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December 10, 2020 · OPINION
Town rushing to lessen oversight of development
Warrenton
Easily the most consequential zoning in Warrenton’s history, an under-the-radar ordinance amendment to allow residential development on 250 acres of commercial land, is racing to a hearing before the town planning commission on Tuesday, Dec. 15.
In the middle of a pandemic surge.
In the busy holiday season.
With key questions unanswered.
What’s the rush?
At stake is nothing less than the future of Warrenton as a small town.
It may be a splendid idea to convert vacant commercial land, including lightly used parking lots, to residential use. The catch is that construction would be “by-right.” That means no public hearing to review building plans based on scope, size and design. Simply apply for a permit and build.
By-right zoning is a planning tool commonly used to attract development. With mounting demand for housing in Warrenton, why is it necessary to roll out the red carpet for builders? Why jumpstart residential construction before addressing even the most basic questions. For example:
• How many housing units will be built? One hundred or hundreds of hundreds? The proposed zoning does not say.
• Where will the water come from? Is the drought reserve in play?
• The sewer system is approaching its limit. Can it be expanded and at what cost to taxpayers?
• How much traffic will the new housing units generate? How much will wider roads cost taxpayers?
• When will Fauquier County taxpayers have to fund school construction to serve a rising tide of new students?
Holding a public hearing as COVID-19 infections are rising alarmingly in Fauquier means that very few — if any — residents will participate in person. Written comments may be submitted after mastering the town’s Byzantine process to do so.
The hearing and subsequent vote on the zoning amendment should be held when residents are in the room with commissioners to articulate their reservations in person. Zoom meetings have a chilling effect on public participation and open the door to abuse.
A town resident, the writer is a journalist, conservationist and member of the board of Citizens for Fauquier County.
Member comments
Jeffersonian American · December 28, 2020 at 6:26 am
Mr. Engels, here are some scholarly lectures and articles for your consideration from the recent 2020 Abbeville Institute Conference on "Who Owns America?"
https://www.abbevilleinstitute.org/blog/the-postbellum-south-as-an-exploited-colony/
https://www.abbevilleinstitute.org/blog/ill-take-my-stand-farming-poetry-and-resistance/
https://www.abbevilleinstitute.org/blog/who-owns-america-populism-political-economy-and-corporate-personality/
Honorable Mention- A Current Primer:
https://www.abbevilleinstitute.org/blog/a-red-and-blue-divorce/
Of course, any scholarship by Dr. Clyde Wilson leads to a greater understanding between Patriotism and Nationalism.
Dr. Wilson observes Patriotism is the wholesome, constructive love of one’s land and people. Nationalism is the unhealthy love of one’s government, accompanied by the aggressive desire to put down others— which becomes in deracinated modern men a substitute for religious faith. Patriotism is an appropriate, indeed necessary, sentiment for people who wish to preserve their freedom; nationalism is not.
https://www.abbevilleinstitute.org/clyde-wilson-library/
https://www.abbevilleinstitute.org/blog/the-postbellum-south-as-an-exploited-colony/
https://www.abbevilleinstitute.org/blog/ill-take-my-stand-farming-poetry-and-resistance/
https://www.abbevilleinstitute.org/blog/who-owns-america-populism-political-economy-and-corporate-personality/
Honorable Mention- A Current Primer:
https://www.abbevilleinstitute.org/blog/a-red-and-blue-divorce/
Of course, any scholarship by Dr. Clyde Wilson leads to a greater understanding between Patriotism and Nationalism.
Dr. Wilson observes Patriotism is the wholesome, constructive love of one’s land and people. Nationalism is the unhealthy love of one’s government, accompanied by the aggressive desire to put down others— which becomes in deracinated modern men a substitute for religious faith. Patriotism is an appropriate, indeed necessary, sentiment for people who wish to preserve their freedom; nationalism is not.
https://www.abbevilleinstitute.org/clyde-wilson-library/
Jeffersonian American · December 17, 2020 at 10:45 pm
Sammy, education about our American founding and our constitutional republic is the key. Understanding our Natural Law Rights are ordained by God, and not some king, dictator or tyrant- is essential. If you can't support and embrace those concepts, you become just as evil as the horrendous, threatening, intolerant people you proclaim to despise.
