August 2, 2002
Bruce Bennett, a member of the Hunter Mill Defense League, and John Thoburn, owner of the Golf Park at Hunter Mill, have been longtime opponents in the struggle to determine the future of 200-plus acres of undeveloped land between Reston and Tysons Corner.
Bennett would like to keep Hunter Mill Road as it is, with single family homes placed on large, multiple-acre lots. Thoburn would like to bring more development to the area, with higher density housing and commercial construction.
But last Wednesday evening, at a meeting to discuss the future of rail to Dulles, Bennett mentioned that he and Thoburn might be unlikely allies in a battle to keep a rail traction station off of the Hunter Mill Golf Park land.
A study on the future rail to Dulles project includes a plan to build a 150 foot by 40 foot facility on the golf park, in order to power the rail line, which will run along the median of the Dulles Toll Road. In addition to the traction station, which will straddle his property line, the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (WMATA) has also planned a storm retention pond for Thoburn's property. The pond, which will fill only when it rains, is tentatively planned to be 270 feet by 120 feet. The golf park is adjacent to the Dulles Toll Road.
"We will fight the traction substation planned for the golf park," Bennett said. "And we and the owner are on the same page from what I hear. I hear he is not too happy about this."
A few other meeting attendees chuckled at the idea that Bennett and Thoburn were in accord. But Thoburn denied that he and Bennett agreed on the traction station. The golf park owner said he did not "show a position" on the facility.
"I do think it is somewhat ironic, though, that the government would want to build a substation on my property that’s bigger than what I’m allowed to build as a club house ... They put me in jail for shrubs, but want to put up this ugly structure," Thoburn said, referring to his arrest last year for landscaping violations at the golf park.
THE DEFENSE LEAGUE sued the county when they originally permitted the golf park on land that was zoned for single family homes on two to five acre lots, Bennett said. He added the group is against the traction station for the same reason it was against the golf park.
"We keep on getting the response that, here’s a nice open space, let’s develop," Bennett said. "But you can’t develop on that zoning."
The Commonwealth of Virginia's can use its right of imminent domain to force citizens to sell land along the rail line. The final property requirements for the transit project will be determined over the course of 2003. After those requirements are determined, the state will appraise the right of way properties and make offers to the owners. Property owners will be able to negotiate over those offers.
"The project would seek voluntary conveyance of the necessary land," said John Dittmeier, WMATA's acting project manager on the Dulles Corridor Rapid Transit Project. "If not, we will use the powers of imminent domain, make appraisals and then make offers. We will be seeking fair market value."
Thoburn first learned about the substation about a month ago, while attending a meeting on Dulles rail. He asked that transportation officials send him a copy of the plan, but he has yet to see that document. Thoburn was concerned that other residents might not be aware they will be affected by things like power stations and storm retention ponds along the rail line.
THERE ARE AROUND 130 property owners, both commercial and residential, who, depending on the transit alternative chosen, may have property taken to make way for the project. Thoburn, one of those owners, received a map in the mail, locating the traction station that is planned for his property. But, he said, the map was not very detailed, and was hard to read. Without attending a public hearing on the project, he said, he would not have realized that the Golf Park had been targeted.
Dittmeier said several series of letters, announcing public hearings on the transit project, have been mailed to property owners that may lose land.
"We are holding the public hearings, in part, to receive responses regarding the transit facilities," Dittmeier said.
There will be additional mailings as decisions are made over the transit alternatives.
Up to eight businesses may be displaced by the project, meaning that those businesses will have to move to new facilities. Six of these businesses are in Tysons, where much of the rail line is planned to be elevated over the current roads. Two of those business are in Loudoun County and may be displaced by the bus rapid transit system.
BENNETT WAS CONCERNED that the public response period is too short for the Dulles rail Draft Environmental Impact Statement. The study, which outlines technical plans for the project, was released one month ago. Public hearings on the project were on Monday, Tuesday and Wednesday of this week. Bennett said this schedule does not give citizens enough time to analyze the thick rail document.
"They’re cramming this through in 30 days," Bennett said.
The record will stay open for written comments after the public hearings, until Aug. 28 at 5 p.m. Those statements should be sent to Corey Hill, Northern Virginia regional manager with the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, 1550 Wilson Boulevard, Suite 300, Arlington, VA 22209. Comments can also be sent over e-mail, to dullescorridor@aol.com.
Twenty-seven power stations are planned up and down the proposed rail line, at a standard size of 90 by 90 feet. Eight power stations are planned for Tysons Corner.
The rail study is available for viewing at public libraries and transportation offices throughout the region.