Friends Combined Comments to BOS May 4

Comments By FRBM Leaders At May 4 BOS Meeting

On May 4, the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors debated the instructions to staff regarding changes in the zoning ordinance affecting the Mountain Overlay District. Three Friends of the Blue Ridge Mountains leaders — Peter Weeks, Bill Waite, and Larry Malone — were among many who offered public comments. Their remarks appear below.

Loudouners Don’t Want Development In Their Mountains

Peter Weeks
Friends of the Blue Ridge Mountains president

Clarke and Fauquier Counties do not permit by right non-residential development on the shared mountainside of Blue Ridge and Paris mountains.

Why does Loudoun County lag behind in protecting our mountains?  This is why developers target Loudoun to build incompatible enterprises and will continue to be encouraged to do so if we weaken the MOD ordinances.  Isn’t there a lesson to be drawn from the proliferation of data centers?  Loudouners don’t want more data centers, and they don’t want more development in their mountains.

My Bullet Points:

• We’ve gone from a 500’ setback from streams and springs to 300 (our current ordinance) and now they are asking for a 100’ setback in the MOD. This is a matter of public safety to protect our drinking water by keeping the current ordinance.
• Allow fences associated with residential and agricultural production uses on the MOD without the need for a grading permit.
• We support proactive zoning enforcement for nonresidential covered activities within the rural policy area, including an analysis of current facilities as a matter of public safety.
• We support Supervisor TeKrony’s motion to require a minor special exception for all nonresidential covered activities in the somewhat sensitive and sensitive areas of the MOD, except for bona fide agricultural uses.
• Require non-residential covered activities to show that a minimum of 50% of the existing forested areas are retained onsite.

Thank you to our supporters here in numbers to protect the mountains!

Protect the Blue Ridge

Bill Waite
Friends of the Blue Ridge Mountains Board of Directors

Chair and Members of the Board,

I’m here today to speak plainly about what is at stake for public safety and fiscal responsibility in light of the last-minute motions introduced by Supervisor Kershner regarding rural wineries, breweries, and distilleries.

These proposals, allowing unlimited events, unlimited attendance, extended hours, and reduced setbacks, do not reflect the will of the community or the careful work of your staff. For years, residents, first responders, and planning professionals have shown up, provided data, and offered thoughtful, balanced solutions. Those voices are not being refined here, they are being overridden.

The consequences are real and immediate. Unlimited, high-capacity events in rural areas will push traffic onto narrow, unlit roads that were never designed for this level of use. Emergency responders will face longer travel times and heavier call volumes. Late-night activity increases the likelihood of impaired driving and delays in critical response. Reduced setbacks move these impacts closer to homes, making it harder to manage crowds safely and increasing conflict in communities that have long been quiet and stable.

And the economic reality cannot be ignored. These motions do not create free revenue—they create hidden costs. More policing, more road wear, more strain on emergency services. Those costs fall on taxpayers and can quickly outpace any additional tax income. Meanwhile, declining property values in affected rural areas erode the very tax base the County depends on. That is not smart growth, it is a cost shift with long-term consequences.

Separately, I urge you to support the standalone motion requiring a minor special exception for all non-residential covered activities in somewhat sensitive and sensitive areas of the MOD. This is not a barrier—it is a safeguard. It ensures that higher-impact uses are evaluated on their merits, with conditions that protect access, safety, and compatibility.

Just as importantly, it provides a critical opportunity to study land disturbance before damage is done. That means protecting steep slopes from instability, reducing erosion that can damage roads and neighboring properties, and preserving groundwater recharge that sustains western Loudoun’s drinking water. These are not abstract concerns, they are fundamental to public safety, environmental health, and the long-term costs this County will bear if we get this wrong.

You have before you a clear choice: last-minute, sweeping changes that increase risk and shift costs, or a balanced, deliberate approach grounded in years of public input and professional analysis.

I ask you to reject the unlimited expansion motions and stand for policies that protect your residents, your first responders, and the County’s financial future.

Strengthen Zoning for the Mountains

Larry Malone
Friends of the Blue Ridge Mountains executive director

I speak on behalf of Friends of the Blue Ridge Mountains.

I urge you to strengthen—not weaken—the zoning protections for our mountains. Many of the uses permitted by the current zoning ordinance are incompatible with steep slopes and dense forests, regardless of how carefully they are sited.

Public safety, public health, and the long-term strength of Loudoun’s economy depend on protecting the mountains from development.

Blue Ridge Mountain Road is at capacity. Additional non-residential development will increase traffic, intensify parking demand, and create pressure to widen roads, and pave more parking thus attracting more traffic—an unending cycle.

The result will be increased congestion and more accidents.

Ensuring safety on our roads must remain one of your highest priorities as you consider the Western Loudoun zoning ordinance.

Our Mountains are essential to the health of our community. These forests remove thousands of tons of greenhouse gases and produce millions of pounds of oxygen. They filter runoff before it reaches our streams and, ultimately, the Chesapeake Bay.

Expanding non-residential development in the mountains will erode this natural capacity to clean our air and water. If nature no longer performs these functions freely, taxpayers will bear the cost—spending millions to replace what we once had at no cost.

Our Mountains are vital to Loudoun’s economy. Visit Loudoun has clearly documented the importance of our natural environment to the tourism industry. Every new parking lot, commercial building, or retail use on these slopes brings us closer to degrading the very landscape that draws visitors here.

Members of the Board, you are thoughtful and capable leaders. You have the insight to understand the long-term consequences of these zoning decisions, and the courage to act in the best interests of Loudoun County.