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The
Details
Stafford
County
has been one of the fastest growing localities in the country.
Since 1999, the
number of building lots in
Stafford
County
has increased 33%
bringing record numbers of people. During that same period, the number of
households in
Stafford
increased 42%.
Taxes go up
because residential developers don’t pay their way; taxpayer dollars
subsidize residential developers.
Residential
developers do not pay their way. The
cost of one-time infrastructure improvements (roads, new schools, etc) and
ongoing services (salaries for teachers and emergency personnel, etc) for
new residents is far higher than the new tax revenue brought in, even
after taking proffers into account. As
a result, existing homeowners pay the price for new development, in
effect, subsidizing residential developers.
Not surprisingly,
there is an almost perfect correlation between the increase in the number
of households and the increase in the average homeowner tax bill.
Not only does uncontrolled growth
lead to higher property taxes, is also at the root of many of the problems
confronting our County today, including crowded schools, clogged roads and
mud in our creeks.
The Board of Supervisors could
help manage growth, but has chosen not to do so.
The present
developer-majority on the Board, under the chairmanship of the Griffis-Widewater
Supervisor, has ignored or deliberately chosen not to use the tools that
they have to slow growth and make developers pay their way. Instead, they
have:
·
fast-tracked legislation to
make more growth possible at even faster rates,
·
blocked legislation to
ensure appropriate growth, and
·
used taxpayer dollars to pay
for projects that should have been funded by developers.
The
Woodson Alternative
New
solutions for managing growth.
ü
Create
real “smart growth” plan for the County
o
Scrap the “Traditional
Neighborhood Development” ordinance recently passed by the current Board
of Supervisors and start over with new legislation that is based on the
“smart code,” the sample legislation used by most jurisdictions to
develop mixed-use communities;
o
Develop the legislation
through a process led by citizens, not developers;
o
Create the legislation as
part of a comprehensive plan that manages
Stafford
’s future growth, protects the interests of taxpayers, and safeguards
the County’s natural resources.
ü
Vote
against any development projects that do not have a clear and accurate
plan to pay for all infrastructure improvements needed before the first
building permit is issued.
ü
Use
existing tools to manage growth.
o
Prohibit waivers
of requirements for large residential projects.
o
Manage water and
sewer facilities to meet needs of existing homeowners, rather new
developments.
o
Limit the
addition of new residential units in the revision of the Comprehensive
Plan.
o
Vote against
building new roads for developers.
ü
Adopt
new measure to manage growth and protect natural resources.
o
Pass the Water Resource
Overlay ordinance, which will provide additional protections to creeks in
sensitive areas without burdening property
owners
County
wide.
Read
more details about the plan in our opinion
piece on mixed-use communities in
Stafford
.
Read
an op-ed piece by Griffis-Widewater resident Nan Rollison on Smart
Growth in Stafford County.
Learn
more about land use planning to protect our quality of life at Stafford
Citizens for a Sustainable Future.
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