Bacon's Rebellion

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Deja Vu, All Over Again

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Dick Hall-Sizemore
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Cluster development in western Loudoun Co. Photo credit: Washington Post

by Dick Hall-Sizemore

Today’s Washington Post has an article about efforts to preserve farmland in Loudoun County.

That headline instantly took me back to the late 1970s and early 1980s when there was a flurry of activity regarding the need to preserve farmland and provide landowners incentives to keep their farmland from being developed.

Loudoun County was in the center of that activity. At that time, the population of the county was about 57,000. Development in the area near Dulles Airport and the Rt. 7 corridor was in the early stages. A large part of the county was open land, consisting of large estates, as well as medium and small farms. The tools for preserving that land that were being discussed, sometimes heatedly, were conservation easements and transfer of development rights. A sample report of some of those studies is here.

By the time of the 2020 census, Loudoun’s population had swelled to almost 423,000 and it was considered the richest county in the United States. And some long-time residents are still expressing anguish over farmland and open space being replaced by houses and streets.

The debate this time is a little different than it was 40 years ago. One group is trying to limit the amount of farmland lost by changing the zoning code to require developers of cluster residential developments to set aside at least 70 percent of the property’s prime agricultural soil for farming or other agricultural uses. Another group of conservationists who own land which they plan to put into the county’s conservation easement program is opposed to such a change because they feel that it would result in devaluing their land. Land in the conservation easement program has permanent restrictions on its development.  In return for giving up the right to develop their land, the owners receive a tax credit based on the projected developmental value of the land. They contend that, if the proposed zoning change were enacted, their land, and potential tax credit, would be worth less because fewer houses could be built on it.

As Steve Haner indicated in recent comments on another subject, it seems that many issues that are surfacing now are not really new. The parameters of the debates may be different, but the underlying issues have been around for a long time.

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50 responses to “Deja Vu, All Over Again”

  1. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    Thanks for writing on this.

    Some version of this goes on in many of the exurban commuting counties of NoVa.

    The rallying cry in the Fredericksburg Area some years back was “Don’t Fairfax Fredericksburg”!

    Before I-95 , Stafford and Spotsylvania were primarily rural counties with about 15-20K population and Fredericksburg City was the “center” where folks went to get everything from groceries to automobiles.

    Before I-95 people worked at the Avisco cellophane plant and up the road at Quantico, commuting on Route 1.

    I-95 in the early 60’s changed everything.

    Loudoun had a similar thing happen but not because of I-95 but ironically from new roads west for the Dulles Airport, the Dulles Greenway:

    https://www.nytimes.com/1994/07/24/realestate/a-326-million-private-toll-road-to-spur-growth.html

    Would Loudoun have grown the way it has without the Greenway….maybe not that different than what happened to Stafford and Spotsylvania after I-95 was built?

    It’s a big issue with a lot of moving parts but if jobs are offered in NoVa and people move here to take those jobs.. they often look to locate further out so they can afford a nicer/better house and they resign themselves to a career of commuting every work day.

    Can a county really “stop” growth or re-direct it?

    If you set aside land in a conservation easement and the growth leapfrogs it even further out, what has been accomplished?

    If people need/want a place to live and Virginia law preserves and protects the right for a landowner to receive full value for their property… then is it better to approve dense residential growth rather that large-lot leapfrog growth?

    NoVa is not unique in this. Most urban areas have some version of it , even Richmond, Charlotte, Atlanta, etc…

    Meanwhile, really nice homes can be had for much less money in Nebraska but alas even folks who retire from NoVa don’t want to go “THAT” far away! In fact, we get a bunch in Spotsylvania every year…. They want to be “near” their kids who now have jobs in NoVa!

    Once again, I appreciate you writing on a subject that is not caught up in the culture war.. and used to be a fairly regular discussion in BR and you’re bringing some of it back. Thanks.

    1. Eric the half a troll Avatar
      Eric the half a troll

      “then is it better to approve dense residential growth rather that large-lot leapfrog growth?”

      The idea behind Reston. High density development surrounded by open space. The developers always take the first and ignore the second.

      1. LarrytheG Avatar
        LarrytheG

        I’d have to question if we did that… dense residential , surrounded by open, then just beyond the open more dense residential surrounded by open… is that “right” or “good”?

