A Clear and Present Danger to the East Country SIDE

Country SIDE

A Clear and Present Danger to the East

By Kevin Ramundo

I’m almost certain you’ve all seen the signs—Oppose Banbury Cross Reserve— that started popping up all around the area after a Middleburg Planning Commission (MPC) public hearing in September.

The session focused on a 571-acre, 38- home subdivision proposed for the eastern edge of town on Sam Fred Road near its intersection with Route 50.

The subdivision would stretch almost to Carters Farm Road, two miles farther east, and would change forever the eastern gateway to historic Middleburg and threaten the rural lands and historic areas near the town.

When the MPC disapproved the project because of technical deficiencies, it was operating under a special authority to review and approve proposed subdivisions very close to town.

It’s expected that the developers will soon re-submit their application to the MPC, and its approval or disapproval will largely depend on whether deficiencies relative to the town’s subdivision requirements are corrected. The county will be conducting a similar review. Both reviews are based on the cluster zoning option the developers have chosen. More on this later.

A major deficiency the MPC identified with the subdivision plan was the failure to survey historic resources adequately. There are early 19th century resources on the property, as well as two historic African-American hamlets adjacent to the proposed development.

Brown’s Corner, located where Sam Fred Road and Route 50 intersect, is home to four historic houses. Macsville, which occupies both sides of Route 50 at Carters Farm Lane, predates the Civil War and is believed to have been home to slaves associated with surrounding farms. Those sort of historic homes used to exist throughout Loudoun County but have increasingly been lost to development.

Some may think that 38 homes on 571 acres shouldn’t be that big a deal. After all, that averages out to be one house for every 15 acres. That’s where the issue of cluster zoning mentioned before comes in.

Under this zoning option, the developer can put 2.5 times more homes on the property than the base zoning allows provided 70 percent of the land remains undeveloped. At Banbury Cross Reserve, the homes would be clustered along Sam Fred Road near Route 50 on what would average four acres per residence. It would be the largest cluster subdivision ever proposed in the southern portion of the county’s rural area.

Cluster zoning was first approved in Loudoun in 2003 with the stated intention of protecting valuable agricultural lands, but it has had the opposite result. Developers have been building on agricultural land, because it’s cheaper and easier to build there.

The land that remains undeveloped often involves steep slopes, rocky areas and wetlands, which are essentially useless for agriculture and harder to develop.

Unfortunately, cluster zoning has become the most prevalent form of residential development in rural areas of the county and is thought to be a significant contributing factor to why Loudoun has lost 26 percent of its farmland since 2002, according to statistics from the U.S. Department of Agriculture.

The Oppose Banbury Reserve Cross signs are just the most visible part of a very active community effort to oppose the subdivision. The opposition effort includes a petition with over 1,000 signatures and a public Go Fund Me page to help cover legal and other expenses.

If you’d like to join the effort, please contact Daniel Haney (ConcernedCitizensVSBBX@gmail.com). Let elected officials in Middleburg and Loudoun County know your concerns about the subdivision, its threat to historical resources and the importance of maintaining a robust farm economy, a significant economic engine for the county.

Photo © Leonard Shapiro

Kevin Ramundo

Banbury Cross signs are all around