www.FairGrowth.org

Contact: Will Elliott, Doug Stafford - fairgrowth@fairgrowth.org

FAIRFAX, VA: A new citizens group, concerned that Fairfax County is on the verge of a new era of runaway growth, has called on the Board of Supervisors and the Planning Commission to suspend approving a plan that could clear the way for eight high-rise towers near the Vienna Metro station, saying the County has grossly underestimated the project's impact on area roads, schools, Metro's Orange line, and the environment.

The group--called Fairfax Citizens for Responsible Growth, or FairGrowth--is primarily based in the county's Providence District, where the Vienna high-rise towers are being considered, but leaders said they are in the process of contacting citizens associations in other parts of Fairfax County, where redevelopment plans threaten long-established neighborhoods.

FairGrowth was launched last Thursday with 50 citizens from 10 communities.

"We are deeply troubled by the County's approach to the Vienna Station project," said Will Elliott, a spokesman for FairGrowth. "Unless they radically improve how they review and debate such projects, we think the County could create a true disaster when it begins considering even bigger proposals in Tysons Corner and elsewhere."

The Vienna proposal, formally known as Fairlee-Metro West, also would include 2350 households, 300,000 square feet of office space, the loss of 650 Metro parking spaces, and a stormwater pond that would eliminate 10 acres of valuable county parkland.

The proposal will be voted on by the Planning Commission on Sept. 9 at 8:15pm at the Fairfax County Government Center. A Board of Supervisors open hearing is currently scheduled for Sept. 27 at 4:30pm.

Saying they have found it difficult to get County staff to respond to dozens of questions about the viability of such a mammoth development, group members said they hope to better inform citizens, promote an active countywide debate on developments, and create more positive alternatives for future County growth.

FairGrowth leaders say the debate is necessary because developers increasingly are turning toward established communities, especially near Metro stations, and seeing them as targets for high-rise and condominium redevelopment.

"These proposals represent an alarming trend in Fairfax County," said Elliott. "At a time when residents have a right to expect the County to pursue long-overdue repairs for our roads, schools, and Metro, our County leaders are instead entertaining a new round of massive developments, without thorough analysis, planning, and scrutiny.

"The infrastructure (either current or planned and funded) will not support this proposed development."

"It would be like flying an airplane without an adequate supply of fuel."

"We are absolutely not against growth," Elliott added. "But the County needs to stop and reflect. What's being proposed is not fair, it is not responsible, and it is definitely not smart."

###

Fairfax Citizens for Responsible Growth is a coalition of concerned neighbors and neighborhoods organized to ensure new developments in Fairfax, particularly in Providence District, are planned in an open manner, and address the concerns of the long time neighborhoods in the surrounding area.