With farming dwindling, Prince William County looks at new rural land preservation tools

Prince William County will explore three new devices in its toolbox to protect the rural land.

County Planning Director Christopher Price, under the direction of the Board of Supervisors, will develop guidelines for a Purchase of a Development Rights (PDR), Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) programs, and new rules that would govern cluster developments along the boundary of the Rural Crescent — land preserved in 1998 meant for farming, as well as homes built on lots no smaller than 10 acres.

Purchase of development rights 

A PDR would allow a landowner in the Rural Crescent to sell development rights to the county or a non-profit organization aimed at preserving rural land. Farmers and residents told county leaders that agriculture is no longer a way of life in western Prince William County and that they want to sell their land to developers and move away.

A PDR program will need significant public funding from the county if put in place, said Price. The Board of Supervisors would also need to identify which properties are included in PDR program, as it is not outlined in the county’s comprehensive plan.

A new staff member would also need to be hired in the county’s planning department to manage the program, said Price. Protecting the village of Nokesville, stopping development and encroachment near Quantico Marine Corps Base, preventing encroachment and land degradation at Manassas National Battlefield, and protecting the view of Bull Run Mountain are all reasons to set up a PDR program.

“The honest to god truth about PDRs, really, is that they usually don’t work…I’m glad that we are going to explore the possible use for them but they are probably not going to work,” said Prince William County Board of Supervisors Chairman At-large Corey Stewart.

“They’re working successfully in Fauquier County; I know they’re working in Montgomery County [Md.],…I think that the PDRs are a great compromise for everybody at the table… we’ll excuse me… the developers aren’t’ at the table, and they’re the ones that don’t want it,” said Brentsville District Supervisor Jeanine Lawson.

Transfer of development rights 

The county will also consider TDRs, which would allow a property owner in the Rural Crescent to sell development rights to a developer. In exchange, that developer will then develop a property in a more urban area of the county — most likely in Woodbridge, where plans call for more walkable, urban town centers that include retail, office, and residential spaces. Developers want bonus density with TDRs, where they county would allow the developer who purchased a TDR to build more capacity in an urban area than it could have in the rural area.

“We would take 10 units that would have went in rural area, and th developer would want to build 20 or 30 units in the urban area,” said Price. “We have to be willing to identify places where we want preservation but also places where we’re willing to accept that extra density through some kind of negotiated process.”

“I selfishly want to move forward… selfishly want to move…forward. North Woodbridge is a receiving area for TDRs,” said Woodbridge District Supervisor Frank Principi, referencing the area around the Woodbridge Virginia Railway Express station that has long been identified as an urban redevelopment center.

If a property is purchased under PDR or TDR, it can never be developed at a later date, according to Price.

Cluster developments

The county will also explore cluster developments, type of zoning that would allow a home builder to develop a small portion of a tract of rural land, mostly along the border of the Rural Crescent while preserving the rest of tract. The homes are placed in a village, while roads are built with berms and vegetation so they better blend into the rural landscape.

Sewer and water lines are extended to the property, but can never be extended past the development further into the rural area. Existing septic systems in the Rural Crescent are failing, he added.

Many spoke for maintaining the rural character of the land, which makes up 52% of Prince William County. They said development should not pass beyond the boundary line of the Rural Crescent noted on county maps.

“People talked tonight about the Rural Crescent boundary and how important it is to maintain it, and we would agree with that, but that line right now is a line on a map. Without some type of conservation easements that’s donated or purchased or negotiated through the development review process, that’s all it is, is a line on a map,” said Price.

The county paid for a Rural Crescent Preservation Study in 2014 that outlined how to best preserve the rural area. It was ordered after the Board of Supervisors in 2012 wanted to learn what tools other localities are using to preserve open space and to protect the property rights of landowners.