Board OKs Offices, Hundreds of New Homes

By Sandhya Somashekhar (Contact)

Tuesday, December 4, 2007

The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors voted Tuesday to allow a developer to build a large, pedestrian-friendly community of homes, shops and offices southwest of Dulles International Airport.

The project, called Arcola Center, was one of a series of major developments the board is scheduled to consider before the end of the year, when four pro-growth supervisors step down and a new majority that favors a slower pace of growth takes the helm.

Slow growth activists had objected to the Arcola Center because they said it will worsen traffic on Route 50. Some officials also worried it was too close to the airport, and included too many homes and not enough offices and retail stores. The plans include up to 1,169 houses, townhouses and apartments.

But the developer, Gaithersburg-based Buchanan Partners, said the project will bring much-needed amenities to the area such as restaurants and shopping.

"It will have a higher quality of uses that the Dulles area needs and is, quite frankly, demanding," executive vice president Russell S. Gestl said.

Some of the board's slow-growth members had worried the narrow pro-growth majority would push Arcola and three other projects through as their parting act, paving the way for more than 4,000 new homes in the fast-growing county and opening up a semi-rural area south of Leesburg to suburban-style development.

Their fears were somewhat put to rest shortly after the Nov. 6 election, when the board overwhelmingly rejected Kincora, a project of more than 1,000 homes in Ashburn.

But their worries flared at yesterday's meeting, when the board delayed voting on another controversial development a few miles west on Route 50.

Supervisors Stephen J. Snow (R-Dulles) and Eugene A. Delgaudio (R-Sterling) had sought to push through the project, called Braddock Village, even though county planners and attorneys had told the board they did not have enough time to review the latest version of the project. Snow later changed his mind, saying he was in favor of voting on the project at a later date to give the county's staff more time to study it.

The site plan of the Arcola Center property. (Courtesy of Buchanan Partners)

During the discussion, Delgaudio pressed county attorney John R. "Jack" Roberts, asking if it be appropriate to vote in favor of the project "subject to the attorney's review. Couldn't we do that?"

The request prompted a sharp response from Board Chairman Scott K. York (I), who was re-elected Nov. 6.

"It concerns me that we just want to push this thing through," he snapped. "Doggonit, if you are going to approve a subdivision, make sure at least the county attorney has reviewed the document."

The developer had significantly changed the project in recent days, submitting on Thursday a revised version that slashed the number of homes from more than 800 to just under 500. The developer also offered to build a state-of-the-art sports field for local leagues.

John Nicholas, one of the developers, said the county had ample time to review the project, which will provide land for a school. If the board rejects the project at its Dec. 18 meeting, the school district will have to buy the land from him or spend years in court trying to take it through eminent domain, he said.

"This boils down to the most bottom line of the bottom line," he said.

Also yesterday, the board took final action on several issues aimed at curbing illegal immigration. They voted to go after homeowners who illegally rent out rooms and commit other zoning violations in Sterling Park -- a phenomenon that officials believe is on the rise and is aggravated by an influx of illegal immigrants.

They also voted to ask parents using county childcare services to certify in writing that their children are legally present. Under the new policy, children whose parents signed the paperwork will get priority when the program is full.

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