Northern Virginia Association of Realtors (NVAR) Survey Response
1. What motivated you to run for office?
As a member of the Planning Commission, I have watched the civility and productivity of discussion on the City Council dais take a marked downturn over the past five years. I am running for mayor to restore transparency, accountability, and fact-based decision making in our elected government. Fairfax City needs leadership that listens to and learns from experts; communicates thoughtfully and proactively; and isn’t afraid to make tough decisions in service of broader community good – all areas where my 20 years of experience as a strategy and management consultant in federal spaces have prepared me well!
2. If elected, what will be your top three priorities during your term of office?
I. Establishing a sustainable, balanced City budget with a focus on identifying new non-property tax revenue streams as well as holistic capital planning across the City’s nascent property portfolio.
II. Incentivizing integrated development in activity centers (and de-incentivizing stagnancy by pursuing all City recourse options for delinquent or unresponsive property owners). I want to be a champion for development that maintains accessible space (or provides incubator space) for local small businesses.
III. Increasing City resident participation in decision-making via all tools and channels available – e.g., formalized roles for Boards and Commissions, additional public hearings, issue-based focus groups, and targeted neighborhood outreach via civic association points of contact.
3. As of this writing, the median home price in Fairfax City is $717,000. Assuming low debt, a 700+ credit score, a 20% down payment, and a 6.5% interest rate, a household would have to make nearly $200,000 to afford the median home. While home prices have begun to stabilize and housing inventory has ticked up in recent months, there remains an imbalance between home prices and what residents earn. Do you support local (or state) funded programs (grants for down payment assistance, local land banking/workforce housing programs, homebuyer tax credits, etc.) to assist the home buying process?
YES X NO_______________________
Please Explain:
I am strongly in favor of exploring all our legal options for workforce housing support in the City of Fairfax. We have excellent public servants working hard across all service delivery areas, but I am very worried about retention as our neighboring jurisdictions continue to offer more attractive salaries, schedules, and benefits. There is something special about being able to live in the community you serve, and I believe many of our local government employees would take advantage of such housing programs if they were offered.
Having been the beneficiary of a first-time homebuyer credit “back in the day”, I would also fully support City efforts to connect potential buyers with all federal, state, and local options available to them to help lower the barrier of entry into homeownership.
Lastly (and perhaps most “pie in the sky”): while canvassing recently, residents in several different neighborhoods have made me aware of homes sitting empty for extended periods of time – years, sometimes decades. I believe many of these homes are caught up in estate/probate issues and could rapidly come on the market at “naturally occurring affordable housing” (NOAH) prices with a little bit of support from the banking and Realtor communities. The current City council has been chipping away at the Renaissance Housing program’s budget, so perhaps this would be an opportunity to re-focus their limited resources: getting vacant “starter” homes on the market efficiently.
4. Over the past year, the City Council has debated proposed changes to the zoning ordinance for the City's "Activity Centers," including whether the small area plans themselves should be revisited before the zoning ordinance is brought into alignment with them. Some residents and Council members have raised concerns about the pace and cumulative scale of redevelopment. How do you view this debate? Do you believe the City's current pace of redevelopment and density is appropriately calibrated, and would you support moving forward with zoning ordinance amendments to implement the small area plans as currently adopted?
YES X NO ______________________
Please Explain:
This topic is very top-of-mind for me as a Planning Commissioner (and in fact, my thoughts are all a matter of public record!). But in a nutshell: I believe our pace of (re)development is actually lagging where it should be in order to capitalize on our “market share” of the potential still resident in the DC suburbs. That said, I am concerned that the development proposals we are receiving do not achieve what the City wants nor what it needs. Perhaps because of post-Covid, mid-tariff economic factors, or perhaps because of a perception of capricious decision-making by recent Councils, we seem to be fielding development proposals that view our foundational planning documents as optional. I am strongly in favor of the proposed “Zoning Islands” aligned with the Small Area Plans, to cut down on the high number of special exceptions and re-zoning/zoning exemption requests the City is currently receiving. I am also in favor of some measure of revisiting those Small Area Plans to ensure they reflect the reality of the City’s own development constraints (i.e., the many marquee public spaces/amenities in the plans that in reality would need to be provided by private redevelopment).
