September 17, 2007
Stevens
Miller
Rural Loudoun comprises approximately 200,000 acres of land in agriculture, forestry and open space.�� In addition to generating income for the county, this land benefits all Loudouners through enhancement of view shed, considerable improvement of air and water quality, provision of healthy, local agricultural products and activities, recreation, and reduction of infrastructure-intensive residential development.
In 2007, the General Assembly
provided funding for the first time to the Office of Farmland Preservation to
assist local jurisdictions preserve working farms and forest land through the
purchase of conservation easements.��
Will you support reinstating the Loudoun PDR program?
YES NO
Yes, I will support its reinstatement, as there is no reason to avoid having this option in the county�s inventory of ways to protect its welfare.
The rural economy needs and deserves the incentives and protections enjoyed by other businesses in the county.�� At the same time, agricultural practices must be sensitive to the preservation of the natural resources they affect, especially water quality.�� Sustainable agriculture acknowledges and maintains the natural balance of the land while providing nourishment and entertainment for residents all over the county.
Do you support measures for preserving and encouraging
a sustainable rural economy in Western Loudoun?� YES NO
Yes, a rural economy benefits
the character, environment, and commercial interests of the county and the
region. A sustainable rural economy becomes an asset to all of Loudoun.
When transportation and land use initiatives are
proposed that conflict with rural economic initiatives, how will you protect
the viability of rural enterprises?
This is a good example of a
case where the answer should start with asking the affected parties. Our
present board majority doesn't listen to the people who live here. That's
foolish, because the resolutions to many conflicts are often known, or can be
worked out, by the people involved. For my part, I would look for opportunities
to avoid irreversible damage to the special characteristics that define rural
Loudoun. In the end, when the board must vote settle a conflict, I would be
inclined to vote for incremental changes, so that the effects can be measured
and evaluated, one step at a time, rather than use an all-at-once approach.
Rural Economy Comments:
2. Carbon Emissions and Environmental Standards
Record profits for big oil companies, high gas prices and home energy bills, stronger hurricanes, heat waves and wildfires, and national security threats around the world are some of the increasing concerns that Loudoun residents share with other Americans.� These are also all early symptoms of the twin looming environmental disasters of resource (fossil fuels, water) depletion and global climate change.
A consensus of scientists warn that the United States must begin to cut global warming pollution during the next ten years and reduce it by 60 � 80% by 2050 in order to mitigate the most severe impacts of global warming.��� Some of these cuts can be achieved by replacing our energy sources with renewable technologies, but most experts agree with Congressman Roscoe Bartlett�s suggestion that 65% of new energy come from decreasing our energy requirements through conservation.
Would you support a comprehensive energy
conservation plan for Loudoun County? YES/NO
Yes. I am convinced that level-headed conservation measures have the
dual benefits of protecting the environment and saving money. At one time,
�conservation� often seemed to be a euphemism for �deprivation.� Saving the
Earth by punishing ourselves is a doomed policy. However, making the world a
better place to live in by, among other things, using its resources well, is a
win/win plan.
In the absence of national leadership in conservation and renewable energy initiatives, US cities and counties are insuring their own future by instituting comprehensive sustainability plans.� A number of counties across the country, including Fairfax and Arlington, have announced the creation of the Cool Counties Climate Stabilization Declaration, a major new initiative to control carbon emissions and combat global warming at the local level. Participating counties pledge to reduce global warming emissions 80 percent by 2050, an achievable average annual reduction of 2 percent.
Fairfax County, working in
conjunction with the Sierra Club, has produced a road map that shows the kinds
of concrete actions that counties can take in the areas of energy efficiency,
renewable energy, greening vehicle fleets, land use, transportation, water
conservation, and educational outreach.
Would you support adoption of the Cool
Counties Initiative for Loudoun County? YES/NO
The Fairfax project looks appealing. I would be supportive of its study
and review. If it makes sense for Loudoun, I�d support its adoption. The spirit
of the project looks like something I'd endorse.
Landfills are the
single largest human generated source of methane, which is more than 20 times
more effective in trapping heat in the atmosphere than carbon dioxide.�� Loudoun relies on landfills almost
exclusively for our consumer and commercial waste disposal.�� Forward-thinking communities around the US,
recognizing the unsustainability of legacy waste removal practices, are reducing
their reliance on landfills by creating incentives for reuse and recycling
while also imposing disincentives for throwing material resources away.
