Stafford supervisor calls for bond referendum to preserve Potomac Creek peninsula

By RUTH FINCH

Date published: 4/20/2004

Goal: Saving Crow's Nest

The idea of saving Crow's Nest through a bond referendum put to Stafford County voters has been resurrected.

Kandy Hilliard, the Stafford supervisor whose district includes the environmentally fragile peninsula between Potomac and Accokeek creeks, said yesterday that she will ask her colleagues today to direct county staff to draft a resolution calling for a referendum.

Virginia tried to buy the 3,800-acre tract for preservation as a natural area. But state officials' negotiations with its owner broke down late last year, sparking a grass-roots effort to save the historic parcel from development.

"One of the reasons cited for the breakdown in communications between the state and the [land]owner was the lack of actual funding," Hilliard said yesterday.

"In order for the county to come to the table and establish any kind of meaningful dialogue about the purchase of Crow's Nest, a funding source must be in place. A bond referendum will provide that source."

Her comments came during a news conference last night, breaking more than six weeks of silence by the Board of Supervisors on how Crow's Nest could be preserved.

Six weeks ago, Hilliard said County Attorney Alda White had advised supervisors not to say anything about Crow's Nest while the landowner, K&M Properties of McLean, appeals a county official's recent rejection of the 1971 zoning for the tract. That plan called for 4,000 homes, with a convention center, golf course and a heliport.

But yesterday, Hilliard said she was going against White's advice because news that luxury home builder Toll Brothers Inc. has a contract to buy the tract persuaded her of the need for public action.

She didn't specify yesterday when the bond referendum would be held, or how much money the county would borrow, or whether the bond issue would cause real-estate taxes to increase. Those details will be worked out in coming weeks as county officials draft the resolution, she said.

Charlie Fuller, spokesman for the local conservation group Save Crow's Nest, said he applauds Hilliard for taking the first step.

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Date published: 4/20/2004