Representatives from the Board of County Supervisors (BOCS) are taking new steps to preserve the Rural Crescent.
Supervisors Pete Candland, Jeanine Lawson and Frank Principi are recommending the suspension of a Rural Preservation study.
They are requesting the BOCS ask staff members “to suspend any and all efforts on the Rural Clustering and Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) programs,” according to the resolution.
The history of the study and the importance of preserving the Rural Crescent were highlighted at a press conference that was held in the McCoart Administration Building in Woodbridge on Tuesday afternoon.
Seven years ago, a developer and homebuilder tried to break Rural Crescent policies through a Comprehensive Plan amendment, Lawson explained. This led the BOCS to start a study that would look into rural policies.
In September 2016, the board requested further investigation of options mentioned in the Rural Preservation Study.
Last month, draft policy revisions for the Comprehensive Plan about the Rural Crescent were published by the Prince William County Planning Office.
Sewer and more housing were among the staff recommendations.
“My colleagues and I have serious questions,” Lawson said. “Why were citizens put through such a cumbersome process, with meetings scheduled and canceled? Why were rural comments discouraged from almost every meeting? Why did the options that were presented and recommended represent only the opinions of a small group of developers, farmers and land speculators?”
The preservation of the Rural Crescent isn’t only about protecting the county’s natural beauty, according to Candland.
“Make no mistakes — supporting more building in the Rural Crescent will have cascading impacts that will add hundreds of more students to our schools and thousands of more cars to our roads,” he said.
Here is a video of the press conference:
