Fairfax County General :
Fairfax Underground
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Welcome to Fairfax Underground, a project site designed to improve communication among residents of Fairfax County, VA. Feel free to post anything Northern Virginia residents would find interesting.
Running out of room to develop?
Posted by:
Warhawk
()
Date: June 09, 2009 09:38AM
I read this on WTOP and while it pertains to Montgomery County, it made me wonder if they say that Montgomery County on has 4% remaining to develop, what does that leave Fairfax County, Prince William or Loudoun County? I find it hard to believe that there's only 4% of MoCo left to develop, a lot of it is very rural as you head up 270. It doesn't take much for any county to rezone something from agricultural to commercial or residential. Plus, Fairfax is much more developed that MoCo.
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ROCKVILLE, Md. -- How close are your neighbors? Across the street? Right on top of you? In Montgomery County, planners are trying to figure out where to put the anticipated 195,000 people who will move in by 2030.
The county's planning commission will deliver a report to the planning board this week which recommends future development take place near transit centers and on surface parking lots. So-called "smart growth" should be the focus say officials, with dense clusters of residential, retail and commercial space packed together.
A draft report by the planning commission also reveals some sobering statistics. The biggest finding -- there is only 4 percent of the county left to develop.
"Much of these 14,000 acres cannot be built on due to slopes and environmental restrictions, so the actual total is much less," says the report's executive summary.
"Since 1990, the county grew by 195,000 residents, some of them children born to Montgomery County families. Most of that growth - housing, jobs and services - sprawled onto vacant or agricultural land. Planners estimate 40,000 acres of land were developed in the last 20 years," reports the commission in a news release.
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ROCKVILLE, Md. -- How close are your neighbors? Across the street? Right on top of you? In Montgomery County, planners are trying to figure out where to put the anticipated 195,000 people who will move in by 2030.
The county's planning commission will deliver a report to the planning board this week which recommends future development take place near transit centers and on surface parking lots. So-called "smart growth" should be the focus say officials, with dense clusters of residential, retail and commercial space packed together.
A draft report by the planning commission also reveals some sobering statistics. The biggest finding -- there is only 4 percent of the county left to develop.
"Much of these 14,000 acres cannot be built on due to slopes and environmental restrictions, so the actual total is much less," says the report's executive summary.
"Since 1990, the county grew by 195,000 residents, some of them children born to Montgomery County families. Most of that growth - housing, jobs and services - sprawled onto vacant or agricultural land. Planners estimate 40,000 acres of land were developed in the last 20 years," reports the commission in a news release.
Re: Running out of room to develop?
Posted by:
inkahootz
()
Date: June 09, 2009 11:14AM
They are bitching about how they are going to fit 195,000 people in big ass Montgomery County by 2030...how about the 80,000 new residents and 100,000 new workers they plan to fit in the miniscule area of Tyson's after the metro is completed? Please...
Re: Running out of room to develop?
Posted by:
Sardine
()
Date: June 09, 2009 12:18PM
There is still plenty of room on the median strips of I-66 for very thin
hi-rise condo's. Also, there are far too many public parks that arent making
any money for the counties, developers, or politicians. Lets go ahead and
pave over everything and get started now.
hi-rise condo's. Also, there are far too many public parks that arent making
any money for the counties, developers, or politicians. Lets go ahead and
pave over everything and get started now.
Re: Running out of room to develop?
Posted by:
ITRADE
()
Date: June 09, 2009 12:19PM
Kinda like the spite houses that you see in Old Town Alexandria.
Re: Running out of room to develop?
Posted by:
Furfur
()
Date: June 09, 2009 12:22PM
If the DC metro area didn't have all those damn McMansions all over the place, we could fit in more people. BUT, single familes love the huge houses even though they only have .001 acres of backyard.
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“It's too bad that stupidity isn't painful." - Anton Lavey
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“It's too bad that stupidity isn't painful." - Anton Lavey
Re: Running out of room to develop?
Posted by:
Loudoun
()
Date: June 09, 2009 11:33PM
Go past South Riding on 50, it's all farms. Loudoun has huge space for development, but more roads need to be put in
Re: Running out of room to develop?
Posted by:
FurfaxTownie
()
Date: June 11, 2009 07:25AM
I hope they figure it out, otherwise they are going to end up here.
Re: Running out of room to develop?
Posted by:
WingNut
()
Date: June 11, 2009 07:32AM
/
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/05/2015 10:15PM by WingNut.
Edited 1 time(s). Last edit at 06/05/2015 10:15PM by WingNut.
Re: Running out of room to develop?
Posted by:
ShalomasaurusRex
()
Date: June 11, 2009 08:00AM
Loudoun Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Go past South Riding on 50, it's all farms.
> Loudoun has huge space for development, but more
> roads need to be put in
Unfortunately, many of those places are 100 million dollar horse farms owned by old money that has the influence and political power to keep the "riff raff" from moving in. Even if 9 out of 10 of them were normal farms, or chantilly turf farms land, the one person left could simply drop a line to whoever approves zoning at the town, county, state, and probably federal level, and say "ain't gonna happen" as they polish their monocle and tophat.
