In a 4-3 vote, the Board of Supervisors voted on June 5th against sending the Water Resource Overlay ordinance to a public hearing before the Board. Instead, after sitting on it for more than a year, they sent it back to the Planning Commission for a third time. That move effectively kills the legislation by burying it in the County’s bureaucratic process.

The Water Resource Overlay would have expanded the protective buffers around creeks to include steep slopes and highly erodible soils, in areas designated by the Board of Supervisors as being sensitive water resources. Such an ordinance would have gone a long way to protecting the water and other natural resources on the Crow’s Nest peninsula.

“Save Crow’s Nest” has long advocated this legislation as one of the key things the Board could do to protect the peninsula.  As an added advantage, the legislation would come at no cost to the County.

While this legislation has been bogged down, the property owners have continued to advance their by-right plans for building on the Crow’s Nest peninsula.  Supervisors Schwartz, Brito and Fields supported a motion to send the legislation to a public hearing, while Supervisors Cavalier, Dudenheffer, Gibbons, and Milde voted to effectively kill the legislation.

Board members have sometimes complained that they do not have adequate tools to curb growth and protect the County’s natural resources.  This is a case where a majority of the Board has chosen not use a tool they do have.

Instead, plans to develop Crow’s Nest continue to move forward.  The County’s move to condemn a portion of the property—which does not commit the County to an actual purchase—is moving slowly through the court process.

We encourage you to let the Supervisors know what you think about their respective votes on this issue.

“No” votes effectively killing the legislation

• Jack Cavalier (Griffis-Widewater), 659-7651  jcavalier2000@aol.com
• Mark Dudenhefer (Garrisonville) 659-5055    mdudenhefer@co.stafford.va.us
• Bob Gibbons (Rockhill), 752-7276   rgibbons@mindspring.com
• Paul Milde (Aquia)      720-2195    pmilde@co.stafford.va.us

“Yes” votes supporting Crow’s Nest

• Joe Brito (Hartwood), 752-9373 jbrito@co.stafford.va.us
• George Schwartz ( Falmouth )273-8056  falmouthsupervisor@hotmail.com
• Pete Fields (George Washington), 371-4274  pfields@co.stafford.va.us

See the complete Crow’s Nest Report Card.