By Congressman GERALD E. CONNOLLY
Special to the Potomac News and Messenger

Changing our patterns of growth and development is the key to unlocking solutions to some of our region’s most difficult challenges — traffic congestion and poor air quality, unmitigated sprawl and disappearing open space. 

We must move to a new model that concentrates development near transit, while using federal and state tax incentives to preserve rural and open space. Realizing this new vision will require a
comprehensive approach recognizing the link between density in areas like North Woodbridge or Tysons Corner and the preservation of open space in locations such as Prince William’s Rural Crescent or
Clifton. 

Tough choices are required to make this vision a reality. Elected officials must make decisions that are not politically popular, at least in the short term. I have long championed extension of rail through Tysons Corner to Dulles, and have also introduced legislation to study the extension of Metro out Interstate 66 and down Interstate 95 into Prince William County. These rail extensions would allow focused development at transit nodes, thereby reducing the pressure to develop areas like the Rural Crescent.

Increased density at transit sites and rigorous preservation of open space are equally important pieces of a forward-thinking regional growth strategy. That’s why I applaud the Prince William Board of
County Supervisors for denying recent Comprehensive Plan Amendments that would have opened the Rural Crescent to increased development.

From Bull Run Mountain to Quantico, the Rural Crescent covers roughly 80,000 acres of scenic and environmentally sensitive land. It protects open space, preserves our environment by protecting air and
water quality, and maintains the rural character of western Prince William County. Last month, seven proposals to increase densities in the Rural Crescent were submitted to the Board of Supervisors.

The proposals would have added thousands of vehicle trips to Va. 28 and I-66 and would not have been served by transit.

The rejection of these amendments is both an opportunity and a warning. We have some time to find ways to protect land in the Rural Crescent permanently, but we also know that there will be more
pressure to develop the land. Permanent preservation of the Rural Crescent is a priority for me and I’m supporting legislation in Congress to help.

I have co-sponsored legislation with Congressmen Rob Wittman, Frank Wolf and Eric Cantor to make the existing federal tax deduction for conservation easements permanent, ensuring that landowners
in the Rural Crescent and elsewhere in Northern Virginia continue to have the opportunity and incentive to protect open space.

This federal tax break and other state deductions help private property owners preserve their land through conservation easements.  These tools allow landowners to keep land in their family, reduce their
tax burden and preserve open space. 

I am working with the Prince William Conservation Alliance to organize a workshop on conservation easements. We will have information on several federal conservation programs, including the Conservation Reserve Enhancement Program (CREP). Under CREP, landowners can receive money from the federal government to plant trees along streams and take other steps to protect environmentally sensitive land. 

By taking advantage of existing tax incentives and conservation programs and by proactively looking for opportunities to protect additional land, we can protect the Rural Crescent for generations to come.
I look forward to working with citizens and the Board of Supervisors in Prince William to protect this irreplaceable asset, and I hope to meet you at our workshop.

All of us in Northern Virginia are victims of sprawl and transportation nightmares caused by past failures to understand the importance of addressing issues regionally. A regional smart growth strategy
recognizes that the fate of the Rural Crescent is inextricably linked to that of Tysons Corner, and vice versa.