Press Release
from Non-Aviation Commercial Development
Activities
February 5, 2013
At its February 4, 2013, meeting, the Reston Citizens
Association (RCA) Board of Directors approved a letter to Transportation
Secretary LaHood, Governor McDonnell, and the area’s Congressional delegation
calling for Congress to direct MWAA to allocate any revenues from non-aviation
related activities to Metrorail Silver Line construction costs.
The letter proposes allocating those costs in accordance
with the existing Silver Line funding partners agreement among MWAA, Fairfax,
and Loudoun counties. The biggest winner
from such an arrangement would be Dulles Toll Road users who now are expected
to pay more than half of the Silver Line’s construction costs. Both Fairfax and Loudoun counties would also
receive income if the proposed measure were approved.
The letter stems from a proposed amendment in MWAA’s lease
with the US Department of Transportation that would allow MWAA to engage in any
“business or activity not inconsistent with the needs of aviation that has been
approved by the Secretary.” The MWAA
Board approved this amendment at its January 16, 2013, meeting, and it has been
sent to Secretary of Transportation LaHood for his signature. To date, MWAA has been authorized to engage
only in aviation-related activities at its facilities.
MWAA has been engaged in planning development at Dulles
Airport along in its core area and at two sites along its periphery. MWAA’s special status means it doesn’t have
to pay taxes on its revenues or assets or those that might be forthcoming from
its commercial development at the airport.
It also does not have to comply with planning or zoning regulations.
MWAA’s special status provides it with a tremendous
competitive advantage over commercial developers who may be interested in
developing their nearby properties. It
also means that the taxpayers of Loudoun County and the Commonwealth of
Virginia will be subsidizing commercial development at the airport with their
taxes.
The RCA letter calls upon Congress and other responsible
officials “to level the playing field” for commercial developers, taxpayers,
and Dulles Toll Road users by distributing the income from any non-aviation
related MWAA initiatives in a fair and equitable manner.
Commenting on the letter, RCA President Colin Mills said, "Allowing
development of airport land for non-aviation purposes would represent a
dramatic change in MWAA's authority, and we are dismayed at MWAA's attempt to
award itself this authority without Congressional approval. If this development is allowed, the least
that MWAA can do is to pay its fair share toward the construction of the Silver
Line. RCA stands opposed to MWAA's plan
to enrich itself at the expense of the counties and Dulles Toll Road
users."
“I never cease to be amazed by the MWAA Board,” added Tammi
Petrine, an RCA Board member and Co-Chair of its Reston 2020 Committee. “First, they think nothing of issuing
questionable bonds by imposing crippling tolls on the Dulles Corridor community
to pay nearly three-quarters of the cost of Silver Line’s Phase 2. Now they are planning to use our tolls and
taxes to compete directly with Reston and Herndon commercial ventures in
Fairfax County and similar ventures in Loudoun County in developing their
property for profit. The appalling lack
of conscience by this Board must be addressed immediately by Congress.”
Reston 2020’s other Co-Chair and RCA Board member Terry
Maynard commented, “MWAA has the opportunity to step up to its repeated
rhetoric that it is seeking ways to relieve the huge toll increases Dulles Toll
Road users face in the years ahead. The
allocation of a substantial portion of MWAA income from non-aviation related
activities would be a big step in the right direction.”
Point of Contact:
Terry Maynard
703-476-5376
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