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Brito wants development controlled
Hartwood resident hopes that as supervisor he can help Stafford preserve environmental, historic sites.
Date published: 1/6/2006
By MEGHANN COTTER
As a Northern Virginia native, Joe Brito experienced what mismanaged growth could do to a community.
He watched as valuable historic sites were torn down to make room for modern development.
Properties were rezoned and construction sites were approved with little thought for transportation solutions.
And green space became a rarity.
Now that he's been elected to the Hartwood District seat on the Board of Supervisors, he's hoping he can spare Stafford County residents from seeing the same happen to them.
"I've seen some mistakes up there and I think I've learned from some of those mistakes," he said.
Brito, 44, works as a mechanical engineer at Madonna House, a seniors community in Fredericksburg. He has been active with several grass-roots managed-growth groups since his family moved to Stafford about 11 years ago. He and his wife, Cindy, have two sons Eric, 24, and Max, 15.
They came to the area because they wanted to be in the country, away from the congestion in the Fairfax-Falls Church area.
They live on seven acres off Rocky Run Road, and Brito built their home himself.
But he said he has been frustrated by the way growth has been allowed to close in, especially in his mostly rural district.
Traffic and development are spreading up U.S. 17, he said. Large neighborhoods are creeping south from the highly populated Garrisonville District. And there has been little or no effort to protect the county's historic and environmental sites, he said.
Meanwhile, Brito, an independent, and several of his neighbors stand to lose large chunks of their property to the planned Rocky Pen Reservoir, necessary to address the county's growing water needs.
"I wasn't happy with the way the county was being run, and I thought I could make a difference," he said. "I have a lot of ideas and want to put them on the table and see how it goes."
Concerned with preservation and tourism issues, he plans to review developers' proposals with a critical eye.
In the next 10 years, Stafford will need more money for roads than there will be funding from all sources, he said. And that is not considering the population growth and additional needs that may come up. So development, he said, will have to start paying for itself.
"I plan on being very cautious about looking at the fine print," he said. "I want to shut down the loopholes."
He also wants work on ordinances that would set higher standards for county growth, preventing certain environmentally sensitive areas, grave sites and historic structures from being disturbed.
He is most concerned about the future of Crow's Nest, a 4,000-acre peninsula between the Potomac and Accokeek creeks that's home to rare plant and animal species. The property owner, however, is seeking approval to develop it.
"Some things need to be sacred," Brito said.
To reach MEGHANN COTTER: 540/374-5434
Email: mcotter@freelancestar.com
Read more stories about Stafford
Date published: 1/6/2006
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