Special F.C. Council Race Sees 1st Direct Face Off

The two candidates on the ballot seeking election to fill an unexpired term on the Falls Church City Council held their first public forum together last Thursday, a well-attended Q-and-A event held at the F.C. Community Center.

Laura Downs and John Murphy sparred in the well-coordinated and civil undertaking co-hosted by the Falls Church chapter of the League of Women Voters (LWV) and the Village Preservation and Improvement Society (VPSI). The candidates were tasked with responding to questions which seemed to many to consistently harbor dissatisfaction with the current direction of the Little City.

Murphy, a former chair of the F.C. Board of Zoning Appeals, is a board member of the co-hosting VPIS group, while Downs served four years on the Falls Church City Public Schools’ elected board. Downs led the School Board during a critical time when construction of the new Meridian High School had to be coordinated with approvals for the development of the adjacent 10-acre Hoffman Group-led West Falls project that not only paid for the $122 million new state of the art school but also permitted a 14 cent tax reduction for City real estate homeowners. The News-Press has endorsed Downs.

A second and perhaps final opportunity at a face-to-face encounter of Downs and Murphy before the Nov. 5 final day of voting (when candidates for the U.S. presidency and other federal positions will also be on the ballot) comes on Tuesday, Oct. 15, at the monthly luncheon of the Falls Church Chamber of Commerce at the Italian Cafe. At that encounter, prominent Falls Church attorney Andrew Painter, chair of the Chamber’s Legislative Committee, is scheduled to moderate.

So far, as of this writing, Falls Church’s Voter Registrar David Bjerke has reported that 1,107, almost 10 percent of registered voters here had as of Tuesday this week already cast their ballots either by showing up at the Registrar’s office in City Hall or by mailing in their ballots.

Those in the know on some of the more contentious issues that activists will focus on at the polls were not off-put by similar sounding responses from the candidates, in particular on the issue of development, whether there has been too much, not enough or just about right.

Murphy said in response to one question that he is not in favor of “unbridled development,” but instead is for “socially sustainable” growth which is “some good, not all,” and that needs to answer the question, “Does it meet the needs of the citizens and lead to a cleaner environment.”

Downs said that she doesn’t anticipate major new development in the coming period, noting that the Covid epidemic delayed earlier projects such as Broad and Washington, Founders Row 1 and 2, so that they seemed to come online much more rapidly recently. “It’s time now to take a breath” before approving any new such projects, she suggested, though she noted the 14 cent tax reduction to city residents the earlier projects have afforded, and that the projects are still not the main driver of enrollment increases in the City schools.

The main driver, she noted, is the redevelopment of single family residences, the many cases around town of teardowns being replaced by much larger homes.

She also noted that meals taxes are way up in the City as the result of high quality new restaurants that have come in on the ground floor of new mixed use developments. The imminent opening of a new very large Whole Foods store downtown also signals that sales taxes should ramp up very significantly soon.
Problems associated with storm water and sewer issues, she noted, are also primarily associated with older single family homes, while hook-up fees and VDOT grants are enabling the problems to be handled.

On the issue of accessory dwellings, as the Council here has begun cautiously to move in the direction of allowing more flexibility in their construction on existing single family home properties, Murphy said that there is not a “one size fits all” answer, while Downs said that a new policy “could add to the housing stock” though a lot of issues still need to be addressed, such as parking, setbacks and tree canopy requirements.

On the recent extensive debates over the Council’s adoption of new transitional zone (T-zone) changes to permit more residential options there, Murphy said that “we haven’t gotten what we were promised,” but that the issue is now “water under the bridge.” Downs said there were communication problems around that issue, that affordable housing was not promised, just more options and what looks like will be the first new townhouses built in 20 years here.

The issues of expanded tree canopies, walkability and bikeability issues are paramount, Downs said. Murphy said that “the city has done a good job” on alternatives, such as the application of geothermal sources for the high school and community center. He said that in addition to a bike master plan, there also needs to be a pedestrian plan, citing the issue of utility poles in sidewalks.

The fact that too many sidewalks in the city “are not accessible” presents a challenge, Downs said.

On affordable housing, Downs hailed progress that has increased the minimum of affordable units in new residential buildings to be increased from six to 12 percent, and that “sunset provisions” have been eliminated, meaning the units will remain affordable in perpetuity. Through this, 99 new units have been added to the City’s affordable housing inventory, and that more flexible and diverse options are still needed to, for example, carry out plans for a major expansion of affordable housing at the Virginia Village site on S. Maple.

Murphy said the issue is a “tough” one and more study of options for long term affordable housing is needed, such as perhaps the formation of a housing authority to buy and operate homes.

On the scale of future development, Downs said she feels it is time now to “take a breath and look around” before jumping into something new. “We need to assess the impact on traffic and see if we can slow it down and make it responsible to the neighborhoods.”

The rapid development in the City “has not been real coherent,” Murphy said. He suggested something other than the current “special exception” process may work better going forward.

The cost of the new mixed use projects to the City was discussed in terms of their school age populations and the average cost of educating a child in the City. Downs noted that the development trend recently has been toward smaller apartment units, notwithstanding the case of Pearson Square, which was originally built to condos but converted into larger rental units that predictably have more school aged children.

There was concern expressed for the use by City residents of their homes for “Air B and B” rentals, and both candidates agreed the issue should be looked at.

On the issue of green space, Downs said that more should have been required in the Founders Row 1 complex, but that it is good there are three new “parklets” being developed around town on the model of the “Mr. Brown’s Park” in the 100 block of W. Broad.

“We do need to hold developers accountable” through the voluntary concessions that they offer, Downs said.

On improving pedestrian access, she agreed that a Pedestrian Master Plan would be a good idea, noting that progress is already underway with new sidewalk bump outs at intersections, the Hawk pedestrian-command signal lights and the new brick inlays on Great Falls St. marking the crossing with the W&OD bike and pedestrian path. Also, speed cameras are soon going up on W. Broad near the St. James School, she noted.

Murphy noted that the tolls on I-66 have increased auto traffic in the City as cut through efforts are presenting safety challenges. He said “draconian measures” may be needed to curb dangerous driving in neighborhoods.

On their overall experiences working with the City, the two candidates were both positive. Murphy said he “enjoyed working with City staff” while on the BZA, and Downs said her four years on the School Board, especially through the Covid crisis, “has been a great preparation” for serving on the City Council. “I learned a lot,” she said, touted the Schools’ achievement of a “fully open and fully vaxed” system.
Both candidates spoke favorably about diversity, equality and inclusion efforts in the City.

Asked their favorite eating spots around town, Murphy cited Brown’s Hardware (but not for food), Anthony’s and Harvey’s. Downs identified Godfrey’s, Ellie Bird and Thompson’s Italian, hailing how “vibrant and exciting” the City is becoming. She then added Clare and Don’s and Northside Social to her list.

Murphy closed saying he will “listen to all” and brings “no agenda.” Downs said that she is a hard worker, and will “dig in and do the work a good community relies on,” with “the guts to make decisions.”