Tysons Forums Sowing Skepticism

"We'll have more specificity and more information for citizens later in the process," said Katherine K. Hanley, the former Board of Supervisors chairman who is heading the Tysons task force. "We wanted to have the opportunity to hear from citizens before we got the specifics so that we wouldn't be presenting them with a fait accompli ."

With some exasperation, county leaders point out that some of the people who complain about the consultant-led sessions also complain when no forums for comment are provided.

"People always say, 'We never get input until everything's done.' Well, this is what we want to do to start people early," said Linda Q. Smyth (D-Providence), whose district includes Tysons.

Smyth said that employing task forces and consultants is not an attempt to filter public input but simply a realistic division of labor.

The use of consultants to handle public relations on contentious local issues dates at least to the early 1990s, but in recent years the reliance on consultants has increased greatly. In Fairfax in the past year, consultants have overseen public sessions regarding a 2,000-home project proposed near the Dulles Toll Road, an affordable housing complex in Reston and general redevelopment in Baileys Crossroads.

The Tysons outreach is by far the most extensive. Fairfax leaders decided last year that it was time to update the county's comprehensive plan for Tysons, which governs what type of development is approved and had last been revised in 1994. A Metrorail extension to Tysons is planned to be completed by 2011, and county leaders are hoping to create a mini-city in which people can live, work, eat and find entertainment, all near mass transit.

County leaders appointed a task force of 35 residents and business leaders to come up with plan revisions to take advantage of the arrival of rail and transform Tysons into a true urban center.

The task force hired the Perspectives Group, an Alexandria firm with experience mediating at nuclear waste sites, to conduct 20 "community dialogues" with groups in and around Tysons this winter at a cost of $30,000. Task force members say they decided to hire the firm because it would be difficult for members to get to all the meetings themselves and because they worried that their own views might color the outreach process.

Some of the Tysons sessions have drawn more than 80 people. Residents are grouped around tables covered with cheery red and white checked tablecloths reminiscent of a Fourth of July picnic. After the consultant's introduction, residents are instructed to discuss among themselves their values for Tysons. The consultant's PowerPoint slide urges each table to practice "group etiquette," which includes "respect each other" and "listen to understand."

Most of those attending have cooperated, but at a McLean meeting, residents refused to listen and took up their pens only after great coaxing.

Several residents there seized on consultant Doug Sarno's use of the word "value."

"I don't understand that word in this setting. Can we leave the word 'value' out, because it makes no sense. We have problems, not values," Rebecca Horahan said. "I know you're using it because it sounds nice, but it holds no value here."

Sarno replied that the word was meant to get residents thinking beyond their surface positions to the underpinning values. He switched to "issues" but by the end of the meeting had reverted to "values."

At another meeting, Reston resident David Keever, who led public outreach sessions for the Woodrow Wilson Bridge project years ago, asked why Tysons planning was happening as Metro construction was already about to begin.

"It seems like things are really out of sync. How are you going to have land use recommendations when they are already kicking dirt?" he asked. "This seems like it's about a year late."

The skepticism extends to one of the area's most prominent developers. At a meeting devoted to Tysons landowners, Peter M. Rosen, director of construction management for Lerner Enterprises, which owns Tysons Galleria and is planning to build high-rises near the mall, reminded those assembled that Tysons was built by a handful of developers and county leaders -- "three guys with a vision" -- and said he doubted that "design by committee" would produce any results.

Rosen waved dismissively at the consultants' blue sheet and declared: "All of this will fall away."