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Prince William County planners appear willing to back off proposed changes to rural areas in a potential win for conservationists.
The Board of Supervisors held its first extensive work session on updates to the county鈥檚 Comprehensive Plan during its meeting Tuesday.
The Comprehensive Plan is a guiding document for county land-use policies. While not committing the Board of County Supervisors to any decisions, it declares the county鈥檚 vision for future development.
The initially proposed revisions could threaten what鈥檚 known as the 鈥渞ural crescent鈥� 鈥� roughly 117,000 acres restricted to no more than one home for every 10 acres with strict prohibitions on the expansion of public sewer lines.
The majority of the county鈥檚 rural area is designated in the existing long-range land-use map as agricultural estate. The draft documents call for replacing that designation with agricultural and forestry, which would allow up to one home per five acres rather than one home per 10 acres.
While most of Tuesday鈥檚 work session focused on supervisors鈥� specific changes to the plan for their districts, the main point of contention came around the rural area.
Acting Planning Director Rebecca Horner said county staff supports reverting to the existing rules because the proposal wouldn鈥檛 achieve the county鈥檚 conservation goals.
Chair Ann Wheeler, D-At-Large, did not support one house per 10 acres or one house per five acres, saying it was 鈥渆xclusionary zoning.鈥�
鈥淵ou can only build McMansions on it,鈥� she said. 鈥淭he lot itself is so expensive that people tend to build larger homes on it.鈥�
Wheeler also said the increased density, without allowing public sewer, would increase the number of wells and septic tanks in the rural area, which is worse for the environment.
The disagreements came as the board was discussing density in the Vint Hill Road area.
Supervisor Jeanine Lawson, R-Brentsville, didn鈥檛 鈥渂uy [the] premise that it鈥檚 exclusionary.鈥� She said clustering leads to sprawl.
鈥淚 don鈥檛 think that 10-acre lots are a problem,鈥� she said. 鈥淚鈥檓 going to keep with my commitment to keep sewer out of the Vint Hill corridor.鈥�
Wheeler supported allowing residential clustering in the area, which allows higher density and connections to existing power lines as long as 60% of the property is conserved as open space.
She said allowing one home per five acres would only lead to large plots being subdivided into five-acre lots with less conservation, which she called 鈥渆gregious.鈥� She said denying public sewer access, 鈥渟omething that鈥檚 been around since Roman times,鈥� is 鈥渘ot appropriate.鈥�
鈥淚 think clustering is the opposite of sprawl,鈥� Wheeler said. 鈥淚 think 10-acre lots is actually sprawl.鈥�
Lawson said she and Wheeler need to hold a town hall in the area to hear from residents, which Wheeler seemed to interpret as a political ploy.
鈥淵ou can always turn out people to say you don鈥檛 want development out there,鈥� Wheeler said. 鈥淚t鈥檚 our hard decision to say where we want to have growth.鈥�
Lawson said, 鈥淚 just think we owe it to the community to hear what they have to say.鈥�
Wheeler eventually said 鈥渟ure鈥� to the town hall, but the spat continued.
鈥淚 know the people you鈥檒l turn out. I know what you鈥檒l do,鈥� Wheeler said. 鈥淚鈥檝e seen the emails you鈥檝e sent out about people turning out to fight things.鈥�
Lawson replied, 鈥淢adam chair, please don鈥檛 go there 鈥� I think we can have a civil town hall.鈥�
The board discussed changes in various areas and generally offered suggestions. Supervisors advocated for more focus on affordable housing and a variety of housing options.
鈥淩ight now, we鈥檙e looking at a housing market that鈥檚 unsustainable,鈥� said Supervisor Pete Candland, R-Gainesville. 鈥淚 wouldn鈥檛 be able to afford the last two homes I lived in in Prince William County today.鈥�
Candland and Wheeler advocated for revisions throughout the plan in some commercial districts to remove residential requirements where they didn鈥檛 make sense.
鈥淚 know we want mixed-use, but sometimes that鈥檚 not practical,鈥� Wheeler said.
Supervisors Margaret Franklin, D-Woodbridge, and Andrea Bailey, D-Potomac, called for redevelopment of shopping centers along U.S. 1 and revitalization of historic areas, such as Batestown.
Bailey also said the area around U.S. Marine Corps Base Quantico needs a hotel, conference center and a grocery store.
County officials expect to provide the board with an updated version of the plan in around six weeks.
