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Against history
The Piedmont Environmental Council and others with an interest in preserving valuable heritage are correct in their alarm over ramifications of Senate Bill 514, the anti-historicdistrict measure that would prohibit historic designation unless a majority of landowners authorize doing so.
The bill also would permit landowners in the Brandy Station district and the Bristoe district to opt-out of existing historic designations. We agree that the measure is “special interest’* legislation to benefit a few to the possible detriment of many. It’s regrettable that Rappahannock’s new delegate, Democrat Jerry Wood of Warrenton, co-sponsored a similar measure in the House and is supporting the Senate version as it passes into the House for approval.
While historic designation must be reasonable and specific, individual property owners must abide by the will of the general public. It is vitally important that key elements of history be preserved, and it’s impossible to deny where matters of historical significance occured. “Owner consent” is simply inadequate reason to ignore our heritage and victimize the majority by the tyranny of a few.
If that were the case, land-use legislation, acts of historic preservation such as the Manassas Battlefield taking and even local zoning decisions could be capriciously reversed.
Restored funding
We are relieved that House and Senate money committees on Sunday reshuffled the state budget to return money cut from several state agencies in Gov. L. Douglas Wilder’s version of the budget and managed to come up with enough cash to fund small raises for state employees.
In two separate versions of the state budget passed by the House Appropriations Committee and Senate Finance Committee over the weekend, schools, arts, the Extension Service, agriculture and transportation all come out winners.
In school funding, Rappahannock County would get $3,500 more under the House version of the bill and $111,976 under the Senate version. I
The governor may recommend amendments to the budget that the Assembly can accept or reject during a special session April 15. Wilder may also veto the budget and begin the process again. It’s too early to tell for sure, but state agencies operating in Rappahannock may have dodged a bullet—or at worst taken a glancing blow. We hope that’s how it works out.
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