Issue: 1,000 Acres of Loudoun forest to be destroyed

WHAT:  Public Hearing on Ridgewater Park CPAM.  This is a proposal to change the Comprehensive Plan (guide for future growth) so that a portion of the area designated Transition Area (with 10 acre base zoning) is changed to Suburban Area, at 3 houses per acre, with office and retail commercial development allowed.

WHAT’S WRONG WITH THAT?  From the LWC's perspective the big problem is the environmental sensitivity of the area.  The Comprehensive Plan designated this area as Transition Area with a lower base density to protect key natural resources here. 

1) Environmentally Sensitive Area: The area in question contains a variety of forest habitats, riparian buffers, wetlands, small streams, isolated ponds, rare plant species.

2) Potential Harm to Water Supply: By changing this to Suburban Planning area, it would eliminate a key protection for the drinking water supply intake & reservoir—which sits next to the proposed area.  Sediment & toxic runoff will jeopardize the water quality & put the drinking water supply at higher vulnerability to pollution, increase the need for dredging and increase costs.

3) Removal of that much forest and destroying that much open space will further contribute to our air pollution problems and global warming. This is a huge area of undeveloped habitat, rich in forest cover.

Action:

- LWC sent action alerts to our members each time this issue came up, asking you to contact your supervisors. There was an outpouring of support to stop the rezoning and save the forest.

- LWC spoke at the public input session on behalf of our members, putting our position into the public record once again.

Outcome:

- The rezoning application was denied! Congratulations to all of you who spoke out for wildlife and the health of our ecosystem.

Background Info:

The Following excerpts come directly from the County's own staff reports:

FROM THE STAFF REPORT ON THE RIDGEWATER CPAM

Impacts to Existing Resources

As noted above, current policies call for lower residential densities and greater open space requirements within the Lower Sycolin subarea in order to facilitate a transition to the Rural Policy Area and the Town of Leesburg JMLA and to protect the drinking water resources of the Goose Creek reservoir.

The proposed amendment would allow for more intensive development in an extremely critical and environmentally-sensitive area of the County. Staff maintains that there are specific characteristics which make the typical suburban residential or business community inappropriate for this area. These include proximity to the Goose Creek Reservoir, Luck Stone Quarry, Dulles Greenway, and onsite utility easements (gas and electric) as well as environmental constraints such as streams (including Sycolin Creek and Goose Creek), riparian buffers, forest cover, moderately steep and steep slopes, and unique plant and wildlife habitats. In fact, many of the environmental and site design issues identified by staff in the Ridgewater Park rezoning application could be addressed if 70% of the site was retained as open space, as recommended under current policies. 

As shown below, the majority of the area remains undeveloped and forested, with the exception of a few several single-family detached houses along the east side of Sycolin Road.  More specific information as well as recommendations regarding impacts to individual resources is provided below.

Impacts to the Goose Creek Reservoir

The Goose Creek and the Goose Creek Reservoir forms the Lower Sycolin subarea’s eastern boundary and serves as a dividing line between the Transition Policy Area and the Suburban Policy Area.  The reservoir, owned by the City of Fairfax, is an important drinking water resource to the County.  It contains approximately 200 million gallons of water and serves approximately 45,000 people living in the City of Fairfax and Loudoun County.  Approximately one-half of the water treated at the Goose Creek Water Treatment Plant is used by Loudoun residents.  In order to protect this resource, current Plan policies limit the development potential within the Lower Sycolin subarea to low residential densities and call for the creation of a 300-foot no-build buffer and a 1,000-foot voluntary greenbelt around the reservoir.  Please note that LCSA’s representative says that actually 2/3rds of the water is used by Loudoun residents.

Allowing more intensive development in this area could adversely impact the reservoir.  The City of Fairfax, in a November 7, 2006 letter, raised several concerns regarding development adjacent to reservoir, including:

• increased sedimentation to the reservoir (which will require more frequent dredging, a costly process);
• increased chemical runoff due to residential use of fertilizers and pest control chemicals;
• in the event of contamination caused by residential landbays in close proximity to the Water Treatment Plant, the plant may have to shut down in order to complete the required testing and treating, a process that would leave 45,000 people without water;
• it may be necessary for the City to construct costly fencing/security facilities to prevent human/animal related contamination;
• increased potential for liability issues; and
• sanitary sewer back-up/overflow entering the reservoir.

Impacts to the reservoir by development within the Lower Sycolin subarea could be exacerbated by the presence of diabase, which runs along the western side of the reservoir.  Diabase is a fine-grained igneous rock that has high runoff potential due to slow infiltration rates. 

