VPIS Releases Candidate Questionnaire Responses
By FALLS CHURCH TIMES STAFF
April 14, 2012
The Falls Church Village Preservation and Improvement Society (VPIS) has posted the responses to its questionnaire of the candidates for City Council.
VPIS asked five questions regarding 1) desired accomplishments; 2) how to encourage new stores and restaurants in the City; 3) whether the process for approving major development projects can be improved; 4) whether residential infill contributes to flooding, traffic problems, degraded neighborhood quality and reduced property values; and 5) whether the candidates support VPIS’ goals for improving environmental conditions.
The candidate responses are available here.
By Falls Church Times Staff
April 14, 2012
All of the candidates should be applauded by their desire to serve the public in these difficult times.
There is a lot of good information in the answers…..but everyone should read the answers very carefully because a lot of “fuzzy” words and phrases are used. I personally will not vote for any candidate who does not demonstrate a vote to hold the tax rate at $1.27 or does not state their commitment to that rate if they were voting. Again, it is time to draw the line. Taxes are going to go up anyway given increased assessments.
My name is Lou Olom. I was the founder of CBC 1959 with a great board of about 22, members of the two parties. My cochairs were Republican Chair Ann Porter and woman Democratic Chair whose name unfortunately I cant remember. The records wherever they may be stored will testify. We retained that spirit as we began to pick up independents.The record the organization and its elected members of the council and of the appointed school boards helped lead the development and notarity of our little city. The major issue at the time was public schools. We remain proud of what they have become over a 50 year period.I wish I could say the same about commercial development, however we should b e proud of the number and variety of professional and business offices that have landed in our city.Thank you.
Current issues of our finance and development challenges will be well met by another extraordinary council which consists of CBC and non CBC members. Their debates reflect it. I d b etter stop now but I did want to try and provide some perspective in the few days, when and wherever Im supposed to vote.
Hooray to the City for fully funding schools, giving employees a 5.5% increase, and increasing the fund balance. Didn’t see any tough decisions as revenue poured in from increased assessments on top of the 25% rate hike over the past few years. I’ll be voting for a new slate of candidates.
Lou, you make a good point on a CBC and non-CBC mix of elected officials. Despite the CBC sort of dissolving in name and I admit I am not up to speed on on why that happened, they still have a number of candidates closely tied to the CBC – - one or two candidates in particular. I have to assume the CBC is still very much in existence – - just not in name. On the other hand, the Mayor who is running for re-election is a non-CBC candidate. I am not sure about some of the other candidates….but I think and would hope some are not CBC affiliated. For this election and any election for that matter, there needs to be a balance of power. I plan to vote for a slate of candidates that achieves and sustains such a balance.
My wife and I moved to Fall Church about 2 ½ years ago. What attracted us to Falls Church City was that unique small town community feel, while still being inside the beltway and minutes to DC, Tysons Corner, and Arlington. I have heard for years about economic development plans but have seen very little action. Since I’ve moved to the City, we have gained a few more chains, Chipotle & Honey Baked Ham, and a couple family-oriented restaurants, Mad Fox & Pizzeria Orso. Also, all the Falls Church council members celebrate the arrival of BJ’s which apparently is a big boost to the commercial tax base. None of this seems to help in any meaningful way from an aesthetic or character-building point of view.
Falls Church City suffers from the biggest identity crisis of almost any other neighborhood inside the beltway. What we need is a real vision. What does Falls Church City want to be? For a city with such character, geographic positioning, and an educated population with above average household income, Falls Church City is nothing more than a jumbled hodge-podge of ugly, dated and vacant buildings from Metro to Metro. We have a wonderful farmer’s market, yet we have Broad Street littered with McDonald’s, Burger King, Taco Bell, Long John Silver’s. It seems Falls Church council members only care about initiatives that increase the tax base, without ever taking into consideration the character and charm of the City. BJ’s, gas stations, and banks do not make our City look any nicer. Does every new restaurant have to be a chain or chain-like? There are so many ugly buildings and shopping plazas, and while the new developments of Pearson Square, Spectrum, and the Byron are nice, they are pretty generic and nearly completely void of any character.
What this City needs to do is take a hard look at itself and figure out who and what we are. As a small city we can’t and don’t need to be everything to everybody. But let’s take advantage of all the positives that we do have and build on these. Otherwise I fear that we are just going to be another generic suburban disaster.
