Having attended a private “stakeholder” meeting and “citizen” meeting last night on the efficacy of the Rural Crescent, I am here to tell you, get ready to lose the best land use tool Prince William County possesses.
Here is the THE biggest glaring flaw of the “Rural Preservation Study“, you just read it actually, the name of the study gives away the mistake. The Rural Crescent is more than just preserving open space, it is a critical fiscal tool.
Earlier on Thursday, representatives from those groups met for a focus group discussion at the county’s McCoart administration building, Price said. The goal of the evening session was to explain the study’s goals to area residents and begin gathering their input.
Many complied, voicing a range of opinions about the county’s A-1 zoning rule.
Some expressed support for the existing policy, which they credit for limiting sprawl and preserving open space by directing new growth toward existing population centers.
Others said the land-use rules unfairly limit the rights of rural property owners.
“We have property and we have rights,” said longtime rural crescent area property owner and resident Elizabeth Parker. “We don’t want the county dictating to us what to do with our land.”
Charlie Grymes and Elena Schlossberg, both members of the smart growth-minded Prince William Conservation Alliance, said any new policies should consider the financial ramifications of increased development.
“If you plant all these extra houses in the rural area, how does that affect traffic congestion?” Grymes asked, noting that county tax payers shoulder the burden of widening roads and building new schools necessary to accommodate residential construction.
“It’s not just the idea that you are preserving rural land, it’s also a sound fiscal tool,” Schlossberg added. “You can’t separate the two.”
It costs money to build roads, schools, fire & rescue facilities, libraries, and all the other infrastructure needed to support higher density developments. Tax payers end up footing the bill and suffering the consequences of congested roads and congested schools all the while seeing their taxes increase with little to no relief in sight. Patriot high school, brand new, will 1000 kids over capacity in four years!
Let me add also, property rights, no matter where you live, have zoning ordinances. I can’t decide to build a condo building on my property, not unless it is zoned that way at least! The idea is that communities must be planned.
Get ready for pretty pictures and lots of gobble gook words about saving space while in actually citizens lose out. Already I can see the explanation of why Prince William County should rezone the RC land that is adjacent to Loudon. Apparently our land use designations are “incompatible” between county borders. Guess what else is slated to be built in that area? Yep, the bi county parkway. Funny coincidence how this study will coincide with the impending approval of the parkway.
If preserving the quality of life in PWC is important to you, if your tax dollars are meaningful to you, I highly recommend you get involved in this process before it’s too late.
There will be more open forums and ways to participate in on-line surveys, I hope citizens don’t miss out this opportunity.
I find the whole concept of the rural crescent to be rather bizarre. The basic idea is to pack middle-income residents into high density neighborhoods and “preserve” open space in the rural crescent by preventing access except to a select few.
As someone who has lived out west, the concept of open space is very different. Counties in the West sometimes purchase land between towns and/or between high-density developments to avoid continuous urbanization. This provides open space adjacent to where people actually live that can be enjoyed by all for hiking/running/picnicking, etc.
The PWC concept of the rural crescent limits access to open space. Only those who can afford 10-acre lots and are willing to forego services provided to the rest of the county get to enjoy it. Rather than preserving and managing open space, it seems to be designed simply to limit access. I could understand if this area was pristine, old-growth forest, but it is not.
In my mind, the concept of the rural crescent needs to be re-examined.
I am trying to understand your point of view, Kelly. There are parks through out the county, not enough, I will grant you. Private land use will always be..private. The alternative is to open up the entire county to high density housing development. Are there down sides? I think so but I probably see more than Elena since I live in an R-4 zoned area and she is zoned for 10 acres.
Should I ever want to go further out of town and just live on a 1 or 2 acre lot, I am sort of SOL. The alternative might be to just pave over the entire county.
I appreciate the west concept but…then there is the BLM–the most hated agency in the west.
Kelly,
You bring up some very interesting questions and observations.
PWC has long had a reputation for not playing well with others when it comes to building relationships that will foster real open space acquisition. Take Silver Lake and that entire debacle.
I would recommend you visit http://www.pwconserve.org and read all about the rural crescent, open space, and fiscal responsibility.
Check out local filmmaker, author and Nokesville resident Tom Basham’s comments on Al Alborn’s column on PotomacLocal.com. Tom gives a good background and viewpoint. http://potomaclocal.com/2013/08/04/its-time-to-start-asking-prince-william-county-residents-what-we-really-want/