The Loudoun County Board of Supervisors will be accepting public comments on two applications with environmental concerns at the Wednesday, February 10 public hearing. Item 8 True North Data seeks to increase the height of proposed buildings that would negatively impact the viewshed of the Goose Creek scenic river. Item 10 Goose Creek Overlook seeks to rezone the parcel across Goose Creek from True North to include additional housing density. While the application would provide future linear trail connectivity and affordable housing units, there are many unresolved environmental concerns.

Your voice makes a difference! Please reach out to your supervisor expressing your concerns. We have listed email addresses for each supervisor below. Speakers can participate in the Public Hearing remotely if they sign up before 12pm on February 10. Speakers can also attend the meeting in person following COVID-19 protocols and social distancing measures set forth by the county. For more information about how to participate in the Business Meeting, click here.

Board of Supervisors email addresses:

Phyllis.Randall@loudoun.gov
juli.briskman@loudoun.gov
Tony.Buffington@loudoun.gov
Sylvia.Glass@loudoun.gov
caleb.kershner@loudoun.gov
matt.letourneau@loudoun.gov
Koran.Saines@loudoun.gov
Mike.Turner@loudoun.gov
Kristen.Umstattd@loudoun.gov
BOS@loudoun.gov

True North Data Center Application

Loudoun Wildlife agrees with staff’s recommendation to not approve Item 8 True North Data application for the following reasons:

• The application is not in compliance with the 2019 General Plan in regards to building height.
• The excess building height would negatively impact the viewshed of the Goose Creek scenic river and TPA.

The Board of Supervisors should not be persuaded to offer more negative concessions to an applicant simply because the applicant is having difficulty finding a tenant. This speculative data center project should not have been approved in the first place, and Loudoun County should not further degrade the scenic resources of a natural treasure, and violate promises made to protect the Transition Policy Area. The public and the environment already lost too much when the original application was approved, and now the developer wants more. Loudoun County residents deserve better.

Goose Creek Overlook

While Loudoun Wildlife recognizes the benefits of trail connectivity and affordable housing units, Item 10 Goose Creek Overlook has notable environmental concerns.

• There are unresolved floodplain encroachments and improvements proposed within the 300-foot no build scenic buffer. Active recreation areas and impervious parking areas to access recreation areas are not permitted under 2019 General Plan policies or current Zoning Ordinances. Loudoun County must do more to protect our floodplains, streams and scenic buffers. Our wildlife depends upon us to protect their homes.
• The height of the proposed buildings would disrupt the scenic beauty and viewshed of Goose Creek.
• Blasting would be required along the steep slopes of the property, which could lead to increased sedimentation in Goose Creek directly upstream from the public water intake.
• The applicant wishes to use 9.2 acres of open space currently owned by the County, and under conservation easement, as part of its open space calculation. Even then, the application is deficient on providing adequate civic open space as required. While the 9.2 acres on the adjacent parcel that was previously proffered was beyond the minimum open space requirement, that does not mean it should be used in the calculations for a separate application. Loudoun residents do not receive benefits for allowing this to be included in the calculation. That land is already protected open space.

The residents of Loudoun County deserve better. Protecting floodplains, scenic buffers, riparian management areas, and open space requirements should be priorities. When these attributes are protected, all citizens benefit, and they should not continually be sacrificed at the expense of development.

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