From Lost Trees, Foes of Growth Take Root

The current zoning allows about 250 houses, but two developers want to build townhouses and commercial strips on the land.

"I would say the project is transit-friendly," said David DeMarco, an executive with K. Hovnanian, which with WCI/Renaissance would develop most of the site. Opponents, he said, "are reaching out to each other and creating panic. It hasn't been as much of a collaborative effort as we originally envisioned."

Critics of the project see it as a done deal.

"People see that sprawl is being pushed out every side. They can't see an end to it," said Steve Whittaker, a member of the newly formed Hunter Mill Action Coalition. Members of the group are holding rush-hour roadside protests, waving signs that say: "Density: Few Profit. All Pay."

Supervisor Catherine M. Hudgins (D-Hunter Mill) said she has not taken a position on the proposed changes.

But DeMarco said the land was purchased "with an understanding" that a rezoning for higher density would follow. The developers took out ads in local newspapers last week describing a "wonderful new community taking shape" between the airport and Tysons Corner.

Tensions between activists and county supervisors are exploding publicly. After a three-hour hearing last month, the board unanimously approved the construction of 24 homes on 13 acres behind the Washington & Old Dominion trail in Vienna. Before the vote, Supervisor Linda Q. Smyth (D-Providence), who represents the area, sounded exasperated as she told opponents that land use was more complicated than they seemed to realize. Furious activists said their supervisor was being patronizing.

"The board is not engaging with the public," FairGrowth leader Deborah Reyher said.

Smyth, a former planning commissioner, said she was not elected "to make decisions everybody agrees with. . . . We're not encouraging growth; it's happening because of the job market." She added that she wonders whether the Internet has distorted FairGrowth's influence.

The activists' true strength probably won't be known until the next county board race in 2007. Privately, supervisors are assessing how widespread the opposition to growth is. Meanwhile, the stalemate continues.

Said Stan Settle Jr. of Pulte Homes, the developer of MetroWest: "The whole thing that people don't want to accept here is that Fairfax is urban. Like it or not, everyone wants to be in Fairfax County."