It was fantastic to have such an engaged crowd at our recent Conservation Funding Workshop and Social at Powers Farm & Brewery in Midland!
Purchase of Development Rights (PDR)
A legacy of conservation and community at risk in Fauquier County
From their storied pasts to the present day, the Fauquier County towns of Remington, Bealeton and the many unique crossroad communities in the surrounding region have been characterized by their rural charm. And for decades, The Piedmont Environmental Council has been committed to collaborating with these local communities on conservation, land use planning, historic preservation and public access to nature. But as pressure for massive data center complexes spreads beyond Northern Virginia into the Piedmont’s special rural communities, we worry the progress and investments we and many others have made toward conserving, enhancing and preserving these communities will be lost forever.
1990s | PEC opposed the Fauquier Forward plan that would have widened Virginia State Route 28 and replaced the agricultural economy through that area with suburbs. Instead, we advocated for an alternative vision of conservation and helped create the county’s Purchase of Development Rights program, which pays landowners to relinquish development rights on their properties, thus supporting farmers, preserving the environmental and economic benefits of agriculture and preventing costly sprawl. Since then, Fauquier’s PDR program has become a model for other places, creating an important tool for landowners who want to keep their land in farming.
2006 | PEC helped the county acquire Rappahannock Station Battlefield Park, preserving this critical battlefield for a future public park and recreation area near the town of Remington. PEC supported development of a master plan for the park and continues to advocate for walking trails and interpretive signage that will tell the important history of the town and this historic battlefield.
2017 | In support of Remington’s effort to strengthen tourism and enhance pedestrian safety, PEC received a PATH Foundation grant to develop a plan called Remington Walks. This plan to rejuvenate Main Street with walking trails, town signage, pedestrian-friendly connectivity and more was developed with input gathered during community meetings and walking audits with residents. Remington Walks was adopted into Remington’s comprehensive plan and has been a guide and supportive document for several subsequent projects, including a gazebo next to the town hall, completed trail connections to Margaret Pierce Elementary and an improved railroad crossing accessible for strollers and wheelchairs downtown.
2021 | PEC and numerous partners set about creating an Upper Rappahannock River Water Trail that provides much-needed public access at several points along this Virginia-designated scenic river. In August 2021, we helped cut the ribbon on the new Rector Tract public canoe and kayak launch a short walk from downtown Remington. Open dawn to dusk, this launch closes a 25-mile gap in public access to the river between Riverside Preserve and Kelly’s Ford in Culpeper County.
2021 | Waterloo Bridge over the Rappahannock River is the uppermost point of the historic Rappahannock Canal, an important historic resource and a unique community treasure. Built in 1878, it was closed in 2014 and slated for replacement by the Virginia Department of Transportation. Advocating for its restoration, rather than replacement, PEC invested in a consultant to put forward a restoration alternative, held numerous community meetings, pushed VDOT to consider other options, and, with the financial help of the Hitt family, was able to fully restore the oldest metal truss bridge still standing in Virginia today.
2021 | PEC established a native plant garden at C.M. Crockett Park in Midland. As a part of our efforts to promote native landscaping practices, we applied for a grant from Kortlandt Fund of the Northern Piedmont Community Foundation to purchase the native plants for the project. We also designed the garden and worked with the Fauquier Parks and Recreation Department and community volunteers to install it.
The network of support to conserve, enhance, and preserve Remington and southern Fauquier extends well beyond PEC. The local churches, the Virginia Cooperative Extension, and John Waldeck established the Remington Community Garden. The town utilized a PATH Make It Happen Grant to build a new gazebo next to the town hall. And the Remington Community Partnership — run by the tireless Mary and Ray Root — has worked to document, preserve and promote the historic resources of the town. Countless people have led numerous other projects, but a comprehensive list could take up the entire publication!
Remington and its surrounding areas are at the intersection of two very different futures. The tremendous work we’ve all already done together paves a path that retains the region’s rural charm, agricultural heritage and economy, and promise of a vibrant place for visitation and recreation.
This progress is threatened by pressure from multiple data center proposals that could put more industrial development in the quaint town of Remington than all the commercial space in Fauquier County combined. Together these projects would open a floodgate of new transmission lines, substations, construction traffic, air pollution, noise, and massive concrete computer warehouses that will crowd out other forms of investment and business interest and induce even more industrial sprawl.
