September 13, 2012: The planning commission met with members of the Tysons Planning Committee as part of four follow-on motions surrounding the Comprehensive Plan approved in June 2010. The motions were;
After 24 separate meetings, which included public and developer input, the committee has returned to the planning commission. On September 6th, the Tysons Planning Committee recommended a final draft of their Strawman document. The plans have been controversial, ambitious, and frustratingly complicated at times but after a long period of deliberation it appears that many of the larger details have been hammered out.
This week the McLean Citizens Association (MCA) released a letter recommending modifications to the document. The suggestions were minor in scope and focused mostly on vernacular which would defend taxpayers from escalating and disproportionate cost increases for infrastructure. When broken down the cost division has been generally viewed as acceptable. At its core is the developer funds which totals over $1 billion through the next 30 years, in addition to their pro-rata share from general tax funds not associated with the 7 cent service district surcharge. The funding includes $560 million of in kind grid of streets construction which would naturally be built on individual properties.
What remains a sticking point is oversight and the ability to secure funds outside of the control of Fairfax County from Federal and State sources. “We believe there is a significant state responsibility for this endeavor. Everyone involved should go to their state representative to discuss this. Tysons contributes significantly to the economic health of Fairfax, and therefore to Virginia,” said Tysons Planning Committee member Barbara Byron.
Today the State of Virginia announced it received $28 million in federal transportation fund surplus for shovel ready projects. This on top of the $500 million surplus the State had in 2011, coming at a time in which 9 billion dollars was reallocated from NOVA funds to the rest of the state. Unfortunately, in the words of Sean Connaughton, Secretary of Transportation, “Fairfax needs to look elsewhere for cash”.
Tysons Corner has had much better luck in finding a Federal partner in the economic growth of the region. The Committee has “already attained half of the funding for neighborhood improvements from Federal sources,” said Tom Biesiadny of FCDOT.
The cost benefit for the State and Federal policy makers is favorable for finding future funding. The current administration in Richmond not withstanding, the future looks bright for a partnership at all levels in government. “Over 40 years Tysons anticipates 208 million dollars in outside funding, 9.1% of the total. Going through this process, working through the State allocation and what’s fair, I think anyone looking at this, even from Richmonds perspective, would understand we aren’t dumping a cost burden on Richmond.” Walter Alcorn emphasized “but we would appreciate some help and participation. We are only looking at under 10% of capital cost. Hopefully that will put it in context”.
Ending the session were several points brought to the attention of commissioner Alcorn in an MCA letter this week. For the most part the staff believed the change in wording was an appropriate one to emphasize that tax payers should not be the ultimate pallbearers of cost escalations. It was footnoted by Commissioner Richard De La Fey who said “assurances decades in advance to lock in stone is not something we are able to do. In 2012, making quantitative predictions about 40 years from now, is not very useful. Proportional yes, but quantitative predictions, I can’t support that”.
The statement was reiterated by Commission Hart “This isn’t permanent. Every year the board will have to review the priorities for Tysons and county wide. These will change, dependent on elections over time. The board will implement these recommendations in baby steps; there will be many, many opportunities to check their work, and revisit them. This is not locking in stone what will happen in 40 years. It is a projection, the implementation will still need to be done at a micro-level.”
The Planning Commission was pleased with the hard work put in by the committee over the past several months and noted the recommendations are far better from the interaction of individuals and the committee. “A lot of folks in these situations hold back until the board meeting, I don’t think it’s the right approach,” said Commissioner De La Fey in closing. “Get your points into the planning commission and we can better address them earlier in the process. Quite frankly it’s too late once it goes to the board in many cases.”
The Planning Commission will vote on the final version after minor modifications discussed this week on September 20th. Until then they welcome any and all suggestions from the public. Find the latest version of the Tysons Strawman here.