RestonWeb

[Bob Bruhns]

I received this by e-mail from Herndon Councilman Dennis Husch's Cyber Advisory Committee.
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Committee – next week the Mayor and Town Council will begin to discuss modifying the Town’s comprehensive plan to incorporate the proposed Downtown Development Master Plan. The plan amendment will also make minor changes to the appropriate plan text (mainly Chapter III: Land Use Plan) in order to reference a master plan. The Downtown Master Plan includes a map of specific planned land use and related information. The general purpose of the plan amendment is to carry out the vision, goals and objectives of the 2030 Comprehensive Plan to encourage a vital downtown with a mix of land uses. The master plan depicts residential, commercial and public uses and parking facilities to support these uses; the plan displays the approximate height and level of density on each block of a core downtown area.

The intent is to establish a community-vetted master plan that will encourage development and re-development in the downtown. This is a very complex issue and lots of dedicated citizens have invested significant time in the creation of the elements in the proposed Master Plan.

BACKGROUND MATERIALS:

Here is a LINK to the maps and drawings of the downtown as proposed by the Master Plan (5MB file).

Here is a LINK to the public engagement comments from last October.

Here is a LINK to the January steering committee meeting summary.

Here is a LINK to the steering committee recommendations

Here is a LINK to the April recommendation from the Planning Commission.

Here is a LINK to the Comprehensive Plan Amendment CPA #10-01 – Downtown Master Plan.

Here is a LINK to the Market Analysis - Executive Summary.

Here is a LINK to Market Analysis – Principles.

Here is a LINK to the chronological files of the history of downtown redevelopment.

As I indicated, this is a very complex issue with obvious impact on Herndon’s future.

Your comments are very important, and I look forward to hearing from you.

Regards,

Dennis Husch
Councilman
Town of Herndon, Virginia 20170
dhusch@dhusch.com
www.dhusch.com

+++++++++++
If you would like to be included in the "Cyber Advisory Committee",
contact Councilman Husch at the above address.
_________________
Government debt and deficits are robbing your children, your grandchildren, and your great-grandchildren. http://www.usdebtclock.org/

[jeremy]

From the Market Analysis, can someone tell me what this means?

[RodgerPerry]

Looks to me like single people and childless couples are not welcome to live near the "core" unless they invest in more house space than they need.
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Those who deny rights to the lower income for the sake of their housing value don't deserve to live here!!!!

[Bob Bruhns]

I think it means that the development area should retain some owner-residential character, and not be exclusively a business center.
_________________
Government debt and deficits are robbing your children, your grandchildren, and your great-grandchildren. http://www.usdebtclock.org/

[demosthenes]

That probably just about nails it Bob.
With the addition that single-family homes and townhomes are preferable in the downtown corridor as they are less intrusive/destructive to existing communitities.
_________________
"mean-spirited" may be an innacurate way to describe people who want the rules and regulations we agreed to followed. - Breed

[jeremy]

Thanks for the interpretations.

I think "family ideology" is a pretty poor choice of words if your interpretations are correct. Ah well...
_________________
We have nothing to fear but fear itself.

[Bob Bruhns]

It does seem to be an odd choice of words. 'Family orientation' might have been better. Maybe 'family ideology' and 'family ideology of the community' are standard concepts in municipal managment theory.
_________________
Government debt and deficits are robbing your children, your grandchildren, and your great-grandchildren. http://www.usdebtclock.org/

[Bob Bruhns]

I received this by e-mail from Herndon Councilman Dennis Husch's Cyber Advisory Committee.
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Committee – time for some serious work. The Town Council is currently considering a modification to the 2030 Comprehensive Plan which will incorporate the proposed Downtown Master Plan. A majority vote to accept the master plan will establish the magnitude of new residential, retail, office and public parking in the greater-Herndon downtown (Jackson Street to Center Street).

On its face, the entirety of the plan seems reasonable and appropriate for Herndon, but I am concerned about the core downtown part of the plan. The core downtown consists of four parcels:

C - The Horn property on the south side of Elden street bounded by Station Street, Locust Street, Center Street and Elden Street.

D – The Ashwell property and the Town’s parking lot bounded by the W&OD Trail, Center Street, Elden Street and Center Street.

E – The Hands property (Town owned) bounded by the W&OD Trail, Center Street and Vine Street extended.

