Local Update for PEC Supporters in Loudoun County - September 29, 2020

PEC Member Update: Loudoun County

♦ The Piedmont Environmental Council ♦
Chris Miller
Piedmont Environmental Council
President

Gem Bingol
Land Use
Field Representative
Today’s Presenters
Evan McCarthy
Land Use
Tracy Lind
Land Conservation

Dana Melby
Community Farm Manager
Today’s Presenters
John McCarthy
Senior Advisor & Director of
Strategic Partnerships

Today’s Webinar
Welcome + Introduction
1. Local Land Use
2. Land and Water Conservation News
3. Local Farms + Food
Open Conversation

PEC COVID-19 Response
● Oﬃces remain closed except essential functions
● All staff working remotely
● In person events postponed or cancelled
● PEC’s Community Farm operating, now with volunteers
expanding production 3X’s plus
● PEC staff expanding online offerings
● Staff remain full time but program expenses and contracts
are being cut
● Continuous review of programs and ﬁscal conditions

Big Picture: Preparing for Change
● COVID-19 has changed our
workplaces, the economy and
assumptions about
community design
● Renewed debate about
housing patterns,
transportation, renewable
energy
● Conservation in the Future
● Federal elections 2020/State
Elections 2021

General Assembly - Special Session
● Focus on budget
● Concerns about cuts to
conservation programs:
○ Land Preservation
Tax Credit
○ VA Land
Conservation
Foundation
○ Agricultural Best
Management
Practices
● Growing scrutiny of
equity & environmental
justice

PEC Current Areas of Focus
● Food systems, food security
● Local planning and investment in open space, trails, parks,
greenways and blueways
● Local and state decision making and citizen participation,
ongoing General Assembly Special Session
● Supporting priority of investment in conservation and
restoration as a priority response
● Demonstrate PEC’s connection and interest in
communities and individuals, including creating action
steps around diversity, equity, inclusion, justice (DEIJ)

Conservation In Loudoun and
Nearby Fauquier and Clarke

● Oak Hill (1,200+ acres)
● Fleetwood (2,500+ acres)
● Herren Farm (1,175 acres)
● Madden Farm (348 acres)
● Auburn (422 acres)
● Goodall Farm (592 acres)
● M&W Farms (453 acres)
High Impact
Conservation Initiatives

● Makielski (5 acres) -- Albemarle
● Market Street (.85 acres) --
Gordonsville
● Haney (114 acres) -- Orange
● Walker (50 acres) -- Culpeper
● Madden (348 acres) -- Culpeper
● Duncan (122 acres) -- Culpeper
● Siebentritt (29 acres) -- Loudoun
● Simpson (255 acres) -- Loudoun
● Ewell (58 acres) -- Fauquier
● Gray (107 acres) -- Fauquier
Ongoing Projects

PEC Properties Providing Needed Public Access:
Piedmont Memorial Overlook

Fleetwood Farm
● 2,622 acres in N. Fauquier, near Paris, VA
● Crooked Run Rural Historic District
● Extensive frontage on two Virginia Scenic
Byways (Route 17 & Leeds Manor)
● Adjacent to two Virginia public lands (Sky
Meadows State Park, Thompson WMA)
● Viewshed of PEC’s Piedmont Memorial
Overlook
● Battle of Upperville Study Area
● Conserve Virginia priority (historic district,
scenic byway)
● Asking price = $23M or $8,770 per acre
Photo by Hugh Kenny

Gem Bingol
gbingol@pecva.org
Land Use

Evan McCarthy
emccarthy@pecva.org
Land Use Representative

Banbury Cross -- Conditionally approved,
may be up for sale, but new snags

Fueled Farm Brewery -- ABC application withdrawn

Comprehensive Plan Amendment (CPAM)
to extend utilities into rural area for public facilities

Comprehensive Plan
Amendment (CPAM)
to extend utilities into
rural area for public
facilities

Gem Bingol ♦ The Piedmont Environmental Council ♦ gbingol@pecva.org
Zoning
Ordinance
Rewrite

Stand-Alone Zoning Amendments
Short Term
Residential
Rentals
12 month
timeline

Stand-Alone
Zoning
Amendments
Am
Outdoor Sport Shooting
Range
12-18 month timeline
Photo Credit: "Golden Pond Target Range" by
LandBetweentheLakesKYTN

