What does the current zoning allow ?
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From another thread, I posted this possible email or message you could call in.
The first contact is:
Melinda Artman, Zoning Administrator, 703-737-8915 martman@loudoun.gov or 703-777-0397.
I have not found the individual emails for the members of the Planning Commission, but the email for the Department of Planning is dop@loudoun.gov
What I would write or say is something along these lines.
Dear Ms. Artman and members of the Planning Commission,
As a concerned citizen (or visitor) to Loudoun County, I would like to emphasize the reasons that I choose to live in (or visit) this county include the rural character. I would like to see Loudoun County keep a viable rural economy, including farms, vineyards, wineries, bed & breakfasts, stables and equestrian facilities, and other community agricultural projects.
In this interest, I would request that the Planning Commission recommend the Clem-Burton proposal for lower density development in the Rural Planning Area.
In addition, I feel that the Planning Commission needs to follow the ZORC committee’s recommendations with regards to Performance Standards in Section 5-600 of the county ordinances and with regards to Specific Uses and Temproary Uses.
Sincerely,
<Your Name>
Your Address
Your contact information
Now, before everyone gets all up in arms over my mentioning some of the other industries, we need to work together with the people who care as strongly as we do that Loudoun County retain a rural economy.
Please, please, please send an email, or even better, ATTEND a meeting. I don’t like giving up my ride times either, but if we don’t have people willing to give up some time and participate on these citizen run boards and committees, the developers will pave it all.
Mel
My best wishes for preserving your beautiful open space.
I must give my 2cents here about New Urbanism. That has been a big topic in preserving the area I am in, along with selling development rights and green belts. The biggest overlooked problem with NU is that when you develop very densly in these green-belted “villages,” you still have a lot of commuters who are spilling out onto rural roads and creating multi-lanes, traffic lights and the inevitable influx of convenience stores, strip malls, etc. The concept sounds good, but in practice it can’t be a village because people can’t work there - they have to drive somewhere else to work. Also, others sell non dedicated land to make a quick buck (like people who inherit the land who live in other areas) building sprawl to service the new developments. I thought at first the concept of NU was wondereful untill I saw that there is that great flaw. Just look at Seaside FL, which was great untill it was such a success that they built another “village” right on top of it, one after the other so that it is as dense and traffic-laden as any other resort. Not trying to be neegative, just giving you something to consider about this concept.
I do think that there is a beginning movement to preserve the character of where we live, rural or urban. The moratorium that Atlanta’s mayor just put on McMansions being built in urban neighborhoods is a wonderful step in letting residents have some rights to determine how thier community is used.
gothedistance,
There was at least one other foxhunter there. Ms. Rogers is a frequent and eloquent speaker at these meetings. I saw her leaving at the end, and she hunts.
Kindra, if you go read my last post on that Delaplane Equestrian Complex thread in off course, you’ll see that you and I are probably on the same page with regards to what is sustainable development.
There are two more meetings and the Planning Commission has until March 6 to finalize and give the results back to the Board of Supervisors, so there is still plenty of time to write letters.
Mel
The Zoning Meeting last night was full. The people that spoke up for the Rural Zoning plan spoke volumes on the health and safety of the WHOLE population of the county, now and in the future, and those that didn’t were all “poor little me – this county is as bad as Enron stealing my money!” Shameless plugs for “me, me, me” and not ONE person who said “no” to the plan had anything in their speech even remotely considerate of the FUTURE of the infrastructure of the county.
Frankly, just watching the zoning board, and sitting and listening myself, I heard nothing at all compelling other than people who were pissed that they might “miss the boat” on selling their land to the highest bidder, and were angry at the county for what they perceived as chasing away the big developers with big pocketbooks. Everything that was said spoke to these people ONLY wanting to jump on the cash cow, and mad that it may be potentially leaving. The fact that they weren’t being prevented from selling or subdividing their lands at all never was raised – the greed was highly evident that they wanted the big bucks available to them NOW, and who cares about the traffic, overwhelming tax burden, and sagging infrastructure. Everyone of these people also wanted grandfathering, so they could take their good old time carving up their land for the highest profits.
