Roanoke Times
                 Copyright (c) 1995, Landmark Communications, Inc.

DATE: MONDAY, November 20, 1995                   TAG: 9511200058
SECTION: VIRGINIA                    PAGE: C-6   EDITION: NEW RIVER VALLEY 
SOURCE: Associated Press
DATELINE: LEESBURG                                LENGTH: Medium

LOUDOUN WANTS OWN IDENTITY RESIDENTS REQUEST MAILING CHANGE

In all, about 500 homeowners and dozens of businesses in a 50-square-mile corner of southeastern Loudoun have Chantilly, Centreville or Haymarket addresses. The problem is that none of those three places is really in Loudoun County. Chantilly and Centreville are in Fairfax, and Haymarket is in Prince William.

``We've been kind of like the bastard son,'' said Ric Inniger, a retired U.S. Marine sergeant who moved to the area seven years ago.

More than a sense of identity is at stake. Because of their Fairfax mailing address and ZIP code, residents of southeastern Loudoun are charged higher auto-insurance rates and sometimes don't get prompt police and fire service. Sales taxes collected from businesses in the area are sometimes sent to Fairfax's government instead of Loudoun's. And the Census Bureau counts the residents as living in Fairfax, not Loudoun.

Pat's Place diner, on Virginia 50, long has been a favorite of residents who swear that the $3 plate of chipped beef and gravy is the best this side of the Appalachian Mountains.

But people who want to sample its fare should call ahead for directions. The diner's postal address is Chantilly, and maps of Northern Virginia show that Chantilly is in Fairfax County. The diner is actually in Loudoun County, three miles from the Loudoun-Fairfax line.

``Every year, we get tax papers from Fairfax, and every year, we have to tell them we're in Loudoun,'' said Pat Bauer, the diner's owner. ``You would think they would know it by now.''

The business's Chantilly address and ZIP code also have confounded deliverymen, first-time visitors and firefighters.

But postal officials say there aren't enough residences or businesses in the area to warrant changing the ZIP code.

``It's destined to be Chantilly for the foreseeable future,'' said Donald Wynkoop, postmaster in Fairfax. ``Our mailing areas aren't bordered by county lines. If at some point it gets to so many thousand addresses, to a point of reaching saturation, then we would consider a change.''

The residents don't want to wait that long. Last week, Loudoun County officials appealed to U.S. Sens. John Warner, R-Va., and Charles Robb, D-Va., and Rep. Frank Wolf, R-Fairfax County, to intervene on Loudoun's behalf.

It wouldn't be the first address switch for the area. Before Dulles International Airport was built in 1963, many of the residents were listed by the Postal Service as living in Sterling, a Loudoun community. But as eastern Loudoun's population grew and new post offices were opened, more and more of these homeowners were ``moved'' to Chantilly.