Loudoun Now for Oct. 25, 2018

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LoudounNow LOUDOUN COUNTY’S COMMUNITY-OWNED NEWS SOURCE

[ Vol. 3, No. 49 ]

[ loudounnow.com ]

DeKenipp steps down from School Board

10

[ October 25, 2018 ]

Douglas Graham/Loudoun Now

The future of Rogers Farm, the largest undeveloped tract inside the Leesburg Bypass, is top of mind for the Leesburg Town Council, which is hoping to place some of the property’s structures under historic district protections just as the owners want to sell it to a developer. (Inset) The initial plans for the Rogers Farm property show 162 single-family homes.

Developer Plans 162 Homes on Rogers Farm; Leesburg Council Eyes Preservation Options BY KARA C. RODRIGUEZ

O

ne of the last vestiges of rural living in Leesburg is proposed for development, and it has left Leesburg leaders scrambling for ways to protect what they believe are historic structures.

Over the summer, plans by Stanley Martin Homes to acquire the 63-acre Rogers Farm property and develop it into a single-family home development spurred a strong reaction from both Leesburg Town Council members and area residents. The property, across Dry Mill Road from Loudoun County High School, is the largest undeveloped tract

inside the Leesburg Bypass. It has long operated as a horse farm. The owner, Samuel H. Rogers, died in 2015, and the property is under contract from the family’s estate. A preliminary subdivision plat under review by the town staff proposes 162 single-family homes in a cluster option under R-4 zoning, or four units per acre.

As presented, it is a by-right application that would not require review by the Town Council. In June, the town’s Board of Architectural Review called a special meeting where it adopted an updated list of properties worthy of inclusion in the ROGERS FARM >> 38

Loudoun Supervisors Approve Purchase to Expand State Park BY RENSS GREENE County supervisors took one of the last local steps to establish a state park in northwestern Loudoun on Thursday, passing the baton—and almost 900

acres of land—to the state government. Supervisors reached a deal Thursday afternoon with the Robert and Dee Leggett Foundation to buy a 281-acre parcel off Harpers Ferry Road near Neersville for $2.9 million. The property was

appraised at $3.5 million in 2016 for the Leggett Foundation and is listed in county tax records at an assessed value of $2.2 million. It joins 604 acres previously donated to the state by the Leggett Foundation.

The additional land includes the trails and park facilities of the Blue Ridge Center for Environmental Stewardship, creating what supervisors say is a readyPARK EXPANSION >> 38

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