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 has dropped from the number one fastest growing county in the country to eighth.

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.

As one example, Lori worked for over two years negotiating with Miller & Smith on the One Loudoun World Trade Center application. The residential unit count was cut from nearly 2500 to around 1000, which includes affordable and workforce housing. The applicant will also be giving a 20-acre school site, building 4 ballfields, designing and constructing the interchange at Ashburn Village Blvd and Route 7, connecting Russell Branch over to Loudoun County Parkway, adding two additional lanes to Marblehead, and has phased development so that office, retail, and residential uses track together in a mixed-use town center design, similar to the design of the Reston Town Center but lower density. The One Loudoun project will bring Class A office buildings and upscale restaurants and shopping to our community.

Another example in the Broad Run District, Lori negotiated to significantly reduce residential units in the Lansdowne Village Green application while gaining needed funds to build 4 more classrooms for Seldens Landing Elementary School, installation of two red lights (ahead of their development), additional funds for Belmont Ridge Road improvements, upgraded community retail and office in a town center setting, and more.

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.

In November 2006, Lori voted against the Dulles South Transition Area Comprehensive Plan Amendment because the burdens outweighed the benefits. While the developers would proffer some road improvements and government facilities, the prospect of an additional 36,000 homes would have 1) further overwhelmed many roads in and out of the county, 2) called for over $1 billion in capital improvements on only 3% of Loudoun's land area, and 3) put significant pressure on the county budget in order to cover operating expenses for schools, parks, libraries, etc.

In December 2006, Lori voted against the Crosstrails Comprehensive Plan Amendment because the change in the land use designation to "Business Community" would mean up to 25 percent of the Crosstrails land could be used for residential development - right next to the Leesburg Airport. The Peterson Companies proposed a mixed-use town center as well as suburban-style development on the 491 acre Crosstrails parcel adjoining the Leesburg airport. Both the County and Leesburg Town Plans have long called for high-end office on this site. While Lori supports mixed-use development and recognizes Peterson Companies for its design and quality, the Crosstrails parcel is the absolute wrong location - not only because of the airport, but also because of the poor transportation infrastructure. The Board majority also finally came to this conclusion and rejected Crosstrails in July 2007.

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 opposed the Staton Plan because it: 1) did not include the rezoning option, 2) penalized property owners who want to spin-off one lot at a time, 3) has no minimum lot size in some clustered developments, 4) was put out for consideration in Sept. 2006, just prior to when the vote was to occur and therefore forced a prolonged process, 5) was not vetted through the Rural Economic Development Council or the Zoning Ordinance Review Committee, and 6) was not overwhelmingly supported by County residents, especially in comparison to the Clem-Burton Plan.

Supervisor Waters' Republican opponent took no position on Lansdowne Village Green, the One Loudoun World Trade Center, the rural zoning, Ridgewater Park, the Dulles South Transition Area Plan Amendment, or Crosstrails as well as has failed to discuss how he would vote on any land use application or change to the Comprehensive Plan that would allow thousands of more houses.

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