BLA Facts

BLA/Annexation Facts: Setting the Record Straight:

Note from the Town Council: 

As was noted in our article in the August edition of the Middleburg Eccentric, the overwhelming majority of public feedback, whether pro or con, has been thoughtful, considerate, respectful and above all informative in helping the town understand the community’s input and feelings on the 2 proposals, and we thank everyone for your efforts. 

Unfortunately, a small cohort has sought to not engage in thoughtful discussion but instead to spread false and defamatory information regarding the facts as well as malign the intentions and activities of the town staff, the mayor and the council. While in any governmental process a small amount of this type of behavior is to be expected, in this case the level of the falsehoods and misleading of the public has risen to such a level the town was forced to respond to set the record straight. The town has reviewed all of the information, assertions and statements on www.preservemiddleburg.com and the associated letters to the editor and has detailed below no less than 19 specific examples of disinformation, falsehoods, libelous and misleading statements, and defamatory assertions. 

We are providing here the specific falsehood, details on the truth and the facts and the specific link to the documentary artifacts proving such. In no way is this too suggest the town has made any decision is in favor or opposed to any of the annexation proposals, we are merely demonstrating for the community that much of the information being pushed by a small few is based on untruths and the defamatory rhetoric. Hopefully after reviewing this a public retraction of any false/misleading information will be forthcoming.

As this process winds up, if more misrepresentations emerge we will catalog them here and refute with the truth, so please check back often. This is a lot of information, and our goal was to be as exacting, correct and specific as possible. We hope this is helpful in providing a clear picture of the facts and that the town has at all times acted above board. Should you wish to discuss any of this information or anything else, please do not hesitate to reach out to the town office, the mayor or a member of council. Thank you as always for your thoughtful consideration.  

Sincerely, the Middleburg Town Council

 

“Its Not Their Middleburg” posted on 8/18/2022:

 https://www.preservemiddleburg.com/news/its-not-their-middleburg

False Information #1: The Town Planning Commission should have reviewed BLA’s to determine comp plan conformance, making the accusation that “Prudent procedures have not been followed”. (note this false information is cited again on the site in their 8/2/22 post (https://www.preservemiddleburg.com/news/a-confused-planning-commission)  

Facts: Under Virginia Law, a BLA/Annexation process is a judicial process, and not one involving zoning ordinances or building requirements. Because of this, no Planning Commission has authority or purview over them. Once a parcel of land is brought into a municipality, then its Planning Commission assumes oversight for all land use thereafter. This has been the case with every BLA/Annexation the Town has ever had in the past, as well as every local government in the Commonwealth of Virginia. See VA Code for Annexations at: https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacodefull/title15.2/chapter32/article1/  

Additionally, Deputy Town Manager Moore’s input during the July 25th Planning Commission is illustrative here, “So I would just I would say it's a bit disingenuous to say that the Commission has been skipped over in the process. We've just not reached that process point in the process to this point.” See page 17 https://storage.googleapis.com/document-uploads-001/uploads/video/minutes_file/177691/07-25-22_-_Regular_Meeting_Minutes.pdf

This standard course of business practice for any local government was detailed further on page 19 of the in the July 25th Planning Commission Meeting transcript by Deputy Town Manager Will Moore and is very insightful on how govt works, and on the false allegations of other “secret” BLAs: “I'm happy to address conversations that have had. And let me start by saying we have conversations with people, with developers all the time that go absolutely nowhere. And it would be a fool's errand to try to bring every single conversation that has ever brought up to the attention of this Commission, to the attention of the public, because it's obvious sometimes when things are going nowhere. We have had recent conversations with an owner on the east side of town, Mount Defiance Cidery, who has been interested actually ever since he started building his building of the potential of coming into town to maybe have water and sewer service, to maybe have a lodging facility. Those conversations have gone nowhere to this point. We have also had fairly recent conversations with the Hill School and six there are six homes along Landmark School Road, that adjoin Hill School. The Hill School, if you're not familiar with it, they have property that is in essentially three jurisdictions, the Town of Middleburg. They have property between the town limits and the Fauquier Loudoun boundary that is just within Loudoun. And then they have land in Fauquier as well. There's been a global conversation of wouldn't it be nice if we brought these six homes that are along Landmark School Road that currently have town water service but do not have sewer service? Wouldn't it be nice to bring those into town and to bring the remainder of the Hill School campus that is within Loudoun into the town boundary? And there has been some work on behalf of staff and we have briefed Council on this doing a sewer feasibility study for the six homes that are along Landmark School Road.”


