News-Press Editorial

City of Falls Church Mayor Dan Gardner's excellent summary of where the City has come in the last year, and what we can expect in the next, done as the mayor's annual exclusive "State of the City" interview with the News-Press on Page One of this edition, marks as good as any a breaking point in the history of Falls Church.

We at the mighty News-Press officially declare that as of this occasion, the 13-plus-year fight to revive economic development in Falls Church has been won. There are more battles to be fought, but the war is declared won. The News-Press has been central to that effort from its inception, teaming with the Falls Church Chamber of Commerce, where our editor served a two-term stint as its president to engage key forces in the early years of the revival. We redefined the terms for economic development for the City as something critical for and in concert with its quality of life, and especially of its school system. Before that, citizens here viewed the business sector as hostile to and at cross purposes with the schools. But we said that economic development revenues are vital for the City's kids, and slowly the idea caught on. Now, the effort is far from over, but the Rubicon has been crossed. Two weeks ago, the News-Press' own summary assessment of the economic development history of the recent period served as a suitable introduction to the mayor's official statements in this week's edition, and arrived at the same conclusions.

Having said that, and while knowing engaging days lie ahead to fully complete the vision of the City Center redevelopment, we introduce the next great and critical growth phase in the City's evolution. As important to the long-term viability of the City as economic revival was in the last decade, so is the need now for a serious engagement of the housing crisis in the City. With the leap in one year of the average value of a single family home in Falls Church from $399,000 to $527,000, the City's housing stock is rapidly becoming out of reach to all but the very wealthiest. As Darien Bates' latest segment on the demographics of the region published on Page 18 of this edition underscores, while the City has one of the highest median household incomes in the nation ($97,000), a family with that median income cannot afford to live in the average single family home here. According to federal government data, any family whose mortgage and related household costs consume more than 30% of its annual income is living in a house it can't really afford.

"Affordable housing" is not a do-gooder issue for Falls Church. It is life or death for the community as we know it. As racially and ethnically diverse populations grow, proportionately, in the region, their housing requirements, as well those of the sons, daughters and employees of City residents and businesses, demand a sweeping reassessment of existing City policies and priorities.