        1. Eric the half a troll Avatar
          Eric the half a troll

          Good or bad… I don’t know… it is the basis of “smart growth” and is the European model. It was also the vision (until his dying day) of Robert E. Smith (the R.E.S. of “Reston”). A shame it couldn’t be realized. Northern Virginia would be a much different place today.

          1. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            What makes some cities great IMO is dense residential with lots of public parks in between (as opposed to non-public woods). In other words, where people live, they also need places to play and not be hemmed in by dense residential and unuseable woods.

            So.. if the spaces in between the dense residential are places were people can “play”, all for it.

      2. DJRippert Avatar
        DJRippert

        Yep. London seems to have managed to maintain their Greenbelt (at least, that’s what I recall it being named). Westchester County, north of NYC, seems to have been able to maintain both growth and greenspace. At least, it seemed that way when I worked in Armonk.

        But in Virginia? Forget about it.

        The politicians in Virginia originally promised that the Dulles Toll Road would only charge tolls until the cost to build the road was recouped. That happened decades ago. Those lying politicians are gone – replaced by a new generation of liars. And the tolls remain. – lately to help fund Metro to Dulles. And who will benefit from Metro to Dulles? Developers.

        Until Virginia limits political donations to political candidates the grift and graft will continue.

        1. LarrytheG Avatar
          LarrytheG

          there are 3 big costs to any road:

          1. – cost to build
          2. – cost to operate
          3.- cost to maintain

          roads are NEVER “paid for”!

          FULLY one half of all transportation revenues from fuel taxes and such go to highway maintenance and operations..

          VDOT’s 6 yr plan of all projects in the state numbers almost 5000.

          https://syip.virginiadot.org/Pages/allProjects.aspx

          this is a cool database.. you can put in your location and see what projects are queue up.

      3. f/k/a_tmtfairfax Avatar
        f/k/a_tmtfairfax

        To ease opposition to the urbanization of Tysons, a bipartisan group of Fairfax County supervisors promised the residents of the county that Tysons would be the urban center so that suburban and rural areas could and would be protected against major changes. Now everyone knows how long that promise has been kept.

        Then, the supervisors said we need more density at metrorail stations, which, in turn, will protect suburban neighborhoods and rural areas.

        Next, they said we need more density at any “activity center,” with or without mass transit. But they stopped promising to protect any neighborhoods.

        Now any empty strip mall or office building is ripe for conversion to apartments. And some are dying to void any zoning so that the missing middle can be built.

        Meanwhile, as retail stores’ and office buildings’ values plummet, more and more of the real estate tax burden falls on residential taxpayers, making housing less and less affordable.

        The common theme. Campaign contributions from builders and developers.

  2. Kathleen Smith Avatar
    Kathleen Smith

    Great article. Interesting. It reminded me of the fight when cities could annex county property. Thanks for writing on this topic.

  3. Nancy Naive Avatar
    Nancy Naive

    https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=OTfSZ0D39AI

  4. James Wyatt Whitehead Avatar
    James Wyatt Whitehead

    East of Route 15 it’s lights out for farmland. Just a patch here and there left. West of Route 15 plenty of farmland. The map below shows how much of the land is in conservation easements. The orange blobs are protected lands added in 2022. Property owners can work with the Piedmont Environmental Council to initiate the process and gain access to valuable tax credits. 61,000 acres of farmland preserved.
    https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/01219a6d789bf0c044069f9d94e6bbcd67b4260c830eb636125cf99e10ddb0a0.jpg

    1. DJRippert Avatar
      DJRippert

      Reverse socialism, led by liberals in western Loudoun. They use a tax dodge to restrict the land available for development and then cry in their chardonnay at the local polo match about the lack of housing affordability in eastern Loudoun.

      Pretty neat trick – use public funds (via land easement tax breaks) to create a public problem (unaffordable housing in Loudoun). Their answer to both the reduced tax receipts and unaffordable housing problem? Higher taxes on the middle class.

      The Piedmont Environmental Council? Rich Men North of Richmond.

      1. James Wyatt Whitehead Avatar
        James Wyatt Whitehead

        You nailed it. It is a double break. You can sell your tax credits on the open market to the even richer so they can hide their wealth and the seller makes a nice cut. And then you can generate 10,000 dollars of farm income to get a whopper of a Loudoun County property tax break. The suckers in Ashburn are pulling all the freight for local funding.