False Information #2: “The town has intentionally run the deal behind closed doors, telling developers not to bring forward applications in order to manipulate the process.”

Facts: This again is a false characterization of the discussion with the landowners. Both landowners approached the town with their concepts years apart and were completely unrelated, as the town documents prove. The reason the town desired to present both concepts together is to allow the community to see the full scope of what was being asked and get as much feedback as possible as together the scales and scope was important to fully understand. We did not feel it prudent to present one concept and get reactions without the public understanding the other as well – they affect each other. It is precisely for this reason that the town chose to act as a sounding board to understand the community’s feeling of the total potential impact, not just one, then the other, something neither landowner would have done on their own. We explained this request to each landowner and they understood and agreed with the goals of the town. You can find the discussion at the May 12, 2022 Town Council Meeting where we walked through the process (https://middleburgva.new.swagit.com/videos/171659?ts=2413) as well as the April Town Information Session (https://www.middleburgva.gov/386/Proposed-AnnexationsBLAs) See the bottom of the page. 


False Information #3: “The attitude coming from the Mayor and Council is that they are doing the public a favor by having any discussion at all about any of these dangerous projects. By law, they could just do what they wanted.”  

Facts: This is a misleading mischaracterization of what was said and not said. The Mayor explained in detail that the law only required a town to hold a public hearing before the vote on any BLA/Annexation and that the Town’s goal here was to do much more with the transparent process it laid out and be done prior to getting forced into a process that led to a vote if they filed an application. We wanted to hear from the community and the landowners to hear from the community, so that if any formal request/application was made it would be done with those considerations in mind. The extent and length to which the Town has gone to gather input is extensive. This is all fully detailed in the transcript from the meeting which is on page 15 (https://storage.googleapis.com/document-uploads-001/uploads/video/minutes_file/177944/07-28-2022_-_Regular_Council_Meeting_Minutes.pdf)  At no time did we say we could “just do what [we] wanted.” This is a fabrication.


False Information #4: “The town has hired two consultants, Chmura Economics and Urban Limited…the project list for Urban Limited includes…every major sprawl project in Fairfax and Loudoun Counties.”

Facts: It again is misleading to simply state that Urban Limited does sprawl projects. While they do many different types of work for many clients, their expertise is far broader than just “sprawl.” They are also a leading engineering and survey firm in Virginia. They were specifically retained by the town to fully understand what the full by-right development potential was for the Homewood Farms site so that we could understand just what the maximum potential of residential and commercial development could be under by-right Loudoun County zoning. It is important to note that Urban was the engineer of record on the Banbury Cross Reserve subdivision, so they are deeply familiar with the AR-2, by-right cluster development options under Loudoun County’s Zoning Ordinance. This study was expressly asked for by the community, “Just how much and what could they build under Loudoun County Zoning” was the question from the public, and a good one. It is noteworthy that the critics are condemning the Town for getting information and a study that many concerned members of public wanted the town to get.  

“Confusion at the Planning Commission Meeting” posted on 8/2/2022: https://www.preservemiddleburg.com/news/a-confused-planning-commission):


False Information #5: “Fleischman said that the Commission should be reviewing any potential applications for compliance with the Comp Plan, but that procedure had not been followed.”

Facts: See Fact response in item #1. Also, as a reminder, no applications have been filed.


