Focus on Infrastructure and Environment First - Spot-planning and zoning is outpacing regional planning and infrastructure development. We need to give broader attention to roads, watersheds, sewers, transit, schools, parks, and air and water quality - before authorizing expanded development.
Development in metro areas should be analyzed comprehensively for its impact on the public good (broadly defined to include economic impact, service facilities capacity, environmental protection, time value (a cost of traffic), recreation, education, etc.)
If the existing infrastructure cannot support today's population, even "smart growth" harms the community.
Current policies force local taxpayers to bear the costs of both inadequate public facilities (crowded schools, traffic gridlock, overcrowded Metro trains, deteriorating water quality) and higher taxes to pay for infrastructure improvements.
To address the impacts of development, local jurisdictions should be given the option of enacting impact fees or an Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance to analyze development requests for their impacts on existing public infrastructure. See, e.g., FLA. STAT. 163.3202.
Should Virginia seek to increase density in competition with the District of Columbia that has considerable infrastructure in place and is seeking population growth?
Should Virginia focus increased density in areas actively seeking revitalization through retail and commercial businesses and upscale office space class, such as the Route 1 corridor, or Baileys Crossroads?
Transportation is Key - How to move people is a critical question, but one that should focus on what works for the populace, and not just for developer profits based on speculative real estate investments. Given the timetable necessary for transportation improvements, these issues also must be evaluated in tandem with growth and land-use issues, or the new systems will be outdated before they are even fully implemented.
Start at square one and really evaluate all options on the merits and economics, including both their degree of improvement (measured on multiple criteria) and cost-effectiveness.
Take a close look at Bus Rapid Transit. Metro alone cannot solve our problems. We have a complex transportation problem that requires a multi-faceted approach.
Evaluate extending the Yellow line Metro from Huntington to Fort Belvoir or Lorton.
Evaluate Service Level Agreements for transportation projects that set forth hard performance standards for each project and require funding to be canceled for any project that fails to deliver the level of service improvements promised in exchange for funding.
Make WMATA Accountable to the Public - Development decisions involving WMATA need to be open to public scrutiny. WMATA is not subject to any federal or state FOIA or open government laws. WMATA must be made subject to the federal Freedom of Information Act, as well as the Administrative Procedures Act. Barring that, Virginia should work with Maryland and DC to reach agreement on a set of disclosure laws and administrative procedures to govern WMATA under the interstate compact.
Be True to Transit-Oriented Development - What we are getting is density at - or simply near - transit nodes, not "smart growth." MetroWest (Vienna Metro) and Hunter Mill Road (near Reston) and the newly proposed development at the Dunn Loring Metro station are prime examples.
Establish (with community input) a set of carefully defined parameters for "transit-oriented development." Prevent the morphing of "transit-oriented" development into a loose "transit-friendly" concept.
Transfer development rights from areas located away from transit nodes to those within mile of such nodes, to ensure a net benefit and not just increase density everywhere.
Carefully evaluate ridership projections and parking needs, particularly at terminus stations.
Enhance secondary transportation modes to allow those living in transit-oriented developments to travel easily to nearby Town Centers, shopping and recreation areas without cars.
Ensure Citizen Inclusion and Influence in an Open Process - Process problems are interfering with trust in our local government. Examples: hand-picked special Task Forces, enforcing and changing rules for the use of public parks by private organizations, loss of protection for Chesapeake tributary streams. We need to make the County decision-making process more transparent and responsive, and build in accountability.
Zoning decisions must be made on an administrative, rather than on a legislative, basis, based on record evidence with notice and opportunity for hearing, findings of fact and conclusions of law that are responsive to testimony as well as electronic and written comments, and subject to judicial review.
Applications for rezoning must address the impacts on public infrastructure and the public fisc. The analysis must include both new revenues, including developer contributions, and new costs. Citizens should have standing to challenge these analyses.
Planning and zoning decisions must be free of the appearance of bias or conflict. Disclosures should be made at the initial -- and critical -- stage of amending the Comprehensive Plan, and not just in connection with re-zoning applications. Criteria for assessing conflict and bias should take into account employment with landowners that stand to profit from development under review.
The Magisterial system in which each Districts Supervisor essentially makes a unilateral decision on projects within his or her District to which other Supervisors then defer needs to be re-evaluated and re-vamped. A rolling election cycle should also be considered so that the record of each Supervisor can be evaluated on a comprehensive and County-wide basis.
Preserve Green Belts - Fairfax County has a plan for areas of substantial growth (including some blighted and failing areas), areas which will be maintained at low density, and strategic buffer/greenbelt areas to separate urban cores, which we should adhere to and protect. Affirmative plans for protecting green space are needed in all areas subject to development pressure.
Reconsider Active Growth Advocacy - Does it make sense to spend $6.8M annually just in Fairfax to advocate business migration to the County? Northern Virginia is on auto-pilot with growth policies from a decade ago that should be re-examined. Growth must be managed, not simply invited at all costs.
Give the Town of Vienna and Similarly Situated Localities a Seat at the Table - While growth must be evaluated and managed based on its regional as well as local impacts, the decisions should not all be made at state and regional level; there has to be room for our highly-valued small communities (which provide the quality of life we love) to have both input and influence.
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