Memoranda

By Charles Houston

Let’s roast some sacred cows, or if you prefer, tell the emperor that he has no clothes:

Memo to: the Board of Supervisors – The recent draft of our new zoning ordinance does nothing to protect the historic and rural character of western Loudoun. It will lead to overcrowding, and to excessive commercialization that makes our land nothing but a drink-and-drive destination. 

The only apparent change from the old zoning is the use of some zippy-looking tables for such ephemera as parking ratios. This is not your fault and hopefully the Planning Commission and TLUC have set out some good ideas for the Board to consider.

Memo to the Department of Planning & Zoning – Your people are good folks, but the department emasculated the Zoning Ordinance Committee and completely controlled the zoning rewrite in a takeover by your bureaucracy. 

Your draft of the new ordinance appears to show neither real-world experience nor a benefic vision for rural Loudoun’s destiny. You also did a sloppy job. For example, as drafted, nature preserves and open space are not permitted in rural Loudoun. (An oversight I’m sure, but sloppy.)  

Memo to Planning Commission – As the gatekeeper of the approval process, you have a chance to get things right. Dig into the details and fix things. For example, breweries are required to be on a farm, yet they get a special definition of what constitutes a “farm.” 

For breweries, any piece of land that’s at least ten acres is considered a “farm.” That special favor is totally contrary to the concept of a farm brewery that produces its raw materials on its own land, and the special language just needs to be stricken.

Memo to TLUC – The Board’s Transportation and Land Use Committee will probably be a milestone in the zoning process. If it does only one thing, it should be to require Special Exceptions, and thus individual Board approval, for a range of intense uses such as event centers, country inns and breweries.

There are a number of players in the zoning game.

Memo to the Chamber of Commerce – Chambers of Commerce are good in places where new businesses are needed, such as southwest Virginia. In wealthy and booming counties like Loudoun, they do little except personify greed. Oddly, this group wants more businesses, yet they can’t find themselves enough employees. Citizens, not confederacies of businesses, should set Loudoun’s future.

Visit Loudoun – This state-mandated body is not a friend of western Loudoun. It has a governance problem that ends with it always advocating more, more, more tourism. It proclaims to be a “destination management” body, which implies working with others toward some shared goal. That’s a specious claim and in reality, because Visit Loudoun is nothing but a supercharged marketing entity that cannot see the harm from over-commercialization. 

Memo to the Piedmont Environmental Council – The PEC can be too staid. Its influence would make it a helpful advocate on land use matters, but its arrows tend to stay in its quiver. By the way, how about doing more conservation easements?

Memo to the Land Trust of Virginia and the Old Dominion Land Conservancy – Sally Price at LTV and Henry Stribling at ODLC do almost all the conservation easements in the county and deserve many kudos. They are also nice people. 

Memo to the Friends of the Blue Ridge – This group is a diligent advocate for what is probably our most important natural asset – the mountains that are the scenic backdrops to the rest of the county. It’s imperative that they be protected, but the draft zoning ordinance adds nothing helpful. (That’s an inexplicable decision by planners, who glibly say that “performance standards” suffice. They don’t.)

Big changes generally are prompted by ideas, and here are some.

Memo to big conservation easement donors – Take a broader look at the concept of conservation, which is more than just easements. You can profit from donating easements, and that’s fine. However, you protest anything that might reduce your proceeds by even small amounts (i.e., you don’t like the initiative to save prime agricultural soils, and you go ballistic at anything that could reduce housing density.) 

Carrington Homes is now developing cluster subdivisions in the Middleburg area, which also has far more land in conservation easement than does any other part of the county. That area has much lower zoning density than areas north of Snickersville Turnpike, yet clusters and easements still work around Middleburg. That fact seems to discredit your assertions that the currently permissive density should not be changed,

Memo to conservation forces – The word “density” is verboten in county government, but it’s a    concept that relates to the overcrowding that imperils us. (Density means how much land is required for each house. In northern areas, it’s five acres per house. While that is gracious in a suburban setting, it’s fatal to the bucolic, uncrowded rural areas we love.) 

Our zoning gives a density bonus when a developer will “cluster” his houses on smaller lots, theoretically leaving open space to wrap around an island of dwellings. That has not happened in practice, as clusters usually look like banal subdivision streets. You conservationists have pushed for lower density, but there is a simpler solution: Abolish the cluster concept altogether.

Questions will come down to politics.

Memo to voters – Our Supervisors will be up for (re)election this November. Many groups (e.g., realtors, developers) and individuals contribute money in hopes of having some influence on the elected candidates’ future voting. The current crop of candidates has not raised much money – yet. Conservation-minded citizens should pony up if they want a seat at the political table.

Memo to candidates – A new and well-funded Political Action Committee, a PAC, has been formed. It’s called Loudoun’s Future and it plans to contribute to candidates who support the goal of protecting our unique heritage and character. This PAC’s founders are a serious and accomplished group, and they will welcome any donations. Loudoun’s Future is bipartisan.

Memo to citizens – It’s YOUR county. Zoning affects your day-to-day life. Tired of traffic? Bothered by the noise of data centers? Sad to see an old farm sprout tract housing? For these and many reasons, you should care.

In developing six million square feet of corporate office buildings around the south, Charles Houston dealt with a multitude of planners and politicians and their zoning codes. He lives in Paeonian Springs.