May 11
18
A Step in the Right Direction
The Board of Supervisors met numerous times since January to discuss specific issues with the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance. A matrix of these issues with their disposition through May 5th is available here at the county website.
Yesterday, Supervisor Burton proposed several motions that resulted in the Board of Supervisors voting to “suspend discussions on the proposed Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act amendments until the State of Virginia completes Phase 2 of the Watershed Implementation Plan (WIP) and local requirements are determined.” See this county news release.
Detailed coverage of yesterday’s meeting can be read in these articles: [Loudoun Times, 051711; Leesburg Today, 051711].
OPINION: This past year we have taken a position that the CBPO has not been sufficiently justified to warrant the additional costs to ALL taxpayers, and that the Board of Supervisors should abandon the CBPO, enforce existing regulations, and wait to see what responsibilities the state will mandate for Loudoun County under the new approved WIP. The actions taken by the Board yesterday are a step in the right direction.
We’ll continue to follow any CBPO developments through year end.
Posted in Chesapeake Bay by .
At the last public input opponents of CBPO once again outnumbered proponents. This Leesburg Today article describes the meeting. While the Board of Supervisors continue to refine the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance provisions, we are reminded that one of the most basic questions in the CBPO debate has yet to be answered, namely, What specific water quality problems are we trying to solve?
Posted in Chesapeake Bay by .
Jan 11
22
Quick Poll!
Chairman Scott York is conducting a Quick Poll (see link) on the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance. Please take a few seconds to take this poll and share your opinion about the CBPO. If the link is busy, please try later. We’re fast approaching the final vote on the CBPO.
We support Clean Water in Loudoun without more Bureaucracy and Cost. We believe the CBPO has not been sufficiently justified to warrant the additional costs to ALL taxpayers. The Board of Supervisors should abandon the CBPO, enforce existing regulations, and wait to see what responsibilities the state will mandate for Loudoun County under the new approved WIP.
Please explore our website for more information.
Posted in Chesapeake Bay by .
Happy New Year from BigLoudoun!
The next (and perhaps final?) opportunity for you to share your opinion about the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance (CBPO) is on Tuesday, January 18th at 7 pm.
See the “Take Action” section below for more information on what to do. Speaking slots are filling up fast! The Board of Supervisors intends to act the next day. Here’s an update on the CBPO since our last post.
Posted in Chesapeake Bay by .
Sep 10
29
CBPO and TMDL Updates
SEPTEMBER 21, 2010 BOARD OF SUPERVISORS MEETING
County Staff presented a number of changes to the CBPO to the Board of Supervisors at their September 21 meeting (see below). The Board voted 5-4 to support Supervisor Buckley’s split motion to send the CBPO to the Transportation and Land Use Committee for further discussion, but failed to support the second half which would have included a revised stakeholder group. The Supervisors were divided on who should be included as stakeholders. See detailed coverage of Tuesday’s Board of Supervisor’s Meeting in this article, “Committee to take over CBPA review” [Leesburg Today, Sept 23, 2010].
One of the biggest issues to come out of the meeting is
Posted in Chesapeake Bay by .
Sep 10
3
CBPO – Time to Act
South Riding's Ocala/Murrey Pond with RPA
CLEAN WATER without more BUREAUCRACY and COST
We’ve been researching the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance (CBPO) since June and created this website to share what we’ve learned.
The questions we’ve been asking ourselves are “will the additional costs and bureaucracy associated with this ordinance produce clean water?” and “how will our property rights be impacted?”.
We know that many of you are busy getting ready to start the new school year, but the time to act is here. It looks like the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors will vote on the voluntary adoption of the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance (CBPO) on September 21st; their meeting starts at 9am.
We’ve presented a lot of information here about CBPO, but here’s the bottom line from our perspective
Posted in Chesapeake Bay by .
Sep 10
1
CBPO – Mandatory? (II)
Question: Is Loudoun County mandated to adopt the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance to meet the EPA’s tougher standards for Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs)?
As a follow-up to our previous post “CBPO – Mandatory?”, we want to share some additional information we received after a two-part discussion with the Director of the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) Division of Chesapeake Bay Local Assistance (CBLA) on August 23rd and 24th.
Posted in Chesapeake Bay by .
Aug 10
17
CBPO – Mandatory?
Question: Is Loudoun County mandated to adopt the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance to meet the EPA’s tougher standards for Total Maximum Daily Loads (TMDLs)?
In the last few days we’ve been in contact with representatives of the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) and the Virginia Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) to seek clarification on some statements we’ve been hearing.
Posted in Chesapeake Bay by .
Welcome to BigLoudoun!
Did you know that Loudoun County may soon classify your property as RMA, RPA, or “possible RPA”? Individuals and HOAs may be required to get more approvals from the County to alter, enhance, or add ”Accessory Structures” or perform “Land Disturbing Activities” to their own property or common area properties within community associations. Don’t know what “RMA”, “RPA” or “possible RPA” are?
It’s all a part of the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act (CBPA) regulations that the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors will potentially (voluntarily) adopt this fall.
You may be saying to yourself, “I’ve heard about that.” “I want to ‘Save the Bay’.” “Aren’t you guys for clean water?”
Yes, of course, we are, but the questions for us are ”will the additional costs and bureaucracy associated with this CBPA ordinance produce clean water?” and “what about our property rights?” We are seeking the answers to these questions and more, and we think that after you read more about the ordinance, you will have questions, too.
That’s why we’ve created BigLoudoun! We want to share what we’ve learned and our questions and concerns about the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance (CBPO) with links to additional reading. We will try to separate the facts from the hype.
We know that many of you are busy getting ready to go back to school. However, on June 15th, the Board of Supervisors delayed making a decision about this ordinance until their September 21st meeting, which means the next month will be your opportunity to learn about the CBPO and its effects on your property and for those living in Homeowners’ Associations, commonly owned property.
On June 22nd, the second of two community meetings was held in the Dulles District. We didn’t see many of our neighbors there, so you have a lot of catching up to do. If additional meetings are held, we’ll let you know where and when they’ll be.
As additional information about the ordinance is provided, we’ll post updates to this website, so please bookmark BigLoudoun! and keep checking back with us. Before September 21st, we hope you will Take Action on these new regulations and write the Board of Supervisors at bos@loudoun.gov.
This is an important, and somewhat complex issue. We don’t collect emails, so please let your Loudoun friends, family, and neighbors know about BigLoudoun!
Your Dulles South Neighbors,
Lisa Freeman & Barbara Munsey
Posted in Chesapeake Bay Property Rights by .
