Tag: Sustainable Land Use
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Guide better development in Fairfax Co.!
Your feedback on the Policy Plan is critical! But why? The Policy Plan is guidance for developers as they explore options for developments that are outside of the existing zoning laws and building code (e.g. like needing a rezoning or a special exception). This situation may sound unusual, but it’s quite common in Fairfax County.…
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2025 Maryland General Assembly: Moore than just Energy
Sine Die Updates: If you have listened to any legislative briefings or skimmed a headline, you know it is the year of energy in the 2025 Maryland General Assembly. But, there is much more than that awaiting us, namely, how Maryland is going to balance the budget. Given the many different moving parts of Assembly,…
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2025 Virginia General Assembly Legislative Priorities
2025 Virginia General Assembly Legislative Priorities (Updated as of 4/11/25 @ 4:31pm) This year’s Virginia General Assembly (a time when legislators get together to make a new set of laws) takes place from January 8 through February 22 with the Governor taking action on bills by March 24. Nature Forward, with help from several partners…
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Take Action on Prince George’s Data Center Bill Before November 19th!
UPDATE AS OF NOVEMBER 19TH: On Tuesday November 19, the Prince George’s County Council unanimously voted to HOLD on CB 52 until next year thanks to your outpouring of letters, and the many advocates who stood up for constituent’s voices. Collectively, we sent 230 letters to the Prince George’s County Council! You can watch the full…
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Data Center Frontiers Summit Recap
Screenshot from the Data Center Frontier Trends Summit 2024 Website – note the sold out sign. Source: https://www.dcftrends.com/2024/home In early September 2024, Nature Forward Conservation Director Lydia Lawrence and I attended the Data Center Frontier Trends Summit in Reston, Virginia. Thankfully, I was on week three of my new role and was fully prepared to…
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Nature Forward response to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors’ recent approval of new data center regulations:
Nature Forward issued the following statement in response to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors’ recent approval of new data center regulations:
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Speak up for a stronger Data Center Zoning Ordinance
UPDATED 8/5/24 Join us on September 10 @ 4:30pm: testify for stronger protections! The Data Center ZOA public hearing was held on July 16 and the Board deferred their decision until July 30. On the morning of July 30 however, it was reported that, due to a clerical error regarding a change in state law…
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Virginia’s General Assembly: some wins and a long road
How did the 2024 General Assembly go? In this year’s General Assembly, Nature Forward selected a handful of bills to track dealing with natural resources / trees, solar energy, and data centers (read our prior blog post for bills and details). While there were some wins on the bills we tracked, overall, Virginia has a…
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2024 Virginia General Assembly Legislative Priorities
2024 Virginia General Assembly Legislative Priorities (Updated as of 4/26/24 @ 11:35am) This year’s Virginia General Assembly, when legislators get together to make a new set of laws, takes place from January 10 through March 9 with the Governor taking action on bills in April. Nature Forward, with help from several partners (such as VCN’s…
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Water Protectors empowers community leaders!
In 2023, Nature Forward completed the 3rd year of our Water Protectors of Little Hunting Creek outreach, working with communities along the Route 1 Corridor in the Hybla Valley area of Fairfax County, VA.). Thanks to funding from Virginia Environmental Endowment and in partnership with United Community, Northern Virginia Soil & Water Conservation District (NVSWCD),…