Falcons Landing, a Sterling community for retired U.S. Air Force veterans and their families, earned tax-exemption status Tuesday night.
Normally, Loudoun's county officials hem and haw over tax-exemption requests, asking hard questions about how much an organization deserves the break.
But in this case, supervisors expressed delight at being able to save Falcons Landing from taxes to a room packed with silver-haired residents.
Supervisor Mick Staton (R-Sugarland Run) has been one of the Board of Supervisors' fiscal conservatives. He bases his decisions on tax relief on how much the organization in question gives back to the community.
"When I think about the Falcons Landing community, I see the direct benefits in so many ways," Staton said. "These men and women have given their service and sometimes even their loved ones to the community, and yet they still continue to give."
Even Supervisor Eugene Delgaudio (R-Sterling), who has consistently voted against tax exemptions in the past, gave Falcons Landing his enthusiastic support.
"I've heard a lot about this institution," he said. "It's one of the remarkable institutions of our county."
The board voted unanimously to grant Falcons Landing personal and property tax relief. Supervisor Jim Burton (I-Blue Ridge) recused himself from the vote as he is a retired Air Force colonel.
FALCONS LANDING opened in 1996. It is home to 481 retired Air Force veterans and their families.
It also contains a wellness clinic with 60 nursing beds and 29 assisted living beds.
Local high-school swimming teams practice in its pools. More than a hundred volunteer residents contribute to the county in a myriad of ways by spending time at the hospital, schools museums and more.
Falcons Landing requested $580,000 in real property tax exemption and $33,869 in personal property tax exemption.
Because residents do not directly own their land, they cannot receive tax relief under the senior tax relief program.
Sixty percent of the community's population are widows or widowers on an average $5,000-a-month income. The other 40 percent are couples with an average $9,000-a-month income.
Novella Whitehead's husband served in Korea and Vietnam.
"A tax exemption would be significant for us, especially the widows," Whitehead said. "Why did we become so financially dependent on our husbands? The military life moved us from place to place every few years, and potential employers were naturally reluctant to hire transient workers."