Peace be with you. Christmas Blessings to all.
Peace be with you. Christmas Blessings to all.
Sammy · December 15, 2020 at 11:53 am
"JA" is a bigoted idiot (and I mean that in the kindest technical manner of expression) and credit him with one thing: him and his right-wing buddies prompted me to wake up and start posting for the first time .. when they doxed the BLM people and attacked them here, it convinced me to post too and to start learning who they are and why they wear the hood to antagonize people like they did in the good ol' days to which they cling .. I'm a photog so I prefer pictures and am getting lots to show the face of southern racism today, sorry I do not write so well, pics are my thing
Jeffersonian American · December 13, 2020 at 6:31 am
The Two Party Duopoly here in Fauquier (with its spate of "Independent" Closet Democrat Elected Officials) IS the problem. Corruption, Cronyism and Weak Kneed Political Correctness are in evidence everywhere locally, statewide, and nationally- and the Democrat One Party Rule is NOT the solution as we have witnessed all too painfully in 2020 with our national and state elections rendered meaningless due to massive voter fraud and the most criminal disenfranchisement of our American people of all parties, all races, all demographic backgrounds, all sexual orientations, real or perceived genders, etc. We have just witnessed our State and U.S. Constitutions made irrelevant through the most brazen crimes of voter fraud committed against the law-abiding American citizens casting legal votes in all 50 states in our American history to date. Our tens of millions of votes have been ignored, thrown out, destroyed or otherwise manipulated fraudulently and criminally as a mountain of evidence is amassing daily at this point. The evidence is overwhelming if you seek out actual news journalism reporting, such as One America News, NEWSMAX on television, and some other excellent on-line repositories of live reporting such as GATEWAYPUNDIT.COM, BREITBART, and the above news network on-line sites. Here is just one example of that mountain of evidence which will be brought to national attention that occurred in Michigan tomorrow:
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/12/will-small-county-northern-mi-key-overturning-nations-election-results-america-find-monday/
Ancient Rome fell when there were not enough Roman citizens who felt it was worth saving. America is not far behind at this point- it remains to be seen if there will be enough Americans remaining who believe Mr. Lincoln's American Empire is worth saving. We shall find out how many American citizens are willing to fight to restore in all the coming battles for what little remains of our liberty, freedom, and recognition and defense of our Natural Law Rights that gave birth to original constitutional republic that animated our original 1776 First American Secession from the British Crown as enshrined in our Declaration of Independence; and which animated our Second American Secession in 1860-61 which saw the Confederate States of America fight to preserve a purer form of constitutional government in a new confederation of sovereign, independent states. Both American secessions tried to prevent America from becoming what it is today- indeed, both secessions tried to prevent Virginia, Richmond, Charlottesville, Northern Virginia, etc. (and Georgia, Atlanta, South Carolina, Charleston, Texas, Houston, North Carolina, Raleigh-Durham, etc., etc., from becoming what they are today). Here is more evidence the same American discussions which took place in 1776 and 1860 in both Boston, Massachusetts and Charleston, South Carolina are taking place again today in the face of increasingly hostile acts of intolerable tyranny which, in our 21st century, come from a corrupted Big Government Two-Party Duopoly and AND the heinous Democrat Party which absolutely no longer respects or believes in our nation's founding documents:
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/12/texas-gop-chairman-allen-west-suggests-succession-scotus-allows-complete-lawlessness-2020-elections/
What other distinguished scholars are saying:
https://mises.org/library/rethinking-american-union
What other Americans and Virginians are currently doing:
http://thesnc.org/www.thesnc.org/index.html
What other Fauquier Citizens and Virginia Counties of citizens are currently doing:
https://www.newvirginiaplan.com/
As President Eisenhower noted in the close of his far-ranging and heartfelt 1961 Farewell Address to the nation he had served with distinction for half a century, "...that those who have freedom will understand, also, its heavy responsibilities..."
