PTW News & Info

By-Right vs. Special Exception: What’s the Difference?

PTW will be built off of Belmont Ridge Road, less than a mile from Rt. 7. In order to build the facility in the most environmentally friendly, cost effective manner with the least impact to its neighbors, PTW has asked the County for several special exceptions.The positive aspects of the proposed legislative applications and the importance of approving these applications to protect the environment and neighboring property owners while still providing the most recreational opportunities possible for Loudoun County residents cannot be emphasized enough.

By-right Alternative

	The purchase and use of an additional 10 forested acres
	Route 659 full median crossover intersection is only guaranteed by VDOT if the legislative applications are approved; if these applications aren’t approved, the site may be accessed by a Route 659 right-in/right-out access point in the ultimate condition
	Type 2 buffer plantings along the entire Arbetter property boundary
	Type 3 buffer plantings along the entire Route 659 property boundary
	Implementation of an above ground stormwater management pond with all maintenance costs to be incurred by the County

Special Exception

	Substantial conformance with the location of the fields, north building and setback as shown on the plat – the building layouts will minimize the noise and light impact of the outdoor fields on the Belmont Community
	A 300-foot Goose Creek open space easement
	Open space easement trails, with signage
	Route 659 right-of-way reservation
	Route 659 full median crossover in the ultimate condition
	Construction of a 10-foot wide multi-use trail along the entire Route 659 property frontage
	Russell Branch Parkway right-of-way reservation
	If Russell Branch Parkway is ever extended through the site, a grade-separated pedestrian access will be constructed from the upper fields to the lower fields
	Provision of a Route 659 traffic signal warrant study
	Installation of a Route 659 traffic signal
	Installation of Route 659 turn lanes
	Installation of up to 100 bicycle racks
	A 360-foot long, 4-foot tall berm along the most impacted portion of the Arbetter property
	An 8-foot tall board-on-board fence running the entire length of the Arbetter property boundary
	A 6-foot tall evergreen tree planted every 6 feet along the entire Arbetter property boundary
	A 100-foot long row of 30-inch hollies and boxwoods along the Arbetter property boundary
	Type 2 buffer plantings along the entire Arbetter property boundary
	Berm along the Route 659 property boundary
	Type 4 buffer plantings along the entire Route 659 property boundary
	A 6-foot tall evergreen tree planted every 16 feet along the entire Route 659 property boundary
	Limitation of sound enhancement measures (public address system) to Field F1, which shall only be used between 9:00 a.m. and 9:00 p.m. Sunday through Thursday and 8:00 a.m. to 11:00 p.m. Friday and Saturday
	Whistles limited to 90 dBA on Fields F1 and F4 and 80 dBA on all

Approving the proposed legislative applications requires a vision for this site as listed in the Revised General Plan. The Plan designates this site as suburban policy area planned for business uses that requests 300-foot and 1,000-foot voluntary buffers abutting the Goose Creek. The Applicant has purposefully designed this site to meet the guidelines set forth in the Plan while making every effort to provide a site design that mitigates impacts on neighboring properties to the greatest extent possible. In addition to appropriately addressing the Plan, the site abuts Route 659, a minor arterial roadway, which is VDOT’s #1 road improvement priority in Loudoun County. These improvement plans will benefit greatly from the right-of-way that will be dedicated through the proposed legislative applications. Aside from the numerous benefits included in the list below, these aforementioned site elements reinforce the notion that the proposed development is not only the most positive development that could occur on this site today, but it’s also the most logical long-term use of this site.

