Proposal Aims to Get Richmond's Attention
By Timothy Dwyer
Washington Post Staff Writer
Friday, November 24, 2006; Page B01
Prince William County will consider a radical proposal to get the governor and legislature to do something about Northern Virginia's traffic-choked highways: Stop building houses for a year.
Supervisor W.S. Covington III (R-Brentsville), who has been on the board for three years, introduced a resolution this week to freeze housing construction for 12 months. Next month supervisors will discuss his proposal, which has prompted lively reaction from his colleagues, the building industry and Gov. Timothy M. Kaine (D), who said during his campaign that development should be linked to transportation improvements.
"This is something we need to do to get the governor's and the General Assembly's attention," Covington said. "The resolution recognizes the fact that there is a limit as to how far local governments can go. The state has been collecting these tax dollars for years, and they have been neglecting our infrastructure."
The county has grown 72 percent over 15 years, from 215,686 to 371,181 residents, with an accompanying explosion of housing. Some people in the housing industry reacted to Covington's proposal with horror and derision.
Link:
http://www.washingtonpost.com/wp-dyn/content/article/2006/11/23/AR2006112301008.html********************************************************************
Hard as it is to believe, I'm in rare agreement with Wally Covington on this issue. :wow:
:wow: