HJ580: Commending the Lake Ridge Occoquan Coles Civic Association.

HOUSE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 580

Offered January 13, 2021
Commending the Lake Ridge Occoquan Coles Civic Association.
Patron-- Ayala

WHEREAS, the Lake Ridge Occoquan Coles Civic Association, a nonprofit, nonpartisan citizen organization proudly representing the communities of Lake Ridge, Occoquan, and Coles, celebrates its 50th anniversary in 2020; and

WHEREAS, in the 1960s, as the Lake Ridge area rapidly developed, the founding members of the Lake Ridge Occoquan Coles Civic Association (LOCCA) began forming an organization that could represent the community and advocate for smart and sustainable growth; and

WHEREAS, LOCCA was officially incorporated on July 6, 1970, as the Lake Ridge Communities Civic Association and initially represented the neighborhoods within the former Occoquan-Dumfries-Woodbridge Triangle Sanitary District, an area covering a significant portion of eastern Prince William County; and

WHEREAS, in the late 1970s, in response to plans to widen Davis Ford Road, now Old Bridge Road and Minnieville Road, LOCCA rewrote its bylaws, renamed the organization the Lake Ridge Occoquan Civic Association, and formed its Planning, Environment, Land-Use, and Transportation Committee, which has since been a forceful advocate for sensible land-use and development decisions in the area; and

WHEREAS, to formally recognize the close connection that developed between Coles and Lake Ridge following the latter’s westward development along the Old Bridge Road corridor, the organization was renamed the Lake Ridge Occoquan Coles Civic Association in 1997; and

WHEREAS, LOCCA meets monthly to address a variety of local development issues, providing invaluable feedback to developers overseeing projects in the area and officials responsible for the Prince William County Comprehensive Plan; and

WHEREAS, by enabling citizens to effectively provide input on the planning issues affecting their community, LOCCA has helped make Prince William County a wonderful place to live, work, and raise a family; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED by the House of Delegates, the Senate concurring, That the General Assembly hereby commend the Lake Ridge Occoquan Coles Civic Association, a nonprofit, nonpartisan citizen organization representing the Lake Ridge, Occoquan, and Coles communities, on the occasion of its 50th anniversary; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the House of Delegates prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to Tom Burrell, chairman of the Lake Ridge Occoquan Coles Civic Association, as an expression of the General Assembly’s esteem and admiration for the organization’s illustrious history and noteworthy contributions to the Commonwealth.