Fairfax County has long been viewed as the ultimate burb, whereWashington goes to walk the dog and water the lawn. But the moreresidents look around, the more they see what many have tried toavoid: high-rise offices, blight, crime and housing that's morelikely to have a balcony than a back yard.
That changing reality came into focus last week when CountyExecutive Anthony H. Griffin raised the possibility of officiallymaking Fairfax a city, prompting discussion among county supervisorsabout whether the community of more than 1 million residents shouldhighlight its status as an enormous jobs center that is rapidlyurbanizing or embrace its classic suburban nature.
The basis for the idea is largely tactical -- under state law,cities have more taxing power and greater control over roads thancounties do -- and it led to more than a few snickers about thethrilling nightlife in downtown Fairfax (punch line: there isn'tany).
Regardless of whether the county changes its status, a processthat requires approval from voters, the state and courts, thediscussion underscored a growing tension within Virginia's largestjurisdiction. What does Fairfax want to be? A giant urban expanselike many new Sun Belt cities? Or more of a residential suburb, witha handful of urbanized pockets sprinkled in?
The Fairfax of today is somewhere in between. Its 400 squaremiles include a sea of cul-de-sacs, parks, pools and soccer fields,especially in its southern and western stretches. McLean and GreatFalls remain high-end havens for some of the region's most exclusiveaddresses. Clifton still feels like the country.
Meanwhile, dense, Arlington County-style urban villages arequickly claiming the skylines of Vienna, Merrifield and Springfield,and county plans envision those and other developments ballooningover the next decade. Tysons Corner is already an economic andcommercial behemoth, and it's only going to get bigger asdevelopment clusters around the Metrorail extension. The Route 1corridor and other pockets are increasingly marked by blight.
On an uncrowded weekday afternoon at Old Keene Mill Swim andRacquet Club in Burke last week, Fairfax's still-shining suburbanglory was on display. A gaggle of children with rackets under theirarms ran up a hill to tennis courts. A mother coated her daughterwith sunscreen by the pool, where a few dozen kids splashed andadults sat under giant umbrellas. Another mother walked from her carwith packets of hot dogs and buns toward the club's grills andpicnic tables.
'I personally would hate to see any more of a city feel toFairfax County,' Nancy Ohanian, 52, said while floating on foamnoodles with her 9-year-old daughter. 'We're losing so many trees.And I sure don't want to see my taxes go any higher.'
For these families, Burke is their corner of suburban bliss, acommunity so complete that they rarely venture more than a mile ortwo beyond their homes.
'It had all the ingredients that I wanted for my family,' saidMary Holden, 46, a mother of four. 'My kids' schools, their sportsteams, their friends, the shopping -- it's all here. I can go awhole week not ever leaving Burke, quite happy.'
Holden and others probably would be quite unhappy if theyventured about 10 miles north to Merrifield. There, two sleek newfive-story apartment buildings rise from a weedy parking lot. Thebottom floor of one building is taken up by restaurants, a jewelrystore and a tailor. The sound of nearby traffic roars as workers inscrubs from the nearby hospital brush past women with strollers andgroups of young men.
It was in Merrifield that county leaders celebrated their newest'park' last month -- a brick-lined plaza with a fountain and somebenches centered between new apartment buildings.
It's just that kind of urban feel that attracted residents suchas Duy Anh Huynh. 'I definitely think of Fairfax as a city. It'sawesome, very vibrant,' Huynh, 34, said after picking up dinner at aburrito joint within walking distance of his apartment.
Many policymakers and planners believe Fairfax has no choice butto continue to grow along the Merrifield model. The alternative isfor the same suburban development patterns to worsen traffic,pollution and sprawl -- or for the growth that is expected tocontinue regionwide to pass Fairfax by. After that comes decline,they say.
'What would you rather do, leave it the way it is?' asked RobertE. Lang, author of the book 'Edgeless Cities' and co-director of theMetropolitan Institute at Virginia Tech. 'It's neither fish norfowl. They are going to be out-citied by Arlington and out-countried by Loudoun.'
None of this means that redevelopment of Tysons or any othercorner of Fairfax guarantees success. Politicians, planners andnervous neighbors are acutely aware of the perils of building up:more traffic if commuting patterns don't change; higher taxes to payfor the massive foundation of infrastructure that must be built;and, eventually, blight if Fairfax's new urban spaces or overalleconomy don't thrive.
So far, Fairfax has been fortunate to escape many of thedownsides of urbanization. The percentage of people living inpoverty has declined slightly this decade, and average income,fueled by an explosion in federal contracting and the technologyindustries, has risen.
Crime, notably robbery, ticked up in 2007, the most recent yearfor which data are available, but it followed a national trend andremains well below national averages.
The one typically urban issue Fairfax is grappling with isneighborhood blight. Old neighborhoods such as Kings Park alongBraddock Road or Huntington along Route 1 have been struggling withdecline. Unkempt rented homes and falling property values dot theselandscapes. Some areas, such as the partly vacant mall in downtownSpringfield, have developed such an unsavory reputation that severalof the mothers in Burke said they do not allow their teenagechildren to go there.
County leaders say their plans to redevelop such places as Tysonsand Springfield will help reverse such decline rather thanprecipitate it. They say the central perils of building up are theimpacts on surrounding neighborhoods, not rising crime or decliningschools.
'Whether we like it or not, change is coming to Fairfax County,'said Supervisor John C. Cook (R-Braddock). 'We are urbanizing. Thatdoesn't mean that anything has to change for the residents ofClifton or Braddock, but staying static is not an option.'
In reality, an official redesignation from county to city is nosimple task. Experts say it would be the largest such effort inmodern Virginia history, and county leaders might prefer a moresubtle route to achieve their goal of improving their transportationnetwork, a task they say the state has failed to do.
If Fairfax does become a city, it would instantly become one ofthe largest in the nation, the size of San Antonio or San Jose.
It would also diverge dramatically from the stereotype of thegritty metropolis. Fairfax enjoys many of the benefits -- wealthand jobs -- and few of the detriments -- crime, troubled schools-- of a large urban center. With a median household income of$105,000, it is the wealthiest large county in the nation. Amonglarge school systems, it boasts the highest test scores. And it hasthe lowest murder rate among the nation's 30 largest cities andcounties.
Still, the city label doesn't quite fit for some communityleaders. Supervisor John W. Foust (D-Dranesville) represents thelargely suburban area around McLean and Herndon, where someresidents worry that transformation in nearby Tysons will worsentraffic in their neighborhoods. The cul-de-sac lifestyle they havechosen is still the one that defines Fairfax, he said.
'I think the county form serves us pretty well,' he said. 'Futuregrowth will be more urban, but we've got a huge population that haschosen a suburban model.'