Americans of 2020 must decide if they want to fight to preserve and live in freedom- or to return to the pre-Jeffersonian Era days that saw a thousand years of feudalism and serfdom in impoverished servitude to their would-be Elite Lords, and worse.
Count me among the American Patriots who do not and will not tolerate extending the boundaries of Hell across our American continent by any national party today embracing Marxist-Communist ideology.
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/12/will-small-county-northern-mi-key-overturning-nations-election-results-america-find-monday/
Ancient Rome fell when there were not enough Roman citizens who felt it was worth saving. America is not far behind at this point- it remains to be seen if there will be enough Americans remaining who believe Mr. Lincoln's American Empire is worth saving. We shall find out how many American citizens are willing to fight to restore in all the coming battles for what little remains of our liberty, freedom, and recognition and defense of our Natural Law Rights that gave birth to original constitutional republic that animated our original 1776 First American Secession from the British Crown as enshrined in our Declaration of Independence; and which animated our Second American Secession in 1860-61 which saw the Confederate States of America fight to preserve a purer form of constitutional government in a new confederation of sovereign, independent states. Both American secessions tried to prevent America from becoming what it is today- indeed, both secessions tried to prevent Virginia, Richmond, Charlottesville, Northern Virginia, etc. (and Georgia, Atlanta, South Carolina, Charleston, Texas, Houston, North Carolina, Raleigh-Durham, etc., etc., from becoming what they are today). Here is more evidence the same American discussions which took place in 1776 and 1860 in both Boston, Massachusetts and Charleston, South Carolina are taking place again today in the face of increasingly hostile acts of intolerable tyranny which, in our 21st century, come from a corrupted Big Government Two-Party Duopoly and AND the heinous Democrat Party which absolutely no longer respects or believes in our nation's founding documents:
https://www.thegatewaypundit.com/2020/12/texas-gop-chairman-allen-west-suggests-succession-scotus-allows-complete-lawlessness-2020-elections/
What other distinguished scholars are saying:
https://mises.org/library/rethinking-american-union
What other Americans and Virginians are currently doing:
http://thesnc.org/www.thesnc.org/index.html
What other Fauquier Citizens and Virginia Counties of citizens are currently doing:
https://www.newvirginiaplan.com/
As President Eisenhower noted in the close of his far-ranging and heartfelt 1961 Farewell Address to the nation he had served with distinction for half a century, "...that those who have freedom will understand, also, its heavy responsibilities..."
Americans of 2020 must decide if they want to fight to preserve and live in freedom- or to return to the pre-Jeffersonian Era days that saw a thousand years of feudalism and serfdom in impoverished servitude to their would-be Elite Lords, and worse.
Count me among the American Patriots who do not and will not tolerate extending the boundaries of Hell across our American continent by any national party today embracing Marxist-Communist ideology.
Sammy · December 11, 2020 at 10:37 am
"Virginia Republican Creed: We Believe That the free enterprise system is the most productive supplier of human needs and economic justice"
https://virginia.gop/virginia-republican-creed/
got a problem with this? got a problem with local govt? if so you have a problem with republicans
https://virginia.gop/virginia-republican-creed/
got a problem with this? got a problem with local govt? if so you have a problem with republicans
Linda Ward · December 11, 2020 at 10:24 am
JEFF - Enough already! People deciding not to follow health protocols should not be allowed into any hospital if they become ill with CV-19. They made their beds, let them die in them.
Jeffersonian American · December 11, 2020 at 7:41 am
TRAGICALLY, FAUQUIER COUNTY, VIRGINIA HAS THE BEST LOCAL GOVERNMENT MONEY CAN BUY
Thank you, Mr. Bonner, for your comments and efforts to raise awareness among our local Fauquier Taxpayer Citizens. More and more Fauquier Taxpayer Citizens are waking up to this realization as we see huge increases in traffic, congestion and demands by recent outsiders- fleeing here to escape other urban Hellholes as they vote again and again for more public services and more mindless urban blight; more confiscation of taxpayer dollars for failing public schools with steady annual declines in enrollment to pay for its United Nations and Cultural Marxism "Goals 2015" and "Standards of Learning" and "Agenda 21" fundamental indoctrinations and transformations of our impressionable public school youths; and ever-increasing taxes to pay for a variety of ever-expanding and tyrannical local County government.
