Forever the Negotiator: Brzezinski in a Stalemate Over a Sidewalk

For more than half a year after DuBois's first letter, there was little communication, according to the file of correspondence in her office, and several calls to the Brzezinskis went unreturned. In July, a neighborhood representative, Michael Fruin, called Brzezinski's son, a Washington lawyer, who put in touch with his father. Fruin reported to others that Brzezinski was concerned about compensation and privacy.

Fruin wrote a letter addressing the concerns. Based on the assessed value of the Brzezinskis' land -- $1.7 million, not including a house worth $489,000 -- the county could offer about $19,000 for an easement on the 240-foot-long strip. An easement would not preclude future subdivision (the land can be split for five homes). Fruin wrote that it would enhance the land's value, because a developer would be spared the cost of building the sidewalk required by law.

Brzezinski was not satisfied. He responded, asking, among other things, why the easement compensation wasn't based on the "actual selling price" of area homes; whether additional bushes and fences would be installed; whether the county would compensate him for the "cost of the needed professional advice." Fruin responded that compensation would be "equitable and fair" and that landscape screening would be replaced.

Then, in September, came Brzezinski's lengthiest missive, with eight demands, including a question about liability and a request for a "properly scaled drawing" of the sidewalk.

"As you can see, there are a number of complex issues that have to be evaluated in some detail," he concluded. "And there will be more, once experts and lawyers have been consulted, as will need to be by all concerned."

Fruin wrote back in October, saying that the community groups couldn't afford a scaled drawing but including a rough sketch. There would be no liability risk for the trail, he added. DuBois weighed in with her own letter, noting that if the Brzezinskis decided to subdivide, they would be required to put in a sidewalk at their expense.

Brzezinski's final letter came a week later, demanding a proposal with, among other things, a specific compensation sum and a detailed plan for a fence and greenery.

The only communication since has been a phone message from DuBois's office in January, requesting a meeting, which has gone unreturned. Community members have more or less given up. "They are under no obligation to do anything," said Jane Edmondson, head of the Lewinsville Coalition, a collection of homeowners groups.

Hugh Neighbour, another McLean resident, was less resigned, saying that a sidewalk would make it easier for children to ride bikes on errands and thereby help keep them fit. He raised eminent domain as a possibility.

"It improves his property. It's not like they're putting in a high-rise next to his house -- it's human friendly," he said. "I respect his obstreperousness, but I would have expected better of him, and of the county."

Brzezinski said he is open to negotiations. If his latest questions are answered -- with real blueprints, not the "child-like drawings" he had been sent before -- he might consent to a meeting.

"We need things in writing, not over some cup of coffee," he said. "Each time I respond with questions, all I get is a lot of puff."

He chuckled over the neighbors' comparison to the Cold War, saying that there was a difference: "The Soviet Union was a threat to us. These are my neighbors."

In a conciliatory tone, he added, "I want you to understand: This is not a conflict. It may well be a clash of civilizations, but it is not a conflict."