Regarding resident concerns over the pace and scale of development – everyone who lives and works in the City deserves to feel heard, full stop. But we live in an extremely dynamic community, with many diverse experiences and perspectives, and it would be foolish to think that the people who can show up for a 10 PM Tuesday public comment session are the only ones with opinions. I believe that the best way to address what is most often fear-based pushback is with good data and transparent reasoning. I try to offer both when giving an opinion as a Planning Commissioner, and hope that my record is consistent!
5. Several recent infill redevelopment proposals in the City like the townhouse redevelopment near Mantua and the Chain Bridge Road apartment project in Old Town have drawn both support and organized neighborhood opposition. Similarly, the recently adopted ADU ordinance received some pushback. These types of zoning changes and projects are viewed by many as tools to help address affordability by offering more options for households priced out of traditional single-family homes but who don't qualify for income-restricted housing. Do you agree? What other local policies or initiatives related to housing, affordability, or homeownership would you pursue or support in the City of Fairfax if elected?
I strongly disagree that very large rental developments like the Chain Bridget Road (Davies Property) can be justified based on the provision of housing “options”. The market rate for these new-build apartments is astronomical, which doesn’t help income-limited residents make headway towards homeownership or other savings goals. Market data simply doesn’t support the narrative that we have an overall dearth of studio and one-bedroom units in the City – we just have extremely low inventory of NOAH-level units. I do believe that multi-family residential can be an attractive option for individuals and families who can’t afford (or don’t want to take on the costs of) homeownership, but it has to be considered and developed as part of a concerted placemaking effort.
I was actually prepared for significantly more pushback on the Accessory Dwelling Unity (ADU) ordinance update than we actually received at the Planning Commission’s public hearing (I really regretted chugging that extra cup of coffee before the meeting in anticipation of a long night!). Talking to residents after the fact, many of them that had previously been concerned about the changes had read the staff report and come to the conclusion that ADUs as permitted would not actually change their neighborhood’s aesthetic (or home values) significantly. Most of the lingering concerns were about parking and rental enforcement, both of which are ongoing background issues for the City already. In a similar vein, I don’t view ADUs as contributing meaningfully to the City’s general housing supply, as I anticipate most such construction will be for housing a family member (or members) of the property owner or for expanding existing student rental inventory.
In terms of what will actually help augment our affordable housing inventory – I don’t think the City’s 2020 Affordable Housing ordinance went far enough in establishing our expectations for developer-provided affordable units. In all the development proposals I’ve reviewed subject to the ordinance, I don’t recall any project that would have provided a unit larger than one bedroom, and there are no accessibility requirements for the affordable units. I’d like to see the terms of our ordinance be expanded to include a requirement for a certain number or percentage of Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA)-compliant units as well as units sufficient for families or three or more, which would help get our most vulnerable populations (families, seniors, individuals with disabilities) into available AHUs faster.
6. Housing attainability is an increasingly important key to economic development across the region and it is important to the City’s efforts to attract and retain businesses as well, but it is not the only barrier. As a small, largely built-out independent city surrounded by Fairfax County and competing for the same regional workforce and commercial tenants, what other barriers to economic sustainability do you see facing the City specifically, and do you have any thoughts on policies to increase the City's competitiveness?