…this area is also unique in its diversity and density of environmental features such as streams (including Sycolin Creek and Goose Creek), riparian buffers, forest cover, moderately steep and steep slopes, and unique plant and wildlife habitats.  Most notable is the area’s significant drainage into the Goose Creek Reservoir, a drinking water resource for Loudoun and Fairfax City residents.

FROM THE STAFF REPORT ON THE REZONING:

A majority of the site is wooded across varying elevations.  Areas of moderately steep and steep slopes are present on the southern portion of the property and along the Goose Creek.  The site drains in even amounts toward major floodplain areas along Sycolin Creek and the Goose Creek Reservoir.  A lesser portion drains into Goose Creek.  Smaller streams, including one area of minor floodplain as well as areas of isolated wetlands and ponds, also exist.

Several natural resources are located on the subject property including the Northern Hardpan Basic Oak-Hickory Forest (a rare plant community) and the American Ginseng individuals (a state-threatened plant species) as well as possible habitat for rare diabase plant species.

• a. Plant and Wildlife Habitats

Plan policies state that development applications with the likelihood of impacting one or more natural heritage resources will conduct a species assessment and develop a plan for impact avoidance if the presence of a natural heritage resource is identified.  The Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR), Division of Natural Heritage (DNH) defines natural heritage resources to include rare, threatened, and endangered plant and animal species; exemplary natural communities, habitats, and ecosystems; and significant geologic formations.

Several natural heritage resources were identified on the subject property. In the first referral, staff supported DCR’s January 18, 2006 recommendations to preserve the Northern Hardpan Basic Oak-Hickory Forest (a rare plant community) and the identified American Ginseng individuals (a state-threatened plant species). The revised application appears to preserve the majority of the American Ginseng and existing Northern Hardpan Basic Oak-Hickory communities that were identified on the property that were identified by WSSI.  These communities are considered to be rare and therefore do not enjoy legal protection, however, they are located within the Plan-recommended 1,000-foot voluntary greenbelt.

In the first referral, staff also recommended that the applicant conduct additional surveys of suitable habitat for rare diabase species in June 2006 because most of the plants were not in bloom when the original survey was completed, thereby making identification difficult.  According to the response to referral comments, “the applicant is pleased to arrange a site visit [with DCR].” Because the property contains 500+ acres of diabase soils, a site visit may not be sufficient to effectively survey all areas of the site where rare plant species may occur.

• b. Existing Forest Cover

The subject property is heavily forested with seven different types of forest cover. The Plan calls for the protection of forests and natural vegetation for the various economic and environmental benefits that they provide. Plan policies also call for the submittal and approval of a forest management plan prior to any land development that will ensure the long-term sustainability of any designated tree save area.

In the first referral, staff recommended that the application be revised to preserve additional forest cover adjacent to Sycolin Creek, Goose Creek, and its reservoir for environmental reasons and adjacent to the powerline easement, the future expansion of the quarry, and the Dulles Greenway to buffer residential uses from visual and noise impacts.

The Concept Plan indicates that residential lots (including both single family detached and single family attached) are proposed adjacent to the existing power lines with minimal setbacks and little to no buffering. In addition, many single-family detached residences are proposed in close proximity to both the Dulles Greenway and the future quarry.  Lastly, although Tree Conservation Areas (TCAs) have been delineated adjacent to both Sycolin Creek, Goose Creek, and the reservoir, the applicant has not chosen to provide a 1,000-foot greenbelt adjacent to the Goose Creek Reservoir. As discussed above, preserving natural areas within this greenbelt would help to mitigate the impacts of the proposed development on drinking water resources. 

• c. Moderately Steep Slopes

The Revised General Plan provides guidance for development on both steep (greater than 25% grade) and moderately steep (15 to 25% grade) slopes. The County prohibits land disturbance on steep slopes. Development can occur on moderately steep slopes; however, special performance standards should be used which include “best management practices, locational clearances for clearing and grading, and approval of natural drainage ways”.

Both steep and moderately steep slopes are present within Landbay P, where the office uses are proposed.  An illustrative on the Concept Plan indicates that a roadway may go through these areas. The site also contains large areas of moderately steep slopes along the site’s eastern boundary, adjacent to Goose Creek and its reservoir. Although no disturbance is proposed on most of these moderately steep slope areas, some residential lots within Landbay K are proposed near these slopes. The development of these lots will likely require high volumes of clearing and “cut and fill”, which may adversely impact the adjacent reservoir.

The Full Staff Report can be viewed here.