They've managed to squeeze in as much development as possible before you hit Aldie, but past that, the tax bracket changes rapidly.
-------------------------------------------------------
> Go past South Riding on 50, it's all farms.
> Loudoun has huge space for development, but more
> roads need to be put in
Unfortunately, many of those places are 100 million dollar horse farms owned by old money that has the influence and political power to keep the "riff raff" from moving in. Even if 9 out of 10 of them were normal farms, or chantilly turf farms land, the one person left could simply drop a line to whoever approves zoning at the town, county, state, and probably federal level, and say "ain't gonna happen" as they polish their monocle and tophat.
They've managed to squeeze in as much development as possible before you hit Aldie, but past that, the tax bracket changes rapidly.
Re: Running out of room to develop?
Posted by:
Thomas More
()
Date: June 11, 2009 09:40AM
ShalomasaurusRex Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> Loudoun Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> > Go past South Riding on 50, it's all farms. Loudoun has huge space for development, but more roads need to be put in.< <
>
> Unfortunately, many of those places are 100 million dollar horse farms owned by old money that has the influence and political power to keep the "riff raff" from moving in. Even if 9 out of 10 of them were normal farms, or chantilly turf farms land, the one person left could simply drop a line to whoever approves zoning at the town, county, state, and probably federal level, and say "ain't gonna happen" as they polish their monocle and tophat.<
>
They've managed to squeeze in as much development as possible before you hit Aldie, but past that, the tax bracket changes rapidly.<
Especially since the Loudoun recently downzoned the area to require 50 acre minimum lot size. The swells bought and paid for a Board of Supervisors who would protect their precious enclave from real Americans and the swells got what they paid for.
But those snobs were just extending a process that Fairfax started 50 years ago.
Thanks to exclusionary land use practices of FFX, Loudoun & PWC, ordinary folks who work in the Dulles corridor have to live and commute from Hagerstown, MD, Martinsburg, WV and Chambersburg, PA to find a single family detached home that they can afford on the salaries they are paid.
Sure the current down turn has given a few a chance to buy a foreclosed (run-down?) house at a decent price but they are the exception and there are not nearly enough to meet the needs of ordinary workers.
There was a great story and map in the WashPost a few years back showing how the zoning policies of these governments, and the ones further out, were creating a vast "no housing" zone around DC.
These schemes will straggle the DC economy eventually.
-------------------------------------------------------
> Loudoun Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> > Go past South Riding on 50, it's all farms. Loudoun has huge space for development, but more roads need to be put in.< <
>
> Unfortunately, many of those places are 100 million dollar horse farms owned by old money that has the influence and political power to keep the "riff raff" from moving in. Even if 9 out of 10 of them were normal farms, or chantilly turf farms land, the one person left could simply drop a line to whoever approves zoning at the town, county, state, and probably federal level, and say "ain't gonna happen" as they polish their monocle and tophat.<
>
They've managed to squeeze in as much development as possible before you hit Aldie, but past that, the tax bracket changes rapidly.<
Especially since the Loudoun recently downzoned the area to require 50 acre minimum lot size. The swells bought and paid for a Board of Supervisors who would protect their precious enclave from real Americans and the swells got what they paid for.
But those snobs were just extending a process that Fairfax started 50 years ago.
Thanks to exclusionary land use practices of FFX, Loudoun & PWC, ordinary folks who work in the Dulles corridor have to live and commute from Hagerstown, MD, Martinsburg, WV and Chambersburg, PA to find a single family detached home that they can afford on the salaries they are paid.
Sure the current down turn has given a few a chance to buy a foreclosed (run-down?) house at a decent price but they are the exception and there are not nearly enough to meet the needs of ordinary workers.
There was a great story and map in the WashPost a few years back showing how the zoning policies of these governments, and the ones further out, were creating a vast "no housing" zone around DC.
These schemes will straggle the DC economy eventually.
Re: Running out of room to develop?
Posted by:
Thomas More
()
Date: June 11, 2009 09:49AM
WingNut Wrote:
-------------------------------------------------------
> ITRADE Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Kinda like the spite houses that you see in Old Town Alexandria.<<
>
> Have you seen this "spite house" in N.Arlington? One of my faves!<
Why is this called a "spite house?" Who's spiteful, the jealous neighbors who own the single story starter ranch style homes?
Given the artificial scarcity of housing opportunities in the DC area and North Arlington's proximity to Rosslyn, Ballston & downtown DC, it makes since that there would be substantial demand for larger houses closer into those employment centers of hundreds of thousands of very high income people.
-------------------------------------------------------
> ITRADE Wrote:
> --------------------------------------------------
> -----
> > Kinda like the spite houses that you see in Old Town Alexandria.<<
>
> Have you seen this "spite house" in N.Arlington? One of my faves!<
Why is this called a "spite house?" Who's spiteful, the jealous neighbors who own the single story starter ranch style homes?
Given the artificial scarcity of housing opportunities in the DC area and North Arlington's proximity to Rosslyn, Ballston & downtown DC, it makes since that there would be substantial demand for larger houses closer into those employment centers of hundreds of thousands of very high income people.