I believe that the City’s historic stability with regard to commercial property occupancy is largely a function of having spaces that are “right-sized” for the business that call this place home. We have seen many, if not a majority, of recent re-development proposals replace significant amounts of commercially-zoned space with residential or mixed-use. The justification is usually that ‘retail/commercial just isn’t economically viable/supported’ – which I believe is only half true. Simply put, the City could not maintain its current office occupancy rate if we were to replace a significant portion of the existing portfolio (small, Class B or lower) with new, larger Class A spaces – existing tenants would be forced to look elsewhere, and we’d be competing with more established commercial centers in the region (Rosslyn, Tysons Corner, Carlyle) that also have significant higher-end office vacancy for the new tenants that could afford it. But if developers were willing to consider smaller and/or more flexible commercial build-outs that functioned similarly to the City’s current stock, we would hopefully be able to retain and grow the types of small businesses that set us apart from neighboring jurisdictions. I am a big believe in incubator spaces as economic drivers, both in terms of the business they generate and the workforce training and local partnership opportunities they provide, and I would love to champion their expansion here in Fairfax City.
7. While speaking of economic vitality, it is impossible to ignore the major role transportation, including highways, mass transit, interchanges, and CONGESTION, plays in determining where individuals and businesses decide to locate, live, work and play in the region—and Fairfax City is no stranger to this. What are your biggest transportation concerns or opportunities for improvement and what would be your priority recommendations for relief or reform?
I have opined (repeatedly!) as a Planning Commissioner that the City needs to prioritize a robust as-is traffic study to serve as a “fact check” for development proposals that claim negligible impact on local traffic. We have many roads and intersections that are borderline unsafe already during peak travel times, and we cannot afford to approve development in those areas at a scale that tips us well past that point. As far as how to remediate traffic concerns: I would like the City to re-consider CUE bus routing and/or its partnership agreements with GMU transportation in order to offer ‘express’ bus service between Activity Centers and the Vienna Metro and Burke Center VRE stations during rush hours. Providing quicker and more efficient public transit options for commuters contributes to the attractiveness of our City as a place to call home.
I’m also a proponent of “underparking” in our Activity Centers – at least as compared to current parking levels – and would love to see residential development proposals in those areas offer shuttles to transit, ride share hubs, and excellent pedestrian/bike infrastructure in lieu of parking.
Finally, while it may seem minor, I’d like to get rid of the dockless e-scooter program in the City. As a homeowner, finding a scooter – or frequently multiple scooters! – blocking the sidewalk is a nuisance at best, and a real hazard for anyone using a mobility aid or pushing a stroller. I don’t believe the City should bear an outsized enforcement cost and/or risk response due the vendors’ failure to enforce its own safe operation procedures. Given increasingly constrained resources for capital improvements, I want to see safe bike and pedestrian routes created and preserved, unencumbered by abandoned scooters!
8. The past year has brought some high-profile examples of contention and delay in City governance — from the stalled City Center West redevelopment on Main Street, where the developer and City officials offer very different accounts of what caused the holdup, to a series of 3-3 tie votes on Council that required the Mayor to break the deadlock before the Willard-Sherwood Health and Community Center project could move forward. Whatever the merits of any individual case, cycles of contention and delay carry real costs — for developers and residents seeking predictability, for the pace of important public projects, and for the City's reputation as a place to invest. What would you do to foster more consistency, collaboration, and follow-through in the City's land-use and capital project decisions?
Seeing as this is one my core platform issues, I’ve put a lot of thought into this question over the past eight months! I intend to lead with respect, transparency, and a bias for action informed by facts, and I hope that ethos translates across the dais. I will work closely with the City Manager to restore the primacy of staff and board/commission input in teeing up Council decisions, and where necessary will not hesitate to “rudder-steer” Council debate back to the facts as we know them. At the same time, I will aim to incentivize broad participation in public hearings, public comment sessions, and topical working sessions, ensuring discussions aren’t dominated by the loudest or most-repeated voices and that we are tapping into the full breadth of professional and personal expertise resident here in the City’s population.
I am a process person – both by nature and profession – and I believe strongly that the only way the City can salvage its future is by clearly and firmly communicating our development expectations and then following through on our stated priorities. If we are all following the facts, from the authoritative sources, there should be very few if any split votes on development proposals – any given project’s confirmation with the applicable City plan(s), adherence to safety standards, and economic impacts should be self-evident. Achieving success on this front also requires providing sufficient space and time for individual Council members (and members of the public) to ask questions and give feedback, but whenever possible, I would aim to channel the bulk of that feedback into the plans themselves rather than a specific project in a vacuum.
