One of the great things about the commonwealth of Virginia is its successful, bipartisan, and stable relationship with businesses which along with Virginia’s proximity to D.C. and favorable corporate tax rates has attracted some of the biggest companies in America. These companies bring not only tax revenue and employment positions but also the future prospects of continued growth. Such expansions spur even more growth and in the case of ITT Exelis whole new companies in themselves.
Unfortunately, when a company grows it needs room and a favorable environment to do so. Recently, we have seen objection from McLean residents rejecting the growth of Capital One’s headquarters, even though this expansion virtually assures that more high end corporate positions will become available for a company that bucks the trend in this area and is not federally connected.
The arguments for obstruction are often superficial and at times lack a foundation in reality (the shadow over my house defense). Expansion of a corporate campus is only one form of employment growth that we as a region have fought.
For decades we have decided, through our comprehensive plan and land use policy, that industrial uses (outside of automobile repair and construction storage of course) are unacceptable neighbors. These concepts are rooted in a century old definition of what “industrial” uses mean. Smoke stacks and large lay down yards contributing pollution to our waterways and forests is a model which has become the exception to the rule. While large scale manufacturing continues to take this format, there are hundreds of emerging and existing industrial functions that require far less space, do not require development in preserved lands, require little natural resources, and produce far less pollutants.
Our leaders continue to tell companies that we are favorable to their growth, but how favorable are we if we only show our mutual symbiosis via our tax rate and not our land use policies? ITT Exelis remains a corporate presence in Northern Virginia, however they looked to the more favorable growth environment of Utah for their new manufacturing facility, even though tax rates and logistic transportation were more advantageous in Virginia.
When a company has to make its case for why they want to grow a new facility and provide 2700 new employment positions (sorry everyone who is out of a job who could have used those jobs) for 5 years to a Zoning Board, it is an unfavorable expansion environment. What can a board do when plans are fought against by citizens who want to preserve things as nebulous as traffic conditions, scenic views, and neighborhood feel? Last time we checked traffic conditions are already terrible just about everywhere, and your view of the Washington Monument hasn’t existed ever since trees in this area exceeded 15′ in height.
Our loss has been Utah’s gain. There is nothing wrong with companies investing in multiple locales, but the trend is worrisome for our area particularly. We do not want to become a paper tiger of economy. The corporations we partner with want to expand their employment presence, we need to encourage not discourage that mindset as residents. Losing manufacturing and research jobs continues another frightening trend of a homogeneous workforce. We are becoming polarized as upper middle managers and low wage service industries run by immigrants and high school students. This is a dangerous imbalance that lacks the stability of and recirculation of younger career starting post graduates. Currently, if you are in the IT field you can find a job coming out of college. Beyond those select positions it is getting tougher and tougher to find entry level, non-service industry, positions.
We need to stop unfairly stacking the deck against industrial land use and start reviewing both the benefits and the negative effects of new facilities. There has been a case against many projects that would have unfairly punished nearby residents, but there have been just as many opportunities to create an industrial presence in our county that would have been seamless. Fairfax is 120 times larger than Manhattan Island. We have our size on our side.
We have actively conserved much of our land mass for preservation, but there remains many regions that could use new jobs, new investment, and are already developed with low density storage and strip mall uses. As a region we need to recognize that our attractiveness to companies is only partially attributable to tax rates. In order to continue the story of Fairfax’s unprecedented economic growth we have to become partners, not adversaries, of business growth.