ON THE COVER

Country MATTERS

Stopping the Swap Critical for Aldie

The village of Aldie

Photo by Hugh Kenny, Piedmont Environmental Council

By Kevin Ramundo Columnist

Several months ago, it appeared it was time to celebrate reports that Loudoun County had agreed to buy 16 acres of land in the historic village of St. Louis, place the land in conservation easement, and prevent the construction of 27 new homes.

That celebration may have been premature.

It was later learned that the developer, Mojax LLC, withdrew from the St. Louis agreement based on the claim reported in the media that tax benefits it expected to receive would not be available. On Dec. 1, the Loudoun Board of Supervisors decided to pursue a different deal offered by the developer.

Under the new plan, the county would still buy the St. Louis land for the previously agreed-upon amount of $1.5 million -- and also give Mojax 6.3 acres of county land in Aldie to develop and $600,000 for improvements. That included a road that would lead to 60 acres under conservation easement behind the proposed development.

The supervisors should be applauded for wanting to protect St. Louis and save several small historic buildings in Aldie. And to be fair, we may be in the early stages of this situation and it could improve. But the discussion now underway threatens a quaint and historic village with a development that would include 164 parking spaces and almost 35,000 square feet of commercial and retail space.

All this unfolded without any community involvement until a quickly convened public hearing on January 13. Compelling concerns were voiced, including from those who, in 2019, successfully opposed the county’s plans for a 20,000 square-foot fire station there, a plan the supervisors thankfully changed. Many hoped the action by the board at the hearing would have gone beyond just referring the contract for the Aldie development to the board’s finance committee. The entire situation raises these and other questions: Should the county even consider trading the historical and rural qualities of one village for another?

Why didn’t the county involve the community and solicit multiple development proposals such as Middleburg has done in efforts to restore the historic Asbury Church? Would the county be receiving fair value for its Aldie land? It seems as if what’s possibly happening is more about expediency than what the public wants and due diligence deserves. Isn’t it more important to do the right way instead of jumping at an agreement. Yes, the county should strive to protect St. Louis, but not at the expense of Aldie.

In recent years, another entity planned to bring a commercial-scale restaurant, resort and event facility to a historic property near Upperville. The Fauquier supervisors made community concerns a priority. Why should it be any different with the Aldie project in Loudoun ?

Important open issues remain about the Aldie plan and my hope is that the county acts in the community’s best interests by rejecting the swap and this game-changing proposed project at the eastern gateway to the rural part of the county. You can email the supervisors at bos@loudoun.gov with your thoughts.

Kevin Ramundo is a former communications executive who was recently elected president of Citizens for Fauquier County and serves on the Land Trust of Virginia board.