Candidates pledge to protect Rural Crescent

Candidates pledge to protect Rural Crescent

Prince William >> Eleven make promise to leave area the way it is

By KIPP HANLEY

jhanley@insidenova.com

For the fourth consecutive election cycle, several elected officials and candidates for office have signed a pledge to protect the Rural Crescent in Prince William County.

Eleven candidates for office in 2011, including incumbents Michael C. May, R-Occoquan, and Frank J. Principi, D-Woodbridge, agreed to protect a crescent-shaped swath of rural land in western Prince William that was first recognized by the county supervisors in a 1998 comprehensive plan amendment.

Board chairman candidates John Gray and Babur Lateef signed the pledge, as did Gainesville candidates Martha Hendley, Michael High, Suzanne Miller and Ann Wheeler, Brentsville candidate Jeanine Lawson and Coles  candidates Bob Pugh and Anthony Arnold.

On Thursday, seven of those candidates reaffirmed their commitment to the pledge at McCoart Government Center. The candidates cited everything from keeping taxes lower to preserving a rural lifestyle as reasons for supporting the Rural Crescent, which allows one home per 10 acres.

“I moved [to the Rural Crescent] because of open space and the quality of life,” Wheeler said. “And I want to preserve that.”

“I found that when knocking on doors in the Linton Hall corridor, everybody didn’t live in the Rural Crescent but said ‘we love the Rural Crescent and value it and appreciate it,’” Lawson added.

The Rural Crescent made headlines last year when the Board of County Supervisors voted 5 to 3 for the approval of the Avendale residential development off Vint Hill Road, which serves as one of the borders of the Rural Crescent. Principi, May and outgoing Gainesville Supervisor John T. Stirrup voted against approving the 300-home community.

Avendale included developer provided proffer funding to help pay for the realignment of the Vint Hill Road-Va. 28 intersection, one of the reasons Brentsville Supervisor W.S. “Wally” Covington III chose to vote for it. County staff supported the comprehensive plan amendment and zoning change allowing for the development, stating that the boundary lines of the Rural Crescent could change based on where the Vint Hill intersection would be relocated.

After the vote, the board approved a resolution stating its commitment to keeping the rest of the Rural Crescent rural in character. Board Chairman Corey Stewart said Tuesday’s vote on Avendale does not set a precedent for future high impact development in the Rural Crescent.

Elena Schlossberg, an advocate of the Rural Crescent who helped collect the signatures, praised May and Principi for adhering to the comprehensive plan and protecting an area that doesn’t lie within their magisterial boundaries. She said county leaders need to focus more on redevelopment, not developing areas that would ultimately increase the strain on the county’s infrastructure.

Miller provided one of the more unique answers to preserve the Rural Crescent. The Gainesville Republican sees the area as an educational tool for her children and a way for families to preserve the ability to provide locally grown food on their own soil.

“I came from a farming background, and we would pick blackberries,” Miller said. “We had a bucket and we would pick [the blackberries] with the promise of blackberry pie.”

Staff writer Kipp Hanley can be reached at 703-530-3904.