False Information #6: “This, despite the fact that Jacobs had definitive knowledge of both of the “secret proposals”, as he has been party to the private one-on-one meetings with the developer of the Mt. Defiance property…”

Facts:  There were never “secret meetings” with the owners of Mt. Defiance, or any landowner nor were they one-on-one. The Town Council and staff meet with citizens, businesses, officials, landowners, consultants, etc, on a constant and continual basis, usually several times a day between economic development, planning, town operations, etc. (see note from Deputy Town Manager Will Moore on Page 2) It is nonsensical to suggest every such meeting the town must invite the entirety of the public. Additionally, in the meetings with the landowners for the BLAs, the assertion that they were one-on-one is unfounded. At every meeting between Council and/or staff and the landowners, there were multiple members of the staff present to ensure accuracy and integrity.


False Information #7: “he [Councilmember Jacobs] had been in-the-know about the feasibility study funding approved by the Town Council.”

Facts: Actually, the entire public has “been in the know” about the study funding as it was discussed at 2 public meetings in May and June of 2020, with full access to the public, in the meeting minutes, video, and transcript, all of which is online and has been for over 2 years. It was voted on in public and publicly recorded. The full links for all of these documents are under False Information #13 below. 

Littleton’s Middleburg in the July Middleburg Eccentric (retitled on wwwpreservemiddleburg.com to “FOIA Results”: https://www.preservemiddleburg.com/news/foia

 https://middleburgeccentric.com/2022/08/middleburg-eccentric-july-2022-print-edition/


False Information # 8: “The Town of Middleburg has been withholding information about its annexation projects. Our recent FOIA returned more than one thousand pages revealing a pattern of borderline unethical behavior including withholding information from the public, behind the scenes coordination with developers...”

Facts: The allegation that the town has withheld information is not proven by the facts. The town’s records are open to any member of the public at any time the wish to see them. They just simply have to ask for them.


False Information # 9: “The Town of Middleburg has been withholding information about its …undisclosed use of taxpayer funds to study the feasibility of the projects.”

The claim that the approval for funding a feasibility study was undisclosed to the taxpayers is a fabrication. The town reviewed the proposal and voted in a public open town council meeting that was available to all to see and watch on June 14th, 2020. The meeting agenda proving this public discussion, the live video from this public discussion, the transcript from this public discussion and the certified meeting minutes and public vote can be found at this link the same links under False Information #13. This information has been on the town website and available to anyone who would choose to look since June of 2020. Further, the Deputy Town Manager provided an update in his staff report on January 14, 2021, about working with the landowner on the feasibility study.


False Information #10:  “there is no affordable housing in the developer’s proposal for Homewood Farm, and no correspondence to indicate any commitment from that developer to affordable housing.”

Facts: As was stated in the town’s public presentation in April of 2022 the landowners from Homewood Farms are not proposing Affordable Housing Units, anything resembling ADUs or subsidized units, such as Windy Hill. They are proposing affordable by design, which are smaller-sized, market-rate units that can be owned. Since no application has been filed, we do not yet know what will be finally offered, but that was the point of the public input, to see what input the community wanted to provide to the landowners. Also, in the towns Strategic Initiative Documents attached below, since 2020, the town has listed one of its top priorities as: Pursue Opportunities for Innovative Redevelopment & Attainable Housing. It was reaffirmed in 2021 and 2022. 


False Information #11: “We also learned in our FOIA that there are two additional proposals that have been withheld from public disclosure. The most concerning is for the development of a 3-star motel along Route 50 connected to the Mt. Defiance Cider Barn…”

Facts: In no documents does it describe the Mt. Defiance concept as a 3-star motel, the owner has described his concept as a “boutique luxury hotel.” Was this done to mislead the community into thinking the concept was a Motel-6? 


False Information #12: “The Mayor and Council have been meeting in private with this property owner [Mt. Defiance] and his motel team since at least June 2018.”

