Did you know that PWC has the HIGHEST UNEMPLOYMENT RATE of the 5 Northern VA counties?
6,300 residents unemployed
Unemployment Rates
Fauquier County: 2.0%
Loudoun County: 2.1 %
Fairfax County: 2.3%
Stafford County: 2.5%
Prince William: 2.6 %
(6,300 residents unemployed)
Why is that? Because we have the lowest commercial tax base and therefore less job opportunities than the other counties. This forces our residents to commute to other counties for jobs.
How did we get ourselves into this dire situation?
Several reasons:
We've put a ban on any development of 52% of our landmass for over 23 years and counting.
We've pushed all we can onto the overburdened Eastern end of the county to protect the Western end by denying all opportunities there.
Western PWC is THE HAVES, Eastern PWC is THE HAVE NOTS.
Let's put the blame where it belongs: Powerful and wealthy Special Interest Groups such as the Piedmont Environmental Council located in Fauquier County, PW Alliance & Coalition for Smarter Growth have been instrumental in suppressing any growth in Western PWC because their "Master Plan" is for PWC to be the buffer for their wealthy supporters in Fauquier. They have no business meddling in our local land-use decisions especially when their sole mission is to protect themselves.
These same groups created the deal with Loudoun County 15 years ago to develop everything EAST of Rt. 15 BUT WEST of Rt. 15 would be off limits. They allowed all the rural area EAST of Rt. 15 to develop. This is what has created Loudoun's wealth and pushed development and traffic right up against Pageland Lane and the Gainesville District.
Why did they choose that area to develop? They agreed to this with the proviso that all their property on the WEST side of Rt. 15 WAS OF LIMITS FOR DEVELOPMENT - that is where the very wealthy estates are.
PEC also supported the huge 100-year expansion of the rock quarry located next to us. So we get stuck with all the dump trucks and traffic on their way to I-66.
AND DON’T FORGET THEY SUPPORTED THE BI COUNTY PARKWAY to support their growing residential and commercial traffic to I-66. On top of that, they worked with other special interest groups to deny any development along this route and actively worked with them to force landowners into conservation easements, forever losing their property rights.
How does the PEC get away with this? Their membership includes people of political power and wealth. They fund local conservation groups, make big political contributions, have a large staff, and paid lobbyists at both the state and federal levels. We are the David versus their Goliath.
We are not here to serve them. Enough is enough.
It's time for PWC to have Opportunity for ALL their Citizens