Category Archives: –

Jul 03 2012
-

Unqualified but connected

In an outburst of sanity, the all-Republican Loudoun Board of Supervisors last night quietly tidied up the mess made by the impish supervisor Ken “Ken” Reid (R-Leesburg), who had nominated and then refused to withdraw the name of well-known anti-historic preservation activist Milari Madison to the county board that oversees historic districts.

Ms. Madison was bounced in favor of Judy Gerow, an experienced and dedicated current member of the Historic District Review Committee who had asked to be reappointed to another term. Two other equally dedicated and experienced current members were not reappointed, however — and were replaced by two Republican campaign contributors who had helped elect the current Board. Continue reading →

Tagged , ,
Jul 01 2012
-

No questions here

As noted the other day, Loudoun Supervisor Ken “Ken” Reid (R-Leesburg) — asked why he had nominated a well-known foe of historic districts to the official county governmental board responsible for protecting the integrity of historic districts — explained that he had been blissfully unaware of any “concerns” regarding this candidate; she had simply sent in her resume and asked for the appointment to the Historic District Review Committee, so Ken obligingly obliged.

It seemed a little dubious, given the considerable media attention that Milari Madison has received in recent years for unsuccessfully suing the county to invalidate the Waterford historic district (in which she owns property) as well as unsuccessfully pursuing numerous actions at the local, state, and federal level seeking to undo Waterford’s historic designations.

From the resume Ms. Madison submitted to the Board of Supervisors in support of her application to the HDRC (now posted on the county government website), however, it is now perfectly understandable why “Ken” would see no need to inquire further into her qualifications. Here, reproduced below in its entirety and directly from the official Loudoun County Board of Supervisors documents packet for its July 2 meeting (if you like, you can download your own pdf  from the official Loudoun County Government website: see p. 82) is Ms. Madison’s resume itemizing her qualifications and experience for the job: Continue reading →

Tagged , ,
Jun 28 2012
-

Ken issues a clarification

After last week throwing still more disarray into the Loudoun Board of Supervisors’ Metro-to-Loudoun decision by demanding yet another deadline extension along with 21 new last-minute conditions (to be renegotiated with Fairfax County, the Federal government, the Commonwealth of Virginia, and the Washington area airports and transit authorities), Loudoun Supervisor Ken Reid (R-Leesburg) — never one to miss an opportunity to be quoted in the Washington Post —  explains to Post reporter Caitlin Gibson that his conditions  . . . aren’t really conditions:

After the release of the memo listing 21 items for opt-in consideration last week, Reid took a step back from the request for more time, clarifying in a statement that the list was “by no means an ultimatum of necessary conditions.”

Although he supports an extension of time to “work out certain particulars,” he said, if they are not resolved before the deadline, he does not think a “hard date” of Dec. 1 “is by any means necessary or desired to accomplish that.”

Glad to have that cleared up.

Tagged ,
Jun 28 2012
-

What a way to run a business

Metro Derangement Disorder, cont.:

Let’s just suppose Extremely Businesslike Company A did the following.

After lengthy negotiations over a project for which Company A agrees to contribute an impressive 9 percent of the total cost, during which time Company A makes repeated demands for concessions and reductions in the project cost as a condition for agreeing to contribute an impressive 9 percent of the total cost — including forcing the other partners to abandon portions of the project of great importance and direct benefit to them — the directors of Company A announce a few months later that maybe they didn’t mean to sign the deal after all. Continue reading →

Tagged , , ,
Jun 27 2012
-

Just the facts . . .

A factual and thoroughly documented statement just adopted by the Waterford Citizens’ Association concerning L’Affaire Madison:

Resolution
Board of Directors
Waterford Citizens’ Association
June 25, 2012

Whereas Milari Madison has been nominated to serve on the Loudoun County Historic District Review Committee;

Whereas, “[s]ince 1972, Loudoun County has protected its unique historic assets through the designation of local historic districts. There are six Historic and Cultural Conservation Districts in Loudoun County: Aldie, Bluemont, Goose Creek, Oatlands, Taylorstown, and Waterford. The Village of Waterford and the surrounding rural area is also a National Historic Landmark, the highest honorary designation bestowed by the U.S. Department of the Interior. The National Historic Landmark boundary is larger than the county-administered district, which is limited to the central village area” (quoted from Loudoun County website);

Whereas “[t]he Historic District Review Committee (HDRC) is a seven-member review committee appointed by the Board of Supervisors and charged with maintaining the architectural and historic integrity of Loudoun County’s Historic Districts. The HDRC uses the county’s Historic District Guidelines as the basis for review of proposed projects. The Historic District Guidelines are an adopted part of the county’s Zoning Ordinance, and relate only to the exterior appearance and the siting of structures on a property.  The siting of new construction is particularly important in a rural district where the protection of historic landscapes and viewsheds is of special importance. The guidelines are available to the public as a guide for the renovation of existing structures and/or new construction projects” (quoted from Loudoun County website);

Whereas on July 15, 2003, Milari Madison and Paul Madison, her husband, purchased the Simms House at 40153 Janney Street, a historic residence in the Waterford Historic and Cultural Conservation District, formerly owned by an African American who taught at the Second Street School in Waterford;

Whereas Milari Madison allowed the Simms house to deteriorate to such a degree that she then petitioned Loudoun County for a demolition permit and then proceeded to demolish the historic Simms House on Dec. 6, 2006 (pictures are attached);

Whereas on Feb. 14, 2006, Milari Madison petitioned the National Park Service to delist the Waterford Historic District and the surrounding area, which had been designated as a National Historic Landmark;

Whereas on Aug. 24, 2007, the National Park Service denied Ms. Madison’s petition and wrote: “[W]e wish to state that far from warranting dedesignation, Waterford possesses a commendable degree of integrity. We wish to commend the Waterford Foundation on its heroic and sustained efforts over the past seventy years in promoting good stewardship and to commend the many caring property owners who have so lovingly managed their land and buildings. The efforts of the Foundation and the landowners of Waterford have resulted in the protection of the [Historic] District in the face of remarkable pressure from rising land values and demand for suburban growth. While there have been some losses, most notably your own demolition of your property at 40153 Janney Street, the vast majority of the resources that contribute to the [Historic] District are not only intact but are protected under easements that were voluntarily donated so that future generations can enjoy this remarkable place.” (Copy of National Park Service letter is attached.)

Whereas on April 13,  2007, Milari Madison filed a petition with the Virginia Department of Historic Resources to delist the Waterford Historic District from the Virginia Landmarks Register (copy of petition is attached);

Whereas on Dec. 5, 2007, the Virginia Historic Resources Board voted unanimously to deny Ms. Madison’s petition (copy of Board minutes is attached);

Whereas Milari Madison has flooded local-government agencies with zoning and other complaints, many directed at citizens of Waterford, Virginia;

Whereas Milari Madison has inundated local-government agencies with hundreds of requests for information, causing the staff of these local agencies to expend untold hundreds, if not thousands, of hours of staff time;

And whereas Milari Madison has no special training in architecture, history, historic preservation, local-government relations, or any other qualification in reviewing requests for action by the Historic District Review Committee;

Now therefore be it resolved by the Board of Directors of the Waterford Citizens’ Association, a nonprofit association comprising 106 individual citizens in and around Waterford, Virginia, that the Waterford Citizens’ Association strongly urges the Board of Supervisors of Loudoun County, Virginia, to reject the nomination of Milari Madison to serve on the Loudoun County Historic District Review Commission.

Tagged , ,
← Older posts
Newer posts →