        1. Eric the half a troll Avatar
          Eric the half a troll

          “And then you can generate 10,000 dollars of farm income to get a whopper of a Loudoun County property tax break”

          It is not an “and then” that particular land use tax break has been in place for decades and has probably done more to stem residential growth in western Loudoun than any other policy (including zoning). Without agricultural tax deferrals, farms in western Loudoun would have been sold to developers decades ago (and we would be 100% Fairfax by now).

          Also, remember, the taxes are deferred not dodged. If the property ever drops out of agricultural land use, as in sold to a developer, the first thing that happens is all those accumulated taxes are paid to the county. A pretty brilliant land use incentive strategy.

      2. LarrytheG Avatar
        LarrytheG

        Why, I’d not be surprised at all if some of these same folks doing the land-easements are investors in Transurban! 😉

      3. Eric the half a troll Avatar
        Eric the half a troll

        “… and then cry in their chardonnay at the local polo match about the lack of housing affordability in eastern Loudoun.”

        Again not the typical Western Loudouner. I’ve never been to any polo match, for instance, but I will admit to consumption of chardonnay every now and again. Western Loudoun (even the monied) are much more down to earth people. Now the McMansion crowd are a different breed but still not what you paint.

        PEC has done a great deal of good (and not just in Loudoun). Somebody has to stand up to the developers after all.

        I recall the old Purchase of Development Rights proposal and ensuing battle. We lost that one to the development crowd but it seemed a fair way to approach the problem directly. But tax credits or breaks in exchange for the same concessions seems like an equitable approach. We really just got tired of building and staffing new schools.

  5. Acbar Avatar
    Acbar

    Land use and other planning and development and public utility issues, as well as State education and health infrastructure and policies, and the regulation of all of these, used to be the focus of this blog. Good governance was the subject; culture wars were addressed only incidemtally. Then the likes of Kerry Dougherty’s polemics started appearing here and got us off that track.

    There’s been a place for cultural views on B.R. but primarily in the context of how the State government can do its job better. The bloggers and commenters here are generally institutionalists: we should make government work better not cripple it. .Thanks to JS and SH and to you, Dick, we’ve turned back to basics recently and for that I’m thankful. And JB’s relentless focus on the governance of higher education generally and UVa specifically is very much in keeping with that.

    Again, thanks to Jim Bacon and the B.R. contributors for providing this forum for the betterment of the State we live in. Culture wars and political dysfunction notwithstanding, there’s common sense work to be done here at home and B.R. helps do it.

    1. DJRippert Avatar
      DJRippert

      Acbar, Eric, Lefty and Matt (the comment’s author and the three “thumbs up” so far) – feel free to write whatever blog posts you’d like and submit them to Jim. If they are about Virginia and reasonably well written – they will get published.

      During my two retirement phases I wrote a lot of articles for this blog. They all were published. But I’m un-retired now and too busy. When that changes, I’ll be back writing more articles.

      If you want to see different material on this blog – write it!

  6. LarrytheG Avatar
    LarrytheG

    re: “saving farmland”

    Somehow, I don’t think the folks who live in Loudoun ( or Spotsy/Stafford) would actually like to live in a place surrounded by corn or wheat fields or worse a cattle or dairy farm!

    Don’t get me wrong, I’m a supporter and proponent of preserving land by the Feds, State and local level including Conservation Easements but I just don’t think putting ANY vacant land into a Conservation Easement that is not publically accessible – i.e. still private land and taxes reduced because it won’t ever be developed.

    I’m not at all sure exactly what that really accomplishes for most folks beyond those who have their houses backed up to land that won’t be developed into more houses, sort of an “amenity” in a way.

    We have Conservation easements along the Rappahannock River in the Fredericksburg area but they (so far) have trails and the public is allowed to use and at the same time, no one is building houses along the river and posting no trespassing signs, etc.

    So I support that and I also support preserving significant Civil War sites… as well as the counties buying/receiving lands that will be developed into facilities for people, walking trails, lakes , etc.

