Tysons Forums Sowing Skepticism

Some Residents Fear Their Input Is Moot

During a meeting in McLean on the future of Tysons Corner, James Ferrer, center, asks a question of the consulting firm that Fairfax County hired to gather public opinion. (By Lucian Perkins -- The Washington Post)

Christine Jung went to the meeting at Spring Hill Elementary School last week expecting to learn more from Fairfax County officials about the new buildings, new roads and other changes that would engulf her Tysons Corner condominium complex with the coming of Metro.

Instead, Jung and the other Tysons residents who had gathered in the cafeteria were welcomed by $1,500-per-session consultants, given a pen and paper and told to jot down their "values." The experience was so dissatisfying that Jung marched out before the consultants got around to posting the sheets of paper on a blue plastic sheet for all to see.

"They didn't make a good case that the [opinions] are going to reach anyone's ears," she said on her way out. "They say it's going to be put in a report, but who reads it?"

Jung learned what hundreds of other residents have been discovering at similar forums on Tysons and other major land-use issues: In Fairfax and across the region, the machinery of government increasingly comes wrapped in "public participation facilitators" and appointed task forces, rather than operating in clear view between elected leaders and their constituents.

In Fairfax, that has been particularly frustrating for residents as developers propose high-rise buildings that could fundamentally change the way people live. County officials say the consultant-led focus groups represent a genuine attempt to include public input in decisions about this transformation. But many residents say the sessions can be a jarring and confusing twist on representative government, leaving them feeling powerless and patronized when it comes to the issue that matters most to them.

Many have had little prior interaction with their local government and say they come to the meetings driven by worry and hoping to learn more about the changes to their community. Instead of meeting with their elected officials or county staff, though, residents are presented with consultants armed with PowerPoint, pretzels and butter cookies.

The consultants running the meetings immediately make it clear that they are there not to provide information, but simply to "capture" residents' input and then report it to a task force that will make recommendations to the county's elected leaders.

Or, as the consultant leading most of the Tysons sessions puts it: "What we're really here to do is talk about your values and concerns about the future."

Residents appreciate the chance to state their views, but many are doubtful that their opinions will matter after being filtered through both the consultants and a task force on their way to county officials.

Skeptics say the time-consuming outreach gives the appearance that the public has played a role in decisions that were in fact foretold from above. At Tysons, for instance, many major pieces are in place, such as the rail extension and construction planned around the two malls there.

"In my personal opinion, it's all been decided," said Mary Reistrup, who attended a Tysons outreach meeting for residents of the Lewinsville Road corridor last week but left early. "This is all to make people feel good."

Fairfax officials vigorously reject that notion, saying they aren't giving residents more information about what planning strategies are being considered at Tysons precisely because they don't want to give the impression that decisions have already been made. The outreach sessions are just the first stage of the planning process, officials said, and when there are actual recommendations on the table, they will be brought before the public again.