Limestone Overlay District plan is flawed
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The county's Board of Supervisors continues to move forward with its Limestone Overlay District legislation, and as a resident of the county who would be directly impacted by this proposal, I want to share my strong opposition to this flawed plan.
There are many issues that need to be addressed due to the limestone/karst area along Route 15, and they can be done simply through changes to the county's Facility Services Manual and by holding future developers to higher standards. The current proposal holds far too many restrictions for residents who have vested interests in their homes, including the inclusion of a deed restriction/notice that puts prospective buyers "on notice" that they are buying a home in the Limestone Overlay District. To put potential buyers "on notice," in an attempt to serve some type of "warning" function, will clearly have a negative impact on our home values.
Recently the Transportation and Land Use Committee looked specifically at the impacts the Overlay District will have on existing homeowners in this proposed area. Very little changed as they reviewed the impacts, and there are far too many questions still outstanding ?questions that impact current homeowners like myself, such as the following:
• The potential negative impact if we go to refinance our homes;
• Can we get competitive insurance if we are targeted as being in this so-called "dangerous" area;
• The potential negative impact to my home's value;
• What benefit to the environment is there for putting all of these restrictions upon us?
When you look at how other government agencies deal with limestone/karst, there isn't another jurisdiction that imposes these sorts of restrictions on existing homeowners. Clarke County has regulations on building on limestone, and they don't regulate homeowners in any way, shape or form. Across the Potomac, Maryland counties have similar geology and they don't require homeowners to conduct geological testing to put in a shed or patio or a driveway; but Loudoun's proposal does. Why should Loudoun County residents be held to a standard that does not exist elsewhere?
This proposal is flawed and should simply be rejected by the Board of Supervisors. Call or write your supervisor and ask them to oppose the Overlay District.
Dr. Stacey Hoffmann
Raspberry Falls, Leesburg
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