    But just setting aside a piece of land that cannot be used for anything and is surrounded by subdivisions… I’m not so sure about it’s value beyond to the owner, people whose houses back up to it… and perhaps some who see it as a view shed if it is open hills and pasture.

    And I certainly don’t think such Conservation Easements ‘stop” growth in any way, shape, or form. There is so much land that won’t get “preserved” and WILL get developed into subdivisions and homes for folks looking for a place to live.

    Spots and Stafford have gone from 15-20K to 130K (paltry to Loadouts 400K but give it time – in another 20-30 years, we’ll get there if we keep growing like we have been.

    The main restriction now days is the road network and how much traffic it can carry – at rush hour. VDOT is not adding lanes to I-95 except for HOT/HOV toll lanes. They’re not going to widen I-95 anytime soon and even if they did, it would cost billions to do it to buy developed land and it would just feed the additional lanes into NoVa where there is no more room for new roads and such.

    Same thing is going on with Loudoun … people up in arms over “private” tolling ( The Dulles Greenway was “private” long ago but that history is apparently forgotten now that the tolls vary by congestion level!

    So there is STILL .. PLENTY of land available to be developed for residential even with efforts to “save farmland” and conservation easements. Neither will stop land development to meet demand for new houses.

    So, we’re really back to what all of this is really about.

    Today, we just finished extending the HOT/HOV tolls lanes south to Fredericksburg… almost universally hated by many, they actually provide a “free” ride for those willing to carpool and/or ride transit , as well as an option to pay a toll if you still want to drive solo , as well as existing untolled lanes that may well be congested during rush hour.

    This is the future of I-95 and the I-495 beltway as well as the Dulles Toll road west to Loudoun.

    It’s really all about people getting jobs in NoVa and then commuting to work every weekday from houses they bought in the exurban counties – like Loudoun, Stafford, Spotsy, as well as Facquier and Culpeper, Frederick, Clark AND some counties in West Virginia…. where there is actually a LOT of real “farmland”!

    I’m all for preserving land especially land that has significant qualities for historic, cultural and recreational as a benefit to all citizens… but I’m not so convinced that Conservation easements per se that lock up land so no one can use it but the owner is such a good thing.

    I’m sure others can debate this and would love to hear other views about it.

    1. Nancy Naive Avatar
      Nancy Naive

      https://s.yimg.com/ny/api/res/1.2/VCqjICxITxzdeFY.PtIrgg–/YXBwaWQ9aGlnaGxhbmRlcjt3PTk2MDtoPTY2MQ–/https://media.zenfs.com/en/homerun/feed_manager_auto_publish_494/fedbc05407440731f5c2c7fa0284005e

    2. DJRippert Avatar
      DJRippert

      “VDOT is not adding lanes to I-95 except for HOT/HOV toll lanes. They’re not going to widen I-95 anytime soon and even if they did, it would cost billions to do it to buy developed land and it would just feed the additional lanes into NoVa where there is no more room for new roads and such.”

      Once again, a private company (presumably Transurban) can do what VDOT can’t – add lanes to I-95.

      I-95 is now rated once of the most profitable toll road systems IN THE WORLD.

      I wonder how many more teachers could have been hired with the profits that now accrue to Transurban if VDOT had the competence to implement the toll roads.

      I would have no problem with using public-private partnerships to outsource government functions to private enterprises if that reduced the size and cost of government.

      But it doesn’t do that. Government does less and less, achieves less and less yet costs more and more.

      1. LarrytheG Avatar
        LarrytheG

        DJ, are you familiar with the Dulles Greenway?

        1. LarrytheG Avatar
          LarrytheG

          anyone remember the ORIGINAL private toll road in NoVa?

          https://uploads.disquscdn.com/images/14738daa9825805af17de1887875426f842d09553086d3d5f5f234b3beab62ab.jpg

    3. Dick Hall-Sizemore Avatar
      Dick Hall-Sizemore

      It has been forty years since I was involved in these debates. (Good God! Has it really been that long ago? How time flies!) Therefore, I am a little rusty on the pros and cons.

      Personally, I think it is beneficial to the human soul and the mental health of society in general to have open land. But, people need land to build homes on, too.

      There is some merit to the argument that conservation easements primarily benefit rich folks who probably would not sell their large, private estates anyway. But, there are many who genuinely feel that some land is worth preserving undeveloped forever.

