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Task force aims high
With their eyes on the future, the Tysons Land Use Task Force is recommending planning densities for Tysons Corner that would allow 100 million square feet of new development there over the next 30 years, growth that is more than 20 million square feet higher than was proposed by the task force's hired planning experts.
“We don't want to get focused on the numbers, we're not going to be controlled by them,” said Clark Tyler, chairman of the task force.
Currently, Tysons contains 43 million square feet of buildings.
The proposal would allow a floor area ratio of 6.0 on sites near Metro stations, with even higher densities granted for green building and affordable housing, and would bring the allowable development up to around 140 million square feet, double the current comprehensive plan. By way of comparison, the average FAR in Rosslyn is 8.0 and in Manhattan is 10.0.
The proposed numbers are higher even than what has been presented to the public at previous task force workshops, where 135 million square feet was presented as an upper limit, a “pushing the envelope” scenario that would never actually happen.
However, the task force says the density numbers are a distraction.
“We're focused on getting the things we need for Tysons and to do that we need to make it worth [developers'] while,” explained Bill Lecos, president and CEO of the Fairfax County Chamber of Commerce.
The task force thinks developer proffers will be needed to fund the extensive redevelopment of Tysons that they envision, including large-scale construction projects like people-mover systems and the creation of a grid of streets. According to Tyler, the high densities are necessary to generate those kinds of contributions.
“We have to give them something, or they'll file now and build under the old [comprehensive] plan,” Tyler said.
For the next 10 weeks, Fairfax County planners will analyze the potential traffic impact of the proposed densities.
“If the traffic numbers are no good, we won't use those densities. If the traffic holds up under analysis, what's wrong with that?” said Irv Auerbach, president of the Lewinsville Coalition Homeowners Association and a task force member.
What might be wrong with it is the political backlash against the higher densities.
“They're extreme, they're way over the existing development” said Ted Alexander, of the Greater Tysons Citizens Coalition, a group made up of Vienna and McLean citizens who believe that the increased growth in Tysons will adversely affect their communities.
Eventually the task force recommendations will come before the Board of Supervisors as part of a new comprehensive plan for Tysons, and some supervisors are already cautious about the task force's proposal.
“At some point in a long planning process, the vision can become intoxicating. ... Our job will be to align that vision with reality,” Providence Supervisor Linda Smyth (D) said of the task force's plans.
Email the reporter at mtayloe@timespapers.com
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