Fairfax County now has a blueprint for the ambitious transformation of Tysons Corner.
The deciding vote from the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors came after a four-hour public hearing, and a board discussion that lasted almost as long Tuesday night.
But Sully District Supervisor Michael Frey wanted to wait a few more weeks. He said voting without taking the time to digest testimony just given by constituents was disrespectful.
"I've been on the board 19 years, I've been around the board 32 years -- I've never seen the board act on a case of this magnitude immediately after a public hearing like this," Frey said.
But the majority of the board decided further analysis and discussion of Tysons -- after 5 years of committees, hearings, and task forces -- wasn't necessary, and approved the plan by an 8 to 2 margin.
Mark Lowham, a vice president of the West Group, the largest landowner in Tysons, says while the new regulations may not be perfect, the vote means developers can finally start doing their part to build the new Tysons Corner.
"We've had plans on the shelves for the better part of three or four years now," Lowham says.
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Supervisors say this is the largest redevelopment plan the county has ever handled, and may be the largest of its kind in the country.
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