They don’t often vote together on the Prince William Board of County Supervisors, but the issue of preserving the Rural Crescent brought them together Monday at Stonewall Jackson Senior High School.
Supervisors Jeanine Lawson (R-Brentsville), Frank Principi (D-Woodbridge), and Peter Candland (R-Gainesville) denounced a plan by county staff to create a transition ribbon, where about 10,000 new homes could be built along the boundary of the Rural Crescent.
It’s called a Purchase of Development Rights Program (PDR) where the government buys a farmer’s land, then leaves it in the hands of the farmer who can continue to use it for agriculture, but can never build on it, or sell it to anyone else.
A newly proposed resolution from Prince William County School Board members Alyson Satterwhite and Willie Deutsch rules out four of six viable alternatives to developing the Rural Crescent, the last remaining, largely rural, crescent-shaped tract of land from Quantico Marine Corps Base to Manassas National Battlefield Park.
On Tuesday, the Board of County Supervisors ordered a new policy meant to govern the use of small aircraft, commonly used for photography, to be reworked.
Board Chairman At-large Corey Stewart and others feared that a county employee using a drone could inadvertently capture footage of a zoning violation, submit the video to the zoning department for review, and land the property owner in hot water.
The Prince William Board of County Supervisors was briefed on how the county could meet the growing demand for affordable housing over the next 10 years. Several supervisors took umbrage, arguing that the region did not have the resources or necessity to plan for more affordable homes.
Paul DesJardin, director of community planning services for the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG), and Rebecca Horner, director of planning for Prince William County, presented housing “aspirations” for the county based on estimates of public need and demand.
That’s the term commonly used to refer to local prosecutors deciding whether or not to pursue cases of people charged minor infractions like littering, or trespassing, or possession of small amounts of marijuana.
“You’re not electing a king or queen who gets to decide what to prosecute. You follow the law,” said May, a Republican whose making his second run to be Prince William County Commonwealth Attorney.
The Board of County Supervisors for the first time Tuesday heard a proposal to give about 1,000 full-time employees a 4% raise. Another 627 part-time employees who work for the parks and rec department will also get a raise.
It’s going to cost about $5 million to carry out, and the pay raises would be phased in over two years.
Editors note: “People on the Move” is a post which recognizes and celebrates the achievements of Virginia natives as they make their way in the world.
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That money is cash seized from drug busts, commonly referred to as asset forfeiture funds. Prince William County has just over one million seized drug dollars in the bank.
The Board of County Supervisors on Tuesday approved a plan to use about $400,000 to pay some 40 or current and retired police officers who worked between June 2014 and December 2018.
WOODBRIDGE – One in five adults in the United States experience a mental health crisis, while 1 in 5 children ages 13 to 18 have, or will have a serious mental illness, according to the National Alliance on Mental Illness.
Because of these astonishing statistics, Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center is hosting a Mental Health & Suicide Prevention Resource Fair. On Friday, September 20, from 5:45 – 7:45 p.m., mental health experts from the U.S. Department of Veteran Affairs, Prince William County Community Services, National Alliance on Mental Illness and many more, will gather to take part in this important conversation.
Taking action on guns is a top priority for Rep. Jennifer Wexton (D-10, Loudoun, Prince William).
“The time has finally come to do something about it,” said Wexton, Wednesday at the Prince William Chamber of Commerce. Her comments come after a recent string of mass shootings in Texas, California, Ohio, and Virginia Beach.
