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  CSG Update* Covering the DC Metro Region July 19, 2005 In this issue:
Fairfax County Studies Form-Based Code The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors passed a motion July 11, 2005 calling for the study of form-based codes as a tool to promote walkable mixed-use communities in the county. Chairman Gerry Connolly sited a community forum sponsored by the Coalition for Smarter Growth and the Washington Regional Network for Livable Communities in presenting the motion, which passed unanimously among those present. Learn more about form-based code and the philosophy of New Urbanism. Affordable Housing Hearings in DC Affordable housing is a growing concern in the District of Columbia. The DC Campaign for Mandatory Inclusionary Zoning advocates for policies requiring new and/or rehabilitated residential developments to include housing units affordable to low and moderate-income residents. In exchange, developers may receive non-monetary compensation—in the form of density bonuses—that reduce construction costs. Next week, July 25 and July 28, the DC Zoning Commission is holding hearings. Learn how you can get involved. Intercounty Connector (ICC) Moves Forward Despite a November 2004 study by the Maryland State Highway Administration (MSA) that showed the ICC would have no impact on congestion levels on the Capital Beltway, I-95, or I-270, Governor Ehrlich moved the project forward by announcing the selection of a southern alignment July 11. While the MSA study showed some improvements for local roads, more than half either saw increases in traffic due to interchange tie-ups and other changes brought by the highway, or there was no change in congestion at all. According to the state’s analysis, people who would benefit most—those who would use the ICC from end to end for long trips—represented just 1% of ICC users. The $3 billion cost for the project is the most expensive road project in the region’s history, and amounts to $1,417 for every Maryland household. The final study and financing plan are still pending. Learn more by visiting Save Our Communities and the Sierra Club’s Challenge to Sprawl Campaign. Also, read the Washington Post’s coverage. Loudoun County News Last week, more than 160 people turned out to two Loudoun County public input sessions and asked the County Supervisors to keep the western portion of the county zoned for rural densities and uses. Loudoun residents from around the county spoke out against allowing up to 55,000 new houses to be built, which would raise taxes, create traffic gridlock, overwhelm Loudoun’s already crowded school system, and jeopardize the county’s disappearing groundwater supply. Suburban densities in western Loudoun would also threaten the livelihoods of the county’s farmers and rural business owners, and jeopardize millions of dollars of revenue generated by the rural economy. A recent Virginia Supreme Court decision knocked down the previous zoning ordinances, which called for 1 house per 20 or 50 acres, on a technicality. After refusing to re-advertise and re-enact the previous zoning measures, the County Board of Supervisors is now deciding how many new houses can be built in Loudoun’s western rural area. Learn more, including how you can take action. W&OD Trail Threatened from Leesburg to Purcellville A proposal under consideration by Dominion Virginia Power threatens 26,000 trees along the last 11 miles of the W&OD Trail Regional Park from Leesburg to Purcellville, The placement of 110-foot-tall steel power towers would require clear-cutting the trees, leaving a barren swath where there is a beautiful tree lined trail today. The State Corporation Commission in Richmond will make the final decision as to where the power lines will go. Learn more, including how you can take action. Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Join Coalition staff, family, and friends at the National Building Museum’s screening of Who Framed Roger Rabbit? Art mirrors life as the residents of Roger Rabbit’s Los Angeles face the demise of their trolley system at the hands of an unscrupulous judge who’s in cahoots with highway developers. Wednesday, July 27, 7:15-10:30 pm. See NBM for more information. Look for the Coalition for Smarter Growth banner. Subscriptions To unsubscribe, please email us with "unsubscribe newsletter" in the subject line. If you would still like to receive our email alerts, please indicate that in your message; otherwise your address will be removed from our alerts list as well. If you want to be added to the mailing list, please visit our website and complete the form. * Help us name our newsletter. There's a Ben & Jerry's ice cream cone for the person who comes up with the best name.
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