Kincora & Proffers, Part 2: A Diamond in the Rough

Developments have come to represent, by many, the ruination of our home, way of life and even Loudoun’s future. And the developers are, according to many, the embodiment of greed, excess and selfishness.

Discount that they build the homes we live in, the stores we shop in and even the parks and soccer fields our children enjoy, they commit the worst sin of all—they make money, sometimes. 

Doing business with Loudoun has becomebig business. The studies, the consultants, the plans and the manpower to make it all happen, manage to keep plenty of people, plenty busy. This includes Loudoun County Government staff—paid to analyze, research and understand the developments waiting for approval. After all, there is no room for a politician’s personal agendas over public interest. Decisions should be backed by data—at least when available—including analytics, metrics and case studies. 

But slip-ups do slip in, leaving many constituents with questions about exactly who is making decisions and why. As a case in point, take Supervisor Jim Burton (I-Blue Ridge) during last week’s discussion about a Route 28 study. The study, published by the Fulton Research Group at a cost of $27,000 to taxpayers, examined how best to develop the most traveled corridor in the county. The two prior studies—both published in the last year—came to similar conclusions on zoning and land use. But Burton, known for his disdain for developers and most developments, was less than pleased with the study’s outcome, stating, “This study is of very little use to me…” 

To many, this statement represents either a sizeable waste in county funds, or an official who keeps asking a question until he likes the answer.

There was no greater evidence of the supervisors’ dependence on proffers than when the proffer system itself became threatened. When the Virginia Senate passed Senate Bill 768 requiring impact fees to replace the existing proffer system, minimizing the financial requests the county could demand from developers, the pushback from county leaders was audible, palpable, and no doubt, predictable. The bill ultimately—and also predictably—failed.

NortonScott LLC, the lead developer on the Kincora project, must understand the sheer power of the proffer, and the company knows just how to wield it. The Kincora proffers will most likely strike the Achilles heel of almost every special interest group typically against this type of large-scale development and leave a little extra in the piggy banks of the taxpayers. If time is money, the direct impact of the transportation proffers to the everyday lives of Loudoun citizens might have the greatest impact—and be the greatest money saver—of all.

This map of the affected area contains an overlay of the proposed improvements and development.

The Kincora Proffer Statement, submitted to the county on Oct. 5, addresses a parcel of land just shy of 400 acres, 336 of which are being sought by the developer for rezoning from PD-IP (Planned Development—Industrial Park) to PD-MUB (Planned Development Mixed Use Business).

There’s substantial green in the proffers package, starting with the folding kind. Within 60 days of the approval of the rezoning, the developer promises to prepay the taxes due for optional residential development within the Route 28 Tax District. 

Housing proffers are prevalent in the package, dedicating up to 88 units, as “Affordable Dwelling Units” and up to 140 as “Unmet Housing Needs Units,” or workforce housing. Workforce housing is dedicated to those who serve the community but can’t afford to live in it. Candidates include policemen, firemen, and teachers, many of whom live outside the county—even outside the state—when Loudoun fails to offer them an affordable home.

Kincora aims to fulfill a need long acknowledged by many in the community—a need regularly acknowledged but consistently ignored—a center for the performing arts. A minimum of two acres will be donated to the county or a non-profit entity, the decision to be left to the County. Donations would be used to fund the design, engineering and construction of the center, also available for other civic uses. 

As for the other type of green, so critical to the future of our county and its residents, the proffer package should satisfy even the staunchest environmentalist. The Heron Rookery, a breading ground and home of the Blue Heron, will remain protected. Seven hundred feet will separate the designated area from construction associated with the project, including the pedestrian trail system also in the proffer package. The only exception made for the “construction, operation and maintenance of the wetlands and stream mitigation bank, on-site wetlands and stream mitigation, or riparian reforestation…” During heron nesting season, from March 1 to June 30, a 1,400-foot “Rookery Radius” will serve as protection from construction activity for the bird.

At least 80 percent of the existing canopy in the cumulative conservation areas and tree conservation areas will remain. Up to 20 percent may be removed, but only for specified reasons—utilities, trails, stormwater management facilities, stream and wetland mitigation activities and preservation of the Broad Run Toll House. If a certified arborist determines that a healthy tree situated within designated boundaries was damaged during construction and not able to survive, for example, the developer will remove the tree and replace it with “two 21/2-3 inch caliper native, non-invasive deciduous trees,” according to Kincora’s proffer statement.

Best management practices will also be enforced throughout the property, utilizing low impact development techniques including the use of green roofs, rain gardens, cisterns, and planted swales to be incorporated into the property’s overall stormwater management approach. Water quality tests will also be conducted by the developer to test the impact on Broad Run. 

The United States Green Building Council’s Leadership in Energy and Environmental Design (LEED) program will be incorporated, to a certain degree, into both residential and employment buildings.

Approximately $65 million in transportation proffers are on the table with the Kincora project. A community development authority (CDA), a controversial funding resource, is suggested as the chosen mode of funding for most of the road improvements. Should the Board of Supervisors move forward and establish a CDA for the transportation proffers, it is suggested that the road improvements take place within three years of the CDA’s development. 

One of the most critical improvements will be the extension of Gloucester Parkway from the planned terminus of the Route 28/Gloucester Parkway interchange project, across the Kincora property and Broad Run to Loudoun County Parkway. This connection will be built as a four-lane divided highway. 

As for Pacific Boulevard, the developer will extend Pacific Boulevard from the southern Kincora property boundary across the property and Broad Run to the current terminus of Russell Branch Parkway. 

The CDA, if created by the board, will not only finance the construction of the road improvements but also be responsible for maintenance of the segments of road constructed by the CDA until the specified improvements are accepted into the Virginia Department of Transportation system for maintenance. 

Should the board not move forward with a CDA, there are alternatives provided by the developer in the proffer package. The owner could, if desired, construct or bond to construct many of the proposed improvement projects, including Pacific Boulevard and its bicycle trail, and the Gloucester/Pacific Intersection. If the road improvements are satisfied by an organization other than the developer, a cash equivalent contribution instead will be made to the county. 

A transportation demand management program will also be implemented by the owner, with the sole purpose to reduce peak-hour vehicle trips to and from Kincora. 

A significant part of the proffers package will be designated for a bicycle and pedestrian circulation system. All ponds, trails, civic spaces and open space areas will be dedicated to the owners association, which would include an establishment of maintenance procedure and appropriate funding to maintain the facilities. 

The developer also addresses safety needs by committing five acres to be used for a county fire and rescue and sheriff substation facility, with a temporary road to be built until it can successfully be accessed from Pacific Boulevard. 

While proffers are widely accepted as a critical part of the rezoning process, used to support new schools and parks, environmental initiatives and needed road improvements; the devil is truly in the proffer’s details.

If left unmanaged, caveats, asterisks, and lots of small print can help developers through little loopholes that can prove costly to the local government.