Dear Falls Church,
From your comment, you sound like a very able and intelligent person. Our city could use people like you to volunteer for some of the committees that help develop the vision for our future. Please sign up for one and help prevent us from being another generic suburban disaster.
Mr. or Ms. Falls Church – I am sure the City is trying…I know I sound like a skeptic. There is a major problem somewhere…..existed for many years…no doubt, a variety of impediments. Maybe the City just doesn’t want the kind of vision you describe bad enough. The best projects are probably going to Merrifield, the Arlington side of Falls Church City, Tysons, or even 7 Corners. To build projects as you describe and which you see in drawings you may have to make Broad Street one way in certain spots, and Park Avenue parallel in the opposite direction to create development and parking in the middle – - much like the City of Fairfax did years ago. You would need to change other traffic configurations, etc, etc….and this frankly would be “star wars” to some. And frankly, I am not sure I would want to see anything that different, but there are similar approaches and the City is not going there….hence, the sort of development your describe is what happens – - at least with the demographics we have today. Hang in there but as the years pass, have an exit strategy in mind if that is what you desire and to avoid taxes that may not be able affordable.
I know everyone likes to gripe but you know what? I like walking up to the Farmer’s Market, swinging by the library, playing at Cherry Hill with the kids, maybe get lunch up at Mike’s Deli or even one of the chains on Broad Street. Sometimes in the evening I walk up to dinner at Clare and Don’s or Argias or 4Ps or Dogwood or many other places. I can get down to the metro and go into the City. I even go to BJ’s from time to time to buy giant packages of toilet paper.
Sure, there are some lame looking buildings and some parts of town with not as much to offer – but overall it’s not half bad!
Falls Church makes some good points (although McDonald’s and Long John Silver’s are both in Fairfax County) but doesn’t offer up much in the way of suggestions. It’s tough to get nice, new buildings but also hope for non-chain, mom and pop shops to fill them. Broad Street could be better but it’s also a tight fit for some of the development we’re used to seeing in Fairfax County and Arlington.
I think the area planning that is happening is one way to start shaping how things will be. Maybe we can attract development that fits well into the different areas of the City. Maybe we should be thinking more about a public parking garage. I’m hoping we’ll put a little more into the Economic Development Office’s budget to help us market some things better.
I haven’t been around long enough to know exactly how we got what we have now – but I suspect that for a good chunk of time the citizens of Falls Church tried to hang on to the rural vibe (notice the metro goes around the City and not through it) and maybe tried to hang on too long.
Andy – - I appreciate your perspective. We got where we are today, in part, at this is my perception because we seemed to wait for the “perfect” projects….and guess what, there are few “perfect” projects…..so a lot of “good projects” moved elsewhere outside the City…..the City also had a reputation and may still have the reputation of not being business or development-friendly. We did acquire some decent projects and development, but at the same time we seemed to be satisfied with banks and chains.
Someone can also correct me if I am wrong, but I believe in the early stages of Metro planning, we passed on a subway stop touching the City limits that some were proposing.
Thanks for the feedback. First, I did not mean to come across in such a negative tone, only expressing frustration as it relates to development. There are many things that I love about the City. My wife and I are 30, no kids yet, and started our adult lives in DC, followed by Clarendon, and then bought our first home in Falls Church because it is significantly cheaper than Arlington, and because dollar for dollar it is the best place to raise a family inside the beltway. And I am not 100% anti-chain establishments, I go to Chipotle, Panera, Starbucks, just as much as anyone else. But I’d love to see our city grow with more independent establishments, of which we do have a good handful – Dogwood, Clare and Don’s, La Caraquena, 4P’s, etc. I love the parks, farmer’s market, library, and even the bowling alley. And the Memorial Day celebration (and the various others throughout the year) only re-affirms how truly great, unique and charming Falls Church City really is.
I wish I had a good solution and I certainly understand the fiscal dilemma we face. Any investment will take time to pay dividends and we have to be smart and patient. We can’t just make short-term decisions for a quick dollar that’s going to deteriorate the character of this City. One suggestion is to focus on a specific area to redevelop, rather than a little here and little there. Certainly the stretch from the State Theater to Mad Fox has the most potential. But while redevelopment is going to take money, time, effort, and some risk, I know that the solution is definitely NOT a Hilton Garden Inn. We should carefully examine all the neighborhoods in and around DC that have gone through a significant redevelopment transformation over the past 20 years (of which there are many) and figure out which neighborhood we want to model ourselves after. While we probably won’t ever become a Clarendon, we could be a Del Ray (we already have better schools) but I do not want to become as generic as a Shirlington or Reston Town Center.