Stand-Alone
Zoning
Amendments
Prime Soils and Cluster
Subdivision
12-18 month timeline

Clustered lots
and HOA open
space are on
the most
farmable prime
soils (shown in
brown)
Zoning
doesn’t
protect prime
soils

Gem Bingol ♦ The Piedmont Environmental Council ♦ gbingol@pecva.org
Prime Soils & Cluster Subdivision Amendment

Loudoun Coalition of Homeowner &
Condominium Associations

In Summary - Still A Lot Going On

In Summary
Protect
Engage
Restore
Monitor

Land and Water Conservation Update
Tracy Lind
Conservation Representative
tlind@pecva.org

Tracy Lind ♦ The Piedmont Environmental Council ♦ tlind@pecva.org
Reminders of How We Benefit
from Land Conservation

Land Conservation
Loudoun County
● 1,162 acres protected by
conservation easement in
2019
● 60,524 acres total protected
by conservation easement.
(out of 333,000 acres)
•

Land Conservation
Conservation Easement Financial Assistance

Land Conservation
Catoctin Creek Conservation Fund

Land Conservation
Goose Creek Conservation Fund

Land Conservation
Goose Creek Conservation Fund - BMP Loan
Dean and Carina Elgin. Photo by Hugh Kenny.

Land Conservation
Incentives for Land Conservation
StateandLocalPDRPrograms
LandPreservationTaxCredit
FederalTaxIncentives
FederalandStateGrants
Four Legs of Conservation Funding

Land Conservation
PDR vs TDR
- VS -
Transfer of Development
Rights

Land Conservation
Potential Loudoun PDR Program
● Easier to manage
● More cost effective
● Leverages more funds

Open Space + Public Places
Loudoun County

Open Spaces + Public Places
Emerald Ribbons & Linear Parks and Trails
*Example of what an
Emerald Ribbons
network could look like

Public Input Needed!
Loudoun County Parks and Rec Master Plan

New Trail at Roundabout Meadows

Working Together
Loudoun County

Land Conservation
Loudoun County Preservation & Conservation Coalition

Working Together
Blue Ridge Conservation Alliance

Working Together
Goose Creek & Catoctin Creek
Goose Creek
Scenic River Advisory
Committee

In Summary…
Sustaining Momentum for Land Conservation
● Private landowners providing
public benefits
● Ensuring robust incentives for
conservation
● Helping cover costs of protecting
land
● Power of partnerships
● Taking a holistic approach

John McCarthy
jmccarthy@pecva.org
Local Food Updates

John McCarthy ♦ The Piedmont Environmental Council ♦ jmccarthy@pecva.org

Buy Fresh Buy Local Website Re-Launch

● text
https://buyfreshbuylocal.org/piedmont

● text

https://www.buylocalpiedmont.org/

PEC’s Milk Initiative

Local Food: Processing

Dana Melby ♦ The Piedmont Environmental Council ♦ dmelby@pecva.org
Farm and Market Updates
Dana Melby
dmelby@pecva.org

PEC’s Community Farm

Where we are at in the season?
● Began donating 4 months
earlier than last year
● Grew 25,000+ transplants so
far
● Farming over three seasons,
growing a full market garden
● We planned to double our
production space but ended
up tripling in response to the
pandemic

What’s next for the Community Farm?
● Bring all 8 acres into
production by year 5
● Feasibility study of
livestock production
● Continue to expand
volunteer and school
programs
● Year round programming

Gilberts Corner Farmers Market

PEC’s partnership with LVHMC will...
still feature the traditional favorites at the corner.
● The Pit Stop BBQ
● Arno’s Pastry
● Moo Thru
● Great Maine Lobster Co.
● Wegmeyer Farms
● Lowe’s Christmas Trees

PEC’s partnership with LVHMC will...
also expand offerings to feature more local
producers, providing a taste of the Piedmont
LVHMC has over 70 producers that participate in its five markets in
Loudoun County. All producers raise, grow, produce, catch or make
from scratch everything they sell at the LVHMC Markets.

● Aesthetically pleasing
● Appropriately scaled
● Respects the resource(s)
● Efficient ingress / egress
● Pedestrian safety
● Connectivity
Gilberts Corner Farm Market: Looking to the future

Local Update for PEC Supporters in Loudoun County - September 29, 2020

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Local Update for PEC Supporters in Loudoun County - September 29, 2020