The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors will likely approve a Transportation Service District (TSD) creating an additional property value driven tax on all property owners in Reston's Metro station areas by the end of 2016.  The TSD's purpose, based on faulty assumptions, is to fill a non-existent $350 million "funding gap" for improving roadways in the station areas as high-density development unfolds.  The assumed "funding gap" ignores the Board's ability to shift less than $9MM/year to improve Reston station area streets, or use 3% of the $11 billion in future property tax revenues to pay for road improvements, or marginally increase the tax rates on any of several county-wide tax sources.

The Board will most likely approve a TSD that will initially add 2.1 cents to the property tax rate now experienced by station area property owners.  Moreover, three years of experience at Tysons with a similar TSD indicates that the Board will double or triple the rate within 3-4 years.

The added tax will not be difficult to absorb by developers who will see huge financial gains there in the coming years.   Estimates based on recent experience suggest commercial real estate profits will average more than a billion dollars per year in Reston's station areas over the next four decades--and County property tax revenues will grow right along with the growth in property values.

Unlike County and developers' coffers, however, station area residents will not see any revenue gain from the development that occurs there.  Nonetheless, they will have to pay this added property value-driven tax as property values and tax rates escalate. 

Moreover, not only will they not derive any financial benefit from the tax like their commercial and county counterparts, they will actually experience worse traffic conditions by County intent.  Specifically, the County is lowering the performance standard for these roadways, including Reston's four key through north-south and east-west boulevards, from a Level of Service "D" to Level of Service "E."  That means peak period congestion there is likely to cause at least 55-80 second delays at each intersection.

There is no logical, ethical, or other valid reason why Reston residents should pay more road taxes for worse road service so others can profit even more from the arrangement.  Those who profit--real estate developers and the County--should pay the full burden of improving Reston station area roadways to accommodate the massive job and residential growth planned there.   The Board of Supervisors must not approve a Transportation Service District (TSD) for Reston's Metro station areas.