Another factor that has caused growth in taxes and the county budget is the population growth of the county. More people mean more service needs, including schools, public safety, parks and recreation, and social services. Loudoun County's growth rate is slowing, and the county is no longer the fastest growing county in the country.

The Loudoun County government does not have the legally authority to stop all residential building in the county. However, the Board of Supervisors does have authority over land use planning. Lori believes the Plan should support a suburban east and a rural west. When evaluating land use applications to rezone property, balance is essential. Developers can provide needed school sites, parks, roads, and more. Lori evaluates each application to determine the benefits for current residents. In some instances, the benefits outweigh the burdens, but in some instances they do not.

Lori has consistently pushed for and succeeded in negotiating upfront proffer commitments, especially for roads and parks. She has also pushed developers to minimize density while providing more amenities for both current and future residents, such as more ball fields, adequate parking especially in townhouse areas, a mixture of affordable housing types - including single family detached, a variety of lot sizes, play grounds (and benches for moms and dads), sidewalks on both sides of the street, pool memberships for residents outside of the new neighborhood, and much more. She has also voted against applications for not providing benefits to current residents.

On March 20, 2007, Supervisor Lori Waters was a deciding vote against the Ridgewater Park Comprehensive Plan Amendment, which would have opened up a new section of the county to thousands of new homes. She voted against this project because there was no justification provided for a 12-fold increase in density. This area along the north side of the Greenway and Goose Creek Reservoir is an environmentally sensitive area, constrained by high-tension power lines and gas lines, and cannot be directly accessed off the Greenway. Furthermore, Ridgewater could have created a "ripple effect" and resulted in the entire Transition Area being dismantled. Paying for growth is tough today; how would we pay for more schools, parks, sheriff's deputies, and firefighters for thousands more? With no environmental, transportation, or fiscal studies, Supervisor Waters joined four other Supervisors in denying this change to the Comprehensive Plan.

With a goal to keep western Loudoun rural for both residents choosing that lifestyle and for rural economy businesses, Lori supported the Clem-Burton Plan which was devised after the Virginia Supreme Court reinstated A-3 (one house per three acres) zoning to western Loudoun in March 2005. Lori's plan, which was largely rolled into the Clem-Burton Plan, sought to balance property rights and government spending by proposing a variety of density development options, including rezonings to help offset some of the costs of growth. The Clem-Burton Plan also differed from the zoning put in place by the previous Board, which had not allowed rezonings or spin-off lots. After 18 months of deliberations, the Board voted 5 to 4 to approve the Staton Plan over the Clem-Burton Plan.

Lori Waters: A Supervisor with a Record you can Trust