Save Crow's Nest Voter Guide,
2007 Supervisor Election
Overall Grade | Candidate |
Candidate
Name: Tom Coen District:
George Washington Incumbent (yes/no): No Party affiliation: Republican Website: TomCoen.org |
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Total Herons | 3 |
Total Bulldozers | 6 |
Grade | Question |
Question
1. Previously,
the State of If
elected, will you vote in favor of SCN
position: YES. Save Crow’s Nest helped prepare the loan
application and solicited letters from our members on behalf of the loan
application. Candidate
response: I will say that when this option came up in the past I thought it was worthy of exploring and advocated doing that. We should not be confined by old ways of looking at issues. |
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Question
2. In the
1970s, a large portion of Crow’s Nest was rezoned to an A-2
designation, which allows one house per acre. This land use designation
is for transitional areas of the County that are served by either public
water or public sewer. None of the properties on Crow’s Nest are
served by public water or public sewer, and almost all of the properties
on and surrounding the peninsula are zoned A-1, which requires 3 acres
per house. If
elected, will you vote in favor of “right zoning” land on the
Crow’s Nest peninsula to A-1 agricultural land use? SCN
position: YES. This is a position that
Save Crow’s Nest has repeatedly advocated in favor of. See #2 from
this 2005 piece, "10 Things Stafford
County Supervisors can do now to help save Crow's Nest." Candidate response: During
my efforts with the Trust for Crows Nest and Save Crows Nest I was
concerned by this very issue. The possibility of one house per
acre is one that threatens the nature of that land, as does the
continued legal efforts to extend water and sewer. These issues
are also under litigation and so commenting could endanger the current
efforts. It is
worth noting that in the lesson plan that I created for local government
that was centered on the Crows Nest issue these very topics are brought
to the table so that the students will understand the ramifications of
the one house per acre and the extension of services. They also
explore options- including changing the zoning. This lesson has
been used in other schools in |
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Question
3. Creeks
surrounded by steep slopes and highly erodible soils are dominant on
Crow’s Nest. These landscape conditions necessitate the use of
cut-and-fill development practices and have significant negative impacts
on water quality. Although prevention is considerably more economical
than mitigation, this year the Board of Supervisors voted to kill Water
Resource Overlay legislation. This ordinance would have protected
sensitive water resources such as those on Crow’s Nest. If
elected, will you vote in favor of the Water Resource Overlay ordinance,
and vote in favor of designating all of the land on the peninsula east
of SCN position: YES. Save Crow’s Nest testified in favor of this legislation, which was effectively killed in 2007 in a 4-3 vote. See Water Resource Protection Overlay on the Stafford County Supervisors' Report Card.
Candidate response: There is certainly a need to protect the quality of our water throughout the county. On the Comprehensive Plan Steering Committee I brought environmental issues to the discussion, seeking input from people such as Nan Rollison, Patricia Kurpiel and Becky Reed as well as inviting an expert from the Tri County Soil and Water to speak. I also pressed for measures to ensure our valuable streams and creeks, especially inside the Urban Services Area. Clearly a Water Resource Overlay ordinance is something to be created for the entire county, including Crows Nest.
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Question
4. There are many historical
and cultural resources on the Crow’s Nest peninsula. For
example, an October 2005 archaeological survey of only a small portion
(450 acres) of Crow's Nest identified 47 new archaeological sites, 14 of
which meet the criteria for listing on the National Registrar of
Historic Places. The County has an existing ordinance, the Historical
Resource District Overlay, which could be used to facilitate protection
of these resources, but so far has not designated any part of Crow’s
Nest as an historical district. If
elected, will you vote in favor of designating
all of the land on the peninsula east of SCN position: YES. This is a position that Save Crow’s Nest has repeatedly advocated in favor of. As stated in testimony before the Board of Supervisors on June 5, 2007, "the Board could designate the entire peninsula as a historic resource. There are numerous cultural and historical resources on the peninsula. A "Phase I" archaeological study of 450 acres on the eastern half of the Crow's Nest peninsula identified 47 new archaeological sites—14 of which meet the criteria for listing on the National Registrar of Historic Places—and 57 isolated finds. These sites are in addition to the existing six recorded sites on the property. The Historic Resource designation will not permanently protect the cultural and historical resources on the peninsula. However, if the owner wants to alter the resource, the owner must give the County up to a year to purchase the property a reasonable price. And hasn't the matter of fair price been much of the issue in purchasing Crow's Nest?” Candidate response: This is an interesting possibility. Of course there would have to be Phase I and Phase II surveys conducted. Once all the information is available it is worthy of exploring. On the Steering Committee I supported Anita Dodd’s efforts to have historic and cultural resources identified and protected. As a history teacher I understand fully how important these resources are. While touring Crows Nest I sought out the historic sites. As with our water resources, there is a need to address our historic and cultural resources throughout the county and preserve them for future generations. |
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Question
5. Crow’s
Nest provides an extraordinary habitat for a variety of animals and
plants, in part due to the contiguous nature of the property. There have
been some suggestions that a cluster development, which would increase
the building density on one part of the property and leave a portion of
the property in open space, is one solution to Crow’s Nest. This would
fragment the property and destroy wildlife habitat. If
elected, will you vote in favor of a plan for a cluster development on
Crow’s Nest? SCN
position: NO.
Building dense residential development on Crow’s Nest will not
“save” it. Candidate response: In creating my lesson plan I made sure this too was looked at- including the impacts of it. As with all development, clustering has its drawbacks. The goal of mine has always been to protect all of Crows Nest from development. That is what I have worked towards for five years now. I do not envision it changing.
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Question
6 and question 7. The Crow’s Nest Harbour is an area of
almost 1,000 acres that was subdivided into lots in the 1970’s. There
is a deed restriction on the lots in Crow’s Nest Harbour which
prohibits the use of well water. Currently, there are not any plans to
extend public water or sewer to the Crow’s Nest peninsula. 6.
If elected, will you vote in favor of extending public water to
the Crow’s Nest area? SCN position: NO. Candidate
response: As a member of the Steering Committee I voted on a great
many issues, including what areas are to be inside the Urban Services
Area (USA) and thereby being able to have water and sewer services.
One of the constant themes in our votes was to contract the 7.
If elected, will you vote in favor of lifting the deed
restriction? SCN position: NO. Candidate response: I see no reason to alter the current status. |
Question
8. The current Board of Supervisors has at various times
voted in favor of road projects that will facilitate development of
Crow’s Nest. These projects include the reconstruction of Courthouse
(almost completed) and Andrew Chapel Roads, the reconstruction of the
bridge on Courthouse Road, the hard surfacing of Rt 609/Raven Rd (the
road that runs through Crow’s Nest), and a proposal to rebuild the
bridge on Raven Rd at the entrance of Crow’s Nest. If
elected, will you vote in favor of removing the Andrew Chapel, bridge
replacement and Candidate response: To
be honest the premise of the question is misleading. The road
measures mentioned have been discussed as they relate to the VRE and
facilitating its use. It clearly is in the interest of everyone to
remove the number of autos from Interstate 95 each day, sitting there
billowing fumes into the atmosphere. If a project is clearly one to facilitate the development of Crows Nest, especially during the ongoing negotiations, then it should not be taking place. |
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Question
9. The current Board of Supervisors passed the “Traditional
Neighborhood Development” ordinance, which allows dense residential
development. One project submitted under this ordinance, Stafford Town
Station, proposes to place up to 2,250 housing units on land currently
approved for 145 homes, and in exchange, provide money from cash
proffers that might be used to assist in the purchase of Crow’s Nest.
Another developer has had an option to purchase portions of Crow’s
Nest and has actually purchased lots in Crow’s Nest Harbour. That
developer has suggested at various times an exchange of protected
property on Crow’s Nest for dense residential development—up to
12,000 housing units--on Widewater. Both
these proposals would create more housing units than can be built on
Crow’s Nest. If
elected, will you vote in favor of rezonings for dense residential
development in exchange for the protection of a portion of Crow’s Nest
if those rezonings will create more housing units than can be built on
Crow’s Nest? SCN
position: NO. Save Crow’s Nest is
opposed to saving Crow’s Nest “at any cost,” meaning that we do
not support a bad deal for taxpayers. See "Not
in the name of Crow's Nest." Candidate response: Any TND, or
any development, MUST be examined for its impact on the entire county,
not just its immediate impact but long term as well. I favor
PLANNING for the future- that includes the impact the development will
have. Any plans must be in the long term interest of |
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What else would you like the
members of Save Crow’s Nest and other voters to know about your
position on Crow’s Nest? Candidate statement: My
commitment to saving this land is matched by ACTIVE involvement. It is
not an election year ploy, but a commitment that is acted on throughout
the year; year after year. Thank you
Tom Coen |