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Skepticism Greets Springfield Apartment Plan
A proposed development in the wooded areas flanking the Fairfax Government Center complex would house middle-income workers.
(By Tracy A Woodward -- The Washington Post)
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But a sense of skepticism colored questions and comments from residents, and some said the county had not been candid about the project.
"In an age in which information travels so fast, they have to be careful about what kinds of words they are using," said Scott Ridings, vice president of the Carriage Park Condominium Association.
Josh Chamot, 31 and a lifelong Springfield resident, said he was not opposed to including the homeless, but he cited numerous questions about the environmental impact of the apartment development on the Government Center site, which is surrounded by woods, trails, ponds and gardens.
"There are some serious issues that have not been addressed," he said. "There is not a lot of trust in this room."
There were groans from the audience when Sampson hedged her answer on whether any of the apartments would be subsidized under Section 8 or other federal housing programs for low-income families.
"This is not intended to be Section 8," Sampson said, as people scoffed.
In fact, some of the units could be rented under the Section 8 program, according to John Kershenstein, the Springfield District appointee to the county's Redevelopment and Housing Authority.
If the developer decided to build extra apartments under the county's Affordable Dwelling Unit program, the housing authority would have an option to buy them and could use them for Section 8 tenants.
