During a town hall meeting last week, about 30 residents turned out to hear presentations on the issue.

The meeting was hosted by Supervisor John Stirrup (R-Gainesville) on Oct. 1 at Sinclair Elementary School in a part of the county that's had its share of occupancy problems.

The general consensus by county government panelists and residents was that there are two types of housing problems in Manassas: empty homes and overcrowded homes.

An overcrowded home tends to result in extra noise, extra cars, extra trash and extra traffic on residential streets.

Empty homes have their own problems, such as grass left uncut and buildings that become dilapidated and targets for graffiti and vandalism.

Michelle Casciato of the county's Neighborhood Services department explained that 50 percent of the citizen calls to her office are about zoning, 25 percent concern grass and 25 percent deal with unkempt structures, graffiti and signs.

The department now fields more than eight times as many calls as it did in 2000.

"Frankly, in our neighborhood, we're tired of it," said Manassas resident Allison Kipp as she discussed overcrowding.

Joseph Greco offered praise and criticism for county officials dealing with overcrowding, saying, "things are improving," but that too many people come and go from one of the homes on his block. He said he has counted seven cars parked outside of a single house.

"I can guarantee you it's not two retired nuns living there," Greco said.

Ron Montagna, who lives by Greco, told the panel that overcrowding is reducing the quality of life for the entire neighborhood.

"It shouldn't be local citizens that have to pick up trash and close doors," he said, referring to private residents doing the county's job.

Stirrup closed out the discussion by reminding the audience about the county's legislative wish-list.

Because Virginia is a Dillon Rule state, the state must grant localities permission to make and change individual laws.

Prince William officials are seeking approval from the state government to put leins against poorly-maintained properties, according to Stirrup.

"We can't do that yet but we're hopeful that we'll get that authority in the next legislative session" of the General Assembly, he said.

Transportation

Transportation was another issue at the meeting. Despite foreclosures, an increased population in western Prince William County has also brought more traffic headaches.

While some areas have improved -- such as the new stoplight at the fork-shaped intersection of Route 55 and Gallerher Road in Gainesville , other issues have sprung up.

Dorothy Lane called the right-turn-only lanes coming out of Bulloch Drive toward Sudley Road at Parkridge Center "a serious accident waiting to happen."

Though the two lanes are marked with solid white lines and signs warning drivers not to turn during red lights, vehicles often cross the lines anyway or make illegal turns.

Prince William County Police Lt. Greg Smith said there are "several issues" with that area and the Virginia Department of Transportation is aware of the problem.

He explained that police have problems prosecuting drivers who don't obey the signs. Those who argue about the meaning of the signs or their placements have been successful in court, Smith said.

Lane recommended installing barriers between the lanes that would at least keep drivers from crossing over. Smith replied that there could be an engineering issue VDOT would have to examine.