So, some people dislike [northerncrown.com] environmental activist Kim Hosen [www.pwconserve.org], who also is a Prince William planning commissioner. Seems now that maybe Hosen has given them some more ammunition.

In an effort to "preserve" a piece of land [www.washingtonpost.com] in the county, "mistakes were made" and potential conflicts of interest were not noted. Hosen did at least recuse herself from the Planning Commission vote on the affair.

Widowed for five years, Mary McDowell has found herself in dire financial straits -- even though she has been sitting on more than 300 acres of prime real estate in Prince William County.

...

So this fall, McDowell -- with the help of a prominent environmentalist who also is a Prince William planning commissioner -- asked the county to lift the zoning restrictions early and open the land to development. They were successful, and the value of McDowell's property rose from $184,300 to $2.6 million.

The environmentalist, Kim Hosen, executive director of the Prince William Conservation Alliance, then asked a state agency for $2 million to exempt the property from development.

But now, the elaborate plan has unraveled, and Sean T. Connaughton, the Prince William Board of County Supervisors chairman, is calling it a scheme to inflate the farm's value and use taxpayers' money to buy and preserve it as open space.

...

On Sept. 20, Hosen, acting as the conservation alliance's executive director, applied for the $2 million state grant. In her proposal, she stated that the land's sale was imminent and points to a vote of the county Planning Commission scheduled for the next day.

There is no indication on the application that Hosen is on the Prince William Planning Commission or that she is a family friend.

In an interview yesterday, Hosen said she had been in a hurry to complete the application and was tired. Her most important goal, she said, was "to convey a quantitative sense of urgency" because of the upcoming planning commission vote, in which she did not participate.

While certain facets of this are a little troubling, especially the $2M handed out by the state, this doesn't rise to the level of scandal. Bad judgment and opportunism yes, "scheme", for certain, but scandal is probably too strong a word for it.

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