Prince William groups petition supervisors on last-minute changes

Several long-time civic groups in Prince William County are asking for more of a voice in government.

On Tuesday, members of Midco, Occoquan Land Use Advisory Committee, the Dale City Civic Association and LOCCA-PELT, will present a petition to the Prince William Board of County Supervisors. The petition asks the supervisors to pass a binding resolution or amend existing policies and procedures during board meetings that would allow the public three days to look at any major changes made to development applications in the 11th hour.

Advocates For the Rural Crescent, the Prince William Conservation Alliance, the Sudley Springs Catharpin Civic Association, the Aden Corridor Coalition and Woodbine Woods Homeowners Association all endorsed the petition, as well.

As president of Midco, Martin Jeter has been working with county staff on creating more government transparency alongside members of several of the other groups. Recent modifications to the Environment Chapter of the Comprehensive Plan by the supervisors were the tipping point for the petition, said Jeter.

Chairman Corey A. Stewart, R-at-large, announced last-second changes to the recently approved Environment Chapter after the public hearing on the plan had already been closed. He then asked the development community to clarify some of those change requests during the board discussion of the topic. Those changes involved slope requirements and the definition of significant non-RPA streams.

“There was no opportunity for any citizen to even see them and most of the supervisors didn’t get them before the day of the meeting,” Jeter said of the changes. “This really undercuts open government and transparency.”

“We all realize that not all citizen input will be utilized, but it is discouraging to discover significant last-minute changes, with no opportunity for reprisal by the citizens,” stated DCCA president Connie Moser in an e-mail Friday. “It negates our best efforts and makes the entire citizen input experience feel like nothing more than lip service.”

Any substantive change should be posted on the website, which the civic organization states in the letter as a common sense, cost-effective way of keeping the public informed.

The board ultimately approved the Environment Chapter changes 6 to 2, with Michael C. May, R-Occoquan, and Frank J. Principi, D-Woodbridge, voting nay. However, the board had initially tabled the vote after hearing Stewart’s request.

During that initial meeting Dec. 7, May asked Stewart if other stakeholders who worked on the plan could be heard alongside the development community, which lobbied for the changes. Stewart denied the request and stated the changes “were a compromise between the [county] staff and the business community.”

Jeter took umbrage with Stewart’s comment at the meeting, stating “it was a complete misrepresentation of the process.”

“These are definitely changes that will affect the taxpayers of Prince William County, like what we pay for stormwater management,” Jeter said.

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

By KIPP HANLEY

jhanley@insidenova.com

Several long-time and well-respected civic groups in Prince William County are asking for more of a voice in government.

On Tuesday, members of Midco, Occoquan Land Use Advisory Committee, the Dale City Civic Association and LOCCA-PELT, will present a petition to the Prince William Board of County Supervisors. The petition asks the supervisors to pass a binding resolution or amend existing policies and procedures during board meetings that would allow the public three days to look at any major changes made to development applications in the 11th hour.

Advocates For the Rural Crescent, the Prince William Conservation Alliance, the Sudley Springs Catharpin Civic Association, the Aden Corridor Coalition and Woodbine Woods Homeowners Association all endorsed the petition, as well.

As president of Midco, Martin Jeter has been working with county staff on creating more government transparency alongside members of several of the other groups. Recent modifications to the Environment Chapter of the Comprehensive Plan by the supervisors were the tipping point for the petition, said Jeter.

Chairman Corey A. Stewart, R-at-large, announced last-second changes to the recently approved Environment Chapter after the public hearing on the plan had already been closed. He then asked the development community to clarify some of those change requests during the board discussion of the topic. Those changes involved slope requirements and the definition of significant non-RPA streams.

“There was no opportunity for any citizen to even see them and most of the supervisors didn’t get them before the day of the meeting,” Jeter said of the changes. “This really undercuts open government and transparency.”

“We all realize that not all citizen input will be utilized, but it is discouraging to discover significant last-minute changes, with no opportunity for reprisal by the citizens,” stated DCCA president Connie Moser in an e-mail Friday. “It negates our best efforts and makes the entire citizen input experience feel like nothing more than lip service.”

Any substantive change should be posted on the website, which the civic organization states in the letter as a common sense, cost-effective way of keeping the public informed.

The board ultimately approved the Environment Chapter changes 6 to 2, with Michael C. May, R-Occoquan, and Frank J. Principi, D-Woodbridge, voting nay. However, the board had initially tabled the vote after hearing Stewart’s request.

During that initial meeting Dec. 7, May asked Stewart if other stakeholders who worked on the plan could be heard alongside the development community, which lobbied for the changes. Stewart denied the request and stated the changes “were a compromise between the [county] staff and the business community.”

Jeter took umbrage with Stewart’s comment at the meeting, stating “it was a complete misrepresentation of the process.”

“These are definitely changes that will affect the taxpayers of Prince William County, like what we pay for stormwater management,” Jeter said.

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