Fairfax Citizens for Responsible Growth,
Inc. (FairGrowth) is supportive of the efforts of Supervisors Linda
Smyth and Dana Kauffman to establish standards and definitions for what
is termed "Transit Oriented Development," also known as "TOD" or "Smart
Growth." While TOD has no one definition, there are commonly-accepted
principles that should apply.
INCLUDE THE PUBLIC
At the outset, it should be clarified that real TOD requires widespread
community inclusion from the beginning. FairGrowth agrees with the
following commentary provided by the Urban Land Institute:
"Smart growth is a process, a dialogue, a way to build consensus; it
does not hand down preconceived notions or plans for
development" (Bill Hudnut,
What is Smart Growth Not? -
Urban
Land Institute Commentary).
The biggest missing ingredient in Fairfax is broad community
involvement and support. According to TOD literature, the community's
blessing of, and full participation in pioneering projects such as
Metro West is nothing short of vital. Specifically, "The New Transit
Town: Best Practices In Transit-Oriented Development" (by Hank Dittmar
with Dena Belzer and Gerald Aulter, Island Press 2004), states that a
"successful TOD needs to be mixed-use, walkable, location-efficient
development that balances the need for sufficient density to support
convenient transit service with the scale of the adjacent community"
(page 4).
This influential book also observes that a community's blessing can
bring success to projects that otherwise might fail, while lingering
suspicion and hostility are lead weights that can drag down projects
that otherwise might have succeeded (pp. 53-54).
The Urban Land Institute also tells us that in order to succeed, a
proposal must be "stakeholder centered" as well as "collaborative and
educational" (
10 Principles for Successful Development
Around Transit, p. 3).
These sentiments are echoed by our own Metropolitan Washington Council
of Governments, which lists "Encourag[ing] Community and Stakeholder
Collaboration" as one of the principles of Smart Growth (
Smart Growth Begins at the Local Level,
p. 7).
The United States Environmental Protection Agency remarks:
"Encouraging Community and Stakeholder Collaboration in Development
Decisions means ensuring the early and frequent involvement of all
stakeholders throughout the planning and development decision-making
process. The means of engaging the community and stakeholders are
myriad and range from early stakeholder input in community plans to
ongoing feedback and evaluation of plan implementation as projects are
constructed. Ensuring a high level of public involvement is fundamental
to guaranteeing that community needs are fully integrated into the
planning and development process, as well as contributing to avoidance
or creative resolution of development conflicts" (
EPA's
Smart Growth Glossary).
It must be acknowledged that broad public inclusion was not a hallmark
of the Metro West planning process. Rather, it was notably exclusive,
so much so that it merits becoming a case study of how NOT to approach
a TOD project.
FairGrowth urges Supervisors Smyth and Kauffman to include a high level
of early public involvement in any effort to set standards for TOD,
including the zoning phase of the Metro West proposal. There are
many other aspects of TOD that FairGrowth intends to expand upon in the
near future. Topics include transit node coordination;
pedestrian-friendly development; impacts on roads, schools, parks,
sewage treatment and storm water facilities; appropriate densities at
various distances from transit stations; the need to include
enforceable traffic demand management (TDM) techniques; and the
conditional phasing of developments to ensure that policy goals are
achievable before total build-out.
FairGrowth looks forward to working with county leaders, staff and
other concerned citizen groups on this important initiative.