Facts: It is stated that the mayor and council had been meeting with the owners since June of 2018. This is very misleading. The Mt. Defiance owners had initial conversations with the town regarding their concept in June of 2018, receiving feedback that the mayor in particular was not in favor of it. This is in the FOIA documents at www.preservemiddleburg.com. At that time the Mt. Defiance team disengaged completely from the town for nearly three years, only to approach the town again in 2022 about their concept. It is also important to note that while this article is written to lead you to believe there have been continuous and ongoing discussions with the mayor and council, this is not true. For example, since they first approached the town in June of 2018, the Mt. Defiance team has met with the mayor (always accompanied with staff) a total of two times in over four years. It is important to note, like in Mr. Moore’s input, that many people bring ideas to the town all the time that go nowhere. And lastly, at this time, the Mt Defiance team is not seeking to pursue a boundary line adjustment for their boutique hotel concept. Again, this is all born out by the FOIA documents on www.preservemiddleburg.com


False Information #13: “The other project withheld from public view is to annex six plats along Landmark School Road. Despite the property’s adjacency to the Hill School, this proposal was left out of the Mayor’s public input presentation. This particular discussion has been ongoing since at least May 2020.” 

Facts: This is flatly untrue. This potential annexation was discussed and briefed in detail and at length during multiple open and public Council meetings. On May 14, 2020, the Head of Hill School, Mr. Treavor Lord, gave a public presentation on their desire and reasoning to annex into the Town of Middleburg. The Town Council invited Mr. Lord back to the public Council meeting on June 11, 2020 for further discussion, in public and livestreamed. This meeting also covered the topic of our desire to connect these homes to the town’s sewer system to protect our sources of water which are downhill from these property’s septic drain fields. We also discussed the benefits of cost sharing the feasibility study as we also wanted to know if annexed would this protect our source water. Had these critics simply reviewed the prior Town agendas, watched the recorded meetings, read the full transcripts (all of which are available online at the links below) or just asked the Town, they would have seen these facts and perhaps avoided making the false statements that the Hill School annexation request had been discussed “in secret” and “hidden from the public”. This certainly would have saved a great deal of public, school, and town anxiety. These links will take you to the meeting video, agenda and the transcripts of Mr. Lord’s presentation, and the Council’s discussions at the multiple meetings.  Links to May 14, 2020: Treavor Lord presentation of annexation request. Video of meeting and agenda link: www.bit.ly/3c82nQq. Minutes and Transcript of Meeting link: www.bit.ly/3c7OnpO. Links to June 11, 2020: Treavor Lord follow up information and Council discussion. Video of meeting and agenda link: www.bit.ly/3PyEAa0. Minutes and Transcript of Meeting link: www.bit.ly/3pEJ0Bu. Link to the January 14, 2021 Council meeting public Staff Report on Hill School Annexation Update Report from Deputy Town Manager Will Moore link: www.bit.ly/3A8M9P7.


False Information #14: On the Mt. Defiance concept, the article states “Their internal correspondence would be characterized as enthusiastic…” 

Facts: Again, as noted earlier, in the FOIA documents it is neglected to also mention the full picture by omitting any reference to the email from the Town Economic Development Director regarding the Mt. Defiance concept, “Bridge does not support this.” 


False Information #15: The mayor used “executive privilege” to hide emails and text messages with developers from the Public. The false claim in the Middleburg Eccentric July 28, 2022 edition, and at  https://www.preservemiddleburg.com/news/foia states: “…Littleton withheld seven of his emails and four texts with developers related to these annexation projects, citing executive privilege over the release. According to the Town Clerk the four texts are related to an as yet unknown fifth annexation project. In his communication with the Town Attorney the mayor cited “potential litigation” related to the release of his messages.” Here they falsely claim the emails/texts were with developers, but we must ask, how can they know who the emails were with if they have never seen them in the first place? Fact: Under the Virginia Freedom of Information Act (FOIA)  (https://law.lis.virginia.gov/vacodepopularnames/virginia-freedom-of-information-act/) the communications of certain officials, including those of any Virginia mayor, are wholly and completely exempt from disclosure under FOIA. Regardless, the mayor disclosed every communication with the exception of the 11 texts/emails mentioned, but not for the reasons asserted.  The requestors were told at the outset why they were being withheld and under what code previsions. These break down into two categories and we will address both separately. For complete accuracy we quote from the Town Clerk in her written response to the requestor of June 23, 2022 regarding the withholding of 4 texts; “4 texts – Va. Code section 2.2-3705.7(2) – Mayor’s Correspondence (Note: These documents are not related to the two-boundary line adjustment request currently before the Council but rather are related on a previous one that did not move forward)”. Yet this statement was twisted to “an as yet unknown fifth annexation project” creating the implication there was another annexation proposal currently in the winds.  

