Help support the HOA redistricting plan

Hi Friends
Loudoun county is currently going through a redistricting plan based on new census numbers that came out in early February. Many of the new plans under consideration right now are breaking up major HOA so that multiple supervisors (and school board members) would represent 1 area - Brambleton, and Broadlands, Lansdowne and Cascades are just a few of the examples.
Seeing as most communities have issues that affect the entire community we Broadlands did not feel this was the best representation of our community. Therefore, we worked together with several other HOA's (South Riding, Stone Ridge, and Brambleton) to create a plan keeping all Loudoun County HOA's (to the best of our knowledge) united so as to be represented by 1 supervisor and 1 school board member. This plan was submitted to the supervisors and will be reviewed starting tonight and over the next week.
Currently besides Broadlands this plan is supported by the HOA's representing South Riding, Stone Ridge, Kirkpatrick's Farm, Loudoun Valley Estates, Ashburn Farm, Brambleton and Cascades plus board members of Lansdowne and Ashburn Village. This is over 100,000 residents! But we need your help to get the board to take serious consideration. Please take a min and email the Board of supervisors that you support this plan. To email the entire board e-mail: bos@loudoun.gov to email your supervisor directly please find their email here http://www.loudoun.gov/Default.aspx?tabid=990

Thank you

Staci

 

Maybe move this to Community Issues so everyone can see it?

 

Please don't forget to take a min to send the BOS an email saying you support the HOA plan. This plan can make the difference in how our community and those surrounding us get roads, schools and other important infrastructure. This plan will also give us a school board member who really represents the issues Broadlands faces while also giving that same representation to other HOA's

Your email does not need to be long just your name, your community and that you support the HOA plan. Please ask your neighbors to write one as well so the board can hear from many residents not just a few of us vocal folks

Here is their email bos@loudoun.gov

Thank you
Staci

 

I've sent an email: "I live in Broadlands and support the HOA plan".

Mike

 

So what happens if "our plan" is approved and we get 1 Supervisor and 1 Board member who is an idiot? Then we are all screwed. As always be careful what you wish for.

 

It is not like we get the ones that are there currently (unless we reelect them). Using the new boundaries we will be electing new members. But if the residents of Broadlands elect and idiot it is not the plans fault.

Also there is not a current school board member in the new proposed district.

Staci

 

Why do you feel that having all of us represented by one board member is better than being represented by 2 of them? Seems to me that there might be some real advantages of having 2 members of the board looking out for our interests.

 

True but how much less? IMO, it would be more valuable to have influence with two of the supervisors/votes rather than just one.

For example, the difference between 5,000 votes out of 36,000 in one district vs. 2,500 votes out of 36,000 in two districts does not seem like a big reduction in the ability to influence one of the supervisors. Its 14% of the voters in one district vs. 7% of voters in two. Obviously its less influence on each but having two supervisors concerned about Broadlands would be better from my perspective.

 

I wrote to all of the supervisors on 2/28. Burton wrote back saying he could not support it. On the other hand, I got the following today (3/7/10) from the chairman himself:

Dear John,

Thank you very much for your email in regards to the redistricting, and your support of the HOA plan. At this time, I too support this plan because in my opinion, it is the one that makes the most sense of those submitted. I certainly appreciate the hard work that these folks have put into this proposal and I think it is very encouraging in terms of public input and working together.

Thanks again for taking the time to share your thoughts. Your opinion is very important to me!

Scott

Scott K. York, Chairman
Loudoun County Board of Supervisors
703-777-0204
Scott.York@loudoun.gov

 

My guess and knowing Supervisor Burton is; the proposed HOA plan only allows 1 BoS member/vote for "rural" areas (I don't see how any portion of Brambleton can/would be considered rural). Giving the majority of the BoS votes to the more suburban areas.

 

Sorry, I already deleted Burtons Email and do remember all of the details. The jist of his reason was that there was a different plan that would better serve his constituents in the western part of the county.

 

flynnibus is correct. Splitting only leads to two Supervisors not being interested. They play each side off of each other and say there is no consensus. This is not speculation it is what happened a couple of years ago on more than one issue. Also, they only see it as a small portion of their constituency with only individual votes not collective power.

 

Here is Burton's email
Thank you for your email in support of the HOA Redistricting Plan. I appreciate your taking time to contact the Board members on this important subject and I apologize for the set response, a necessity given the number of emails I am receiving on this issue plus the budget, Chesapeake Bay, and a variety of other issues on which the Board will soon vote.

I would like to note a few points about the process to ensure that we are all on the same page. First, the redistricting under discussion only applies to the districts in which candidates for the Board of Supervisors and the School Board run. There is no correlation between the election districts and school boundaries. Second, the key requirements of any redistricting plan is that every district begins the decade with an equal population, plus or minus 5% and that the plan not violate civil rights laws. All other issues, (including keeping Towns and communities of interest in a single district), while nice to accommodate, are discretionary.

I believe that Western Loudoun is also a community of interest, like the large HOA communities in Eastern Loudoun. As the HOA plan is currently drafted, it splits the community of interest I represent into one large Western district and allocates the remaining Western population between Leesburg and a suburban South Dulles district. This will leave the Western populations assigned to those two latter districts without a strong voice to represent their interests. Thus, as currently drawn, I cannot support this proposal. I would certainly be willing to consider alternatives submitted by the HOAs’ leadership. I have also suggested a 10-district proposal, which I think could be tweaked to accommodate almost all of the HOA’s and Western Loudoun’s objectives. The current version is posted on the Redistricting map gallery on-line. However, in response to comments from my Board colleagues I expect to present a revised version in the near future.

I hope this information is helpful.

Best regards,

Jim Burton
Supervisor, Blue Ridge District

 

I admit that I am coming to the game a bit late; however, can someone provide an update of where we are? I live in Overland Park and from the information on the BOS website (particularly the maps), I cannot tell if we are districted with the rest of Broadlands or not. Either way, I want to send an email to the BOS before Thursday's special meeting, but I want to make sure that I am dealing with facts.

THANKS!
Peter