Supervisor Herrity on possible new taxes for Reston

In his e-mailed "The  Herrity Report" today, Supervisor Pat Herrity virtually contradicts Supervisor Hudgins' stated rejection of added taxes for Restonians.  How else are you going to pay for at least $700 million in transportation improvements (his estimate--ours is higher)?

Reston May See a New Tax District

At yesterday's Board of Supervisors' meeting, the Board voted 7 to 2 to approve a new master plan for Reston. I voted against the plan because yet again, I believe the plan ignores our priorities when it comes to where developer contributions are spent. Not too dissimilar to the Tysons plan, this plan results in over $700M in transportation needs that come with the increased density. It is my fear that just as we did in Tysons, these requirements will be funded by a new tax on the residents and businesses in Reston. I believe that much more of these transportation requirements should have been funded by developer contributions from the increased density instead of many requirements in the plan. A new tax district in Reston, coupled with already rising tolls on the Dulles Toll Road, will adversely impact the residents and businesses of Reston. (Emphasis added.)  This is something that could have been avoided if we had focused more of our developer contributions on transportation.

His full report is available here.  

Supervisor Herrity's point gets to one Reston 2020 and RCA have been highlighting for four years:  "Planning without Implementation is Empty."

Thanks to Supervisor Hudgins and the Board of Supervisors, what Reston now has is an outrageous plan filled with promises to developers, devoid of protection for Restonians, and absent any idea of how to implement this potential nightmare.