Evening star. [volume] (Washington, D.C.) 1854-1972, 1956-04-16

prodding by the new Board Of
County Supervisors that took Of
flee January l.
The new Supervisors feel lack
of action on a master plan by
the previous board had much to
do with the political upset in the
county.
The activity toward adoption
of some development plan has
come from two directions.
Hearing Scheduled
The new Supervisors have
scheduled a public hearing for 8
pm. May Z on a coming ordi-
nance amendment to restrict de-
velopment in the rural two
thirds of the county to three
acre lot sizes. The present lot
maximum is a half acre.
The planning commission, APP
pointed by the previous Board
of Supervisors. has come up with
a master plan recommendation
for one-acre lots for the rural
areas, with provision for half
acre lots wherever satisfactory
sanitary facilities can be in
stalled. This recommendation
has not yet been submitted to
the Supervisors as formal
master plan proposal, however,
and the Supervisors are deter
mined to go ahead with their
coming amendment in the mean
time.
Thus the stage is set for a
decision to determine where all
those new residents bound for
Fairfax County will live.
It is a decision that will be
watched closely by planners
everywhere because two oppos-
ing ideals are involved-the
tightly knit suburban belt versus
scattered satellite subdivisions.
Also involved are conflicting
views of two well-known experts
on ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS con-
sultant Francis Dodd McHugh
and economist Homer Hoyt.
Mr.. McHugh is the man the
county hired to draw a master
plan. The old Board of County
Supervisors authorized the plan
ming commission to retain him
on August 20, 1852.
Population Expert Hired
At the same time, the county
authorized employment of Mr..
Hoyt, economic analyst and
population expert. 1t was his job
to calculate how many new resi-
dents Fairfax County could ex-
pect, and report their economic
effect on the county.
Mr.. Hoyt finished his popula-
ton study first, providing the
figures Mr.. McHugh and his
staff needed to plan for the
county's future growth.
Two years and $150,000 later,
the McHugh plan was ready.
1t put dense development
within the urban third of the
county nearest Washington. In
the rural two-thirds of the
county, lots of three and five
acres were recommended. Most
of the rural area was proposed
for three-acre lots, with the FIVE
acre category following irregular
flood plains.
Business centers were drawn
lat strategic points-Seven Cor
ners, Annandale, Hybla Valley
and other centers of population
around towns.
Other provisions of the Nc
Hugh plan called for new
arterlal and circumferential
; highways; well-spaced school
sites; and sanitary facilities
throughout the urban belt.
Mr.. McHugh based his plan
, on the premise that a con-
tinguous suburban area would
,, be cheaper to serve with the
facilities that such areas re-
quire-such as water. sewers
garbage collection, and like de-
! mands.
!, Won Civic Support
This is the point that won the
) McHugh plan so much support
from the civic groups. Residents
have seen how costly it has been
! for the county to bail out I'M
successful private sewer systems
scattered from the public
county system. They have read
the Hoyt economic survey
which said the suburban areas
bear a top-heavy share of the
tax burden when compared with
the rural areas. (The rural folks
have to read the same report
? but still are convinced that they
pay too many taxes to support
Z the urban area)
Civic groups also look to the
master plan to reduce the num-
Der Of fights against increasing