[Congressional Record (Bound Edition), Volume 159 (2013), Part 11]
[Extensions of Remarks]
[Pages 15472-15473]
[From the U.S. Government Publishing Office, www.gpo.gov]




    RECOGNIZING THE 75TH ANNIVERSARY OF THE FAIRFAX COUNTY PLANNING 
                               COMMISSION

                                 ______
                                 

                        HON. GERALD E. CONNOLLY

                              of virginia

                    in the house of representatives

                        Tuesday, October 8, 2013

  Mr. CONNOLLY. Mr. Speaker, I rise today to commemorate the 75th 
anniversary of the Fairfax County Planning Commission.
  The mission of the Fairfax County Planning Commission is to advise 
the Board of Supervisors on all matters related to the orderly growth 
and development of Fairfax County. This includes stewarding of the 
comprehensive plan for the physical development of the County, amending 
zoning and subdivision ordinances, and reviewing specific project 
proposals. The Planning Commission also provides citizens with an 
opportunity to provide input and contribute to matters involving 
development in and around their communities.
  When the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors unanimously voted to 
establish a Planning Commission in July 1938, the County had

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a population of about 40,000 people. The original five members were 
appointed based on the land-use interest they would represent, such as 
farmers, townspeople, commercial, and industrial interests. 
Commissioners met in closed sessions and did not record minutes until 
1941. Today, Fairfax County has a population of approximately 1.1 
million and the Planning Commission consists of twelve volunteer 
members--one for each of the nine supervisory districts and three who 
serve the County at large. They meet weekly in public sessions that can 
be viewed online anywhere in the world. Additionally, commissioners 
form subcommittees as needed to focus on specific topics such as parks, 
transportation, housing, and the environment.
  For much of its first 75 years, the Planning Commission shepherded 
the County's transformation from a predominantly rural area to one 
dominated by sprawling suburbs and job centers. The transportation 
patterns were indicative of this; people travelled into Washington, 
D.C., for their jobs and back home to Fairfax County. This landscape 
began changing as more and more corporations, especially technology 
companies, relocated their corporate headquarters or opened large 
offices in Fairfax County, primarily in the Dulles Corridor and Tysons 
areas. The expansion of professional opportunities continued to fuel 
the population growth of the County, irrevocably changing commuting 
patterns and posing new challenges and opportunities. In this century, 
as the County continues to redefine itself, emphasis has been placed on 
smart-growth, multi-use development easily accessible to public 
transit. Through the natural cycle of growth and redevelopment, new 
activity centers have been established throughout the County in 
communities like Reston, Laurel Hill, Springfield, and the Mosaic 
District in Merrifield.
  In May 2010, the Planning Commission presented the most ambitious 
redevelopment plan in the County's history to Board of Supervisors--The 
Tysons Plan. The Tysons Plan was a culmination of years of planning and 
analysis, much of which I had the honor of working on while serving as 
the Providence District Supervisor and then as Chairman of the Board of 
Supervisors. Under the Tysons Plan the area known as the ``downtown of 
Fairfax County'' will be transformed from a district filled with a 
patchwork of unconnected development and businesses into a vibrant, 
walkable, sustainable, transit-oriented mixed-use community. When 
completed, Tysons will be an urban center where people live, work, and 
play, and it will be home to up to 100,000 residents and 200,000 jobs. 
This plan received the American Planning Association's 2011 Daniel 
Burnham Award, which recognizes one urban plan in the nation each year, 
for advancing the science and art of planning.
  Looking forward, the Planning Commission and staff will continue to 
seek a balance between this phenomenal growth and the need to maintain 
open space, manage traffic, and provide affordable housing.
  Mr. Speaker, I ask my colleagues to join me in congratulating the 
Fairfax County Planning Commission on the occasion of its 75th 
Anniversary and in thanking the volunteer Commissioners and the staff 
of the Fairfax County Planning Commission for their efforts, expertise, 
and dedication toward making Fairfax County one of the best places in 
the country to live, work and raise a family.

                          ____________________