The Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors will hold a joint public hearing Tuesday, March 30, to weigh the merits of extending water and sewer into four of the six subareas of the Transition Policy Area. The remaining two subareas, the Lower Foley and Lower Bull Run, are already planned for the services.
The proposal was initiated by the supervisors in January.
THE TRANSITION AREA, a total of 24,000 acres spanning the Catoctin and Dulles districts, was created in 2001 with the purpose of serving as a transition from the Rural Policy Area to the west and the Suburban Policy Area to the east. The transition area, according to the county general plan, is suppose to incorporate both rural and suburban features.
The general plan calls for development to be villages and residential clusters that incorporate conservation-design techniques and preserve substantial amounts of green space.
The transition area is broken down into six subareas: Lower Sycolin, Middle Goose, Upper Broad Run, Upper Foley, Lower Foley and Lower Bull Run, each with different characteristics and projected land uses. The subareas also extend across three different watersheds: the Goose Creek, Broad Run and Occoquan.
IN A BRIEFING March 15, for the two boards, staff planner Jo Ramesh, said the Lower Sycolin and Middle Goose subareas are designated for a density of one dwelling unit per 10 acres with a minimum of 70 percent open space. The plan would allow for rezoning the land to rural village, which would permit up to one dwelling unit per 3 acres. The area is designed for individual and communal water and sewer systems.
The Upper Broad Run and Upper Foley subareas have a density of one dwelling unit per 1 to 3 acres. There are a few two units per acre parcels. The area also calls for a 50 percent minimum of open space and individual and communal water and sewer systems.
The Lower Foley and Lower Bull Run subareas, which are planned for central utilities, have densities of primarily one unit per 3 acres; a minimum of 50 percent open space; and a provision to allow rezoning to countryside village which increase the density up to two units per acre in the Lower Foley. The Lower Bull Run has one unit per 3 acres and a minimum of 70 percent open space.
The staff report provided at the briefing identifies nine areas, including fiscal impact, impact of watershed boundaries and fire protection, where staff believes more analysis is needed.
THE JOINT HEARING is scheduled for Tuesday, March 30, beginning at 6:30 p.m., at Broad Run High School, 21670 Ashburn Road in Ashburn. The boards could elect to take action on the proposal at the conclusion of the public hearing.
Information about the proposal is available on the county's Web site at http://www.loudoun.gov/bos/meetings.htm, click on board meeting documents then public hearin