1. How do you plan to address Loudoun’s housing affordability crisis?

Early in this term, the Board took the first step by supporting my Board Member Initiative to change Article 7 and Chapter 1450, which now allows access to HUD and VHDA funding for workforce rental housing. This is just one small step. Without a rezoning, the County does not yield new ADUs. The current situation is not sustainable. Additional opportunities should be established to leverage the Housing Trust Fund. Incentives should be offered during rezoning applications for additional ADUs and/or workforce housing units. Ultimately, the County should look for additional options to develop a long-term, sustainable solution for our housing needs.

2. Currently, roughly half of Loudoun County’s Capital Investment Plan is dedicated to transportation improvements. Do you support this level of priority for transportation investment? Please explain why, or why not.

The Board of Supervisors initiated investment in transportation projects early in my first term with dedicating two cents of the tax rate to transportation. Improving our transportation infrastructure is beneficial to our businesses and residents alike. Having excellent transportation infrastructure can also assist with economic development efforts, which benefits the community as well. With Metrorail scheduled to arrive as well, it is important that we have a fully functional transportation system to ensure access to those facilities. I fully support continuing this level of support for our transportation infrastructure.

3. Should Loudoun continue to encourage the future growth of our data center industry or do you feel certain restrictions are necessary?

Loudoun County has been very successful in attracting the data center industry and is just beginning to see the ancillary business market develop due to this industry. The data center industry is a long-term sustainable targeted business cluster, which will provide a steady tax base for our County. The County initiated a Data Center ZOAM several years ago and those zoning amendments have yielded great improvements to the appearance of newly constructed data centers. This ZOAM process worked well as the County worked with the data center community. We always get the best results when we work with our business partners. Any future discussions related to the data center industry should be conducted in the same manner.

4. On June 20th the Board of Supervisors adopted the 2019 Comprehensive Plan. What are your thoughts on the adopted plan and how will you seek to improve upon it?

Many view the adopted plan as a compromise. The difficulty is you cannot compromise on a need. The Housing Needs Assessment clearly demonstrated the need for housing, including affordable housing. Our workforce is made up of doctors, lawyers, engineers and other entrepreneurs. However, it is also made up of waitresses, nurses, deputies, plumbers, teachers and secretaries. I would work with my colleagues to review the information compiled during the Comprehensive Plan process and advocate for improvements to the plan to yield the housing the County needs to further our economic development goals, which benefits every family in the community.

5. How will you seek to address the scarcity of available Class A office space in Loudoun County?

With the limited amount of available housing, it is difficult for a property owner to attract a Class A office user. Unless it is a local move, a commercial business cannot risk relocation of employees without ensuring adequate housing supply for existing employees. Conversely, with our current unemployment rate at 2.5%, a commercial business cannot risk relocation as they would have difficulty hiring new employees. We must increase our housing inventory for the prospective Class A office space user. With increased housing, the commercial business would have options for relocating employees and/or a larger pool of potential new hires.

 
6. Please tell us why you are the best candidate for this office.

Loudoun County has several large critical issues facing the next Board of Supervisors. The Zoning Ordinance Implementation phase of the Comprehensive Plan will be a significant undertaking. Changes to the Zoning Ordinance will also have implications for other documents, such as the Facilities Standards Manual. With my prior service on the Planning Commission and eight years on the Transportation & Land Use Committee, I have the knowledge and skills for this endeavor. The arrival of the Metrorail system is another monumental project. Currently Supervisor Letourneau and I are the only two members running, who served during the opt-in/opt-out process, the tax district/service district development, the TIFIA loan process, the garages, etc. It is critically important to have some continuity to ensure the plans that have been laid out are properly executed.
 

Source: BizVotes Candidates Questionnaire