Block · one region of the page, as the scanner read it. It may hold a whole story, part of one, several, or an advertisement; stitching blocks into articles is the next step. Text is supplied OCR.
Page 16 · column 3 of 7 · from the scan, no model involved
“Absolutely not!” Mr. Finagan replied. Enabling legislation for enhanced conditional zoning statewide could stipulate there must be a connection between the development and the condition, he explained, noting that Loudoun County follows this guideline now in its negotiations with developers over the provision of facilities such as roads and schools.
He added, however, that developers often use the proffer system to gain public support by offering to pay for new facilities in, say, a neighboring subdivision. “They want to do that,” and so the proffer becomes a gift that transcends the necessity for government to show a connection between demand from new development and need for expanded infrastructure, Mr. Finagan maintained.
“I don’t see why you would oppose amendments to the proffer system to allow local governments to ask only for reasonable conditions related to the zoning that’s being sought,” Del. Cran well countered.
“We’d have no problem with that,” Mr. Finagan responded, “because that’s what we think the law says now.”
Support from environmentalists and professional planners
Robert Dennis, president of the Warrenton-based Piedmont Environmental Council, likened the effects of growth on environment and infrastructure in the counties of the northern Blue Ridge to “what was unleashed upon the island of Oahu 47 years ago today.” PEC’s board of directors contends that if property must remain the major revenue source, then a tax should be levied upon conversion to a more intensive — and service-hungry — use, Mr. Dennis said.
The directors also support statewide allowance of impact fees and the acceptance of proffers through conditional zoning, and called for additional revenue not just for roads but also for the preservation of open space and the protection of air and water quality.
Speaking for the Virginia Chapter of the American Planners Association, Wayne Cilimburg supported conditional zoning and impact fees statewide to “explicitly enable local governments to require that adequate public facilities be available.”
On the other side, representatives from the building industry maintained that impact fees will add to the cost of housing and price lowand moderate-income families, and particularly first-time home buyers and retirees on fixed incomes, out of the market. And if impact fees are permitted, then conditional zoning and proffers should be abolished,
88.4%