A plan to get people who work in Loudoun into foreclosed Loudoun homes has even longtime political adversaries Chairman Scott York (I-At Large) and Supervisor Eugene Delgaudio (R-Sterling) working together. Both live in Sterling, where the foreclosure rate is highest, and York had planned the initiative to apply only to the Sterling and Sugarland Run areas, but a close vote on an amendment by Supervisor Lori Waters (R-Broad Run) opened the proposed program up to the entire county.

Delgaudio and York both voted against the change, and Delgaudio said the fact that he and York were in agreement on the matter demonstrated the importance not only of spending money to fill foreclosed houses but also of targeting the hardest-hit areas. "We’re polar opposites and yet we’re in agreement," he said.

The vote to have staff look into the plan was unanimous.


IF ADOPTED, the initiative, similar to one recently adopted in Prince William County, would direct money from the county’s $6 million housing trust funds toward grants of up to $25,000 or low-interest loans for people who work in the county but live elsewhere to buy houses that are currently in foreclosure. Originally, the plan was to apply only to county employees and teachers, but York accepted an amendment from Delgaudio to open it up to anyone who works in the county.

Currently, almost 45 percent of county employees live outside the county, often as a result of Loudoun’s cost of living.

"I know that by state statute, the Board of Supervisors can offer up to a $25,000 grant to county employees," York said. "I don’t know if it applies to the private sector." He said the county could also offer its employees loans without interest, although he added that he did not know yet what the interest rate would be on the loans or whether grants would be for the full $25,000.

As the initiative is drafted, the homes being purchased through the program would have to be assessed at less than $400,000.

York said his desire to limit the program to the ZIP codes with the highest foreclosure rates was born of a "concern about where the Sterling community is headed in itself and it’s so limited what $1 million can do." The initial proposal capped spending at $1 million, but a later amendment by Supervisor Susan Buckley (D-Sugarland Run) removed the cap. "Maybe there’s $2 million worth of applicants. That’s fine," York said.

About 42 percent of the county’s 2,000 foreclosures between October 2007 and last March were in the 20164, 20165 and 20166 ZIP codes, which include the Sterling and Sugarland Run areas. York hoped the proposed plan could start turning those neighborhoods around, as many of the homes purchased through the program are likely to be in those areas.

In Sterling Park, he said, "we had a lot of purchasing of housing for investment by folks who don’t live there." This resulted in a neighborhood where most residents were temporary renters, he said, adding, "Many of these landlords haven’t taken care of [their houses]." More homeowners, said York, would mean "more people working together to take care of the community." He said he especially liked Supervisor Andrea McGimsey’s (D-Potomac) proposal to place an emphasis on moving law-enforcement employees into the houses, although he was unsure whether this could be done.

Anyone buying a home through the program would be required to live there for a certain time or repay the county. "They would definitely have to live in the house, too. They can’t rent it out," York said.


IF GRANTS OF $25,000 were given out and $1 million were spent on the program, that would mean 40 houses filled, he said. "It’s not much, but it’s something."

"I think it’s a great idea. When does an opportunity come along like this?" said Kevin Chroninger, chairman of the Sterling Foundation, noting the already low housing prices. "It seems like the time is right to take advantage of that."

Chroninger lives in Dominion Station, just west of Sterling Park, and owns a condominium off Sterling Boulevard in Rolling Ridge, which he rents out. He said widespread foreclosures had not only dragged down home values but had also changed the atmosphere of Sterling Park, with unkempt lawns, vandalism and empty streets. "I’ve seen a huge downturn in the number of people you see out and about in the community," he said.

He agreed that the increase in renters had also had an effect. "Resident owners take greater interest in the property," he said. He added that homeowners associations cannot operate without homeowners present.

"Everybody’s for getting these foreclosed houses purchased," said Delgaudio, noting that fewer residents and lower home values meant less taxes collected by the county. "Sterling Park could use a few more teachers living here, some more deputies living here, some more zoning inspectors living here." However, he said he had wanted to open the program up to anyone who might be kept out of Loudoun by cost. "Your first house — why not let it be a Sterling Park house?" he said.

He lambasted the board members who voted against targeting Sterling and Sugarland Run specifically, saying, "The entire county is threatened by a disdain, a disinterest in the calamities in Sterling Park." He said this was the board’s second mistake when it came to Sterling Park, with the first mistake being a decision to "ignore the illegal alien issue."

The new board voted early on, in a close vote, not to require businesses to verify employees’ residency, citing concerns that such a requirement would be costly and ineffective.

Delgaudio accused other supervisors of ignoring Sterling’s concerns in the interest of their own districts. "I vote for a fire department in Aldie," he said.

York said the proposed program is only "one more thing thrown in the hopper for discussion."

"This is just one proposal that came forward. There are going to be some other proposals from the Affordable Housing Board for the rest of the $6 million."