In many Northern Virginia neighborhoods, two miniature Sicilian donkeys could add up to a heap of trouble. In western Loudoun County, they are simply part of the charm. "Mercifully, my neighbors have not commented," says Karen Lowe, whose Loweland Farm occupies 60 acres on Steptoe Hill Road in Middleburg. The donkeys have a "strong, deep chest" that belies their stature, and the all-hours braying can be heard across property lines. But because Loweland borders another farm and a camp, there aren't any complaints.

In northwest Loudoun, the smooth functioning of Malcolm Baldwin's 28-acre Weather Lea Farm near Lovettsville depends on more than friendly relations with his neighbors. He needs hay for his sheep, but can't afford the expensive equipment necessary to cut his fields. A farmer who lives nearby performs that task for him.

Loweland and Weather Lea exist in a delicate but thriving sector of Loudoun County called the rural economy. Delicate because both farms are entwined with the community in intimate ways. Thriving because of the booming demand for their goods and services. The impact of proposed new zoning regulations on western Loudoun's rural economy is an important part of deliberations this winter by the Board of Supervisors.

Baldwin is watching the debate very closely. If most of the fields that surround his property become subdivisions, he could see his hay service vanish and his profits disappear. "I'm simply too small to control my rural environment so I'm very vulnerable," Baldwin says.

Many of the businesses that make up the rural economy are, like Baldwin's, modest-sized. Wineries, pick-your-own farms, farmers' markets, antique shops, bed and breakfast inns, and animal hospitals are among the other enterprises in this sector, often started by entrepreneurs who have moved to the county from more populated Washington suburbs in recent decades.

There are also the larger farms that specialize in such traditional Loudoun products as grain and cattle. And of course there is the equine services industry, which leads the state in horse sales and employs 2,480 people.

Put together, the big and small make up a robust part of Loudoun County commerce, with rural economic income of over $40 million annually. In 2002, the latest year for which agricultural census data is available, Loudoun farm sales were 39 percent higher than in the previous census taken in 1997. Tourism – based in many instances on the existence of a pastoral landscape – delivered $2.9 million to the county government in taxes in 2004.

After the Virginia Supreme Court last spring struck down the previous Board of Supervisors' zoning plan for western Loudoun, zoning reverted to the old one house/three acre (A-3) rule that agricultural experts say would ruin the open space conditions needed by farmers. "We cannot sustain the rural economy with a development density of one house/three acres," declares Richard Fiske, former president of the Loudoun Farm Bureau.

The previous board's zoning rules limited building in the west to one house per 20 or 50 acres, depending on the location, though with "clustering" options, the effective zoning was 10 acres and 20 acres. Clustering involves placing homes close together so that more open space is preserved.

In July, the current board gave county staff the go-ahead to work on a draft for a zoning proposal sponsored by supervisors Jim Burton (I-Blue Ridge), and Jim Clem (R-Leesburg). The proposed zoning would be more restrictive than A-3 but less so than the 2003 ordinance. It would allow one house per 20 or 40 acres, though it provides other subdivision options, including a cluster option that would double the number of houses that could be built. Through a more complex rezoning process, the number of houses could be increased even more in return for proffers, or promises to offset some of the additional costs to taxpayers.

This month's board work sessions will attempt to settle differences among board members over key elements of the ordinance and how it will work. One significant issue involves the question of open space easements. Under the housing cluster option, which leaves approximately 70 percent of the land in open space, the question is whether that space should be placed in a permanent easement. The county staff's draft says only "restrictive covenants" would be required; these could be abolished over time.

Another issue is the timing for passage of the ordinance. Under the most efficient scenario, it could be completed by the end of February. The worst-case scenario would leave it in the hands of the county planning commission to work on as long as they wished, before voting and sending it to the board for enactment.

A third question is grandfa­thering. If the subdivision applications that are now in the pipeline but still not through the administrative process were to be grandfathered or "vested," then many building lots would be made available.

Other issues include the list that will define what kind of businesses are allowed to operate and the required approval process, and the rules governing set-backs, buffers, noise, lighting, parking spaces, and other performance standards.

The fact that such details must be specified reflects the reality of a working landscape in Loudoun. Martha Polkey, who raises sheep north of Leesburg and sells the sheepskins, fleece and lamb products, comments that "development interests often try to portray the preservation of open space and agricultural land as a mere 'viewshed,' primarily for the wealthy. But the open land we want to retain in Loudoun is commercial land."

Polkey, a member of the Virginia Sheep Industry Board, says she can see "the envy in the faces of my fellow producers in more rural portions of the state who see the ready market we have for our products, and the prices we can command." New ethnic populations in the Washington area, for example, have created a demand for fresh lamb and goat. But Polkey and others who raise vulnerable animals such as sheep have to contend with numerous problems arising from the proximity of suburban-style communities. A household dog allowed to run free may "pack up" with other liberated canines, which then form an efficient killing machine.

A broader concern for businesses and residents alike is the quality of drinking water if vast acres of county land in the west are paved over. Major waterways such as Goose Creek suffer from construction site runoff, fertilizers dumped on the lawns of large-sized lots, and roadway chemicals.

Beverly Morton Billand, owner of Patowmack Farm, which overlooks the Potomac River across from Point of Rocks, suggests the county do more to help small businesses flourish in the rural areas. "The process (for approvals) is long and arduous," she says. (Billand did most of the applications herself, with help from her husband, a professional county planner.)

Patowmack Farm is an all-organic enterprise that grows a variety of vegetables and fruits as the basis for the elegant meals at its "Dinner in the Garden" facility. Billand wants to preserve the countryside ambience around her property "I'm for controlled and intelligent growth," she says.

Karen Lowe is effusive about the pastoral setting of Loweland Farm, calling it a "real blessing," as is the increasing business she is getting from county residents. She and her husband Richard grow Christmas trees (the Sicilian donkeys are an attraction for visiting families); their other activity is Karen's gourmet food product line, which uses ingredients from the farm's garden.

The bottom-line beauty of Patowmack and Loweland farms is that while they make good money for the owners, they also save money for county taxpayers. Compared to subdivisions, rural economic businesses require much less infrastructure – roads, schools and other services.

Supervisor Burton estimates the should the one house/three acre zoning stay in place, it could add $1.8 billion to the tax bill as 48,000 new houses are added in western Loudoun. The new zoning plan, if enacted as currently outlined, would cut that tax bill by more than half.