The Zoning Board did not react on anything these speakers said, and merely went on to the next speaker.
The ONLY compelling speech made was the lady who had opted into the former AR1 (25 acre) plan and had worked very diligently to divide her land under those rule. With the new AR1 (20 acre) coming in, she explained how it would have negated a great deal of good she had tried to accomplish. The Zoning Board DID react to this, carefully listened to her – because her plan was very much in line with what the new Rural Zoning was to accomplish- and made it clear by their concern and questions that they were certainly going to work with her to make sure her work was not in vain.
That said a lot to me.
I was signed up to speak (#53), but had to leave before I could do so because many people were taking the full 3-6 minutes and it would have been very late when hubby and I finally got to speak. Anyway, I will be e-mailing my speech to the Zoning Board, and at the next meeting I will address the issue of grandfathering, and intend to have the full wording of the Virginia State law as it relates it. I hope to impress upon the board, and the audience, the potential cost and consequences to all the taxpayers of the county if the law is ignored merely to favor those who don’t make the deadline, no matter how close they are to finishing, and how deadly it is to undoing all the goals the county hopes to accomplish.
It would be REALLY NICE TO SEE SOME MORE HORSE PEOLE AT THE MEETING ON THE 11TH, just to say “YES” to the plan that will help preserve their future to have a rural place to ride! All you have to do is think about how it would feel to ride in current day Fairfax – and then put that in your own backyard!! That is what these people saying “NO to Rural Zoning” want to see!!! We need more “YES to Rural Zoning” people there to speak up.
If you live in Loudoun PLEASE COME OUT AND SUPPORT THE RURAL PLAN, PEOPLE!!!
I think anyone and everyone who foxhunts in Loudoun County (let’s see – that’s 5 foxhunts, right?) NEEDS to be at this meeting. Hunts only survive with open space and farmlands, yet every time I’ve been to the BOS meetings I’ve never seen any of the people I frequently see at the hunt meets. Don’t foxhunters care – even for something that will directly impact their sport??
Shame on all the Loudoun County foxhunters who sit back and expect others to show interest for them. 
Just showing your face at the BOS meeting is the least you can do. You don’t have to say a word, saddle your horse, or trailer there – just jump in your car and come show your support for the zoning that will prevent sprawl development IN YOUR HUNTING TERRITORY!!!
Saturday - Leesburg. BOS Meeting room - 1st floor in the gov’t building on Harrison St smack dead in the center of Leesburg. Google for a map.
Come on, people. It’s the future of your sport here! Get involved!
That’s because at this particular meeting the wanna be sellers were all out for blood. At the prior meeting all the land conservation people were there, and not the other side.
I got news for you… AR1 and AR2 (20/40 acre) are already moving into place…now. The Zoning Board is already started the legal notification via mail of the implimentation of a Rural District in the west, and are really only going to take notice of issues brought up that are of a critical nature to the county as a whole.
People whining about not being able to sell for top buck at current development prices aren’t critical. The new regulations don’t prohibit sales of properties – what they prohibit are rampant development that overburden – without mitigation – the infrastructure of the county’s health, safety, and transportation.
You’re welcome, Mel.
You know that free directory that you can pick up free every year? That’s where I got it. Perhaps you can read it at www.virginiahorse.com. But if you can get ahold of that directory - the highlights of the study are in there.
It does say that you can get the entire study by sending 35.58 to
Virginia Equine Educational Foundation
208 Stonehouse Road
Williamsburg, VA 23188
pattistc@cox.net is also listed as a contact person.
I think you can get what you need by just reading the highlights in the free directory.
But don’t forget to contact your extension agent as well. They keep great numbers on all types of ag operations and $ brought in too. The main site is vt.edu - you can find your local office there, or also get great info from the site.
Hope this helps. Best of luck. I don’t know what kind of help I can offer except to spout off numbers from studies or point you to places to look.
Keep us posted on developments (pun intended!) 
