Edward Lane is a member of the Broad Run Farms community, a tight-knit group of friends and neighbors. "I have been here since 1985. We ride our bikes on these roads and we have great friends," Lane said.
He lives on Youngs Cliff Road, the subject of the Broad Run Farms flood risk and emergency access study, conducted by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers and Loudoun County.
"We have 53 years experience with floods," Lane said. "All of a sudden, we are your new baby. We do not want to be your new baby. We want you to listen to us."
Lane and other Broad Run Farms community members, Loudoun County representatives and the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers gathered at the Eastern Loudoun Regional Library on Thursday. The Corp’s environmental protection specialist Craig Thomas explained the results of the study to Broad Run Farms members.
THE PURPOSE of the study was to analyze the flood risk and emergency access issues for the part of Broad Run Farms subject to flooding. Youngs Cliff Road is inaccessible during high-frequency floods on Broad Run, according to the study. The results of the study were intended to provide Loudoun County with alternatives for emergency access during a flood, Department of General Services Deputy Director Richard Pezzullo explained. The Corps and Loudoun County representatives came up with nine alternatives to the emergency access issues of the area, after speaking to several members of the Broad Run Farms community. The first alternative is no action.
"No further action would be taken in an attempt to remediate the emergency access issues along Youngs Cliff Road in Broad Run Farms," Thomas said. "It does not cost anything, but the problem is not being addressed."
Another alternative would be to elevate Youngs Cliff Road. The planning-level estimate to elevate Youngs Cliff Road was between $273,000 and $1 million, depending on the level of protection. Other alternatives include an emergency vehicle access road; a nature trail which would provide access as well as recreational use; proposed location of a staff gage and water depth markers; a flood preparedness emergency response plan; emergency response by boat; response by helicopter rescue or Medevac; and evacuations in conjunction with the flood preparedness emergency response plan.
The alternatives were proposed to the community. Broad Run Farms members were asked to vote on three of them, in order of preference, on the county’s Web site. The majority of the community voted on the no-action alternative. The fifth alternative, staff gages and water depth markers, received the second highest rating while the sixth alternative concerning the preparedness and response plan received the third highest.
MEMBERS OF THE COMMUNITY were invited to ask questions and make comments at the meeting Thursday. Christina Price is the daughter of a Youngs Cliff Road property owner.
"I am here to go on the record," Price said. "We heartily object. Absolutely no."
Residents said they were upset because they were not asked for their input. Mary Lowery lives in the Broad Run Farms area. "No one was contacted," she said. Thomas said the Corps contacted 10 homes in the area.
"How many of you were contacted?" Lane asked. "I was the only person contacted in this room. There are a lot of innuendoes here, but they do not seem to mean anything." Sixty homes are affected by flooding in the Broad Run Farms area, according to the Corps and Loudoun officials.
ERIC DEJONGHE, president of the Broad Run Farms Civic Association, commended the community for its level of passion and participation in the study.
"I just want to say, you guys rock," Dejonghe said.
The Broad Run Farms community made sure to show up at meetings and vote on the alternatives.
"Do parks and recreation have anything to do with this?" Dejonghe asked. "Because a nature trail sounds pretty good."
"Absolutely not," Pezzullo said.
Dejonghe also commented on the online voting procedure. "Why did the rest of the community have any say over what would affect lives in Broad Run Farms?" Dejonghe asked. "It could have sold. This thing could have flip-flopped if somebody wanted that nature trail."
Thomas said the online voting procedure was a way to gage community interest on the proposed alternatives.
"It is more like an input from the public on their preference," said the Corps of Engineers program manager Larry Eastman.
SUPERVISOR BRUCE TULLOCH’S legislative assistant David Cooper assured community members that no action would be taken with out community support.
"The county is not doing anything. Nothing is in process at this time. No elevated roads, nothing," Cooper said. "When I leave this building, I am calling Mr. Tulloch and telling him what happened."
A public safety committee meeting will be held to discuss alternatives five and six, Oct. 7, at the County Government Center’s Lovettsville Room, at 7 p.m.
"Alternatives five and six do not impact anyone’s property," Cooper said. "We want feedback from the residents."
As of now, Broad Run Farms does not have a flood preparedness emergency response plan. So, Broad Run Farms area homeowners are paying a higher rate for FEMA flood insurance, according to Lane and other area residents. "I am getting charged more because we do not have a flood insurance plan. You owe me some money," Lane said.
Youngs Cliff Road resident Robert Franz said if a plan is made, he wants to be a part of it.
"We want to be a part of the response plan so we know exactly what is happening," Franz said.
The residents came to a consensus at the end of the meeting; a plan would have a positive impact on the community, as long as they had a part in it.
THE BROAD RUN FARMS COMMUNITY made it clear; they do not want any money spent on the area’s emergency-access issues. If any changes are made, residents want to be a part of the process.
"We are a private community and we want the public out of it," said Youngs Cliff Road resident Michelle Pillatta.