and Rappahannock.
We also team with local organizations to promote thriving communities and healthy natural resources in a much larger region, including the Shenandoah Valley, the central Piedmont, and the Journey Through Hallowed Ground Corridor. In addition, we are proud to serve as fiscal sponsor of the Coalition for Smarter Growth, an organization that focuses on land use and policy in the greater Washington D.C. area.
Last Call for Conservation
Amidst the general chaos in Richmond, the General Assembly is quietly winding down with Sine Die (last day of session) just around the corner on February 23. While the headlines are focused on other news coming out of Richmond, I would like to turn your attention toward something you can do for conservation in these last days of the 2019 legislative session.
Two Fauquier County Budget Items to Support
There are two issues in particular that we would like to see addressed in the FY 2020 budget that are both long overdue. The first is Rappahannock Station Battlefield Park – Phase I which was not completed in 2018 as proposed in the 2018-2022 Capital Improvement Plan. The second is the creating of a full-time zoning inspector position within the Community Development department.
An Update on Loudoun2040 + Upcoming Community Meetings
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!
Help Strengthen Farms, Conserve Land & Protect Water Quality
We are now 16 days into the 45 day (short) session of the 2019 Virginia General Assembly. Bills are currently being debated and amended in committee until we hit ‘crossover’ on February 6 – the deadline for the House to finish working on its own bills before considering legislation passed by the Senate (and vice versa).
HB 2364: A Bumper Crop… of Brides and Grooms?
On Wednesday, members of the Virginia House Committee on Agriculture, Chesapeake and Natural Resources voted to make wedding events a protected activity under the definition of “agritourism.”…The net result? The bill would essentially make wedding events a by-right activity on any farm or winery. It would allow for weddings of any size on farms to become a 365-day a year activity. This would prevent reasonable regulation and protection from impacts (traffic, noise, lighting, runoff, etc.) to neighbors and the broader community.
An Eye on Richmond
It’s that time of year. While most are consumed with thoughts about gifts for that impossible relative or honing survival skills for holiday parties, I find my mind preoccupied with Richmond and a new General Assembly session.
Common Space for the Greater Good
Over 60 percent of Loudoun residents, live in a Homeowners Association-controlled community. How these communities manage their landscapes can have a profound effect on the health of our local ecosystems, wildlife, streams and drinking water sources.
Protecting the Goose Creek Watershed
PEC was recently awarded a $15,600 grant from the Virginia Environmental Endowment to further our work identifying and prioritizing opportunities to implement agricultural best management practices (BMPs) and strengthen efforts on land protected by conservation easements in the Goose Creek watershed.
On the Ground — Winter 2018
Updates from the around the PEC region, organized by county. Albemarle: Strengthening growth management in Albemarle. Clarke: Promoting and celebrating Conservation. Culpeper: A Finger on the Scale for Solar. Fauquier: Updated Plans, Remington Walks and Vint Hill’s Future. Greene: Greene at a crossroads. Loudoun: Choosing our future. Madison: Trout Stream Restoration Continues. Orange: Two Farms Conserved along the Rapidan River. Rappahannock: Community-wide Conservation Success!.