F – The Virginia Power parcel (Town owned) bounded by the W&OD Trail, Center Street and Vine Street.

Here is a LINK to the maps and drawings of the downtown as proposed by the Master Plan (5MB file).

This is what the Downtown Master Plan proposes for these parcels:

Residential Units:
C-60 D-22 E-80 F-80 Total-242

Retail Square Feet:
C-32,000 D-26,200 E-0 F-0 Total-58,200

Office Square Feet:
C-0 D-23,400 E-0 F-0 Total-23,400

Parking Private Spaces:
C-309 D-388 E-0 F-0 Total-697

Parking Public Spaces:
C-0 D-182 E-0 F-0 Total-182

I have three concerns about the plan. First, is the proposed density sufficient to attract a quality developer? Second, is the proposed density sufficient to increase the value of the Town’s property (Part of D, E and F) to a level that will provide the Town with sufficient cash to build a public parking garage and other public facilities? Third, will the proposed density create enough value so the developer can proffer public facilities, green space and other amenities?

If the answer to concerns 2 and 3 is no, then incorporation of the Downtown Master Plan into the Comprehensive Plan directly and indirectly commits the Town to make significant capital improvements using taxpayer money instead of the proceeds from the sale of the Town land or developer proffers and the property may never be developed.

Before I can support the Downtown Master Plan as proposed, I need to know if the CDEF-parcel development is economically viable to a developer and the magnitude of the capital project commitment.

I have prepared an Excel model that I encourage you to review. It is set up so that you can adjust the model’s assumptions (RED numbers).

Here are the initial assumptions:

1. The development of parcels C, D, E, and F will occur as a single unified project.

2. The price paid for private parcels are: C-$6M, D-$4M.

3. The price paid for public parcels are: D-$5M, E-$3M, F-$2M.

4. Residential units average 1,100 square feet.

5. Engineering and construction costs average $150 per square foot for residential, commercial and retail (does not include land acquisition costs or special build-out).

6. Proffers for public amenities are C-$1M, D-$1M, E-$750K, F-$750K.

7. Cost for constructing a parking space in a garage is $23,000 per space.

8. Proceeds from sale of each residential unit is $300,000.

9. Proceeds from sale of each square foot of retail and commercial space is $300.

The questions that need to be resolved are:

1. Is the proposed density sufficient to attract a quality developer? The current assumptions shows a ~6% return on investment.

2. Does the sale price for the Town’s property and the proffers from the developer provide enough value to allow the Town to build all of the desired public facilities without further burdening the taxpayers?

Here is the LINK to the model:

Please review the model, adjust the assumptions and let me know your opinion on the downtown development plan. Hopefully, someone with better insight into the cost of development, the market price of developed properties and the value of land will be able to answer the questions.

Also, here is a list of other documents associated with downtown development:

Here is a LINK to the public engagement comments from last October.
Here is a LINK to the January steering committee meeting summary.
Here is a LINK to the steering committee recommendations
Here is a LINK to the April recommendation from the Planning Commission.
Here is a LINK to the Comprehensive Plan Amendment CPA #10-01 – Downtown Master Plan.
Here is a LINK to the Market Analysis - Executive Summary.
Here is a LINK to Market Analysis – Principles.
Here is a LINK to the chronological files of the history of downtown redevelopment.

I look forward to your comments and recommendations.

Regards,

Dennis Husch
Councilman
Town of Herndon, Virginia 20170
dhusch@dhusch.com
www.dhusch.com

+++++++++++
If you would like to be included in the "Cyber Advisory Committee",
contact Councilman Husch at the above address.
_________________
Government debt and deficits are robbing your children, your grandchildren, and your great-grandchildren. http://www.usdebtclock.org/

[Bob Bruhns]

I received this by e-mail from Herndon Councilman Dennis Husch's Cyber Advisory Committee.
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MEMORANDUM
Date: June 14, 2010
From: Councilmember Dennis D. Husch
To: Mayor Steve DeBenedittis
CC: Members of the Town Council,
Town Council-Elect,
Art Anselene, Town Manager,
Richard Kaufman, Town Attorney

RE: Downtown Master Plan

REF: Councilmember Husch memorandum, “Downtown Development Master Plan”, dated May 10, 2010
Director Community Development memorandum, “Downtown Master Plan – Town Council Questions”, dated June 8, 2010

I have reviewed the referenced memorandum and I appreciate the candid comments provided by the Staff and the Town’s consultant Mr. Jon Eisen (UDA).