The possible by-right alternative will result in fewer benefits for County residents and will inflict a far greater negative impact on neighboring residents and the environment than the proposed legislative applications. In addition to raising the cost of the project by 3% to 4% and delaying the opening of the project by 4 to 8 months, the possible by-right alternative will require the purchase of an additional 10 forested acres in order to provide a similar amount of outdoor fields as currently shown in the proposed legislative applications. Even with a potential purchase of this additional land, the amount of lighted outdoor fields will likely be reduced due to lighting spillover constraints thus reducing the amount of field playing time and likely raising the cost of field playing time. The north and south buildings currently shown in the proposed legislative applications would likely be consolidated to save space, which would result in the loss of the swim academy. Moreover, the possible by-right alternative would still result in development of the A-3 zoned portion of the property into a use that may include the following: grape growing/winery; sod farm; pet farm; private school; bed and breakfast; and single-family detached homes. These uses could realistically be developed by-right in the A-3 zoning district and would have a far greater negative impact on the environment than the proposed legislative applications.

Working with the County

What follows is an update on the three issues we hear about most often, and what we’ve done, or are willing to do, to work with the county on each issue.

Russell Branch Parkway

We are providing right-of-way reservation and eventual dedication of Russell Branch Parkway through the site. All of the A-3 special exception fields within the reservation area will be constructed of synthetic turf from day one. Because these fields have an eight year usage life, if Russell Branch Parkway is built, we will not fight the county through that process.

In addition, if the Russell Branch Parkway extension is constructed, we have already taken steps to mitigate the impact of losing fields. Specifically, we have begun the process of identifying satellite field locations in the county where outdoor fields could be constructed to provide additional capacity and offset the potential loss of the two fields in the Russell Branch Parkway reservation area. We intend to be a good corporate citizen. If this or a future Board tells us the county has the means and desire to extend Russell Branch Parkway over Goose Creek, we will not stand in the way.

Traffic

Whether the legislative applications are granted, or if we’re able to secure additional funds to pursue by-right construction, or even if another development occurs on the site, traffic will increase on Route 659. Fortunately, a large portion of the traffic generated from the legislative applications will be spread across non-peak or weekend hours and will not overburden the existing road network. Approval of our legislative applications will result in a safer traffic situation on Route 659 through the implementation of a traffic signal and turn lanes at the site entrance.

In addition, we will lobby VDOT for the implementation of flashing “signal ahead” signs on the north and south sides of the site entrance as well as a lower speed limit in the vicinity of the site. The site’s proximity to Leesburg and western Loudoun County will reduce the amount of trips heading east into Fairfax County and eastern Loudoun County that county residents are forced to make due to the lack of specialized recreation facilities in the central and western portions of the county.

Further, when the county does identify sufficient funds for the widening of Route 659, the costs of the project will be reduced by approval of the legislative applications. The legislative applications include a condition which provides for the reservation and dedication of the Play to Win Route 659 frontage, currently valued at approximately $500,000 in its undeveloped state, for the widening of Route 659.

Water Quality

Demonstrating our desire to work with the county, we agreed to provide water quality treatment above and beyond the requirements of the Facilities Standards Manual. Setting a precedent we believe will bode well for the county in the future, we’ve agreed to pay for all stormwater management system maintenance costs for 25 years (If an above ground pond were provided, all maintenance costs would be incurred by Loudoun County).

Additionally, preservation of the 300’ buffer allows for additional water quality treatment prior to runoff entering the Goose Creek. As a result of this measure, we have garnered the support of the Goose Creek Scenic River Advisory Committee.

Of the three water intakes located near the site, two are located upstream on the Goose Creek and the Potomac River and one is located over 10 miles downstream on the Potomac River. Given the distance to the closest downstream water intake and the fact that the only use that will be developed near the 300’ buffer and the Goose Creek will be synthetic turf fields, we are confident that this development will not negatively impact the water quality of the Goose Creek or any drinking sources downstream of the site. To reinforce this assertion, and at the request of Supervisor Kurtz, we’ve agreed to test the water quality on the site on a regular basis to ensure that the proposed uses do not negatively impact Goose Creek.

In The News

We're Approved

Thanks to all of you, we collected over 2000 names on our petition and on 9/2/2008 the Loudoun BOS approved our special exceptions application. We look forward to delivering a World Class Leadership and Sports Training Center