I’m late to this discussion, but I thought Loudoun County residents might want to know that there is a plan to put big-box business, including Wal-Mart, in Aldie, which is just to the east of Middleburg. Discussions on this are fairly well advanced, but still “unofficial” and has not come before the county government. The person to hammer about it is Dulles district supervisor Steve Snow. Snow is an unrepentant pro-growth Republican who has repeatedly denied that rural economy in Loudoun even exists.
Loudouners are up against a lot: politicians in the pockets of developers, the undeniable need for more housing to support Nova’s job growth. Building in rural western Loudoun isn’t going to solve the affordable housing problem, however. Only rich folks can afford $1 mil homes on three acres near Purcellville. All it’ll do is disrupt the rural lifestyle and contribute to traffic and congestion.
I am a former Loudoun County reporter and spent many, many, many hours in the Board of Supervisors’ chambers in the last two years. If anyone has any questions about who to contact in the LC office, please feel free to ask me.
Good luck, western Loudoun.
I removed all my previous messages related to this out of respect to Jessica. I no longer wish to engage this.
Since the VA Supreme court threw out the old AR1/AR2 zoning maps, it is back to A3, and developers are submitting their plans for subdivisions as fast as they can, before the new zoning restrictions take place.
Egypt Farm, now owned by a developer, rumor has it that they want one house per 3 acres.
A3 means one house per 3 acres for the entire county and 3 acre lots is not smart development, IMO. Uses up land too fast, everyone stays on well and septic, which the water supply may not be up to that many new homes.
The proposed changes are listed on the website, and while I understand how complex zoning is to read, if anyone wants to retain any rural economy and feel in western Loudoun, they need to support lower density zoning.
Mel
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I just want to wish good luck and success everyone working to preverve the rural lifestyle of your area. We are fighting the same battle in MD. It’s just build, build, build with no thought as to the ramifications of that building. I belonged to a small foxhunting club that disbanded because the land we hunted was sold for development. We knew for years it was going to be developed but it didn’t make that last hunt any cheerier.
My family’s farm was downzoned in the last zoning change in my area. We welcomed it and in fact, there were 12,000 acres downzoned and not much opposition to it. So it is nice to see that there are still some who want to keep the rural areas rural.
Elghund - THATS what I was trying to say, thank you! I’m just pointing out that a lot of the yuppies buying McMansions are into the prestige associated with a humongous house (for the 2 of them)in a neighborhood that has a name with the words…Hunt, Glen, the Reserve, Chase, Landing, Shade, some kind of tree(the Oaks,etc),…and that are 20 feet from the McMansion next door. So they really NEED window dressings!! But Mr Waterglen says there are entire empty rooms with no furniture!
I get all bothered by the names of these neighborhoods when they are the name of the farm they were built on OR are the name of a hunt. There IS an Old Dominion Hunt Estates for example. I feel like its just people chasing status…
Not meaning to flame those of you into “minimalism” in decorating BTW!
Following on to gothedistance’s point – I was just curious about what the hunts themselves are doing – as far as sending out e-mails and rallying the troops. I don’t hunt, so have no idea as to what they are doing at an organizational level, but in sheer numbers they could have a tremendous presences and voice.
You shouldn’t have. It’s a free country and you are entitled to say anything you want. Never censor yourself.
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Thank you for posting this. (I actually came out of lurkdom for this one!)
I am right on the fringe of this…Loudoun West and Middleburg hunt through our place. On the back side of our farm is all big farms, and from the front we see the subdivisions coming.
Rather scary when you get letters of inquiry from those RBDs (REEEALLY BIG DEVELOPERS) saying that they are trying to purchase a few big, contiguous tracts, and telling you about the wonderful subdivisions and townhomes they build!)
This morning – as I drove my son to school, there was a young fox trotting down the fenceline. I stopped and talked to him, and he stood for a few seconds just listening, before trotting off. A little farther down, an owl was sitting on a fence post. So sad to think that this will all be gone.
Purcellville will soon be Ashburn if there is no pushback.
Will try my best to get to the meeting, but will definitely send an email!
Thanks again for the heads up.
