Changes are Coming to Prince William’s DCSM Prince William County is conducting work sessions on proposed updates to its Design and Construction Standards Manual (DCSM). The next two sessions are scheduled to meet in the Administration Building's (McCoart Building) Potomac Conference Room on July 13 at 6:00 p.m. and July 27 at 6:00 p.m., with public hearings likely to be scheduled in September. The proposed DCSM changes will effect how land is developed and should be reviewed in their entirety by engineers, attorneys, land planners, and developers working in Prince William County. With respect to water resource issues, Section 700, Environmental Systems, proposes changes that include: Depicting jurisdictional wetlands and stream boundaries on all plans; (Section 704.08) Providing for a 40-foot setback for dwellings from wetlands adjacent to non-RPA streams; (Section 741.04 D) A prohibition against including wetlands on lots less than 20,000 square feet in area; (741.04 D) Clarification that Perennial Flow Determinations are now required for all streams draining more than 50 acres (formerly 100 acres); (742.02 A) Countersinking all culverts; (702.20 D) Depicting highly erodible, highly permeable, and marine clay soils on all plans; (Section 710.01 F) and Depicting +25 percent slopes on all plans and preserving them when abutting a perennial stream. (Section 710.01 G and H) In addition, Section 700 now has several references encouraging Low Impact Development (LID), and includes an Appendix (“C”) on Low Impact Development design practices. For ease of review, all changes in Section 700 relating to water resources, including its Appendix C relating to LID, have been excerpted. To learn more, you can view the proposed Section 700 changes in their entirety at Prince William County’s website and attend the work sessions. If you have concerns, be sure to send comments to Prince William County staff, Planning Commissioners, and the Board of Supervisors. For questions about how these changes may affect your property or development plans, you can contact Mark Headly, Bill Nell, or Dan Lucey.