Proposed Middle School (MS-6)

The proposed middle school application will be heard at a public hearing before the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors on the evening of Wednesday, November 9, 2011 at 5:00 PM,  Click here for details on the proposed middle school.

ASHBURN COMMUNITY OUTREACH INITIATIVE

The Loudoun County Government is in the process of formulating a Community Plan for Ashburn, similar to ones already developed for neighboring Sterling and Leesburg. This plan helps to determine the needs and priorities of Ashburn residents for roads, parks, schools, businesses, etc. in our greater community. The county received over 1,600 individual and business surveys over the summer months. Now four workshops for Ashburn residents and business owners will be held in October and November to begin formulation of the plan to be presented to the Board of Supervisors. These workshops are great opportunities for our residents to come and make their voices and priorities heard.

The workshop meetings will be held from 6:30 to 8:30pm on:
* Thursday, October 13, at Eagle Ridge Middle School
* Tuesday, October 18, at Stone Bridge High School
* Thursday, November 10, at Eagle Ridge Middle School
*Thursday, November 17, at Stone Bridge High School

For more details, please see the Loudoun County website.

UPCOMING SCHOOL BOND QUESTION

As you many know, elections will be held on Tuesday, November 8th this year. In addition to electing officials to a number of state and local offices, Loudoun voters will be asked a single ballot question with significant potential impact on our community.

Voters will be asked if they support issuing general obligation bonds for four new schools to serve Ashburn students. These schools will be two elementary schools (ES-16 at Moore Field Station and ES-22 at the former ISA property off Ashburn Village Blvd), a new middle school (MS-6 adjacent to Newton-Lee Elementary), and a new high school (HS-8 adjacent to Belmont Ridge Middle School). They will help to relieve and prevent acute overcrowding in many Ashburn schools, including those serving students from Ashburn Farm at all three levels – elementary, middle and high school. The bond would also help fund renovation of a fifth school (Park View High School in Sterling). General obligation bonds are the cheapest and fastest way to finance new school construction.

For more details, please see the School Bond Referendum Fact Sheet.

ASHBURN FARM BOARD OF TRUSTEES OPPOSES THE LIGHTING OF CRITTENDEN PARK  Supports Compromise Plan of Lighting Nearby Chick Ford and Ryan Bickel Fields

At its March Board Meeting, the Ashburn Farm Board of Trustees voted unanimously to oppose the proposal of Dulles Little League to install stadium lighting at Crittenden Park. The decision was made after receiving overwhelmingly negative feedback on the proposal from Ashburn Farm homeowners, many of whom are also parents of children participating in Dulles Little League. The Board is concerned over the lack of the proposal’s due diligence to determine:

• The likely impact of the lights and noise on the immediate neighborhood;

• The parking and traffic issues for residents off Windmill Drive that would be caused by high-use lit fields at Crittenden;

• The safety of children and parents using Crittenden after dark with unlit parking lots and unlit adjacent residential roads commonly used for overflow parking;

• The implications for such a high concentration of stadium lighting already in or immediately adjacent to the community (Trailside Park, Stone Bridge HS, and Broad Run HS) and continued easy access of our residents to community facilities, such as Windmill pool and community center, tennis courts, pavilion, pond, community ball field and walking trails off Windmill Drive;

• The feasibility of installing stadium lighting at nearby Ford & Bickel baseball/softball fields off Ashburn Village Blvd. (near the Bloom grocery store) that is also frequently used by Dulles Little League and located in a commercial and not residential area.

The Board provided a letter to the Board of Supervisors (BOS) outlining its position on March 8, 2011, prior to the meeting of the BOS’ Finance and Government Services and Operations Committee meeting. As indicated in its letter to the Board of Supervisors, the Board of Trustees is sensitive to the underlying need for increased field access by Dulles Little League and other recreational/sporting organizations and leagues in Ashburn. However, the consequences of inadequate planning by the county in the past to provide needed facilities for Ashburn should not be disproportionately borne by one community or used as an excuse for continued poor planning (such as the lighting of Crittenden Park wholly within an already established residential community).

Rather, the Board urges the Board of Supervisors to look for win-win compromise that meets the needs, maximizes benefits for the entire Ashburn community, and minimizes the negative impact on any particular community to the maximum extent possible. The Board of Trustees believes that the lighting of the Ford & Bickel Fields represent that win-win solution in which Dulles Little League gains greater access to the fields it needs without putting added pressure on Crittenden and the surrounding community. These fields are also located at the crossroads of three of the major communities within Ashburn – Ashburn Farm, Ashburn Village and the Broadlands – from which DLL players come but not directly within any of them. We will attempt to continue to keep our community posted on any significant developments on this issue in the coming weeks and months.

UPDATES ON CRITTENDEN LIGHT ISSUE:

March 9, 2011

BOS Finance and Government Services and Operations Committee vote to recommend denial of Dulles Little League request to install stadium lighting at Crittenden Park, citing both technical zoning and planning concerns. (http://www.leesburg2day.com/articles/2011/03/13/ashburn_today/news/780lights031011.txt)

March 11, 2011

BOS Finance and Government Services and Operations Committee endorse funding for the lighting of the Ford & Bickel Fields and future third baseball/softball field at new elementary school as part of ES-22 construction funding to be made available next year. This underscores the Board of Supervisors’ sincerity in finding a true win-win solution on the issue. Hopefully Dulles Little League and the School Board/LCPS will begin collaborating to ensure that the school and field improvements are appropriately integrated to maximize this opportunity. (http://www.leesburg2day.com/articles/2011/03/13/ashburn_today/news/780cip031111.txt)

March 23, 2011
The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously to include $330,000 for stadium lighting in the construction cost of the new Ashburn elementary school (ES-22_ for both its new baseball field, as well as the two existing baseball fields at adjacent Ford & Bickel fields. This means that the need for the lighting of Crittenden Park no longer exists, and Dulles Little League (DLL) should gain three lit fields on which to play in the near future. This is better for DLL in that the league should gain three lit fields on which to play and ample parking which they will no longer need to pay for, enabling them to make other investments into Ford & Bickel field to bring them up to the quality of the fields at Crittenden.  This is truly a win-win solution that works well for both Dulles Little League and Ashburn Farm!

 

April 4, 2011
The Board of Supervisors approved the 2011 Capital Improvement Program (CIP) for the county that included $330,000 for the lighting of the new baseball field at ES-22, as well as the two fields at adjacent Ford and Bickel Fields. This clears the way for the entire ES-22 project, inclusive of the lights, to be put to bond referendum funding on the ballot this November for construction beginning as early as Spring 2012.

April 22, 2011
The Loudoun County Zoning Administration Office determined that a Special Exception would be required for any entity wishing to install lights at Crittenden Park. According to the zoning determination letter, this redetermination was made upon further consideration and consultation with the County Attorney. It runs contrary to information originally communicated to both Dulles Little League and the Ashburn Farm Association and makes it much more difficult for lights to be installed at such a park within a residential neighborhood. More information can be found in the following Leesburg Today article.