Metrorail Opts to Sell Parcel in Vienna

"At least you might be able to exert some leverage on the developer, who has shown little appetite for listening to citizens thus far," said Angela Elliott, whose husband, Will, is a founder of FairGrowth, a group seeking fewer homes in MetroWest.

"Once [developers] develop the area, they're gone and don't live with the consequences" said Jane Seeman, mayor of Vienna, where the town council has opposed the density in MetroWest.

Kauffman (D-Lee) said it would unrealistic for Pulte to build condominiums on leased land. He also said that a planned increase in rail cars will add a third more capacity at Vienna.

The Vienna land sale comes as other neighborhoods next to Metro stations in the District and Maryland confront plans for dense development.

Local leaders from Fairfax to Takoma Park say transit-oriented projects will get people out of their cars and reduce gridlock as they meet a strong demand for new homes.

But opponents complain of a lack of public input in decisions they say are likely to create more traffic, not less.

'The biggest traffic generators are scattered single-use developments that give workers no choice but to drive," Laura Olsen, assistant director for the Coalition for Smarter Growth, told Metro officials.

Land the transit agency owns "is a critical part of ensuring well-designed, true transit-oriented development," she said. The coalition supports MetroWest and other pedestrian-friendly "smart-growth" projects.

Jon Lindgren, Pulte's land acquisitions manager said Metro's sliver of land is essential for the project. "The closer you can get density to Metro the better," he said.

"This gives us the opportunity to create the sense of place we've been talking about."

The next step in MetroWest will come next year when the developer's rezoning application goes before the county board.

Fairfax changed its land-use plan last year to allow high-density development at the Vienna station, but the details, including the density, are being negotiated.

Kauffman and Metro board member Catherine M. Hudgins, also a Fairfax supervisor, stressed that the land sale was separate from a rezoning case that will be up to the county.

"This is not the end of the discussion we will have" on MetroWest, Hudgins (D-Hunter Mill) said.

Also yesterday, the Metro board finally approved a plan to test ways to increase capacity and efficiency on rail cars with fewer seats, additional handrails and more overhead handles.