February Update - Senate Bill 628 980208

On January 26, a bill was introduced in Richmond to force the Virginia Department of Transportation to cease and desist on the Western Transportation Corridor. The bill can be reviewed on the state site, which will also show you the text of the bill.

For those not wishing to visit the state site, the bill is posted below:

SENATE BILL NO. 628

Offered January 26, 1998

A BILL to suspend certain actions related to the Western Transportation Corridor.

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Patrons-- Gartlan and Chichester

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Referred to the Committee on Transportation

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Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:

1. § 1. The Department of Transportation shall immediately halt all actions; studies; analyses; negotiation and letting of contracts, including those for consultant or engineering services; surveys; preparation of plans; and any associated activities being carried out by the Department, its officers, agents, or employees in connection with or in preparation for the so-called Western Transportation Corridor.

§ 2. The suspension of activities, as provided in this act, shall remain in effect until this act is repealed by the General Assembly.

2. That an emergency exists and this act is in force from its passage.

A public hearing will be held on this bill in Richmond on Thursday, February 12. Information on attending this hearing may be found on the Peidmont Enviornmental Council site. CARD urges all that can to attend, transportation is available.

To summarize, the public hearing is Thursday, Feb. 12 at 2 PM in Senate Room B of the General Assembly building in Richmond. The purpose is to hear testimony on Senate Bill 628 (Joseph Gartlan, D-Fairfax), which places a moratorium on all Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) actions related to the Western Transportation Corridor.

CARD urges as many people as possible to visit their delegates on this day and to hand out material on the WTC in addition to attending the public hearing. There will be rides available from the commuter parking lot north of Warrenton (corner Routes 605 [Dumfies Rd.] & 29). Please call Jolly de Give of the PEC at (540) 347-2334 if you need a ride to Richmond.

CARD has also learned that Prince William´s Developer/Supervisor Wilbourn has added an agenda item for the Tuesday, February 10th, board meeting to write some sort of letter to Richmond to urge that the Bill be blocked. CARD urges its members to attend the meeting and voice disapproval for such a measure. CARD urges all to contract supervisors and urge them to support Senate Bill 628 before the meeting on Tuesday. E-mail addresses for most of the supervisors may be found on the CARD site.

CARD speculates that if the Prince William Board of Supervisors has a message for Richmond, that the message would be to urge the State Attorney General to have the State Police to start the criminal investigation of Developer/Supervisor Wilbourn. You can read about this in The Washington Post.

A final note, the Prince William Forum in the Washington Post has posed the question this week, Should Prince William County adopt the "Rural Crescent"? CARD urges all to express support for the most responsible approach to county long-range planning to come down the pike in years. On the Web, the Prince WIlliam Forum may be found on the Washington Post site.

See You in Richmond Thursday!

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