Whither Goest the Planning Commission?
This week, the Fairfax County Planning Commission (FCPC) will take up the massive rezoning request for the Tysons Corner shopping center. This request, if approved by the FCPC and the Board of Supervisors, would permit the landowner to add multiple high-rise buildings with new offices, retail, condos and a hotel to Tysons Corner. And more parking spaces than exist at the world's largest office building -- the Pentagon.
Despite the smoke being blown by the applicant, this is not a development by right. Rather, it is a request for rezoning. Moreover, the proposal is not consistent with the Comprehensive Plan and should, therefore, be denied. The Comprehensive Plan does contemplate more density at Tysons Corner, but it also presumed that a significant number of transportation improvements would also have been made to the Beltway, Routes 7 and 123, as well as a number of other connected roads, before the density would be added. Guess what? The infrastructure improvements have never been made. The condition precedent for permitting added density does not exist. Therefore, the added density must not be granted.
As anyone who has ever had the misfortune of driving through or near Tysons during "rush hours" readily knows, the local road system cannot handle the existing density. Therefore, it would be insanity for the FCPC to approve this proposed rezoning that would add even more traffic. The public health, welfare and safety would be negatively affected should the rezoning be approved. It must be denied for this reason alone.
Moreover, the Board of Supervisors has created a citizens task force to study Tysons Corner and to recommend any changes to the Comprehensive Plan for this area, which includes the shopping center. This rezoning should not be granted until after the task force has completed its work. I have talked with several task force members, who have indicated that this group has not made up its collective mind as whether more density should be added to the area and, if so, how much and under what terms and conditions. The rezoning request should be denied or postponed until after the task force completes its work.
Common sense suggests and the public interest demands that the FCPC reject the rezoning request for the Tysons Corner shopping center. Will the Commission act in the public interest and deny the request?
Despite the smoke being blown by the applicant, this is not a development by right. Rather, it is a request for rezoning. Moreover, the proposal is not consistent with the Comprehensive Plan and should, therefore, be denied. The Comprehensive Plan does contemplate more density at Tysons Corner, but it also presumed that a significant number of transportation improvements would also have been made to the Beltway, Routes 7 and 123, as well as a number of other connected roads, before the density would be added. Guess what? The infrastructure improvements have never been made. The condition precedent for permitting added density does not exist. Therefore, the added density must not be granted.
As anyone who has ever had the misfortune of driving through or near Tysons during "rush hours" readily knows, the local road system cannot handle the existing density. Therefore, it would be insanity for the FCPC to approve this proposed rezoning that would add even more traffic. The public health, welfare and safety would be negatively affected should the rezoning be approved. It must be denied for this reason alone.
Moreover, the Board of Supervisors has created a citizens task force to study Tysons Corner and to recommend any changes to the Comprehensive Plan for this area, which includes the shopping center. This rezoning should not be granted until after the task force has completed its work. I have talked with several task force members, who have indicated that this group has not made up its collective mind as whether more density should be added to the area and, if so, how much and under what terms and conditions. The rezoning request should be denied or postponed until after the task force completes its work.
Common sense suggests and the public interest demands that the FCPC reject the rezoning request for the Tysons Corner shopping center. Will the Commission act in the public interest and deny the request?
posted by Toomanytaxes at 4:11 PM
1 Comments:
After reading some of the development plans and reading one Tysons resident take on the traffic he experiences currently (http://jaytipnis.blogspot.com/2006/10/tysons-corner-where-gridlock-is.html)--much less with 1000s of condos and high rise office buildings being added--I'd say your conclusions are valid. The politicians have been ignoring infrastructure for decades thus causing more pollution due to idling cars. Of course the greenies have always been against building more roads even though they supposedly care about air quality. These great plans of a more self-contained community with the offices, condos and retail are exciting but not necessarily grounded in a practical reality as of yet.
jay
http://www.justnewlistings.com/arlington-virginia-blog/
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