The reality is this: The 4 texts withheld were the mayor’s direct communications with Chuck and Stacy Kuhn. During the April information session, the mayor committed to reaching out to potential conservation easement proponents to explore whether a pure conservation solution could be possible. The mayor followed through on that commitment in early May when he got in touch with them. The Kuhns were very interested in helping and met with the mayor at the Town office in mid-May for several hours, reviewing the Homewood Farm concepts to understand if a conservation approach was feasible. After reviewing all the details with the mayor, the Kuhns agreed to make an offer to buy the property at current market value and to then move toward a conservation easement solution, as they have recently been done with Wolver Hill Farm and many other properties in Loudoun. The mayor passed the offer onto the owners who declined at this time, but Chuck and Stacy Kuhn are ready to re-engage should there be interest. The mayor’s decision to hold back these communications was to protect the Kuhns from attacks and potential harassment much like the Council is now dealing with. Because of this disinformation campaign the mayor recently spoke with the Kuhns and they were more than happy for this information to be made public to set the record straight. We truly appreciate their efforts, and all they do for Western Loudoun, they exemplify what it means to be true community leaders. 

Second, again directly quoting the Town Clerk: “7 emails – Va. Code Section 2.2-3705.1(2) – Written advice of legal counsel to public bodies or the officers or employees of such public bodies.”  These emails are attorney/client privileged communications (these were NOT withheld under the previous exemption as cited), hence the 2 different code references. BLA/Annexations are judicial proceedings heard by a Judge, not a land planning/zoning process, and thus judicial actions with a judge are litigation. The “litigation” referred to is this legal process and nothing else. There is no mention in any document to any lawsuits by or against the Town with respect of the BLA/annexation and the implications of such by the critics is unsubstantiated conjecture.


False Information #16: “The Town did not share any of its notes from its secret closed sessions or private one on one meetings, so it is left to anybody’s guess what is being said or done behind closed doors.”

Facts: This is false. All notes which were taken in any meeting by Council or Staff were provided in the FOIA response. For example, on www.preservemiddleburg.com  the Town Manager’s own handwritten notes from meetings are there – if no notes were provided by the town, why are they on www.preservemiddleburg.com? 


False Information #17: The Middleburg Taxpayers will pay $250,000 for the Hill School Sewer Hookups when the properties are annexed into the town. 

The false claim in the Middleburg Eccentric July 28, 2022 edition, and on www.preservemiddleburg.com: “And it has estimated that the completion of that one project alone will cost the Middleburg taxpayers almost $250,000.”

Facts: In none of the FOIA documents on www.preservemiddleburg.com or in any other town document, statement or item anywhere is there the statement, assertion, or fact that the town taxpayers will pay for any of the $250,000 of potential costs for sewer hookups at the Hill School properties should it move forward. There is one simple reason why – it is against the law. Town Code Chapter 83.1, Section 83.1-5 B. clearly states that “All costs and expenses incidental to the installation and connection of the sewer lateral shall be borne by the owner.” (Link to town code: bit.ly/3PCCOVd)

Additionally, Article 7 of the Subdivision and Site Plan Ordinance (opening sentence) states that “All required improvements shall be installed by the subdivider or developer at his cost.” (Link to town code: bit.ly/3T3L1EV)

We are at a loss as to how anyone could make the claim that the town taxpayer will bear the $250,000 of costs for the sewer connections, should the properties be annexed, when this is barred by 2 sections of the Town code, available for all to see.  

 

Littleton’s Middleburg June 2022 Middleburg Eccentric (retitled on preservemiddleburg.com to “Phony Facts” https://www.preservemiddleburg.com/news/middleburg-mayor-pushes-expansion-126-new-homes-zzkwf-9k99t-wx8rw

https://middleburgeccentric.com/wp-content/uploads/2022/06/Eccentric_06_22w.pdf


False Information #18: “The Town, led by Littleton, is justifying its pro-development presentations on the grounds that ‘these properties are going to be developed one way or the other.’ This inevitability narrative brings us to the third fact: by right or not, it is not inevitable that Middleburg will be developed. In fact, all of Middleburg’s open spaces were at one time also properties ripe for by right development — but people who cared about preservation fought against the sprawl, worked with the Land Trusts, and financed deals to protect the area’s open spaces with easements.”

