TO:  WMATA Board of Directors (BoardofDirectors@wmata.com)

FROM:  Fairfax Citizens for Responsible Growth, Inc. (FairGrowth)

DATE:  October 19, 2005

RE:  Sale of Land at the Vienna/Fairfax/GMU Metro Station

FairGrowth notes with grave concern that the sale of land at the Vienna/Fairfax/GMU Metro Station is on the agenda for tomorrow’s October 20, 2005 WMATA Board meeting.

As FairGrowth pointed out in its statement to the WMATA Board on April  21, 2005, the proposed development, including the WMATA land, at this site has been plagued by a history of broad exclusion of affected communities, a refusal to compromise, and a lack of consideration of relevant data.  As such, FairGrowth specifically requested on April 21 that if WMATA were to consider sale of this land, that the WMATA board “go out of your way to get public input, examine the facts with your riders, and consider all of the ramifications before making a decision.”  FairGrowth also noted that the Board’s direction was moving towards more inclusion, and expressed our appreciation of this trend.

FairGrowth welcomed Chairman Dana Kauffman’s “opening” of the WMATA process.  On July 28th, before the House Committee on Government Reform, Chairman Kauffman testified:

“In becoming [WMATA] Board Chair, one of my top priorities was to open up the Metro organization and to ensure that we are listening to our customers.  Over the past year, the WMATA Board of Directors launched a comprehensive set of initiatives to secure public input and increase transparency and organizational accountability.” (Testimony of Dana Kauffman, Chairman of the Board, Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority, House Committee on Government Reform, July 28, 2005, p. 5.)

FairGrowth notes that, despite our request in April, and the clearly controversial nature of the sale of the land at Vienna Metro, WMATA considered the transaction throughout the month of June 2005.  To the
best of our knowledge, no public input or rider involvement was requested.  This appears to contradict the promise of openness and transparency made by the WMATA board.

There are many aspects about this sale that Metro riders have concerns about.  Data about the impacts on Metro stations, car capacity, finances, etc. should be publicly discussed in an open process in a dialogue between the WMATA Board, staff and riders.  Many riders also have questions of process.  For instance, it is unclear how much consideration this item has received from the WMATA Board’s Real Estate
Committee up to this point.  FairGrowth would very much like to meet with the Real Estate Committee to discuss this vital issue before it is examined by the entire Board.

Among the reasons FairGrowth requests this meeting is because, while the proposed development at Vienna Metro is billed as “Transit-Oriented Development,” or TOD, for many reasons, it actually fails to fulfill some of the most-accepted criteria for TOD.  FairGrowth actively supports true TOD, and would like to have the opportunity to explain our stance in detail to the Real Estate Committee.  Further, the
proposed development at this site threatens to set a number of precedents, not only throughout Fairfax but perhaps in other jurisdictions in the region.  These precedents involve not only TOD, but also Traffic Demand Management (TDM) measures, some of which are highly questionable and merit further consideration by WMATA.

Therefore, FairGrowth respectfully requests that this item be removed, or at the very least tabled, from the October 20, 2005 agenda, in order to give an opportunity for the public to learn more about the
ramifications of the sale, and for the public and riders to provide educated feedback.

If the WMATA Board truly desires to make its processes more open and accountable to riders and the public at large, it cannot approve this highly controversial sale in such a sudden and exclusionary manner.
FairGrowth only asks that the public be provided with a chance to participate in an open process.  Surely this is not too much to ask.

In conclusion, FairGrowth requests the following:

1)  The item on the sale of land at the Vienna/Fairfax/GMU station be removed or tabled from the October 20, 2005 agenda, and;
2)  The Real Estate Committee set a time to meet with FairGrowth, other riders, and members of the public to discuss this issue.

Thank you very much for your consideration.

Fairfax Citizens for Responsible Growth, Inc.
fairgrowth@fairgrowth.org
http://www.fairgrowth.org