      You make a good point about public access. If public money is going to pay for conservation easements, and that is the source of those payments, then the public should have access to the land.

      There is a middle ground, I think. There is a value to encourging small farmers. (There is not enough space here to go into the problems caused by “factory” farms.) Small to medium farmers in developing areas get squeezed by property taxes. Their land, which has development potential, is assessed at market value. Therefore, they have to pay for that development potential although the land is not producing that sort of income. A land use tax policy that assesses the land according to its current use rather than market potential is the answer and many localities have such a tax policy in place. That sort of tax allows farmers to continue to farm without tying up the land forever in a conservation easement if their kids don’t want to farm after they have passed away. To make it equitable, howver, the tax code needs to be amended to provide for a capital gains tax on the land if the farmer or the kids decide to sell it for development.

    4. Nancy Naive Avatar
      Nancy Naive

      Critters need roadways too. If they can get there using routes of brush and cover, they’ll stop crossing roads and getting squished.

      Canada has built overpasses for their Trans-Canada Highway that are just for animals. They use them.

      1. LarrytheG Avatar
        LarrytheG

        they do that out west for some roads also… it’s a “thing”…. probably a good thing…

      2. WayneS Avatar
        WayneS

        VDOT should build them their own lane on I-95…

        1. Nancy Naive Avatar
          Nancy Naive

          They have one. It’s the left lane and it’s for tortoises only. About every 5 minutes you’ll get behind one.

          1. how_it_works Avatar
            how_it_works

            They need to make a cruise control that Virginians will actually use.

            I had this idea for an automated cruise control. Instead of matching speeds with the vehicle in front of you…it matches speeds with the vehicle on your right.

          2. Nancy Naive Avatar
            Nancy Naive

            You don’t need to do that much engineering! You could use Artificial intelligence. In Virginia an AI cruise control would be a step up..

      3. WayneS Avatar
        WayneS

        VDOT should build them their own lane on I-95…

  7. Matt Adams Avatar
    Matt Adams

    Take notice that the explosion of population hasn’t resulted in any additional highways. There have been some revamping and they finally connected the LoCo Parkway through, but that isn’t enough to handle the continued growth.

    Traffic was a nightmare when I left in 19 and it’s only getting worse.

    1. DJRippert Avatar
      DJRippert

      Of course there are no additional highways – other than those private roads charging sky-high tolls. This is NoVa we’re talking about, not Richmond. General Fund monies can be committed to expand Richmond-area road but only high cost private companies can manage to build roads in NoVa.

      And the prog-libs who have invaded NoVa keep electing useless Democratic Party politicians who just don’t care.

    2. how_it_works Avatar
      how_it_works

      Traffic is a minor concern when you finally get that 6-figure FedGov job you can never be fired or laid off from.

      1. Matt Adams Avatar
        Matt Adams

        If it’s only 6-figures, you’re gonna have to live a least 30 miles away to afford it :).

      2. LarrytheG Avatar
        LarrytheG

        The thing that won’t change for NoVa is that DC/Md/Va is where much of the HQ function is for most Federal Agencies.

        That’s where the Fed Hi Grades are.

        Unless the next POTUS “de-centralizes” the Feds HQ function.. NoVa will continue to be the place where houses cost a million and more…

        I just don’t see that happening… beyond one or two

        Spotsy would LOVE to have as many Fed Agencies as someone would give them!

        1. how_it_works Avatar
          how_it_works

          Yes, I look forward to the day I sell my house to some GS-15 and take the money and drive west on I66 for the LAST time.

          Dad’s already passed, mom’s going to pass someday, reasons to stay are fewer and fewer.

          1. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            And I wish you the best… NoVa is a hell-hole… I avoid it like the plague unless I have absolutely no choice and the bad part is we end up with more and NoVa expats down our way and their driving behaviors are not wonderful. I’ve been here for quite some time and the driving behaviors went from people being polite to all kinds of idiotic behaviors where you have to drive uber-defensive just to protect yourself from these cretins. They’ll cut across 3 lanes of traffic to get to a left-run lane in front of you or tailgate you even as you’re in a line of traffic… no matter.. right on your bumper! Didn’t use to be this way a few years back….

