Cluster Subdivisions Promote Smart Growth and Preserve Farmland

Dear Editor:

As representatives of Loudoun’s Future PAC, we are committed to promoting sustainable growth and ensuring a high quality of life for all residents who have chosen to live in our beautiful County.

Next week the Board of Supervisors will decide whether to take up its staff recommendation and take meaningful steps to preserve the usable farmland where cluster subdivisions are built.

Before the Board is an agricultural prime soil proposal that would require any cluster development that has five or more non-contiguous acres of prime soils to preserve 70% of those acres. Why? We want to ensure that we’re preserving the prime agricultural soil in our County for farming, not subdivisions.

The original intent of clustering was to concentrate the houses on one portion of the lot, while keeping 70% as open space. The idea was that it would keep the farming vibrant while allowing more people to live amongst the farms. But it hasn’t worked out that way.

Developers have used the ordinance to build their houses on the farmable land, which is usually open and flat. They have preserved the unfarmable parts of the land instead to meet the letter of the law. When they do leave farmable land intact they place the septic fields and storm water drainage there, rendering the land unfarmable for all future generations.

We understand the concern that cluster subdivisions can bring too many homes to our area. That is a different question, and one that is not on the table right now. This zoning amendment is to use the land in the correct way – by allowing for agricultural and farming activities to continue on the usable parts of land and leaving the soil that isn’t conducive to farming to be used for houses.

Many changes have been made to the ag soil zoning amendment to reconcile the seemingly impossible tasks of preserving farmland while not affecting the value of the owner’s land. A consultant report was prepared that showed these changes made it possible to retain both goals.

This amendment has been worked on for four years. It is the best path forward and we urge the Board to approve it as presented by the staff.

John Lovegrove
President, Loudoun’s Future PAC