Tempers Flare on F.C. City Council Over Charges of Possible Fair Housing Breach

By a 6-1 vote Monday, the Falls Church City Council voted to rescind a condition with possible implications for fair housing policy of an agreement reached with the developers of the new and now-nearly-completed mixed use residential and commercial project, The Broadway.

The provision of the agreement in question, made on Sept. 10, 2001, required that $225,000 be set aside to help pay the City schools to cover added costs if more than eight-school aged children wound up residing in the 80-condominium complex.

But since the funds had not yet been set aside and, with the building now sold out, only one school age child "signed up" to live there (the youngster already lives in Falls Church and already attends school here), there was no impact to removing the provision. Therefore, the Council acted on the advice of Falls Church City Attorney Roy Thorpe, who said the move would help eliminate any suggestion that the provision could be interpreted as an incentive for the developer to discriminate against families with school-aged children.

An article by an area daily newspaper last July 13 included quotes making such an allegation, which was brought to the attention of the Virginia Fair Housing Authority in Richmond. When the authority's attorney John Cancelleri made an inquiry to Thorpe, Thorpe took all the documents pertaining to the case to Richmond to persuade Cancelleri there was no substance to the charge.

But the matter flared up again last month when, as it turns out, Falls Church City Councilman Sam Mabry persisted in e-mail communications with the Fair Housing agency, suggesting "there was more to" the allegation than what was in the documents Thorpe provided.

When Mabry acknowledged all this at Monday's meeting, Thorpe interrupted sharply. "Are you suggesting I was less than forthcoming to the Fair Housing authority," he snapped. "Are you suggesting I covered something up?"

Mabry made reference to a personal conversation that he had with the developer of a different project, The Byron, and said he told Thorpe of it, but that Thorpe did not pass it on.

"The entire record was provided to Mr. Cancelleri concerning The Broadway, and issues with The Byron were also addressed. I invited him to come up and inspect for himself," Thorpe replied. He then asked Mabry, "What is the violation of law you believe is going on?"

Mabry replied, "That's up to you and Cancelleri."

Mayor Dan Gardner then intervened, reminding the City Attorney that the developer was specifically and publicly asked if he was in compliance with all fair housing laws before the Council agreed to grant him an OK to move ahead.

"Yes, given that this was publicly addressed, what is your continuing concern that would be cause for your conversations with Richmond," Thorpe again asked Mabry.

"He (Cancelleri) asked you to query me on specific aspects of my conversations with the developer of The Byron. I transmitted those statements to Richmond," Mabry said.

"There are substantial and significant differences between us," Thorpe concluded, adding, "As I see it, the crux of the problem is the escrow account called for in the agreement with The Broadway, with regard to the question of an appearance. Beyond that, I don't know that there is any problem."

The Council then voted, 6-1, (Mabry dissenting) to remove the escrow account provision. It was also noted that, since that Sept. 2001 agreement, the City changed its way of negotiating for proffers with developers to exclude the appearance that Thorpe was concerned about in the case of The Broadway. With The Byron, for example, the developer, Ed Novak of Nova Habitat, offered to proffer a sum for the Falls Church school construction fund based on a flat amount per condominium unit, with no reference to how many children may or may not reside there.

Following Monday's meeting, letters from The Broadway's developer, Jan Zachariasse of Waterford Development, and Mabry were submitted to the News-Press (the letters are printed on Page 2 of this edition).

In comments at Monday's meeting, Councilman David Snyder said his entire involvement in public life in Falls Church was based on forwarding the City's commitment to the interests of fairness and children. The agreement with The Broadway, he said, "was an effort to manage costs, with no discriminatory intent. It was a consistent act of the Council. I don't understand, on a personal level, how this issue has any traction."

Council member Lindy Hockenberry was more exercised in her comments. "I taught in the schools 32 years here. The City was founded for the schools. This really concerns me. Not once did Mr. Mabry bring up these issues with the Council," she said. "This is a very negative thing he has done. These accusations are extremely dangerous, and I don't understand their purpose. What result does he want? That people will think how nasty and anti-children we are in Falls Church? Does he want to embarrass every citizen in the City, everyone on the Council? What is his purpose here?"

Mabry replied that what he said was evidence of "an effort to limit bedrooms and limit families in the new units shook me to the core." He added, "The policy issue here has eroded some values of this community. The records, words and intent of the Council were clear: to structure the agreement in such a way to maximize revenue return over other concerns."

Council member Robin Gardner said big issue was the correspondence between Mabry and Richmond that did not include discussion with the Council. "This was never discussed with us. He never asked me about why I voted for this," she said, concluding, "I think this is driven by Sam Mabry's desire to thwart mixed-use development in Falls Church, and that's a shame."

Councilman Ron Parson said, "To construe (the City's agreement with The Broadway) as anti-family is without content." Vice Mayor Marty Meserve and Mayor Dan Gardner also expressed dismay over the suggestion that Falls Church, with its commitment to education and children, should be subject to such an accusation. They also spoke to Mabry's failure to communicate his concerns to his Council colleagues. "I am very disappointed we're at this state tonight," Mayor Gardner said.