Tysons Tax District Hearing Scheduled for Tuesday

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors will host a public hearing Tuesday on a Tysons transportation service tax district expected to raise $253 million for road improvements and infrastructure in the next 40 years.

Tysons Corner needs approximately $3 billion in transportation improvements over the next 40 years in order to sustain its development of the county’s new walkable urban downtown, according to a detailed proposal from the Fairfax County Planning Commission.

The recommended improvements include a grid of streets, pedestrian and bicycle infrastructure, transit lines, and large-scale, Tysons-wide roadwork.

The tax district has been proposed to help fund the larger improvements – $250 million will come from property owners and another $250 million more will come from developers in the area.

Additionally, $700 million would come from transportation funds over the next 40 years.

In total, the public and private sectors will give approximately $1.2 billion. Planning Commissioners reasoned the public and developers should share the burden, as these projects are meant to benefit the area as a whole.

The district would likely have a tax hike of 7 to 9 cents per $100 of assessed value. .

The Board has approved two big Tysons redevelopment projects in recent months – the massive overhaul of Capital One’s corporate headquarters, and the new 20-acre Arbor Row development.

The public hearing on the tax district is scheduled for 4:30 p.m. Tuesday.

Click here if you wish to sign up and speak at the hearing.

Elsewhere on the agenda:

A vote on the creation of an advisory board for the tax district, as well as on the establishment of funds for “Tysons-Wide” and the “Tysons Grid of Streets,” according to the draft agenda.

Supervisors will appoint their nominees for a commission designed to examine election efficiency in the county. Chairman Sharon Bulova proposed the committee’s formation at the Board’s Nov. 20 meeting, explaining that long lines and wait times at polling places around the county on Election Day needed to be addressed.  Bulova’s motion passed unanimously.