The Board of Supervisors resolved Wednesday, Jan. 3, to defer decisions on residential rezoning applications for the next 12 months. The resolution also states the board will defer the initiation of Comprehensive Plan amendments (CPAM) to increase residential density in the county. The 12-month period is what is allowed under state law.
With the resolution, Loudoun's board joins Prince William County in attempting to send a message to lawmakers in Richmond, stating that the Generally Assembly is not doing its job in providing a proper transportation network.
The resolution, which was approved with an 8-1 vote, says that the board will only begin to consider residential rezonings and CPAMs again if the state approves a comprehensive package to fund transportation or the county completes updates to the Countywide Transportation Plan. The resolution also requires that the state's transportation package does not raise taxes for Loudoun residents.
If the county's transportation plan is not finished and the General Assembly does not come up with a workable transportation package, then no new residential development would be considered until Dec. 31 — after the November elections, in which both the county Supervisors and both houses of the General Assembly are up for re-election.
Supervisor Jim Burton (I-Blue Ridge), who proposed the resolution, said the reliance on the state and the Countywide Transportation Plan, gives the board some flexibility.
"It is not absolute," he said. "It sends a strong message to the speaker and the governor."
SUPERVISOR STEPHEN SNOW (R-Dulles), who voted against the final resolution, proposed a motion that did not restrict residential rezonings or CPAMs, instead restated everything the county had done to try and fix the problem.
"The road situation is not this board's issue," he said. "We've got solutions. This document says that we haven't."
Supervisors Jim Clem (R-Leesburg), Eugene Delgaudio (R-Sterling) and Bruce E. Tulloch (R-Potomac) supported Snow's resolution.
"I want to show Richmond that we have used every tool that we have," Clem said.
Tulloch said he was concerned that a resolution restricting rezonings would have a negative impact on the work he has been trying to do to fix the Dulles Town Center.
"I think it is wrong of this board not to allow this Supervisor to continue the work I have been doing practically my whole term," he said.
Supervisor Sally Kurtz (D-Catoctin) said that without a clause restricting decisions on residential rezonings, the resolution would only be more of the same.
"The only thing that is something new is this action," she said. "If this clause is not in here, it is the same old, same old yapping."
IN ADDITION TO the resolution, the board voted to create a separate fire and rescue tax district countywide. In a 5-4 vote, Supervisors decided to create the district to demonstrate to residents and career and volunteer members of the Fire and Rescue Department the board was dedicated to funding the department's needs.
"This proposal does not change the funding in any way," Burton said. "Since the system is fragile, this proposal, in my opinion, would present a vote of confidence to those that serve that an item is dedicated to that system."
Supervisors who opposed the decision to create the tax district said the move did not designate a permanent, separate revenue source and still required the board to pull from the same budget revenue as it currently does.
"I don't know that this is bringing the kind of light and recognition that we originally thought when we started this," Supervisor Lori Waters (R-Broad Run) said. "I am not sure what we are achieving."
THE BOARD'S DECISION will give property owners a break down of where their tax money is going, showing one number for fire and rescue and another number for the general fund. For fiscal year 2007, the fund would have a tax rate of 5.3 cent per $100 of assessed value, with an estimated value of $47,537,000.
Supervisor Mick Staton (R-Sugarland Run), who opposed the tax district from the beginning, said he did not understand why fire and rescue was being singled out.
"We don't have a special rate for the Sheriff's Office," he said. "We don't have a special rate for the schools."
Kurtz, however, said the issue was not about singling out fire and rescue, but taking the time to show residents where exactly their money was going.
"We need to provide just as much transparency as we can," she said. "I think that's what's most important to them, that they know what they are paying for."