First, I want to take serious exception with Mr. Eisen’s assertion in the latter paragraphs of the memorandum. Specifically:

1. “The current town zoning approval process is notorious in the industry and many developers would rather work elsewhere than work in Herndon…”

2. “...the approval process is not well regarded in the development community. Many of the developers I polled did not have nice things to say about working in Herndon.”

Both of these comment are unfortunate, damaging and inaccurate and are not supported by the public record. If Mr, Eisen had taken the time to do due-diligence and review the public record he would have found that the public testimony of developers over the last dozen years have been very supportive of the Town’s processes and complementary for the efforts of the Town Staff, the Planning Commission and the Town Council. For Mr. Eisen to assert a negative opinion from unnamed developers is both disingenuous and a disservice to his client. Moreover such statements are not professional and erode the credibility of his work. Mr. Eisen should retract his statements or produce the developers to provide public testimony on their specific grievances.

It is safe to assume that any request for rezoning will be fully and completely analyzed by the Town’s professional planners and a determination will be made if approval of the requested zoning is beneficial to the Town. If anyone expects the Town’s planners and legislative branch to renege on its responsibilities and give up land management decisions to those focused on return on investment and not the best interest of our community, they are truly misguided.

The second issue has to do with a high-order estimate of the cost for the development and construction of public facilities and the price the Town could hope to obtain from the sale of if its downtown property. Focusing on just the C, D, E, and F parcels, the referenced memorandum provides two key elements of information.

The costs for public facilities are estimated to be:

$ 1,500,000 Center Street realignment.
$ 11,160,000 Parking garage.
$ 5,400,000 Undergrounding utilities.
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$ 18,060,000 Total public facilities cost.

The sale price of the Town’s property is estimated to be:

$4,591,550 Town’s land.

Mr. Eisen stated quite clearly the “The density on the master plans is not very dense...”, “...the gross development dollars will not be very high...”, and, most importantly, “adding hurdles (proffers) to development that are generally small make them harder to develop.”

I interpret these statements as meaning that the proposed density in the master plan for parcels C, D, E, and F are not sufficiently high to encourage developers to offer proffers to offset the cost of the public facilities identified above.

The result is that the Town will have to pay for the development and construction of the public facilities in parcels C, D, E, and F. Those cost will be offset by the sale of the Town’s property and, hopefully, state or federal grants. While I am confident that grants will be aggressively sought, prudent planning must assume they will not be forthcoming. That said, the Town must plan for the sale of bonds for approximately $13.5 million.

While the Director of Finance can always provide more-accurate numbers, I will assert that the debt service on $13.5 million over a twenty-year repayment schedule will result in a yearly debt service payment of $1,350,000 per year for the twenty-year life of the bond.

It has also been suggested that the Cultural Arts Center be constructed on parcel E instead of the property adjacent to the Municipal Center. If that were done, parcel E would not be sold and the revenue from that sale (~$1, 200,000) would not be part of the pool of funds available to offset the development and construction cost of public facilities.

With that scenario the net cost of public facilities would be $14,700,000 and the yearly debt-service payment would be $1,470,000.

In either case, the revenues sources available to the Town are limited to real estate taxes and the meals tax. If the real estate tax revenue stream were solely selected to meet the Town’s debt-service obligation the tax rate would have to be increased from the current $0.2675 to $0.309 per $100 of assessed value. This rate would have to be adjusted on a yearly bases to account for the fluctuation in real estate assessments. Since that trend is forecasted to be generally flat for residential property and severely down (>20%) for commercial property, it is safe to assume that the tax rate would have to be adjusted significantly upward.

If the meals tax were to be used solely for the debt-service on the public facilities it would have to be raised from the current 1.5 % to at least 3.5% and adjusted yearly to account for fluctuations in the local economy and restaurant sales.

If the decision were made to place the arts center on parcel E, the real estate tax rate would have be $0.312 per $100 of assessed value or, if the meals tax were used, to at least $3.7% in the first year.

I will submit for your consideration that a decision to approve the proposed downtown master plan with densities insufficient to completely offset the cost of public facilities is a disservice to the Herndon community. The approval of this proposed master plan is the cornerstone of an anti-business, anti-family and anti-retiree policy for the Town, as these entities will have to shoulder the full burden of the crushing debt implied in the plan.

