Dulles Project May Escape Town Center Limits

Members of the county planning commission last night backed off their earlier recommendation that no town center style developments be planned east of Rt. 28. Concerns were raised that plans for a project near the Rt. 28/Dulles Toll Road interchange could be caught in the policy shift.

Commissioner Barbara Munsey (Dulles) pointed out that the proposed eastern Loudoun town center ban, first proposed by Supervisor Mick Staton (R-Sugarland Run) to curb neighborhood redevelopment, would exclude consideration of large mixed-use project on the site once considered for a Major League Baseball stadium when a group was trying to land the team that became the Washington Nationals.

The commission voted 8-0-1 to amend the recommendation. Newly appointed commissioner Gladys Lewis (Catoctin) abstained because she was not involved in the initial discussion and recommendation. The change came too late to be included in notifications regarding tonight's board of supervisors' public hearing on the subject, but supervisors may incorporate the change as they deliberate on the item. Because the current comprehensive plan allows a town center in that area, there would be no need to readvertise the hearing.

Staton proposed the changes to the comprehensive plan out of concern that developers may propose tearing down existing homes to make way for a new town center in Sterling Park or Sugarland Run. His proposal called for a policy prohibiting the use the use of eminent domain for economic development purposes. His proposal also would eliminate town centers from consideration east of Rt. 28 and would remove the ability to redevelop existing communities.

The commission's amendment seeks to permit a future proposal for a town center or mixed-use development on the site where the stadium and surrounding community, known then as Diamond Lake, was proposed. The area is bounded roughly by Rt. 28 to the west, the county line to the east and Rt. 606 to the north.