Facts: That is not the trend we have been seeing recently. For every conservation easement we see 3 parcels developed. Just look at our recent experience with Banbury Cross. The community as a whole opposed the development of that farm. A conservation buyer approached the owners and was rebuffed, and now Banbury Cross will be developed at its maximum development potential across all of the land. The Mayor, as he committed in the April meeting, reached out to conservation advocates to see if preservation approach was possible. Ultimately, the landowners chose not to accept the approach at this time. The reality is that land in the Middleburg region has become more valuable than a conservation purchase can typically economically afford to do. A great example beyond Banbury is the current large track of land on Paris Mountain. A conservation group came together and offered bona fide and substantial amount of money for the property. Unfortunately, the offer was declined, and the price was then actually raised. We hope, as PEC has stated, a conservation solution can be found, but to date they have been rejected. And to be fair, that is the owners right. All landowners have the freedom to sell their land how they chose, and with the active nature and rising prices of land in our region the economics have changed substantially – hope is not a strategy – and you need not look too far east to see what is coming, we are running out of time – Banbury Cross and the Paris Mountain tracks are 2 such examples. 

Descriptions of the “Proposed Projects” at https://www.preservemiddleburg.com/projects


False Information #19: The Homewood Farms proposal is to annex 212 acres into the Town. The false claim at https://www.preservemiddleburg.com/projects/farm-condominiums , states that the town will “annex 212 acres at Homewood Farm across from Salamander Resort on the North end of Town to build retail and condominiums”.

Facts: The Homewood Farms concept does not call for the annexation of 212 acres of land into the Town of Middleburg. It calls for the annexation of 22 acres of land into the Town, with the remaining 190 being placed in permanent open space conservation easement and remaining in Loudoun County. This fact was presented at the April information session and can be seen in this detailed map that has been on the town website since April 2022. Link here: www.bit.ly/3wfDPvN  – the areas in blue are the proposed annexation parcels, and the areas in bright green at the areas committed to being put into open space conservation easement in Loudoun County. This map and other information were mailed to every resident in Middleburg in June of 2022.

 

 

Other General Assertions on www.preservemiddleburg.com and in public articles/letters to the editor which are unsupported by the facts: 

Multiple Assertions of the Mayor and Council seeking to suburbanize Middleburg and/or not protect open space – a few are cited here. 

  •  “There has not been a single noticeable attempt by the mayor or any of the Council at discouraging the development of open space.”
  • “…it’s only a matter of time before Middleburg turns into a suburb.”
  • “The Town’s whole “pro-growth agenda” needs to be stopped before it goes too far.”
  • “The people elected to serve the public believe that they know what is best for that public, and that is to get Middleburg primed to become a mixed-use development in Loudoun County.”

The town council and the mayor have worked diligently and aggressively to preserve and protect our rural open space and any assertion to the opposite is offensive and untrue. included here are just a small list of the actions and activities taken by the mayor and the council to preserve open space and rural western Loudoun. We encourage you to speak to any individual listed and they will confirm the actions and support from the mayor, council and the town.

