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Land Use and the Dulles Rail Project

Sierra Club Principles

The areas surrounding stations must be well planned
The Sierra Club supports establishing better uses of special properties in this corridor - special by virtue of their proximity to the planned rail extension.  Adding well-designed, concentrated and mixed uses at these transit nodes means the County can grow economically without adding to congestion and without disturbing some other open space.  Users of these properties will make many of their movements on foot or on Metro.  Placement of a significant amount of affordable housing close to stations is important.  We supported Fairfax County’s action to change the planning for the area, but believe there remains room for improvement.

Add density and mitigate any negative effects
Land around stations is valuable to the community, being located next to a very expensive transportation facility, and we need to make the best possible use of it.  In the plan that was approved, there are some parcels that are partially within a quarter-mile of stations that could be planned for more intense use.  A short time ago the Board adopted a special ordinance to permit more dense development near transit stations and it should be used in this corridor.

The rationale given by staff for assigning moderate densities was that the road system could not handle the additional traffic.  We prefer invoking measures to otherwise mitigate the traffic effects, such as shuttles, bikeways and walkways and transportation demand management measures.  These measure are in the plan, but they should be strengthened.  This may mean a redistribution of county resources to assure efficient use of this small planned area which should lessen the demand for infrastructure in a broader surrounding area.

Offset density with adequate open space preservation
One of the intended benefits of concentrating development, and a mitigation of it, is the potential to preserve open space nearby, but there is no assurance that this will happen here.  The Board should continue to seek ways to include planned open space within and near the corridor to offset the new density. Possibly the proffer system could be used to offer density in exchange for purchased open space nearby.  We encourage continued investigation of using air rights for construction over stations.

During to the discussion about planning this area we heard resistance to change which stemmed from the fact that this plan will affect some established development.  Planning such areas should be viewed in a broader perspective as to what is needed to make the County function properly.  This is an exercise in replanning in light of the expectation of having transit in the corridor.  The sum of acreage in this area, the Merrifield area, Tysons and a modest space around other existing stations comes to about 5,700 acres, or a little over 2 percent of the County.  To plan this small area correctly is crucial to success.  It will not be possible to retain a suburban atmosphere within a half-mile of a transit station, and you shouldn't try.  Those who object should have their concerns mitigated, but in the end, you need to put the density at the stations.

Contact:  Roger Diedrich, 703-352-2410  rdiedrich@cox.net