Since when does a developer’s consulting engineer speak for the County?
Dear Editor:
When a taxpayer and long-term resident of Loudoun County sends a letter of concern to a County official about a proposed development in their neighborhood, is it common practice for that letter to be forwarded to the developer’s consulting engineer? It wouldn’t seem so, but this is what we experienced.
Just up the hill from our farm, a Public Notice invited comments to be sent to the Director, Department of Building and Development, regarding a preliminary subdivision application by Carrington Builders for 9 lots on 47.40 acres on the west-facing slope of Short Hill Mountain.
For the 20+ years we have lived here, that property has been densely planted with white pines and hardwoods. It is home to abundant wildlife. Black bears have been spotted many times coming down from the mountain; wild turkeys are everywhere, as are owls, hawks, eagles, and even wood ducks.
The land has now been cleared for driveways and wells have been drilled. We predict many more trees will be clear-cut if this project is allowed to go forward. Short Hill Road currently floods during heavy rains, and the ruts and gullies can be extremely hazardous. VDOT already doesn’t keep up with the maintenance. We urged the County to reject the application or at least have it modified.
We never got a response from the County, but we did receive a letter from the builder’s consulting engineer. He wrote that the County planner on the project had forwarded our letter to him for response. He shared a few irrelevant personal details about his own links to rural and historic properties, boasted of waiting lists of families wanting homes built by Carrington, and then he referenced zoning ordinances and state laws. Among his more infuriating remarks: The property has not been in land use tax since 2012, which indicates the previous owners wanted to retain their rights to develop the property. Also, if the road were deemed substandard at any time, it would be VDOT’s responsibility to fix it. And his final words: “This is a by-right subdivision, and Loudoun County is very careful to strictly administer the regulations that govern it, but there is no discretion to reach beyond the adopted standards.”
Sally and Mark Pfoutz
Purcellville
Comments
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I think the writer should maybe educate them self on land use law in Virginia. If this is actually a “by-right subdivision”, then, as it has been explained to me a bunch of times by a bunch of different people- all of whom are smarter than me- the County can’t prohibit anyone from development that is permitted by the current County ordinances. They can only enforce the regulations that are on the books. So asking the County to “stop” a by-right development (if it’s meeting all those County regulations) is wasted breath. They can’t. Even if they did “stop” it, it would just end up in court, the County would loose and the tax payers would be on the hook for millions of dollars in damages and legal fees and then it would still get built.
Honestly, given the state of customer service these days, the fact that the County actually did something with your letter that resulted in you getting a response- even if it was from the developer’s engineer- is something I’d be happy with. I can’t even get people that I want to hire and pay money to to return my calls, let alone respond in writing.
Sally and Mark, you aren’t the only ones to have gotten this treatment. Save Rural Loudoun is asking the County for an explanation.