This text was taken from an email alert we sent out on June 2, 2017:

Your Environment and Quality of Life

Dear Supporter,

Remember taking civics or government in high school?

Sometimes, it may feel fairly irrelevant to your day to day life… But then you think about traffic, taxes, school boundary changes, parks and recreation, social services, where you work or shop, the water you drink or the natural resources you care about. All of these are heavily impacted by decisions made by local government.

And I bet you’ve had thoughts, ideas or frustrations about one or more of these topics. Don’t keep them to yourself! Engage!

This summer, you have a chance to affect Loudoun County’s approach to growth and development for years to come.

Next week, as part of the Comprehensive Plan update, the second round of public input for Envision Loudoun begins. You’ll have a chance to comment on the vision, goals and objectives that were developed based on the first round of public input and share your thoughts on future growth areas. Please register and give your input at one of the sessions.

As this process moves forward, we’re paying close attention to the discussion about the future of the Transition Policy Area. We will continue to advocate for policies that maintain current housing densities and protect natural resources. Read more in the recent Washington Post article about the Transition Area.

Additional Resources:

Loudoun in Transition, the powerpoint presentation I gave at PEC’s Annual Meeting.
Also check out my updates about the planning process for background on what’s happened to date.

What else is happening in Loudoun?

I encouarage you to look at the email our partners at the Coalition for Smarter Growth sent out this week, which provides a great summary of four issues that are worth paying attention to in Loudoun right now. I’ve also highlighted two of those below:

Planned Development – Town Center (PD-TC) Zoning Amendment
On June 6, the Board of Supervisors is also scheduled to vote on a zoning amendment that would allow higher density ‘Town Centers’ to be developed throughout more of eastern Loudoun. We are encouraging the Board to delay that decision until the Comprehensive Plan process is complete, so the public has had a chance to weigh in on where new Town Centers should be located.

Silver Line Comprehensive Plan Amendment (CPAM)
The Silver Line CPAM is the plan for development around the two new Metro stations. This process is coming to a close and the Board is scheduled to hear a final presentation from planning staff before voting on June 22.

Since the County will be investing millions of dollars to bring transit to Loudoun, the success of this planning area is critical to Loudoun’s long term success. For more on this issue, read the joint letter we sent the Loudoun Board in collaboration with the Coalition for Smarter Growth, the Potomac Conservancy and the Audobon Naturalist Society.

In addition to attending an Envision Loudoun meeting, please send a letter to the Board of Supervisors and let them know what you think about these issues.

Over the years, I have seen how participation in these meetings and letters to the Board make a difference. The diversity of ideas and perspectives results in a better final product and the more people who get involved, the stronger and more convincing the message is.

Feel free to reach out if you have any questions.

Sincerely,

Gem Bingol
Loudoun Field Representative
The Piedmont Environmental Council
[email protected]