Question: Unmanaged development has a significant impact on the ability of localities to protect green open space and natural resource areas. The Virginia General Assembly has said that local governments have the tools they need to manage and contain growth within their jurisdictions. These tools include (1) the proffer system; (2) the issuance of permits for building and sewer hook ups; (3) planning and then legislating dedicated local funding mechanisms to leverage state and federal dollars for acquisition of parks and open space; and 4) comprehensive planning, zoning, and use of tax assessments to encourage/discourage types of development.

How will you use these tools to manage the pace of development and direct where growth occurs?

CADDIGAN: The Board of County Supervisors developed a Comprehensive Plan in 1998 of which I was, and remain, a major proponent. That plan directs 100% proffers for roads, schools and open spaces. I also was, and remain, a major supporter of the Rural Crescent. In keeping with the intent of the Rural Crescent I have never cast a vote to extend sewer service to our rural areas primarily because such facilities bring increased density. Unfortunately, the Rural Crescent decision does little to mitigate stale zoning approvals, several of which are in place in the Dumfries District. I firmly believe that we must have infrastructure including public facilities in-place prior to approvals for construction. Concerning open spaces, we allocated approximately $20 Million for parks in a 1998 bond referendum and an additional referendum is planned for 2004/2005. I am on the record having initiated action to down zone hundreds of acres in the Dumfries District, one parcel of which was overturned by the Supreme Court of Virginia.

Question: Inadequate infrastructure - including storm water management, transportation, school and public safety systems - results in preventable increases to pollution levels, reduces quality of life for residents and challenges the integrity of valuable natural resources. There are currently 34,000 residential units approved for development in Prince William County that could accommodate 100,000 more people, increasing the current population by one-third.

What will you do to improve the current Levels of Service, and how will you ensure that new rezoning requests to accommodate new development will not make the current problems worse?

CADDIGAN: As stated in my first response I firmly support the need to have public facilities in-place prior to construction. We do need legislation for an Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance and I voted to send a request for enabling legislation to Richmond. Unfortunately that request died in the General Assembly. Additionally, I have served as a Commissioner of the Virginia Railway Express (VRE) for the past eleven years. In that capacity I have encouraged the approval of increased density in proximity to VRE Stations to encourage public transportation. The revitalization of US Route 1 and an associated redevelopment in existing areas through the Dumfries District will afford us the opportunity to make significant advancements in storm water management. I now respond to an average of five to six requests each month for County assistance in resolving citizen problems with localized storm water management problems.

Question: Prince William County's current transportation system cannot accommodate traffic from existing development. The resulting traffic congestion increases automobile emissions into the air within the Northern Virginia region, recently reclassified as "Severe" for air pollution. The 2000 Census shows that only 3.2% of Prince William County residents use public transportation to travel to and from their place of employment.

What would you do to increase public transportation options for local residents and/or revamp land use patterns so jobs and housing are closer to each other within 20 years, especially in areas where redevelopment opportunities can maximize investments?

CADDIGAN: Serving as a Commissioner of both the Virginia Railway Express (VRE) and the Potomac Rappahannock Transportation Commission (PRTC) has afforded me the opportunity to participate in the development of strategic planning for the development of bus routes to our local communities. Further enhancements require the acquisition of land for additional commuter parking for car pools and train and bus riders. We have received state and federal funds to refurbish the Quantico Rail Station in hopes that ridership will increase and are in negotiations with CSX for authority to increase the number of VRE trains permitted to run each day. The extension of METRO into Prince William County is a goal but one that must be considered long-term in view of the tremendous costs associated with bringing that public transportation service to our community. In the short term we need the allocation of local, state, and federal funds to purchase additional busses for our OMNI-RIDE and OMNI-LINK services.

Question: The rapid pace of development in Prince William County challenges government capacity to adequately enforce existing Chesapeake Bay and other environmental regulations. And when infractions are identified, the current penalties are often insignificant compared to the financial benefits that can be realized through noncompliance. As a result, many infractions are either not corrected in a timely manner or not addressed at all.

