Linda Smyth And Democracy In INaction - The Wedderburn Case

By: dglevy
Published On: 6/10/2007 12:00:33 PM


Some of you may have heard about what happened with the Wedderburn development--the lot at the southwest corner of Cedar Lane and the W&OD trail.  But, for those who didn't get the details, I can't think of a better reason to throw Linda Smyth out on her ear on Tuesday.  I spent 2 1/2 years working with the Wedderburn Neighbors Steering Committee, trying to save 14 acres of ancient land --the land that time forgot--from development, and Linda Smyth thwarted us at every turn.  Not only was she uninterested in saving the land, she facilitated the approval of a project to increase the number of proposed houses on the lot from 13 (a 'by right' development) to 26!  The bulldozers haven't started yet, but they will be coming any day now--most likely a few weeks after the primary is over.  So hurry down Cedar Lane, turn down Wedderburn Lane and take a walk through the most charming land you will see in Providence District.  IT WILL BE GONE BY THIS TIME NEXT YEAR.

Comments



Wow, this sounds awful. (Lowell - 6/10/2007 12:24:10 PM)
Do you have any pictures of what's going to be destroyed?


Some Links On Wedderburn (dglevy - 6/11/2007 2:24:08 PM)
Yes, awful indeed.  I have posted some photos.  You can see them here.  In the course of formatting them, I remembered a marvelous site:

keepwedderburn.com

I don't know who did it, but the site is a marvelous attempt to capture the magic of the place.  Again, I strongly urge people to go down there and see what is going to be lost.  (The Google Maps link is in my original post.)  It's not 'just a forest'.  It's a secret garden, and it's one of the last pieces of Old Virginia left in that part of Fairfax County -- essentially untouched in 80 years...



Greetings! (Deborah Reyher - 6/11/2007 11:10:35 PM)
You have the most wonderful photos of Wedderburn.  I missed it this Spring because I didn't want to violate the "No Trespassing" signs....sigh.....

I remember contacting all sorts of historic preservation foundations and exploring conservation easements, and approaching NVRPA as well as Smyth to see if there was ANY way to annex this to the Trail and make it public space to be forever enjoyed.  You were at the forefront of that effort.  But Linda Smyth didn't care -- she favored the development and her preference trumped ALL!



Still hoping (dglevy - 6/12/2007 9:39:12 AM)
I'm still hoping -- as long as the property is still untouched -- that (a) Smyth will get trounced in the primary and (b) we'll get a genuine activist in her place who will work to find a private-public partnership to buy the property back from the so-called 'developers'.