As I alluded to in my “priorities” answer, the City faces a truly once-in-a-generation opportunity to execute an integrated capital planning project across five properties that are or will soon be available for (re)development: the Fairfax County property on West Drive; the bequeathed property on Main Street; the Property Yard; Fire Station 3 (both the current property and the adjacent one); and Green Acres. I am honestly so excited about the opportunities for community engagement and big-picture thinking that considering these properties together will create – I genuinely believe we will be able to realize cost savings for the City while simultaneously optimizing public service delivery across the five sites.
9. The City relies heavily on real estate tax revenue for its budget, and already assesses TOT, meals and other state-allowed taxes. Considering inflation, the cost of living, and increasing property assessments, it is hard to envision additional tax burdens falling on the back of residents who may already be struggling. Discuss the City’s budget situation and how you may plan to address future budget needs to fund City services.
Concur that returning to property taxes (as well as the meals tax) as the fallback option for addressing budgetary shortfalls is not sustainable. I am in favor of the 1% sales tax increase earmarked for schools and transportation, which if enacted should immediately help ease the future property tax impact of the planned capital improvements of City schools. The other side of budgeting is addressing expenditures – we are fortunate to enjoy a high level of public services here in the City of Fairfax, but if tax rate increases are not supported, we need to move to the difficult work of deciding where to accept a decrease in services (or cut services entirely). The Levels of Service analysis the City conducted recently to inform development proffers could be a starting point for determining where we might realize cost savings through service reductions – or conversely, they could spark a public reckoning that residents are generally not willing to accept reductions, and therefore the tax rate needs to adjust accordingly.
I do anticipate substantially increasing labor costs over the next few years as the Commonwealth phases in collective bargaining for government employees, so our elected government will need to aggressively pursue all strategies for increasing the revenue mix in the City, to include potential tax levies against neglected commercial properties; pursuit of public-private development opportunities; and sale of unused City property. While we are fortunate to enjoy a stellar bond rating, which makes the large capital projects comparatively “safe bets”, I believe as stewards of every tax dollar, City government should prioritize reliance on internal resources before spending on contracts and consultants to address our planning and management needs (and I say that as a consultant!).
10. If elected, you will make numerous decisions impacting the environment and sustainability in the City. Decisions on public green spaces, tree canopy, stormwater and localized flooding to name a few. Many local initiatives addressing these issues come in the form of development requirements (proffered entitlements) or zoning mandates—which can have the effect of adding to the expense of a development and the eventual cost of housing. Would you propose any changes to these processes to help weigh the benefits of these programs versus the costs passed on to consumers?
YES ________________________ NO X
Please Explain:
My overarching answer is that no, I would not support making changes to our expectation that developers consider environmental impacts and sustainability in their proposals to the City. But I do think we need to ensure that those expectations are clearly and consistently communicated as part of the development application process. Without transparent requirements (especially in cases of infrastructure, like stormwater and runoff management), we tend to hear the argument that such issues are ‘not the developer’s problem to solve’, even when new development will clearly exacerbate existing challenges.
Green space and tree canopy preservation is obviously an important issue to many in our community, but I don’t think it is broadly understood how many of our City’s trees are actually on private property (i.e., outside of City management and control). We need clear, enforceable environment preservation and restoration regulations that are closely associated with our economic development, public safety, and accessibility goals. I would actually be in favor of identifying development incentives for the creation and maintenance of publicly-accessible green spaces, since we have not seen much success simply including such amenities in our small area plans. The Zoning Island concept is a step in this direction, and I believe we should also tap the new City of Fairfax Parks Foundation to help establish and capitalize on City-business relationships in service of green space preservation and access objectives.