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Board approves immigration measures, land deal
Residents in parts of Sterling Park have been put on notice: Clean up your property or expect to see a county zoning inspector at your front door.
In response to numerous complaints of littered lawns, abandoned cars and overcrowded homes, the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors unanimously agreed Dec. 4 to ramp up zoning inspections of certain parts of Sterling Park.
Called "hot spots" by zoning officials, two Sterling streets -- North Argonne Avenue and Williamsburg Road -- have been singled out to be targeted more frequently over the next six months by county inspectors.
During a recent visit to North Argonne by this reporter, at least two houses had cars parked on their front and back lawns. Another had a vacuum cleaner disposed of on its front lawn. Damaged fences and piles of phone books were common sights.
This matter is one among a host of measures supervisors are examining as means of making Loudoun less hospitable to illegal immigrants.
Though the measure received unanimous backing from the board, Supervisor Jim Burton (I-Blue Ridge) was cautious over how the increased enforcement would reflect on Sterling Park.
“I don’t want to get into a situation where we are creating some sort of police state or super HOA,” he said at a committee of the whole meeting Nov. 29.
At Tuesday's board business meeting, supervisors also voted in favor of adding language to contracts with companies the county works with, requiring they comply with federal immigration laws.
Furthermore, they decided to require that parents who want to place their children in after-school programs offered by the county's Department of Park, Recreation and Community Services sign a document certifying that each child is a legal resident of the country.
"I don't want to tell any of my constituents that their children will have to be put on a waiting list because their spot was taken by someone here illegally," said Supervisor Lori Waters (R-Broad Run).
Land purchase
Also on Tuesday, supervisors agreed to buy 145 acres of land located behind the Sheriff's Office's new jail south of Leesburg for $5.5 million from Leesburg real estate investor Salvatore Cangiano.
Both county and school system facilities will be built on the property, which is east of Sycolin Road. One intended use of the site, according to County Administrator Kirby Bowers, is that of a depot for school and public transit buses.
During a break in Tuesday's meeting, Bowers and Supervisor Sally Kurtz (D-Catoctin) each said the county's future government center is not being considered for this parcel.
Kurtz, whose district includes the parcel, also called $5.5 million "a good deal" because "it is 145 acres," she stressed. Earlier this year, the board was criticized for spending too much on the Islamic Saudi Academy property in Ashburn, for which it paid $13.5 million in 2004.
Though the deal ultimately fell through, in 2003 the school system had negotiated to buy this same Cangiano property for $2.9 million, county records indicate.
Settlement is tentatively scheduled for late December.
In 1991, the county bought 695 acres from Cangiano for $4.1 million to create the Banshee Reeks Nature Preserve near the county's landfill in Leesburg.
Times-Mirror staff writer Shannon Sollinger contributed to this report.
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