We have witnessed the exponential rise of all kinds of Cronyism among the Board of Supervisors over the past three decades, and their layers of "appointed" draconian bureaucracy- by design- to be held unaccountable to the Taxpaying Citizen Voters to perform their dirty work (Board of Zoning Appeals, the entire Department of Community Development, and the Board of Equalization are just a few of the most notorious, heinous examples). These are the same County Government Cronies who have allowed massive commercial Costco-sized concrete slab box buildings, taxpayer-funded Mega-Sports Complexes and Third World Soccer Fields; and even crucifix-free and steeple-free, privately owned, commercial "Megachurch" projects to be approved in residential areas that are better suited for the industrial wasteland that is Irvine, California (instead of formerly tranquil and pastoral valley settings they were allowed to be approve and dumped in; forever destroying the quality of life and viewsheds of the neighboring home and farm owners). These are the same Local Government Cronies that look the other way when a shady former Fauquier Board of Supervisors Chairman and Fairfax County Public Schools career retired bureaucrat takes over the local Sewer Commission and runs off the one honest County Administrator there who raised questions about the extensive Catlett real estate land holdings of the Sewer Commission Chairman's push to extend public water and sewers there. Even the final local Wal-Mart vote was not-so-cleverly approved by a Fauquier Supervisor who was a former humble, retired school teacher- who after the Wal-Mart vote approval, conveniently retired again- bought a new Mercedes, and moved to Florida. I could go on and on, but suffice it to say there are other options for Fauquier Citizens to take back control of their local Government. I have provided a link below- so our local Taxpaying Citizens have no excuse not to get involved in taking back control of their very corrupt local Government and two-Party Duopoly, who seem to enjoy dictating to us in our modern era instead of realizing they work for us instead.
As we watched the fraud evolve into a complete destruction of what we as Free people call “rights”, the coming war against us and our Natural Law Rights and our Virginia Declaration of Rights becomes clearer by the hour. Those of us who know our historical roots as Virginians and those who have joined her since 1776 and understand that the same powers acknowledged by those of whom we call “founders," are not powers limited by time or circumstance. They are broad and permanent. They are the powers derived from the Public Body Politic, also known as “The Public Weal." The same Public Weal we find Virginia was born from in our Declaration of Rights, from June 12, 1776. The people who brought our ideology as “free people” forward, were those who had suffrage in their time. We Freeholders of the 21st Century are made up of the same kind of people- the people of suffrage. Today, in Virginia, we are seen to have suffrage if we are citizens of the United States and are of 18 years of age or older. We Freeholders of Middle Virginia, developed a Declaration to dissolve our current Virginia Government, that has been in existence since 1970, and call for a Congress of Counties to be formed to then form a new constitution for our state in the attempt to return us to our God given freedoms and common sense governance that respects the local government’s ability to govern from the consent of those who have suffrage.
Our American founders in the 1770s laid out the proper roadmap and process to address the same forms of tyranny in our current time- here is the overview:
https://www.newvirginiaplan.com/
================================
OTHER VIRGINIA COUNTY CITIZENS BEGIN TO TAKE BACK THEIR SOVEREIGNTY AND NATURAL LAW RIGHTS- MORE VIRGINIA COUNTIES TO FOLLOW:
https://wset.com/news/local/campbell-co-board-of-supervisors-passes-resolution-to-not-enforce-va-covid-19-mandates
Thank you, Mr. Bonner, for your comments and efforts to raise awareness among our local Fauquier Taxpayer Citizens. More and more Fauquier Taxpayer Citizens are waking up to this realization as we see huge increases in traffic, congestion and demands by recent outsiders- fleeing here to escape other urban Hellholes as they vote again and again for more public services and more mindless urban blight; more confiscation of taxpayer dollars for failing public schools with steady annual declines in enrollment to pay for its United Nations and Cultural Marxism "Goals 2015" and "Standards of Learning" and "Agenda 21" fundamental indoctrinations and transformations of our impressionable public school youths; and ever-increasing taxes to pay for a variety of ever-expanding and tyrannical local County government.