I suggest the current consideration for approval be tabled until such time as the Town’s planners, the Public Works Department and the Director of Finance can ascertain reasonably accurate descriptions of the public facilities so that estimates for the cost of the proposed public facilities can be determined. During that time, I also suggest that additional work be done to validate the proposed development density is truly appropriate and consistent with other regional developments, and given that density description, determine the value of the Town’s property.

The Herndon community, residential and commercial property owners, have the right to know what the re-development of the downtown is going to cost them and their businesses.


As always, your comments would be appreciated.

Regards,

Dennis Husch
Councilman
Town of Herndon, Virginia 20170
dhusch@dhusch.com
www.dhusch.com

+++++++++++
If you would like to be included in the "Cyber Advisory Committee",
contact Councilman Husch at the above address.
_________________
Government debt and deficits are robbing your children, your grandchildren, and your great-grandchildren. http://www.usdebtclock.org/

[demosthenes]

So we destroy the character of downtown to satisfy a developer's greed?
I don't think so.
The plan submitted by UDA is too dense in areas that abut the Historic districts, and not dense enough in areas where density would not affectt the character of downtown.
People need to understand that Herndon's downtown can never be a Reston Town center.
We should be capitalizing on the things that make downtown herndon unique, namely it's small town charm.
This whole downtown proposal submitted by UDA is a farce.
_________________
"mean-spirited" may be an innacurate way to describe people who want the rules and regulations we agreed to followed. - Breed

[Bob Bruhns]

I agree that this should be about making a great town, not about whether somebody makes a lot of money.

I wonder if Downtown Development, as we have known it, was a great big huge mistake. Was it a nice idea that the government took and mangled? And now there is a new twist - there is the question of whether it belongs in the center of town, or if it belongs around the rail station.

All experience has shown that higher density will not provide any economy of scale, but that per-capita tax will simply rise. And all experience has shown that we will choke on the road traffic. Dulles Rail will not help congestion inside of Herndon - if anything, it will make it worse, as people try to take side roads instead of paying bloated tolls.

We got rid of that awful gas station in the middle of town, and we developed the south side of the northern section of Elden Street - and it is nicer, that is for sure. We are widening Van Buren Street south of Elden, and that makes sense. Now is the time to consider - what do we really want Herndon to become?
_________________
Government debt and deficits are robbing your children, your grandchildren, and your great-grandchildren. http://www.usdebtclock.org/

[Bob Bruhns]

I just sent this to the Mayor and Council by way of the Herndon Town Clerk, so it is recorded in the public record.
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To the Mayor and Members of Council,

Regarding Herndon Downtown Development plans:

The Herndon Downtown must not be a burden to taxpayers. It should be a healthy, thriving business and community area. I think that if the Town winds up bankrolling it, then it will be considerably less than it should be. But if it can grow from business and free community investment, instead of government collected taxation, then it has a chance to be great.

There is no mad rush, and the Town does not need to fall all over itself to fund immediate and huge upgrades. This needs to proceed sensibly. We need to pause and consider, before we overbuild and choke the center of the Town, at great and burdensome expense.

I say, make a general plan, and let private interests build their dreams, and let business invest in it and profit from it. The Town should be minimally involved financially. If people are spending their own money, and money that they collected themselves, they will be more careful and thoughtful about what they do. But if they are thinking about how government can extract millions for them, then they will go crazy with grandiose plans that do not serve those who pay for it all. Don't let Herndon's Downtown turn into just another government handout of borrowed money.
_________________
Government debt and deficits are robbing your children, your grandchildren, and your great-grandchildren. http://www.usdebtclock.org/

[stix]

I must have missed the letter recommending that the Town send a letter to Congress and the US President re: illegal immigrants on the streets of Herndon...
.

[Bob Bruhns]

All in good time. That subject does not relate to the Downtown Development issue that was the main subject of discussion in last night's Council public hearing.

But thanks for mentioning it. It's always good to know that people from outside of Herndon are also aware of the problem of illegal presence and illegal labor that turn streets into circuses.
_________________
Government debt and deficits are robbing your children, your grandchildren, and your great-grandchildren. http://www.usdebtclock.org/