            Few folks really leave and go far away to truly rural Va. A few do… the vast majority want to be on the fringes of NoVa… not too far…not too close…

          2. how_it_works Avatar
            how_it_works

            You’re not the first person who lives down your way who said that the NoVA rot is starting to move there.

          3. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            I was here before I-95 was built…. so I’ve seen what has happened….

            It’s been going on for awhile.

            I don’t begrudge folks looking for better but doing it thinking I-95 solo every day is the way to do it
            is deeply flawed thinking unless you’re going to use VRE, carpool, slug, van/bus…

            It’s these folks that help make NoVa traffic such a hell-hole… IMO. We’ve tried everything
            and these folks are hard-core and HOT lanes was going to be tried.. and if it works, it stays
            and if it don’t , I dunno what happens next but I-95 is chock-a-block many days and I just
            don’t see VDOT building a dual I-95 corridor in our lifetimes…

          4. how_it_works Avatar
            how_it_works

            I would never move to Fredericksburg. You’re pretty stupid if you take a job in NoVA that only pays you enough to live in Manassas. Even dumber than that if you get one that only pays you enough to live in Fredericksburg.

          5. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            entry level folks from out in the hinterlands do it all the time. It’s gets them off the farm and a chance to move up! Our big growth these days is upscale apts near VRE!

          6. how_it_works Avatar
            how_it_works

            It does seem like many of the people who think that NoVA and Fredericksburg are the greatest places ever hail from some hayseed town somewhere.

          7. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            There’s not that much deep thought involved… it’s get a job that lets you escape from Podunk, Neb or whatever… do the move… get a place… then move up…..

            It’s not that the “burg” is “wonderful” per se…heckfire there are still silos and cows where there are apts and townhouses!

            😉

          8. how_it_works Avatar
            how_it_works

            Not to mention the 300-home subdivision with one access point on a 2-lane highway. You know you’ve arrived when your demanding the politicians install a traffic light for your neighborhood!

          9. LarrytheG Avatar
            LarrytheG

            VDOT determines is a traffic signal is warranted….and also tries to require two access points but more than a few resist it. The locality tries to get adjacent subdivisions to “connect” but again, many want a cul-de-sac type neighborhood… They want median crossovers on 4-lanes and VDOT won’t do that either these days, they’re shutting down median crossovers and sending those folks to the next light to do a left-u-turn.

          10. how_it_works Avatar
            how_it_works

            US15 in MD north of Frederick is the way to do it. No need for a light you just make a nice long u-turn lane.

          11. DJRippert Avatar
            DJRippert

            If you think people drive badly in NoVa, check out the DC suburbs of Maryland along with Baltimore and its suburbs.

            And, even out in northern Fairfax and eastern Loudoun (where I commute to and from work every day) – you see more and more Maryland plates.

            In my effort to become a suburban version of Oliver Anthony, I’ve started composing a song about Maryland drivers.

            Sung to the tune of Yankee Doodle Dandy –

            I’m a Maryland moron,
            An empty suited buffoon,
            I don’t know how to drive my car,
            But I’d better learn pretty soon,
            ‘Cause there are no jobs in Mar-a-land,
            I commute to old V-A,
            And if I keep driving like a fool,
            Someone will shoot me one day,
            For now, I’m in the Old Dominion,
            Confirming everyone’s opinion,
            That Marylanders drive like trash,
            Uh oh, looks like I am going to crash

            All rights reserved.

  8. James A. Bacon Avatar
    James A. Bacon

    Dick is absolutely right, there’s nothing new about land-use issues in Virginia. The nexus between land use and transportation was a central focus of Bacon’s Rebellion for many years since publication started in 2002. The controversies seem somewhat remote in the current era, as progressive take a sledge hammer to K-12 schools, higher ed, and other core institutions, but they haven’t gone away. Perhaps when Virginia enjoys a return to sanity, Bacon’s Rebellion will return to writing about the intractable complexities and tradeoffs of the land-use and transportation policies that shape our lives in fundamental ways.

  9. William O'Keefe Avatar
    William O’Keefe

    Land use decisions are almost always controversial. Instead of having the planning staff make a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors, the Board could put a referendum on the November ballot and let voters choose which of the two options they prefer.
    Wouldn’t that be the most democratic approach?

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