Listen to the Citizens, Not Just the Developers
Just what is it that Supervisor Linda Q. Smyth (D-Providence) and board Chairman Gerald E. Connolly (D) do not understand about the word "no"? ["Rep. Davis Intervenes on Growth in Fairfax," Metro, April 21].
For months they have disregarded their constituents' opposition to the size of the Fairlee-MetroWest development project at the Vienna Metro station, only one of many re-development projects being driven through in long-established neighborhoods in Fairfax County. The only people they are listening to is the developers. Suddenly building and zoning codes in these long-established neighborhoods are being rewritten in favor of the developers and not the existing neighborhoods. Hmm, wonder why?
If you take the time to attend a meeting of the Board of Supervisors, you will see that the greatest number in attendance are the lawyers and the developers. This is no longer a process for Fairfax citizens. It takes a lot of money and political clout to participate in this high-stakes game.
There are a growing number of people in Fairfax who have decided that we want our county back. On April 20, a large town-hall-style meeting was held to discuss these and other area development issues with elected officials in the auditorium at Oakton High School. Chairman Connolly and Supervisor Smyth were both invited and neither bothered to attend, choosing instead to send staff. What could possibly have been more important than a meeting with 500 of your constituents? It was a real eye-opener.
To those who did attend, thank you. To Supervisor Smyth and Chairman Connolly: We're tired of our tax assessments going up with no end in sight. We're tired of seeing our neighborhoods stripped of the trees in order to accommodate higher-density development. We're tired of being forced to deal with increased water runoff in order to accommodate higher-density development. We're tired of the unbelievable traffic, and we're tired of the overcrowded schools caused by higher-density development.
And we are tired of our voices not being heard anymore. This is our county and we want control of it back. And we will do that with or without you.
Linda Hansen
Fairfax
Davis Deserves Praise For Addressing Development
Bravo to U.S. Rep. Thomas M. Davis III (R-Va.) for defending his constituents' interests against Supervisors Gerald E. Connolly (D), T. Dana Kauffman (D-Lee), Linda Q. Smyth (D-Providence) and real estate developer Pulte Homes.
The supervisors' Fairlee-MetroWest scheme with Pulte to drop thousands more residences amid non-urban neighborhoods, besides overrunning those neighborhoods, would wipe out hundreds of existing Metrorail parking spaces used now by Fairfax commuters.
