Many folks, including myself, had strong reservations regarding the Rural Preservation “Study”. I was concerned the underlying premise behind the study was nefarious, intended to dismantle the Rural Crescent. The results are in, and, by an overwhelming number of respondents, residents in Prince William County support the preservation of the Rural Crescent. Click here to read the results for yourself.
It is clear to me, residents not only appreciate the geographic diversity in the County, they want to actively preserve it!
The weak link in the study, from all that I read, was the somewhat nebulous support for sewer in the Rural Crescent. Why is that the weak link? Because for 15 years, no matter who sat on the BOCS, no matter who was in the pocket of the Developers, approving high density development within the Rural Crescent was precluded by lack of available public sewer.
There will be a comprehensive public meeting and work session on Saturday, December 7th, from 9 am to 5 pm, at George Mason University, sponsored by the Planning Department. It will be an all day event, people can learn about possible initiatives to preserve the Rural Area.
To date, there are only 2 serving Supervisors, Mike May and Frank Principi, that have signed the Rural Crescent Preservation Pledge. Corey had demonstrated his lack of commitment to the Rural Crescent when he voted for the approval of Avendale. Remember, this turned 12 allowed homes under what WAS the current Rural zoning, into at least 500 homes, if not more.
Pete Candland refused to sign the Rural Preservation Pledge, I hope now, with some experience on the Board, Pete recognizes the long term fiscal value in the Rural Crescent. In fact, I hope every Supervisor sees the unique value of the diversity in PWC, from the Potomac River to the Bull Run Mountain. From the more urban feel to the country feel.
There is no other county like it in Virginia within such close proximity to the Nations Capitol. We are truly special and I hope we stay that way.
As I recall, some pretty nasty things were sent out about you in a flier, bashing Martha Henley. Some how Martha was linked to the Rural Crescent which was linked to illegal immigrant apologists and the pro-abortion political arm of PWC, or some such stupidity.
I hope that people in the Gainesville District which contains a large chunk of the RC now see that having land designated as Rural Crescent is a fairly politically conservative notion and has nothing to do with illegal immigration or pro-choice initiatives.
Keeping development from running rampant keeps the county from needing new schools, public safety, libraries, at a rate that simply isn’t sustainable. Mike May and Frank Principi got it. Too bad the entire group didn’t get it.
30 plus kids per classroom is a result of not paying attention to runaway development and trying to go on the cheap.
Maybe the next go round supervisors will see the wisdom of committing to a concept that slows growth.
Funny, not too many people are talking about that Rural Crescent Pledge nowadays.
“Public Overwhelmingly Supports Preserving Rural Area!” Hmmmm…why do I have a problem with this proclamation? Well, let’s see:
A. Of the 430,289 (2012 data) residents in PWC, a grand total of 384 answered the survey. That’s something like .08924346% of the population.
B. Of the 384 who answered the survey guess where most of them reside? Why the Rural Crescent of course-278/384 (75%) live in or live in proximity (Area 2) to the RC.
Perhaps the headline should have screamed:
“Of Those Citizens Living in the Rural Crescent, 75% Overwhelmingly Support Preserving the Rural Area”.
or perhaps:
“Less Than 1% of the Population of Prince William County Residents Overwhelmingly Support Preserving the Rural Area.”
Finally, as I recall, this blog was “overwhelmingly” against the recitation of the Pledge of Allegiance in schools. If this is the case, why is signing a pledge to support preservation of the Rural Area (aka the Rural Crescent) so important?
While I agree that overdevelopment as we have seen it in Prince William County is wrong and screws the taxpayers with the burden of supporting the added infrastructure (the result of crappy proffer rules and enforcement), please don’t try to build your case on the results of this equally crappy survey.
Post Scriptum: How many people even knew of the survey?
People who care about preserving the rural aspect of county probably should be the ones responding. What people are going to say build it up and concrete it over?
