By MICHAEL SLUSS
The Roanoke Times
RICHMOND--Virginia should set aside about $40 million a year to protect open spaces and slow suburban sprawl, Democratic gubernatorial candidate Mark Warner said Wednesday.
In a news conference at the Capitol, Warner laid out a plan to protect what he called "priceless open spaces, rich farmland and irreplacable natural treasures."
Warner wants to establish a permanent funding source for preserving open spaces, using a portion of revenue derived from recordation taxes paid on real estate transactions.
"By phasing in these funds to preserve open space, we can protect our land from development as well as leverage federal dollars to maximize our investment," Warner said.
Land conservation issues are gaining bipartisan support in the General Assembly. Warner's plan is similar to legislation passed two years ago by the House of Delegates and strongly supported by Republican Speaker Vance Wilkins of Amherst County. A bill sponsored by Dels. Creigh Deeds, D-Warm Springs and David Albo, R-Fairfax County, would have committed revenue from recordation taxes to open space preservation. The measure died in the Senate Finance Committee.
"It's my idea, so I guess I'm glad he supports it," said Albo, who plans to work with Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Earley on environmental policy. Earley will unveil a comprehensive environmental policy later in the campaign, spokesman David Botkins said.
Warner also wants to beef up the staff that oversees the state's conservation easement program, which allows landowners to permanently set aside land for preservation in return for lower real estate tax assessments.
Warner also questioned Gov. Jim Gilmore's commitment to land conservation, a criticism that brought rebukes from the administration and the Earley campaign.
"What's remarkable about the Warner plan is what's missing - there is no reference to or acknowledgement of what the state is already doing to preserve open spaces," Botkins said.
Administration officials noted that Virginia just spent $3 million in June to acquire 8,300 acres of forested land in Wythe County known as Big Survey. It was the largest land acquisition by the state's Department of Game and Inland Fisheries in 20 years. The purchase was paid for by funds from the Virginia Land Conservation Fund, which received $6.2 million in state funds last year.
Mark Earley to meet with Bush today
It's only July, but Republican gubernatorial candidate Mark Earley already has his party's big guns going to work for him.
Earley will visit the White House this morning to meet with President Bush, the man GOP partisans consider their most potent political weapon.
Bush invited Earley to the Oval Office to discuss taxes, education and the former state attorney general's upcoming race with Democrat Mark Warner. Earley campaign operatives said the timing of the meeting couldn't be better. The federal government this week began mailing the first round of refund checks from Bush's 10-year, $1.35 trillion tax package. Earley, who has called the governor's race a referendum on Bush's performance in the White House, is eager to link himself to Bush on tax issues.
"President Bush and Mark Earley are committed to reducing the tax burden on citizens," said Earley campaign spokesman David Botkins, citing the candidate's desire to complete the elimination of the car tax. "If you like where the country is headed under President Bush, you'll like where Virginia will be header with Mark Earley as governor."
