Supervisor Drew Hiatt (R-Dulles) believes that the 10-year capital facilities planning document the Board of Supervisors approved Monday "sets unrealistic expectations."
"It's difficult to reach the standards given the extremely restrained budget environment we're in," Hiatt said at the Board of Supervisors meeting.
Charles Harris (D-Broad Run) disagreed. "There is no requirement to fund any of these things," he said. "I think the next board will have to be more innovative and open to more options if it is to meet community needs. This is a plan. It's a goal."
The proposed Capital Needs Assessment (CNA) for Fiscal Years (FY) 2005-14 compiles a list of possible capital needs developed by county staff that can be used for planning purposes. Staff developed the CNA using service plans and levels adopted by the board and several county documents, including the Twenty-Year Growth Scenarios and Assessments, the Revised Comprehensive Plan and the Six-Year Capital Improvements Program.
The CNA includes 157 county and school projects estimated to cost more than $2.37 billion. Forty-three percent of the expenditures are for 26 school projects estimated to cost $1 billion, with the remainder for county projects. The CNA includes 112 newly submitted projects that are estimated to cost $1.74 billion and account for 73 percent of the total cost outlined.
The Board of Supervisors can use the CNA in conjunction with other planning tools to bridge the county's long-range and short-range plans and to address projects planned for the long-term into the county's capital program.
Chairman Scott York (R-At large) said the next board, which takes office in January 2004, can adjust the CNA if it finds that "expectations are too high." "I've never seen a board fully fund any of these expectations," he said.
The board voted 7-2 in favor of the CNA with Hiatt and Eugene Delgaudio (R-Sterling) voting against.
IN OTHER BUSINESS, the Board of Supervisors:
* Adopted a revised Capital Intensity Factor (CIF) for FY 2004 that can be charged to developers for rezoning requests and to determine proffer amounts. The CIF is the amount charged to developers for each unit above the base or by-right density.
The CIF was last updated in 1999. With the changes, the CIF for single-family detached units will increase from $23,900 to $37,000, for single-family attached units from $14,000 to $23,400 and for multi-family units from $7,400 to $13,300.
"A lot has happened in the cost of services and expectations of new residents," said James Burton (I-Mercer). "This CIF ... shifts some of the tax burden from taxpayers to newcomers."
The taxpayers "will still bear the brunt" of those costs, said Mark Herring (D-Leesburg). "This is at least a proactive measure to prepare for development in the future."
* Approved the addition of the Planned Development-Countryside Village, PD-CV, zoning district to the county's revised zoning ordinance. The zoning classification is for moderately dense, compact, mixed-use communities with a variety of housing types and that generally are near open, protected land. The land can be protected for scenic, recreational and environmental purposes.
* At the meeting, Clerk of the Circuit Court Gary Clemens announced his plans to hire a security consultant to test the clerk's office's internal records system. Residents brought up their concerns about the security of the system at four citizen meetings on the office possibly providing remote access of records. Clemens plans to bring a report to the board in December.