George, not everyone was against the recitation of the pledge. Some of us talked about how kids became desensitized to it. We discussed how to make it more meaningful rather than what happens now. Kids once they get past a certain age go on auto-pilot, doing it year after year after year.
I absolutely think kids should learn the pledge in school as part of citizenship component of their education. I just question how 13 years of recitation makes people better citizens.
I think Elena’s point was that some of the people who were down-right nasty about the rural crescent pledge are now using the rural crescent to support THEIR political point of view. Funny how the worm turned there.
Additionally, funny how the support for the rural crescent seems to go back and forth, depending on the political needs of the politicians. Contrast that to the people who have donated blood, sweat and tears over the years to make sure responsible land use is practiced by the county.
What’s wrong with wanting to preserve your way of life? Would you want a shopping center going in next door to your home?
Good points, George.
The reason for the support shown for public sewer is probably related to the survey wording. Public sewer was presented as a strategy to preserve land and no mention was made of density increases resulting from public sewer in other jurisdictions.
Not having public sewer seems to be the real fence and what keeps the Rural Crescent intact.
Dear Moon,
My point is that 384 respondents is NOT an OVERWHELMING set of the population of PWC. 8/100 of 1%.
I also think the sewer issue is a red herring, perhaps raised by the people in the RC. A Boogeyman Man to keep developers away. How well the land perks is a better measure for determining the density of housing. I suppose a determination of what the water table would support is also critical. I suspect the RC might well support 5 acre sites without disturbing the RC too much. But again, don’t base the argument on the response of so few people. In truth. I suspect most people of PWC could give a rat’s ass less-perhaps that is part of the reason for the low response.
And no, I don’t want a shopping center next door to my house. We beat down a cell tower as well as a four-lane Purcell Road, one of the few true by-ways in this area.
I wouldn’t have a problem with 5 acres lots at all.
I think if it isn’t in their back yards, people just don’t care. I don’t even think NIMBY is wrong. If the people living right there didn’t give a rat’s ass, who else would?
I was a whole lot more opposed to the TRI-county parkway than the BI-county parkway.
why? Proximity to my house. It would have been a lot close than what is proposed now. That Godwin Drive extension would have been part of the TRI county.
I remember when 1 acre was the threshold in PWC.
@Moon-howler
The parkway has never been close to your home. The whole issue has involved the RC and Route 234–not business 234 or Godwin. But I would tell you that the widening of Route 234 would be disastrous to my area–just 1-½ miles from Route 234. We can hear cars and trucks now, I can’t imagine what several thousand trucks a day would sound like. On some days we can hear stuff on the PW Parkway that runs from Liberia Avenue to Route 1. This is some 6 or more miles from my house. I definitely don’t want the Bi/Tri-county parkway anywhere around here. Do the people in the RC REALLY care about my situation–probably not.
Where I live is zoned as SRR–one house per 2-½ acres, no lot less than one acre. We’re in pretty good shape–my neighbors are about a football field away from me. No HOA (than God), no street lights, no sidewalks and lots of trees. A few assholes who ride ATV down the streets and a little corner store that makes the best bacon, egg and cheese sandwiches in the county–owned by two Iranian Christians.
Actually the Prince William Parkway is about 2.5 miles from my home. I don’t know what to tell you but that’s just where I live. I don’t think you are thinking about the other side of it. Perhaps you are confused about where I live. That’s as close as I want. I can’t hear cars from 234 or the Parkway. I can hear bands and events from Bull Run Regional Park from my house.
The TRI-county Parkway which is no longer on the books involved extending Godwin Drive. That would have been 2 blocks from my home. Had that gone through, I would have gone killer NIMBY.
I had you pegged as being closer to Dumfries Rd. than the Parkway. You know that road names in this county are my pet peeve. I would say that the BI-county involves both of us.
Part of it is Dumfries Road and part of it is the Parkway. I agree, the names are very confusing.