We have witnessed the exponential rise of all kinds of Cronyism among the Board of Supervisors over the past three decades, and their layers of "appointed" draconian bureaucracy- by design- to be held unaccountable to the Taxpaying Citizen Voters to perform their dirty work (Board of Zoning Appeals, the entire Department of Community Development, and the Board of Equalization are just a few of the most notorious, heinous examples). These are the same County Government Cronies who have allowed massive commercial Costco-sized concrete slab box buildings, taxpayer-funded Mega-Sports Complexes and Third World Soccer Fields; and even crucifix-free and steeple-free, privately owned, commercial "Megachurch" projects to be approved in residential areas that are better suited for the industrial wasteland that is Irvine, California (instead of formerly tranquil and pastoral valley settings they were allowed to be approve and dumped in; forever destroying the quality of life and viewsheds of the neighboring home and farm owners). These are the same Local Government Cronies that look the other way when a shady former Fauquier Board of Supervisors Chairman and Fairfax County Public Schools career retired bureaucrat takes over the local Sewer Commission and runs off the one honest County Administrator there who raised questions about the extensive Catlett real estate land holdings of the Sewer Commission Chairman's push to extend public water and sewers there. Even the final local Wal-Mart vote was not-so-cleverly approved by a Fauquier Supervisor who was a former humble, retired school teacher- who after the Wal-Mart vote approval, conveniently retired again- bought a new Mercedes, and moved to Florida. I could go on and on, but suffice it to say there are other options for Fauquier Citizens to take back control of their local Government. I have provided a link below- so our local Taxpaying Citizens have no excuse not to get involved in taking back control of their very corrupt local Government and two-Party Duopoly, who seem to enjoy dictating to us in our modern era instead of realizing they work for us instead.
As we watched the fraud evolve into a complete destruction of what we as Free people call “rights”, the coming war against us and our Natural Law Rights and our Virginia Declaration of Rights becomes clearer by the hour. Those of us who know our historical roots as Virginians and those who have joined her since 1776 and understand that the same powers acknowledged by those of whom we call “founders," are not powers limited by time or circumstance. They are broad and permanent. They are the powers derived from the Public Body Politic, also known as “The Public Weal." The same Public Weal we find Virginia was born from in our Declaration of Rights, from June 12, 1776. The people who brought our ideology as “free people” forward, were those who had suffrage in their time. We Freeholders of the 21st Century are made up of the same kind of people- the people of suffrage. Today, in Virginia, we are seen to have suffrage if we are citizens of the United States and are of 18 years of age or older. We Freeholders of Middle Virginia, developed a Declaration to dissolve our current Virginia Government, that has been in existence since 1970, and call for a Congress of Counties to be formed to then form a new constitution for our state in the attempt to return us to our God given freedoms and common sense governance that respects the local government’s ability to govern from the consent of those who have suffrage.
Our American founders in the 1770s laid out the proper roadmap and process to address the same forms of tyranny in our current time- here is the overview:
https://www.newvirginiaplan.com/
================================
OTHER VIRGINIA COUNTY CITIZENS BEGIN TO TAKE BACK THEIR SOVEREIGNTY AND NATURAL LAW RIGHTS- MORE VIRGINIA COUNTIES TO FOLLOW:
https://wset.com/news/local/campbell-co-board-of-supervisors-passes-resolution-to-not-enforce-va-covid-19-mandates
Fauqyeah · December 11, 2020 at 12:29 am
Guess we are going to be the next Prince William. Massive housing developments, overcrowded schools and jammed roads. Hope they have thought this through and aren't just looking at the property tax dollars.
Savefauquiercounty2019 · December 10, 2020 at 3:40 pm
Unbelievable. It like the $150,000 billion in cold cash sent to Iran in the middle of the right. Is Fauquier County citizens going to permit this?
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