About Us
The Lake Ridge Occoquan Coles Civic Association (LOCCA) and its principle committee, the Planning, Environment, Land-Use, and Transportation Committee (PELT) were formed over four decades ago with the recognition that communities are fragile and that efforts are needed to establish and maintain a sense of community. Further, this community group recognized that the environment needs to be protected while providing adequate transportation systems and acknowledging that the community will continue to grow and develop. With these factors in mind LOCCA/PELT seeks to preserve a sense of community by working with citizens and the development/business community to establish and maintain community standards for architecture and design.
LOCCA/PELT meets monthly to address a variety of development issues ranging from working with developers formulating design guidelines for comprehensive projects to selecting building materials, colors, landscaping, and signage. Because of LOCC/PELT’s actions and support, our elected officials and the Prince William County planning staff have an appropriate and effective format for obtaining citizen input on a wide range of planning issues facing our community including long range Comprehensive Plan input, environmental issues, proposed architectural designs, and many other issues involving a development site’s appearance.
LOCCA generally meets on the last Thursday of each month. However, we do not meet in August for the summer recess and December because of the holidays. Additionally, we meet on the Thursday before Thanksgiving in November.
Our History
In the mid to late 1960's, the community of Lake Ridge was beginning to develop. Lake Ridge was envisioned to be a planned community where people could live, work, shop, and play. In the early stages there was no formal civic organization for citizens to gather to discuss their concerns and desires for the developing community. This soon changed when areas of the community planned for schools were developed instead into homes. Citizen's gathered and formed the beginnings of the current organization to create a strong voice for their vision of which direction the community would take. The group began to meet with the developer of Lake Ridge and the surrounding area and County officials to create a sense of community. It took at least a year or two to prepare the by-laws, form the various committees and recruit the officers. From this informal group the Lake Ridge Communities Civic Association, Inc. (LRCCA) was incorporated on July 6, 1970. The by-laws called for a non-political, nonpartisan issue driven organization dedicated to bringing the citizens in the community together with developers to create a showcase community. Originally the boundaries set for the organization was the area covered by the old Occoquan, Dumfries, Woodbridge, Triangle Sanitary District an area covering a large portion of the eastern half of Prince William County.
In the 1978 time-frame the bylaws were re-written to address another galvanizing issue for the community, namely the planned widening of Davis Ford Road (now Old Bridge and Minnieville Road). The citizens wished to avoid commercial clutter on major transportation corridors in the community, and refocused the LRCCA into LOCA, the Lake Ridge Occoquan Civic Association, formed PELT (Planning, Environment, Land-Use and Transportation) Committee to focus on achieving sensible land-use decisions and quality development within the area.
As Lake Ridge developed westerly along the Old Bridge Road corridor into the Coles Magisterial District, it became clear that there was a missing piece to the name of LOCA and the Coles Magisterial District was formally incorporated into the name during 1997 when the bylaws were again rewritten to refocus the group. The addition of the second "C" in the name was largely symbolic since the group already covered the area over the years, but served to formally emphasize the reach of the organization in the present name of the Lake Ridge Occoquan Coles Civic Association (LOCCA).
LOCCA/PELT meets monthly to address a variety of development issues ranging from working with developers formulating design guidelines for comprehensive projects to selecting building materials, colors, landscaping, and signage. Because of LOCC/PELT’s actions and support, our elected officials and the Prince William County planning staff have an appropriate and effective format for obtaining citizen input on a wide range of planning issues facing our community including long range Comprehensive Plan input, environmental issues, proposed architectural designs, and many other issues involving a development site’s appearance.
LOCCA generally meets on the last Thursday of each month. However, we do not meet in August for the summer recess and December because of the holidays. Additionally, we meet on the Thursday before Thanksgiving in November.
Our History
In the mid to late 1960's, the community of Lake Ridge was beginning to develop. Lake Ridge was envisioned to be a planned community where people could live, work, shop, and play. In the early stages there was no formal civic organization for citizens to gather to discuss their concerns and desires for the developing community. This soon changed when areas of the community planned for schools were developed instead into homes. Citizen's gathered and formed the beginnings of the current organization to create a strong voice for their vision of which direction the community would take. The group began to meet with the developer of Lake Ridge and the surrounding area and County officials to create a sense of community. It took at least a year or two to prepare the by-laws, form the various committees and recruit the officers. From this informal group the Lake Ridge Communities Civic Association, Inc. (LRCCA) was incorporated on July 6, 1970. The by-laws called for a non-political, nonpartisan issue driven organization dedicated to bringing the citizens in the community together with developers to create a showcase community. Originally the boundaries set for the organization was the area covered by the old Occoquan, Dumfries, Woodbridge, Triangle Sanitary District an area covering a large portion of the eastern half of Prince William County.
In the 1978 time-frame the bylaws were re-written to address another galvanizing issue for the community, namely the planned widening of Davis Ford Road (now Old Bridge and Minnieville Road). The citizens wished to avoid commercial clutter on major transportation corridors in the community, and refocused the LRCCA into LOCA, the Lake Ridge Occoquan Civic Association, formed PELT (Planning, Environment, Land-Use and Transportation) Committee to focus on achieving sensible land-use decisions and quality development within the area.
As Lake Ridge developed westerly along the Old Bridge Road corridor into the Coles Magisterial District, it became clear that there was a missing piece to the name of LOCA and the Coles Magisterial District was formally incorporated into the name during 1997 when the bylaws were again rewritten to refocus the group. The addition of the second "C" in the name was largely symbolic since the group already covered the area over the years, but served to formally emphasize the reach of the organization in the present name of the Lake Ridge Occoquan Coles Civic Association (LOCCA).
