Metro Postpones Vienna Land Sale

Before scheduling the public hearing on the land sale, Kauffman said he believed it would be "inherently dumb not to include the Metro land" in the project.

But he said he scheduled the Nov. 1 hearing "as a courtesy to the people in the community" whose views on the land sale have not been heard.

Will Elliott, a founder of FairGrowth, a group seeking fewer homes in MetroWest, called the decision to hold a hearing on the land sale a "very good step."

It was apparent yesterday that Kauffman did not have the votes to approve the land sale. "Sometimes you can claim victory and end up with more of a problem," he said, referring to Davis's role in the case.

Of the bill's requirement that one federal member of Metro's board be a rider, Rep. Chris Van Hollen (D-Md.) said, "I want one member whose sole responsibility and obligation is to the riders and is a regular user of the system."

Van Hollen inserted that requirement into the bill, he said, because he was convinced of the need after The Washington Post reported last year that a majority of Metro directors, who set policy for the region's subway and bus system, had never ridden a Metrobus or couldn't recall the last time they had. Only one was a daily passenger on a bus or train.

Staff writer Lyndsey Layton contributed to this story.