Falls Church City is already great and has so much potential to be even better. We just have to think more outside the box.
The new planning director, Jim Snyder, spent a lot of time working (and planning) in Arlington so I think he’s bringing a lot of valuable experience to the City. He’s pretty familiar with how the various parts of Arlington evolved over the years.
I think the Hilton Garden Inn is a good example of the challenges we face. First of all, the project is going in on a block in an odd way because there are a couple of lots that are owned by folks not interested in developing. This is a challenge all around the City. If a developer wants to do something significant it’s hard for them to find a good spot to do it – and convincing owners to consolidate lots has proven to be very difficult.
Another issue with the Hilton Garden Inn location (it will be next to Burger King) is the issue we have with most of Broad Street. There’s one block (and not a big one at that) of commercial zoning and then you’re right up against residential. It makes it harder to do significant development along Broad Street. This is why I think the West Jefferson area and South Maple areas are good targets for planning new development – they have bigger chunks of commercial land.
But at the end of the day, should the City have not approved the Hilton Garden Inn? How long would it take to get the land on that block consolidated so that a better project could happen? What motivation is there for the land owners to consolidate? Personally, I think a Hilton Garden Inn, in that location, isn’t a bad deal. I would have preferred to see the whole block redeveloped (including Burger King) into something more significant – but it didn’t seem to be something that would happen anytime soon.
What can we do? I’m not an expert at this stuff but it seems like one option is to figure out a way to encourage lot consolidation. The only idea I have there is to allow greater density to be built on larger lots. That would mean that the owner of Lot A could get more for his land if he combined it with the owner of Lot B than if he kept it separate.
I definitely think it makes sense to examine how other places in the DC area have been successful at improving over time. That said, the more I think about it the more I realize that there aren’t many (any?) places around that I really want Falls Church to mimic. We have such a unique situation that I think we should come up with a unique approach to improving over time.
This is an interesting discussion about redevelopment of Falls Church, the types of structures constructed and the businesses that occupy them. Here’s the rub on all new buildings in Falls Church – rent. Yes, it is all about the money. In older buildings, the rent is significantly less ($22-30/sq ft) than the new buildings (asking $40-45/sq ft). In addition, new buildings require significant cash outlays for infrastructure – think walls, power, plumbing, air conditioning – the works – with little help from the owner. The only organizations that can afford such expenditures are major chains and a few well funded smaller businesses. Everyone else will opt for the built-out older building with lower rent. It is unrealistic to expect a mom and pop business to move in to Spectrum, Byron, Pearson Square. In fact, as rents go up on the popular strip malls (think where Giant is) smaller businesses get pushed out – it is happening right now with the donut/bagel place.
What Fairfax City did to promote development was to land bank. As smaller parcels came for sale, they bought them, and then used them to leverage new development. Also, in order to appease their businesses, they eliminated the one way streets. Falls Church is starting to see the fruit of land banking on West Broad St. and should do some more of it in targeted areas. We should not go to the great expense and hassle of re-routing our streets.
Lastly, on the Hilton Garden Inn, this is the best use of the available land. It is a shame that the other land owners did not feel like selling. It makes the HGI awkward in placement, but Andy is right that the question of building the HGI or not is a no-brainer. There was nothing else that would go there that would bring in the tax revenue of a hotel, and this valuable commercial land has sat empty for a very long time, bringing virtually nothing to a starving City budget.
Gordon makes a good point about new developments having higher rents (although for office space I don’t think the asking price is quite $40-$45… but it might be for retail space). Was Fairfax City able to maintain lower rents in new development? If so, I’d love to hear about it.
However, my company is neither a major chain nor well funded and we’re able to afford fairly expensive space in the Tax Analysts building – in fact it is companies like mine that I’d like the City to attract (we’d need more class A office space, preferably closer to the Metro, to do that).
But, I think we’re probably worrying about something we don’t need to worry about. Unless we’re suddenly very, very successful at attracting new development it seems like we’ll have plenty of lower end places available for quite some time. I was disappointed to hear about the bagel place but unfortunately that’s how things go – it’s not new development that is pushing them out.