Would you support a policy that reduces our
reliance on County Landfills? YES/NO
Yes. My work on the Zoning Ordinance Review Committee helped reinforce my existing view that landfills are not a long-term option for waste management. 21�st-century options make recycling more attractive than ever. This is an area where public/private partnerships could do the county a lot of good.
Carbon Emissions Comments:
Green building is
a loosely defined collection of land-use, building design, and construction
strategies that reduce the environmental impacts that buildings have on their
surroundings. Traditional building practices often overlook the
interrelationships among a building, its components, its surroundings, and its
occupants. �Typical� buildings consume more of our resources than necessary and
generate large amounts of waste.
In the late
1990�s, neighboring Arlington County made a decision to pursue improved energy
and environmental performance in their public and private infrastructure.�� In 2003, Arlington County delivered its
first public building designed according to the principles in the US Green
Building Council's Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED�) Green Building
Rating System.
The LEED� rating
system allots points within seven specific categories for environmentally
beneficial building materials and design, in categories such as site location,
water efficiency, energy and the atmosphere, materials and resources, and
indoor environmental quality. LEED � is one of the most popular standards
systems used by professional organizations to master green building standards
and practices. Information about Arlington County's Green Building programs is available.
Green buildings have many benefits, such as economical use of building resources, significant operational savings, and increased workplace productivity. Building green sends the right message about a company or organization - it�s well run, responsible, and committed to the future.
Would you support a
county initiative to draft green building standards legislation to create
incentives for public and private investment in green buildings?� YES/NO
Yes. Increasingly, green buildings are showing themselves to be good investments of public funds. They often cost more to build, but are cheaper to operate, than older designs. When that�s the case, and the present value of the savings over the lifetime of the structure exceed the extra building cost, choosing that option seems like the only fiscally responsible way to spend the people�s money. Another win/win.
Green Building Standards Comments:
Loudoun County Public Schools maintains 68 school facilities including 10 High Schools.�� Rapid residential growth results in several new schools each year.��� LCPS offers an opportunity to demonstrate leadership within the county industries towards green building and sustainable practices.
Our public and private schools provide fertile ground for both preparing the new generation to successfully manage and even reverse current energy trends as well as practicing what we preach as we plan our school buildings and develop curriculum.
The white paper, Greening America�s Schools: Costs and Benefits �summarizes the work on health benefits, teacher retention, test score increases, etc., as well as savings from reduced energy usage and reduced water consumption.
LCPS currently maintains an Energy Education Program whose mission has been �to reduce the use of energy throughout the school system�.�� LCPS could expand the mission and personnel of this office to develop resources that will embed sustainable development principles in school buildings, the curriculum and the community.��
Would you support the development of a school
system-wide Sustainable Schools initiative? YES NO
The goal of such an initiative is worthwhile, but there may be more readily available alternatives to reaching it than creating new program or sub-program. Well chosen policies can sometimes be the most efficient means to the same end that a new initiative can reach.
Siting of new schools, especially in the Western end of the County, has been problematic recently due to past failures in planning.�� While financial and market considerations will always have a significant impact on school site selection, policies could give greater consideration to community input, to life cycle costs, and to natural resource impacts than it has in the past.�� Greater flexibility in school building & campus layout as well as school size could provide the accommodations that are needed to creatively place new schools in the communities they serve.��
Will you support changes in the school siting policies
to give greater weight to placing appropriately sized schools near the
communities they serve? YES NO
The prefatory paragraph to this question speaks to somewhat different concerns than the question addresses. I favor more consideration of community input in all areas of county government than I have seen from the current board majority. If the communities that need schools call for more weight to be assigned to size and location than they now receive, I would be inclined to support the required changes. Certainly, with high schools now consuming 70 acres each, and parcels of that size in very limited supply, more flexibility in design and location are going to be required.
Will you support changes to the school building
standards to accommodate green building principles, which would provide a
healthier environment for our children, use resources sustainably and generate
life-cycle cost savings for the taxpayers? YES NO
Yes.� As I said in Section 3, green buildings that net a profit are hardly a tough choice to make. When they can also enhance the quality of life for our children, who would oppose them?
Education Comments: