Northern Virginia Demands Smart Growth
"I now call upon those who opposed [the referendums] to help us find workable solutions."
- Governor Mark R. Warner
The citizens of Northern Virginia voted on Tuesday for smarter growth for their communities. This is a victory for the grassroots. Voters rejected the status quo, the old approach of simply widening highways, while continuing to scatter development and consuming open space without regard to the traffic impact. Voters rejected writing a blank check to subsidize more sprawl. This vote signals an end to the domination of Virginia politics by the land development industry. Despite a 20-1 margin in expenditures, the No Sprawl Tax Coalition tapped into a deep concern for the sprawl development that has defined this region for the past thirty years.
• Alternatives to the Tax Hike
• Blueprint for a Better Region
Media Coverage:
N.Va. Voters Reject Tax Hike
- Washington Post, November 6, 2002
The Campaign
Myth:
The tax will improve air quality
Reality:
There are no studies that show the tax referendum projects will improve either
congestion or air quality. In the absence of smart growth planning, adding capacity
has been shown to be counter-productive.
• Vote
'No' and Ease Gridlock
• Adding
Capacity Alone Doesn't Work
• Tax
Faulted in Nationwide Study
• NJ
Governor: Stop Subsidizing Sprawl
• CO
Bonds-For-Roads Plan Falls Short
• Massive
Gainesville Devel. Approved
Myth:
40% for transit, guaranteed
Reality:
Transit funding is actually much less. The 40% "guarantee" only applies
to the initial $2.8B, requires NVTA approval, and is dependent on federal matching
funds.
Myth:
We offer no alternatives
Reality:
The Blueprint for a Better Region provides a realistic, achievable plan for both
transportation & livable communities, that's not contingent on major new infrastructure
and that has been endorsed by local leaders.
• Alternatives to the
Tax Hike
• Blueprint
for a Better Region
Myth:
Opponents to the tax are providing misinformation
Reality:
Our positions are based on published reports & public documents.
A Sampling:
• Developers
Contribute Over $1.2 Million
• Vote
'No' and Ease Gridlock
• Adding
Capacity Alone Doesn't Work
• Tax
Faulted in Nationwide Study
• Techway
and WTC Will Worsen Traffic
• History of Developer Dollars
Myth:
The referendum is all about smart growth
Reality:
The region's leading smart growth, environmental, & bicycling orgs. oppose
it.
•
Why
it's Not Smart Growth
• A
List of Opposing Organizations
Myth:
The tax is good for Metro
Reality:
Only 5% is allocated to Metro's urgent maintenance and rail car needs. Metro needs
$6.2 billion for these needs but the sales tax allocates only $250 million over
20 years, just $12.5 million per year.
10 Things the
Governor and General Assembly Can Do To Address Virginia's Traffic Congestion
Addressing the problem of traffic congestion in Virginia will require
a comprehensive approach to land use and transportation and a new partnership
between state and local government.
There
is a Better Way
The Coalition for Smarter Growth and the Piedmont Environmental Council have
put forward a comprehensive plan called the Blueprint for a Better Region.
Dulles Rail Success
Not Linked to Sales Tax Hike
"[Citizens
for Better Transportation Chairman John]
Milliken
concedes one of [Coalition for Smarter Growth Executive Director Stewart]
Schwartz's
most fervent arguments: that the money to extend Metrorail to Dulles Airport exists
whether or not this ballot measure passes
- Washington Post, October 15
More
Highways - More Traffic - More Congestion
Instead of more transit, fewer cars and less sprawl, the 1/2-cent sales tax increase
is destined to bring more roads through rural areas, which means more development,
more cars and more traffic problems in our neighborhoods.
• Can
We Afford to Ignore the Lessons of History?
• What
is the Real Full Story of the Sales Tax Hike?
It Won't Solve Your Traffic Congestion ...but
the developers will thank you
The
developers have put more money into passing the sales tax hike than
have all other industries combined.
Tracing
Campaign Dollars ( pdf)
(Actual contributions are now much higher. Click here for latest reports from vpap.org).
Unanswered Questions about the Sales Tax Hike
The Coalition for Smarter Growth presented nine unanswered questions about the
Northern Virginia Sales Tax Referendum as Governor Warner launched his campaign
in Prince William County. The Coalition is presenting these questions to encourage
full public disclosure and debate before November's vote.
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The Campaign
"The defeat... was a stinging loss for Virginia developers who had bankrolled the proponents' campaign against poorly funded opponents."
- Washington Post, Wednesday, November 6, 2002
In-Depth Reports
Developer
Dollar Influence on Transportation
 |
| During the campaign large "Vote Yes" signs were common on property being developed along the rural fringe.
Click to Enlarge |
A report released last week confirms the development industry's deep pockets, extensive interconnections, disproportionate influence and history of advocating new highways in Northern Virginia.
Excerpts:
Tax About More Sprawl, Not Less Traffic
"Business leaders continue...to champion growth at any cost in outlying areas,
apparently with little thought to the likely consequences".
A
Long History Ties Developers and New Highways
More
than 20 years of documented ties between developers and their efforts to push
new highways in northern Virginia is detailed.
November 1 Press Release (pdf)
Report: Developers Making Us Pay for Sprawl (pdf)
From the Virginia Public Access Project:
 Developer
Contributions Now Exceed $1.2 Million
Developers have provided the bulk of the funding to pass the tax hike. Newly released
campaign contribution reports show major new funding from highway builders, highway
material vendors, and mortgage lenders.
• Highway
Builders Join Developers to Support Tax
•
Top Contributing Occupations Also Dominated by Developers
Sales Tax as Highway Robbery:
Fueling Sprawl at Taxpayers' Expense
Developers Own at least 65,000 acres along Proposed New Roads in rural Loudoun & Prince William Counties.
(pdf
map; 993kB)
New
Report Shows Techway and WTC Will Worsen Traffic
"...With the Techway, traffic on
Route 7 in Virginia adjacent to a new interchange would almost double compared
to the No Build scenario. Traffic on Maryland Route 28 would nearly triple compared
to the No Build scenario. These results confirm findings from a Virginia Department
of Transportation analysis as part of the Northern Virginia 2020 Transportation
Plan and by Montgomery County in its Transportation Policy Report."
In Depth Resources (pdf):
• Executive
Summary Report
• News
Release from Environmental Defense and Other Groups
Media Reports:
Rural
N.Va. Awaits Impact of Sales Tax
"As voters debate boosting the tax to pay for transportation projects,
a central question is whether new roads will relieve congestion or simply add
to it by encouraging development."
-
Washington Post, Friday, October 18, Page B01
Tax Referendum Faulted in
Nationwide Study
The Surface Transportation Policy Project,
an independent nonprofit organization based in Washington, has released a study
of U.S. ballot measures on transportation. Northern Virginia's tax referendum
is "poorly designed," it said. Problems include vague wording on
projects, reinforcing our position that the 40% transit "guarantee"
has no legal basis. "This is seen as a significant problem and amounts
to a traditional 'trust us' approach that gives voters little assurance of how
and where the remainder of their money will be spent. Our bottom line is, it raises
more questions than it answers," said James Corless of the policy project.
• Washington
Post coverage
• The Surface Transportation
Policy Project Report
'Vote "No" to Ease Gridlock
Columnist
Marc Fisher of The Washington Post has reviewed the pros and cons of the sales
tax hike. His decision? "For me, the most telling difference between the
two sides is this fact: More than half of the money that is pouring into the Yes
campaign comes from real estate and construction businesses -- developers, home
builders and all the various other interests that profit from sprawl...lending
credence to what Stewart Schwartz of the Coalition for Smarter Growth says: "What
we see in this plan is an open-ended, permanent stream of income for outer county
highway building to fuel the next generation of speculative development."
-
Washington Post, October 29, 2002
If
Northern Va. Repairs Its Roads, Traffic Will Come
The nonprofit Surface Transportation Policy Project analyzed data for 70 metropolitan
areas over 15 years and found that regions that invested heavily in new road capacity
ended up with no less traffic than areas that stuck with the status quo.
-
Washington Post, October 19, 2002
Member Press Releases and Statements
Coalition
Response to Governor's Accountability Task Force:
"Why Not Give Us The Facts Now"?
"The voters need accountability and information before the vote, not
after," said Stewart Schwartz of the No Sprawl Tax Coalition.
Press Release - October 18, 2002
10
Reasons to Vote "No" on the Northern Virginia Sales Tax Hike
A statement by the Piedmont Environmental Council.
NVa Sales Tax Referendum Bites Bikes
On November 5, Northern Virginia WABA members will have an opportunity to vote on whether to have a sales tax that would found a slate of transportation projects that will have a regressive effect on bicycling. Bicyclists should oppose the referendum for at least four reasons...
Virginia League of Conservation Voters
Speaks Out Against Sales Tax Hike
"Before pouring billions of tax dollars into expanding our highways, we need
to plan and implement better land use. This has to include focusing development
near transit and making places like Tyson's Corner and the Dulles Corridor into
real places - communities where people can actually walk instead of driving for
every trip."
Smart
Growth, Conservation & Bike Advocates Launch Campaign Against the Sales Tax
Referendum
"Smart growth and conservation organizations oppose this sales tax because
it simply subsidizes the powerful real estate/construction industry to continue
sprawling development patterns that will create more traffic, worse air pollution,
and ruin our quality of life, said Lisa Guthrie, Executive Director of the Virginia
League of Conservation Voters.
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