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Risks of decaying limestone overlooked too long
Plans to safeguard Loudoun from limestone decay have put residents and county officials between a rock and a hard place.
The hazards need to be addressed, but they come at a cost. Still, we think the costs are worthwhile. Nothing less than public health and safety are at risk.
Sinkholes and limestone decay are already causing water contamination in several neighborhoods. It is in Loudoun residents' best interest to block further development on these properties, which will only add to health issues if not prevented.
How the county can do this is by creating a special Limestone Overlay District, which would limit growth in parts of Loudoun to avoid further disruption of limestone and to put fewer people at risk in those areas. It's a plan already put in motion by Loudoun government officials.
The expense passed on to homeowners in this district may come in terms of decreased property values and the inability to get home insurance coverage for damages caused by limestone-related damage. However, the medical costs and the funding needed to replace contaminated wells in this area will be higher.
The majority of complaints on the planned Limestone Overlay District, voiced at a recent public hearing, were on the limitations to property improvements – including installing swimming pools, extending gardens and more.
Choosing lives over leisure is common sense, and it shows the current Board of Supervisors is looking after the residents’ best interest rather than the interest of residential developers, a stance held by the previous board.
Rather than being outraged at the supervisors for forming a plan to restrict their ability to put in pools or add on to homes, residents should be outraged that no action was taken sooner.
A detailed study of the fissures and failures in Loudoun's limestone subterranean were studied and documented thoroughly in the early 1990s, according to county staff.
Officials knew then the risk of any development over limestone-saturated areas. This includes Town of Leesburg officials who allowed developments like Exeter to be built. Neighbors there are seeing sinkholes large enough to engulf pine trees.
So who's to blame for allowing this to get out of control? Those who placed developers’ demands above public safety. In this case, it was not one vote that allowed for residential growth here, but rather a series of neglectful inactions by previous county leadership.
Although nothing can be done right now to rectify development mistakes in the proposed Limestone Overlay District, ignoring the impact of further development could mean choosing money over what really matters -- lives.
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