Preservationism in Front Royal: Un-Rig the System and We All Win

Small-town America is going extinct. Revitalization can no longer just be a buzzword; it must be a slew of actions aggressively pursued by local government, local businesses, and local builders, all working in tandem.

Front Royal is one of the most charming towns in Virginia.

In many ways, it has been preserved from the onslaught of overdevelopment, sky-high taxes, and bad traffic that has made most of Northern Virginia a dystopian suburban hellscape in the last 20 years.

In order to save Front Royal from becoming like Loudoun, or worse, we need to put preservationism and small-town charm at the center of our political and economic agenda.

An upcoming proposal on the Town Council’s agenda for January 22 would make sweeping changes to our town code. These changes would allow for “Planned Neighborhood Development” re-zones to be considered on parcels as small as 5 acres.

Currently, only developments and re-zones on much larger 50-acre parcels can be considered by the town.

This proposal would open the floodgates to the re-zoning of many town properties and would almost certainly cause development to run rampant through our small town.

The council is considering this proposal due to a group of local builders who want to build a small mixed-use neighborhood. Because our town code does not allow for a special exemption or “variance” for properties under 50 acres, the builders cannot apply for a one-time variance for their specific project.

A variance would allow for smaller local builders to request a zoning change for smaller properties and parcels; the council would then consider whether or not the project fit the needs of the town, the public would have a chance to weigh in, and ultimately, the project would be approved or denied on the merits of the specific project in question.

Unfortunately, the current proposal before the town would overhaul the entire code instead of dealing with development projects on a case-by-case basis.

Those in favor of the proposal argue that only large properties of 50 or more acres can be re-zoned for development, therefore only large developers have the opportunity (money and power) to make their case in front of the town council in order to have their property re-zoned.

At first glance, this argument holds up. There is a need for affordable housing in the area: why not allow smaller developers, buying smaller parcels, the chance to make their case for a re-zone like any of the larger developers who have the means to afford 50-acre parcels can?

Unfortunately, the risk of unleashing large, unscrupulous developers in our small town is far too great. In the name of helping the little guy, high-paid lawyers in fancy suits working for big development companies will come in and drown out our own local builders financially, bureaucratically, and politically.

Here are a couple of reasons why it is clear that this will happen:

First, this code change opens up a vast array of new properties to potential re-zones, far more than the town needs. Specifically, we need affordable housing, and that may or may not require a few re-zones, but the amount of parcels this code change would allow to be bought up and potentially developed far exceeds the need, especially when revitalization and preservation of historic homes should be addressed long before hundreds of new homes are built.

Second, it will be large developers buying up parcels left and right and using their unlimited resources to secure re-zones. NOT local developers. Large national developers could easily buy up 10 different small properties and develop them all, for instance. The potential for buying historic homes, bulldozing them, and building apartments on those historic lots is another concern that should be taken into consideration and addressed.

All that being said, there is still a way that both local builders and preservationists can win: un-rig the system.

Like most things in modern America, the housing development industry is rigged against the little guy. Wealthy and powerful national corporations currently have vast advantages over local builders.

The process of fixing this is much simpler and safer than a full zoning overhaul: change the current code to expand the kind of INDIVIDUAL variance applications that can be submitted so that local builders can pitch their project, the public can weigh in, and the town can decide if a re-zone should move forward on an INDIVIDUAL basis.

It is time we become proactive in our efforts to both revitalize and preserve our town.

This is just one issue of many that will come up in the years ahead.

I recommend that our Town Council tell our planning director to go back to the drawing board, look at our Variance application rules, and revise those, not make sweeping changes to the code that opens up the floodgate of development.

While we are at it, let’s figure out a way for the Town of Front Royal to incentivize, through tax breaks and other forms of encouragement, the revitalization and preservation of houses and buildings in our historic neighborhoods and districts. Surely, that’s an investment that would drive tourism revenue and open up affordable housing opportunities.

Thomas Hinnant
Front Royal, VA

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