Prince William Times 01/20/2022

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BOYS BASKETBALL: Senior-powered Hylton is 11-4 and gunning for regions. SPORTS, Page 10

January 20, 2022 | Vol. 21, No. 3 | www.princewilliamtimes.com | $1.00 Covering Prince William County and surrounding communities, including Gainesville, Haymarket, Dumfries, Occoquan, Quantico and the cities of Manassas and Manassas Park.

Masks stay on at local schools By Jill Palermo

Times Staff Writer

idential capacity,” it will still fall short of its housing needs by nearly 20,000 units, the report states. The report also found that more than 50% of county’s renters are “cost-burdened,” a measure that refers to those who spend more than 30% of their income on housing. Prince William County is one of the fastest growing localities in the commonwealth, adding 80,000 new residents over the last 10 years. To alleviate the housing shortage, the report recommends that county officials “look into rezoning some of its non-residential lands … to allow for additional residential densities.” It also calls for more multi-family housing in western Prince William County.

Prince William County schools’ policy requiring students and staff to wear face masks with limited exceptions to help mitigate the spread of COVID-19 will remain in place despite Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s move to lift the statewide mandate on masks in schools, Superintendent LaTanya McDade announced this week. In a letter to school division staff and families, McDade said schools’ “layered mitigation strategies” would remain in effect, including masks. “As always, any changes to our mitigation strategies will be made thoughtfully and with the health and safety of students and staff as our priority,” McDade wrote. “Any decision to remove a mitigation layer must take into consideration our ability to continue in-person instruction.” Prince William County schools’ decision to retain its mask policy despite Youngkin’s Executive Order Two, which states parents can opt out of school mask mandates, came amid of flurry of similar decisions announced by the state’s largest school divisions as well as nearly all in Northern Virginia. One exception was Spotsylvania County, where the school board voted Tuesday evening to lift their mask rule to comply with Youngkin’s executive order. The Stafford County school division has said it will discuss its mask rule at a meeting this week. By Tuesday, Jan. 18, a group of Chesapeake parents had filed a lawsuit asking the state Supreme Court to rule that Youngkin’s executive order violates a state law requiring schools to adhere to Centers for Disease Control and Prevention guidelines for schools “to the maximum extent practicable.” The CDC says masks should be worn in schools and in all public places where COVID-19 transmission rates are high. Youngkin’s move to make masks optional in public schools comes as all 35 Virginia health districts are seeing a “surge”

See HOUSING, page 4

See MASKS, page 2

PHOTO BY JOHN CALHOUN

Dale City, where these new townhomes are being built, has nearly run out of space for new housing. Prince William will be short about 20,000 units needed to keep pace with growth by 2040, according to a recent analysis.

Report: Housing shortage to persist

Even at full build-out, county will be short 20,000 units, analysis says

“It’s going to get worse before it gets better.” DEPUTY COUNTY EXECUTIVE REBECCA HORNER

By Daniel Berti

Times Staff Writer

Prince William County’s ongoing housing shortage, widely blamed driving up costs, could persist past 2040 if policies are not changed to open additional land for development and to allow more dense residential development where it’s sharply restricted, including in the “rural crescent,” according to a recent outside analysis. The findings were included in four reports produced by RKG Associates, a Washington D.C.based economic planning firm, ahead of the county’s 2040 comprehensive plan update. A report titled, “Future Housing Demand Projections,” says Prince William County “does not have sufficient land under current zoning [rules] to accommodate its projected population growth by 2040.” Even if the county “maxes out its current res-

Community COVID-19 testing site opens in Woodbridge. See page 2

Free career training at the libraries. See page 8

88 DULLES, VA

It’s all about people . . . and always will be. www.vnb.com


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