"Airport Land Use: Plan Would Ban Houses Near Airport"

["Stephen Irwin" <stepheni@xxxxxxxxx>]

Sunday, June 8, 2008

Plan Would Ban Houses Near Airport
Crosstrail Site Up for Rezoning
By Sandhya Somashekhar
The Washington (DC) Post
 

The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors sent a strong signal last week that
it does not want any residential development in an area near Leesburg
Executive Airport that had been the proposed location for a mixed-use
project called Crosstrail. 

The project would have brought offices, shops and up to 1,000 residences to
the 500-acre property southeast of Leesburg. The previous board had
indicated support for the plan in late 2006 but reversed course and rejected
it. The developer, Peterson Cos., has filed suit contesting the decision. 

On Tuesday, the board voted to initiate a rezoning that would bar any kind
of housing on the site. The supervisors said they want only offices and
light industrial uses such as warehouses, which they said are more
appropriate because of the land's proximity to the airport. The vote came
after the board met in closed session. 

"This airport is an economic driver, and we have all sorts of evidence that
when you put housing too close to airports, you will have problems," said
Supervisor Kelly Burk (D-Leesburg), explaining that new residents could
complain about noise or lights. 

Peterson had made a number of concessions to appease wary county officials,
scaling back the number of residences in its proposal and assuring the
county that prospective buyers would be notified of possible noise problems.
The company noted that the project included 2 million square feet of office
space that it said would boost business at the airport and the economy. 

But in a surprise decision, the board -- which at the time looked favorably
at new residential development -- rejected the project in July, saying
Peterson had not done enough to alleviate the county's concerns. The
developer filed its lawsuit in Loudoun County Circuit Court the following
month, alleging that the board had acted "arbitrarily and capriciously." 

A Peterson official declined to comment Friday on the board's latest vote,
citing the pending litigation. 

Since the rejection of Crosstrail, there has been a county election in which
voters ousted four supervisors who were perceived as too supportive of
residential development. The board is now dominated by supervisors who favor
a slower rate of growth in the county, an attitude that was underscored by
Tuesday's vote. 

Leesburg Mayor Kristen C. Umstattd praised the board's decision, saying it
will help protect the airport. The airport contributes an estimated $45
million to the local economy each year. Across the nation, small airports
have been forced to close because of the creep of residential development. 

The county Planning Commission has yet to sign off on the rezoning, and
several hearings will take place in the coming months to gauge public
opinion before the measure goes to a vote by the full board.

On the web:

Leesburg Executive Airport
http://www.leesburgva.gov/services/airport/


   Post your opinion on this story in the CAA General Aviation Forum
http://www.californiaaviation.org/dcfp/dcboard.php

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