Before our county leaders make major decisions that will forever alter a critical piece of Fauquier’s rural identity and economy, it’s important to revisit and remember the investments and community accomplishments made in the face of past development pressures that would have transformed this region.
This article appeared in the 2025 fall edition of The Piedmont Environmental Council’s member newsletter, The Piedmont View. If you’d like to become a PEC member or renew your membership, please visit pecva.org/join.
AC44 Update: Feb. 16, 2023
The following text was sent out via email on February 16, 2023. Sign up for PEC email alerts →
Dear Supporter,
Hold on, while we catch our breath! It’s been a busy week in the world of the Albemarle Comp Plan but we want to provide an update and encourage you to participate in the final Planning Commission work session on Feb. 27, focused exclusively on the Rural Areas Land Use and Transportation chapter. You can download the updated Topic Report that includes background information, the draft Goals and Objectives, and equally important, an updated Growth Management Policy in the link.
Since the beginning of this process, we have been strongly advocating for the protection of the resources and communities in the Rural Area, which encompasses 95% of Albemarle County. The Rural Area draft Goals and Objectives have thankfully been given more time and attention than originally scheduled, so to take advantage of this opportunity, we hope to see you there.
Ways to provide comments before Feb. 27 or right before the Work Session:
- Submit Comments in Writing: Public comment will be accepted in writing at the meeting, or by emailing comments to PlanningCommission@albemarle.
org and [email protected]. - Speak Up Tuesday, Feb. 27, at 4 p.m.: Community members have three minutes to speak directly to the Planning Commission prior to the start of the work session. Come to Lane Auditorium in the County Office Building or comment virtually to have your voice heard.
- Attend the Work Session: Showing elected and County officials that their community members are paying attention to the decisions that impact them is significant. Tell your friends and family what you heard after the work session.
- Answer the Questionnaires: All chapters have questionnaires open for review and responses are presented to the Commission and Board.
With less than a week’s notice–a process that normally has approximately three weeks of review time–the draft Goals and Objectives for the final three topics of Phase II were released to be presented at the Feb. 13 Planning Commission Work Session. We rapidly reviewed the draft and were prepared to make a statement about the Rural Area Goals and Objectives only to find out on the morning of the 13th that the Planning Commission’s review and discussion of the Rural Areas Land Use and Transportation Goals and Objectives was rescheduled to a separate work session on Feb. 27.
Instead, the Planning Commission reviewed the draft Goals and Objectives for the Development Areas Land Use and Transportation chapter, which includes topics such as when, where, and how to expand the Development Areas boundaries, activity centers, and multimodal transportation networks. They also reviewed the draft Goals and Objectives for the Community Facilities chapter, focusing on topics like expanding public sewer and water and the siting of large-scale solar facilities.
PEC supports many elements in the draft Goals and Objectives for the Rural Area, the Development Areas, and Community Facilities. However, we have strong concerns about some elements of the draft Goals and Objectives. Stay tuned for our talking points as we get closer to the meeting!
If you know anyone who may wish to receive these AC44 email updates from PEC, please forward this email to them and let them know that they can sign up for the list here. You can also find our past AC44 alerts here. We hope to see you next week!
Thank you!
Rob McGinnis, PLA FASLA
Senior Land Use Field Representative
Albemarle & Greene Counties
[email protected]
(434) 962-9110
On the Ground Updates – June 2021
A series of short updates from around the PEC region – Albemarle & Charlottesville, Clarke, Culpeper, Fauquier, Greene, Loudoun, Madison, Orange & Rappahannock.
2021 Land Conservation Update
This annual publication of The Piedmont Environmental Council highlights land conservation opportunities available to landowners in the region. This edition includes a feature on a recent Purchase of Development Rights easement in Fauquier County, 2020 Piedmont land conservation totals and general information for those who may be interested in putting their land in easement.
On the Ground Updates – December 2020
A series of short updates from around the PEC region – Albemarle & Charlottesville, Clarke, Culpeper, Fauquier, Greene, Loudoun, Madison, Orange & Rappahannock.
Fauquier’s PDR program helps working farms
Fauquier’s Purchase of Development Rights program pays landowners of agricultural operations to limit the development potential of their land through a conservation easement. Unlike a donated conservation easement, the PDR program pays farmers a flat rate of $25,000 per development right they wish to extinguish.