  • Below are just a small sampling of the various letters of support, resolutions and proclamations the town has voted on, delivered to the County or the Commonwealth and worked to implement. These include: 
    • Resolution in support of Oak Hill being conserved as a US Dept. of Interior Site 
    • Resolution in opposing the sale of the Aldie Assemblage to Mojax Development
    • Resolution in support for the creation of a Conservation Easement Support Fund by Loudoun County
    • Resolution in support for the creation of a Transfer of Development Rights Support Fund by Loudoun County
    • Resolution recognizing the achievements of Marcus Howard in preserving the Middleburg and St. Louis Region 
  • Between 2017 in 2019 the mayor worked directly with Loudoun County to revise multiple provisions of its new county comprehensive plan. This includes working with preservation groups to revise the rural cluster development zoning regulations, ensure the county installed a protective Greenbelt around the town of Middleburg, and most notably retain the rural protections in the transition policy area (TPA). All of these important policies were ultimately adopted into the county comprehensive plan in 2019. See chapter 2, pages 126 and 127 for the protective measures the mayor was able to achieve in the county comprehensive plan. https://www.loudoun.gov/DocumentCenter/View/152285/General-Plan---Combined-with-small-maps-bookmarked
  • The Town of Middleburg’s comprehensive plan, which was adopted in 2019, is in alignment with the county comprehensive plan calling for it to protective Greenbelt around Middleburg. This was due to the efforts of the mayor and the council ensuring that the two comprehensive plans were tightly aligned from the outset. You can review the town's comprehensive plan here https://www.middleburgva.gov/256/Comprehensive-Plan   
  • Beginning in 2020, the annually the town adopts a set of annual strategic initiatives. With the clarity of the 2019 Loudoun and Middleburg comprehensive plans, in 2020 the town adopted as two of its top 12 goals the following: Aggressively Attack Cluster Zoning Rewrite with the County (Protect Quality of Life) and Partner with the County to Ensure Compliance with the Loudoun County and Middleburg Comprehensive Plans Related to the Protective Green Belt around Middleburg (Protect Quality of Life). These goals were reaffirmed in 2021, and in 2022 the Town added “Champion and Host a Rural Preservation Summit in 2022”. Each strategic goal documents of the town are provided below and their dates of adoption. Included in that is an article from Loudoun Now in January of 2020, showing out goal of preservation as a priority, that too is below and can be found here https://issuu.com/loudounnow/docs/ldnow013020.all  
  • The mayor is currently a member of the Loudoun County Zoning Ordinance Committee (ZOC). This committee is charged as the primary advisory body which overseas the advice and recommendations of the county zoning ordinances as a whole. The mayor represents both the coalition of Loudoun towns and western Loudoun as a whole. He has served since October 20th 2020. Since his appointment the mayor has aggressively argued for and championed greater protections for western Latin to include reduced housing density, reduced intensity of agritourism uses, the protection of rural roads, and the protection of towns. You can review any of the input from the mayor at this link which includes a video, a transcript and meeting minutes since his participation began. He has also worked closely with the Piedmont Environmental Council's (PEC) representative, Gem Bingol (gbingol@pecva.org) and the Loudoun County Conservation and Preservation Coalition’s (LCCPC) Maura Walsh-Copeland. (mwalshcopeland@gmail.com) can provide additional feedback. The ZOC site is here https://onboard.loudoun.gov/board/3616 , and the meeting videos can be seen here https://www.loudoun.gov/3676/Advisory-Boards-Webcasts with the meeting minutes here https://lfportal.loudoun.gov/LFPortalInternet/Browse.aspx?dbid=0&startid=305814&row=1&cr=1
  • The mayor and town have worked for years on preservation activities to include resolutions, proclamation, working with conservation groups and speaking over a dozen times at the County Planning Commission and Board of Supervisor meetings. Attached below are a small set of these actions and engagement by the mayor and council. You can see the videos on the County website at https://www.loudoun.gov/2203/Meeting-Videos
  • The mayor is a member of the Coalition of Loudoun Towns (COLT). This organization has worked tirelessly for years to support the goals of protecting our towns and western Loudoun. They continuously engage with the Board of Supervisors and have support numerous conservation activities. These include:
    • during the comprehensive plan process COLT developed its own policy document for protecting Western Loudoun called “the Loudoun Way.” This was co-authored by Mayors Bridge Littleton and Roger Vance of Hillsboro.  
    • Advocating against the extension of water and sewer into the transition policy area
    • Supporting the community approach for the Aldie assemblage instead of its sale to Mojax for large scale commercial development
    • Fighting against the Mojax development in St. Louis 
    • Fighting against the proposal for a cell tower on Short Hill Mountain
    • These and many more letters and documents are provided below

CLICK HERE FOR SUPPORTING DOCUMENTS/ATTACHMENTS