Citizens for Denise Moore Pierce
Phone 703-450-4260
Economic Development
• Understanding and avoiding the problems we create for ourselves can be a big part of keeping taxpayer dollars in your wallet. Residential development, whether part of a mixed-use community or not, needs to be limited. We don’t have the funds to build the schools and services we need today; adding to the current backlog of houses, schools, and public facilities will just keep our taxes high in the future and increase the time it will take to crawl out of our financial hole.
• There are millions of square feet of commercial development that sit vacant or have been approved but not built. Approving millions of square feet more in mixed use developments which will also add thousands more residential units and tens of thousands of car trips does not guarantee jobs anytime soon, but will undoubtedly bring new residents who will require services. All new growth proposals must be evaluated on not just rosy fiscal scenarios 20-30 years out, but on all the impacts, positive and negative that will affect residents from the outset.
• We need to ensure that our existing neighborhoods and commercial centers are enhanced with the types of business and services which give us a real sense of place. When we create more bike and walking connections between our neighborhoods, schools and stores, we provide many of the features that attract young professionals. Ensuring that we provide schools, libraries, parks and other public services that make our communities great places to live helps to interest employers who want to attract top-notch employees.
• Instead I want to focus on supporting and encouraging the people who want to build small businesses. These are the kinds of businesses which create jobs in the highest numbers. The business incubator is the kind of nurturing support needed to foster successful entrepreneurial endeavors. Supporting the rural economy and agriculture-based businesses is also a net revenue generator because we get a triple win: 1) locally-raised food bought by Loudoun families keeps our own dollars circulating locally, 2) we keep the attractive and beautiful scenery that makes the county a tourist destination, 3) open space and farms require few public services so they help to keep our taxes down.
Authorized and Paid For by Citizens for Denise Moore Pierce
