Date: August 26, 2015
To: Virginia Department of Alcoholic Beverage Control
The Board of Directors of the Goose Creek Association, PO Box 1178, Middleburg, VA 20117, hereby objects to the issuance of a Limited Brewery License and a Retail Off Premises Limited Brewery License/Keg Permit (License Numbers 87875 and 87876) to B Chord Brewing Company LLC d/b/a B Chord Brewing Co., to be exercised at 19481 Foggy Bottom Road, Bluemont, Virginia 20135.
Issuance of these licenses will have a substantial and negative impact on the quietude, tranquility, and safety of the surrounding rural area, including the Goose Creek watershed in which the proposed B Chord facilities and operations are to be located. Negative impacts are due to, among other things, increased traffic and noise, loss of aesthetic appeal and view shed impacts from the (18’height) hops poles, exterior lighting, parking lot, and other structures and facilities, and, importantly, an unknown and undescribed impact on the Goose Creek watershed due to substantial increases in well water usage and its disposal in local, on-site septic field/s.
As a community organization whose mission includes the protection of Goose Creek and its watershed located in Loudoun and Fauquier Counties, VA, we have major concerns related to the as yet undefined impact of the proposed B Chord facilities and operations on the watershed, and the possible/likely negative impact on the environment, on property values, and the continued existence and value of other agricultural, equine, or recreational operations or entities, due to reduced or polluted water resources including the Goose Creek, local drinking water sources, wells, and the aquifer serving the southwestern Loudoun area.
Additionally, the issuance of these licenses with the aforementioned nuisance and environmental impacts will negatively impact and substantially decrease the value of abutting and neighborhood rural properties, located in a quiet, designated historic and heavily conserved area which will be degraded by commercial and patron traffic at a load necessary to support the proposed business and at hours of operation currently allowed. Much of the appeal to past, current and future visitors and residents or purchasers of properties within the area is the absence of commercial activity associated with establishments such as the proposed retail brewery. In addition to everyday operations, we are concerned that special events at the facility and how they will be limited or prohibited to insure no adverse impacts, will be inadequate to protect already existing properties and residents.
We hereby object to the issuance of the above-referenced licenses.
Thank you for your attention to these objections.
Bonnie L. Mattingly, Co-chair Loudoun County, Goose Creek Association
And the Board of Directors of the Goose Creek Association
PO Box 1178, Middleburg, VA 20117
Phone: 540 687 3073
