On WAGE Tuesday, August 24, 2006

Loudoun Headline News with Tom Johns

Meeting Crosstrail Halfway

We hear local voices standing up for development- amid a general history of opposition to growth & protests against particular projects. We spoke to a couple of supporters for the Crosstrail application this week- Leesburg District Supervisor Jim Clem & legal representative Michael Banzhaf. They said they feel that the item’s been getting an unfair shake; we’ve heard concerns- especially from the Town of Leesburg- on a host of issues: traffic: airport impact and a standoff over who’d provide water & sewer to the site [the Town or the County]. The property lies between the Greenway & the Airport.

Former Leesburg Mayor Jim Clem stressed that the designs- for over a thousand homes & more than two million square feet of professional use- would certainly change prior to implementation. He compared the designs to that of an urban setting like New York City- where one could conduct all activities without much travel. The Supervisor described such a community minimizing traffic; Jim Clem acknowledged that you can’t place restrictions on mobility for those who purchase the homes.

The item goes to a work session before the County’s Planning Commission during the second week in September. The proposal could then go on to the Board of Supervisors for action- or any other of a number of possibilities.

Michael Banzhaf pointed out that the total number or residential units now stands at 12 hundred- made up of a large portion of age-restricted dwellings- for senior housing. He stated that the Loudoun Sanitation Authority could provide water & sewer to the site- probably faster than the Town of Leesburg could install similar services.

The legal representative listed a number of transportation improvements pending in the offer- including Greenway access, Battlefield Parkway connections & support for the eventual flyover at Sycolin & the Bypass- as well as contingencies for the pending Park & Ride lot at Bolen Memorial Park. Banzhaf compared the project to the Fair Lakes development in Fairfax County.

He indicated this as preferable to some of the alternatives. We heard his take on the Town’s denial for the Meadowbrook housing development. He referred to a common misconception- in the denial of a rezoning- in which people believe that the land will remain open.

The lawyer acknowledged this as a possibility- if the property were zoned that way; Banzhaf said this is zoned R-1- for houses- by-right. He lent the opinion that they possess vested rights in this case. The attorney listed this plan on the books for years.

Leesburg Supervisor Jim Clem elaborated on the overall cost of development issue. He advised us to examine the messages from the Governor & other elected officials- indicating a reduction in the amount of money coming out of Richmond. The Former Mayor said this means we need to rely increasingly more on proffers.

Jim Clem told us he strongly dislikes the situation. He issued a reminder that by-right projects put forth no proffers- with the resulting traffic problems stemming from the deal. The Supervisor philosophized- that the citizens really believe that development will cease as soon as Loudoun passes some sort of County-wide zoning decision- from the current A-3- to AR-1 & AR-2- or whatever- and that the traffic will calm. Jim Clem warned us that these folks would be in for a rude awakening. He told us to look in the southern part of the County- where a lot of by-right projects went in- with no road-building proffers- causing the choke-points we witness today.

Leesburg continues to spar with the Loudoun Government over the Crosstrail project; the Council sent a request to re-form a joint policy committee to talk about the application.

The Town remains a referral agency.