SUMMARY: If the County approves much higher housing density near Metro stations under the justification that the residents will use Metro instead of cars, the Metro system must have the capacity to accommodate them, which the system as it exists today does not. Moreover, the current system's routes do not reflect the fact that over 50% of the people who live in the County work in the County. It's time to begin planning a light rail system that will connect Springfield with Fort Belvoir, the Orange line, and the line to Dulles.
SUMMARY: While most homeowners are familiar with individual appraisals, real estate tax assessments are done through a mass appraisal process. This process compares the sales prices of properties sold in a given year with the previous year's assessments for those properties. A median assessment-to-sale ratio is calculated for the neighborhood and the percentage increase required to bring the ASR up to fair market value (91-95% of the sales price) is determined. The assessments for all properties in the neighborhood are then increased by that same percentage increase.
SUMMARY: This article provides instructions on how to check a mass appraisal of the properties in your neighborhood and describes the ways in which a mass appraisal can introduce errors into the assessment process if not done correctly.
SUMMARY: Elected officials like to brag that they've "brought home the bacon." But sometimes the price is a lot higher than what we get for it. That was the case with the 2004 sales tax increase that taxed Fairfax residents more . . . brought back less for our schools . . . and sent your money to other parts of the state, where your money was used to reduce those localities' support for their own education.
SUMMARY: Studies of the impact of traffic projected for a new development are routinely conducted now, but have not stopped the increase in traffic congestion. This is partly due to the difficulties of predicting human behavior and the cost of doing extensive study. The biggest problem is that such studies only take into account the single development in question and miss the bigger picture. While localities should not stop doing studies of potential traffic impact, expecting them to contribute much to a solution of traffic problems is misguided.
SUMMARY: Local governments already have all the power they need to stop out-of-control growth with their zoning ordinances and comprehensive plans. The additional powers that some local officials want are related to an adequate public facilities ordinance. Such an ordinance would shift responsibility for stopping growth from elected officials to unelected bureaucrats or would allow elected officials to mandate cash proffers from developers that would at best cover a small share of the cost of growth.
A coda to this article examines the assertion that local governments need specific control measures not because they don't already have the authority to control growth, but because "they run the risk of a costly court challenge every time they reject a developer's request." In fact, the rejection of a development request not in accord with the locality's comprehensive plan is extremely difficult to challenge, and we know of no such successful challenges in Fairfax County.
SUMMARY: With 18,000 federal jobs moving to Fort Belvoir, local officials are raising Cain about the lack of accompanying road improvements. However, back in the late 1980s, the Board of Supervisors established a task force that planned for controlled development of the EPG and the necessary transportation improvements. Numerous pauses in the amount of development were mandated in order to assess whether the transportation plan was working. If it wasn't, either additional strategies would be incorporated to handle traffic or development would have to cease. In the late 1990s, the Board of Supervisors reversed itself and substantially downplanned the EPG. The new plan does not adequately address the traffic problem, the people mover is gone, and there is not enough money to build the necessary improvements. The Fairfax County Parkway link still is not in place.
The County Budget: Reducing the Pain
SUMMARY: As the real estate tax burden on the homeowner continues to increase, up on average almost $400 per property this year, the County continues to spend. The County budget for FY 2006 is up about 9% over 2005, and as a result, Fairfax County is the local jurisdiction with the highest local tax burden in Northern Virginia. This is the background for our series of articles on the budget.
The Need for a Stronger Commercial Tax Base
SUMMARY: Fairfax County's commercial tax base has declined from 25.37% to 18.20% of the total real estate assessment base over the past five fiscal years, and will decline further to 17.36% this fiscal year. The result is an increased burden on homeowners, whose residential real estate taxes will carry more of the County budget load. he suggests that a good business environment in Fairfax County will go a long way to increase the value of existing commercial real estate and to encourage the construction of new commercial buildings. He offers five measures that will contribute to such an environment and help facilitate reasonable, controlled commercial growth.
Controlling the Budget
SUMMARY: Given the unlimited good ideas for more public spending and the constraints of the heaviest local tax burden on taxpayers, it's time to begin a serious discussion of a yearly spending cap for the County's operational budget. One way a cap might work is to add the rate of population growth, the rate of inflation, and half the increase in GDP. If such a cap had been in place for FY 2006, the increase in the County's budget would have been 6.8%, not the 9% by which the budget was actually increased. To provide flexibility for special situations and emergencies, a simple majority of the Board of Supervisors could initiate a voter referendum on a budget increase above the cap level for a given year.
Transportation Priorities – A Disturbing Trend
SUMMARY: During the period 1981-1992, the Board of Supervisors asked Fairfax County residents to approve a total of $550 million in transportation bonds in six separate referendums. However, in the next eleven years, 1993-2003, not a single transportation bond was proposed by the Board, and the traffic problem worsened substantially. Finally, in 2004, a bond was offered, but less than $50 million was for roads. The quality of life for our citizens requires that the Board change its priority and re-emphasize bond funding of transportation needs.
SUMMARY: About eight years ago, Herndon began to experience a growing number of day laborers waiting to find work each day at a local 7-Eleven. Apparently about 70% of these workers are in this country illegally. In an attempt to deal with the problems experienced at this site, the Town of Herndon decided to set up a designated day laborer hiring site. However, what had initially been planned as a site on private property funded by private funds evolved into a proposal for a site on public property using public funds that would serve legal and illegal immigrants alike. If this project is allowed to proceed, Herndon will become a magnet for undocumented workers. As their numbers grow, there will be a greatly increased demand for educational, social, and public safety services for which the taxpayers must pay. The small town of Herndon was left to go it alone as the proxy for a very difficult national problem. How do we reconcile the need for workers with the preservation of our laws, our communities, and our way of life?
SUMMARY: Changes in zoning in Fairfax County to permit high density development are being made piecemeal by out-of-turn plan amendments, usually in the name of "smart growth." Such changes have most recently been proposed for Tysons Corner, the Vienna Metro station area, and the Richmond Highway Corridor. The growth that will result will have a significant impact on transportation, schools, the environment, and adjacent neighborhoods. Mitigating such impacts usually entails significant costs that must be borne by the taxpayer. If there is to be a new policy in Fairfax County which allows, or even encourages, such high density development, this policy needs to be made with the full participation of the citizens of Fairfax County.
SUMMARY: The high turnout at the Oakton meeting indicates the deep concern about growth on the part of Fairfax County citizens. Congressman Tom Davis should be commended for his willingness to take a position on this issue and for attempting to respond to citizen concerns about the impact of high density development. The County Board of Supervisors is attempting to pour a quart of milk into a pint jar with its willingness to tolerate such development.