What would you do to ensure regular, timely and comprehensive enforcement of existing regulations to safeguard Prince William's valuable natural resources?

CADDIGAN: Existing regulations, including the permit processes involved in construction and disturbance of the environment must be closely monitored and adhered to. In many cases, it is the private citizen who reports a violation to my office allowing me to take necessary action to respond to, and mitigate, the infraction that is normally a question of erosion. This is an area closely watched by my office. I voted against development plans for the Cherry Hill Peninsula because of anticipated excessive soil disturbance due to tree removal on significantly sloped land. I have also voted during the past two years for enabling legislation in support of saving trees. Unfortunately, the effort failed in the General Assembly.

Question: As a signatory partner to the Chesapeake Bay agreements, Virginia has committed to invest in productive strategies that support better ecological health of the Chesapeake Bay. Prince William has taken positive action to fulfill this commitment through efforts that begin to assess the ecological health of many County streams.

Do you support a comprehensive stream protection strategy similar to that in Fairfax County, including the development of management strategies for the protection and/or restoration of County subwatersheds?

CADDIGAN: Absolutely! One of the primary reasons for my negative vote concerning the Cherry Hill Sector Plan was directly related to my concerns for Powell's creek, one of our last remaining healthy streams.

Question: Steep slopes and highly erodible soils characterize many of the remaining undeveloped parcels in Prince William's designated development area. These landscape conditions necessitate the use of cut-and-fill development practices and have significant negative impacts on water quality, protected stream buffers and other natural resources. Although prevention is considerably more economical than mitigation, current regulations and requirements provide little, if any, protection for these valuable natural resources.

What tools and/or strategies would you use to protect these environmentally sensitive areas?

CADDIGAN: Again I must make reference to the development of the Cherry Hill Peninsula. I could envision the very steep slopes in that area that could be scalped thus causing severe erosion problems and the flow of silt into our waterways. I support stronger language in our Comprehensive Plan for the protection of steep slopes and highly erodible soils.

Question: Prince William's designated rural area (Rural Crescent) was adopted in 1998 to preserve open space, agricultural resources and our groundwater supply. Since that time, development pressures continue to challenge local capacity to sustain these goals. Other open space areas protected by state and federal agencies are threatened by encroaching development. Prince William surveys repeatedly show that residents want more green, open space and passive recreation opportunities, such as birding, hiking, photography and other nature explorations.

What tools, strategies and/or funding mechanisms would you use to protect and increase green, open space areas and agricultural resources? Would you support a comprehensive system of greenways and trails connecting parks in the county?

CADDIGAN: I am pleased that I have been able to negotiate the purchase of land for the development of a park on Fuller heights road in Triangle that was originally zoned for housing. We now await the approval of bonds by the voters for its development. The Rural Crescent and my own down zoning activities contribute a great deal to the protection and retention of open space by reducing construction densities. The question of connecting our parks is a worthwhile consideration but is one dependent on financing and the availability of land on which to develop the trails. I fully support the plan to include bike trails along the revitalized Route 1 as I did in the upgrade of Cardinal Drive.

Question: Over 80% of Prince William public water users rely on the Occoquan Reservoir for clean drinking water. Although it is now too late to protect lands along the southern side of the reservoir, much of the headwaters lie in western Prince William. Conservation and preventative efforts offer significant economic advantages over technological solutions, as documented by the EPA in their assessment of New York City's successful watershed protection strategy.

What tools, strategies and/or funding mechanisms would you use to protect the public drinking water supply? How will you protect the headwaters of the Occoquan Reservoir as development increases in the upstream sections of Bull Run, Cedar Run, and Broad Run watersheds?

CADDIGAN: I was one of the few Board members who voted against development along the banks of the Occoquan Reservoir. I would like very much to see limitations on development in mid-county with restrictions allowing nothing less than 2.5 acre sites. We must institute a policy of aggressive fines for developers who violate environmental considerations in order to ensure corrective actions, all of this with a view to protection of streams flowing into the Occoquan Reservoir.