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Meredith Gorfein
Residence: Washington Married, no children Running for Virginia House of Delegates, 31st District A) This piece of legislation was passed by the General Assembly in May. Its target was Fauquier County primarily. Rappahannock County also had the same special exception process for subdivisions. It was one of the few tools these counties had to manage the growth within their own borders. Both Fauquier and Rappahannock fought to keep the special exception, but the powerful construction/real estate lobbies won (bought) the day. In my opinion, the General Assembly members who voted with the constuction/real estate lobby and against these two counties in the the 31st District did so because it was an inexpensive way to pay back political contributions from those industries. This legislation had no effect on anyone’s district except Delegate Katzen's. My stand on this legislation is that it never should have been passed. Had the 31st District been represented by a delegate with stronger leadership skills, someone who believed that local growth and zoning decisions should reside with the locality and not with the building industry, this bill would not have passed. Both Fauquier and Rappahannock are now re-writing their zoning ordinances, trying to give themselves some protection against unmanaged growth and development which always translates to higher taxes for the current residents. With luck and vision these two counties will craft stronger zoning ordinances which will continue their controlled
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