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| Rural
Hamlets Planning & Design Alternatives, Loudoun County, Virginia: |
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| In
the effort to preserve farmland and rural character in agricultural
areas, Loudoun County developed the concept of the “rural hamlet”
as an alternative development pattern to large-lot zoning. The County
has been challenged in a number of court cases, where landowners contended
that suburban style development was more appropriate. Sympoetica has
worked with the county to develop rural hamlet plans for a number of
properties involved in these court cases to demonstrate the merits of
the hamlet alternative. The hamlet concept preserves at least 85% of
the property in open space while developing the remainder into small
groups of houses clustered around a hamlet green. |
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| Non-Regulatory Voluntary Options for Retaining Low Densities in the Rural Area of Loudoun County, Virginia: | |
| In support of Loudoun County's General Plan Update in 2000-01, Sympoetica prepared a white paper outlining the many non-regulatory options for preserving agricultural land in western Loudoun. These included such techniques as: tax incentives, donation and purchase of development rights, programs to support farming (agricultural lending program, agricultural cooperative, land lease data bank, farmers' markets, community supported agricultural, expanded commercial uses permitted in agricultural zoning districts, rural tourism programs), cluster development incentives, and agricultural and forestal districts. Many sources of funding and methods of organizing a purchase of development rights program were explored. | |
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| Local Agricultural and Forestal Districts Act, Virginia: | |
| Phoebe Kilby, while a Senior Planner with Fairfax County, Virginia, developed and obtained passage of this State law as a complement to the original Agricultural and Forestal Districts Act. The Local Agricultural and Forestal Districts Act permits the creation of locally recognized districts as small as 25 acres. Originally, adopted by the State Legislature in 1982 to apply only to Fairfax County, the law has since been amended to apply to several localities that are concerned with preserving small farms. Ms. Kilby's study, Preserving Agriculture and Open Space in Fairfax County, which resulted in the local agricultural and forestal district initiative, received a Merit Planning Award from the Virginia Chapter of the American Planning Association. | |
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| Also of note:
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