Dead dog on outer loop of 495 after 66 before braddock last week (Springfield: property taxes, zoning)

[cdmurphy]

Originally Posted by Alicia Bradley

Hmm... so apparently VA has 'allowed' Fairfax County to maintain the medians and roadsides all along. (I kind of suspected so, when I saw how nicely the medians and roadsides in Fair Lakes have been maintained.) I'd be interested in seeing how this works in jurisdictions in other states. I have a feeling the state in a lot of cases is responsible for the sort of basic/foundational maintenance, while it's up to the local jurisdiction to plant flowers, help enforce laws against tacky signage, etc. In any case, Fairfax County is millions of miles from being strapped for cash.

I am glad to hear that Fairfax County has finally been nudged into some sort of action on this, though. I'll smile when I see any evidence of it on Little River Turnpike.

See the article I posted in this thread. VDOT has no money, so they want us to do the mowing.

Virginia is a Dillon Rule state; local jurisdictions have limited powers.

[tgbwc]

Originally Posted by Alicia Bradley

The least Fairfax County could have done in the very sad dog situation was to contact VDOT, since they proceeded to pass them the buck. Nasty, disgusting, over-financed, under-serviced hellhole.

Yes, it's sad, but was Fairfax County ever involved with this at all? I went back and read the thread again, and I only found reference to "one of those emergency vehicles with a blinking sign on the back...". I am assuming that was a VDOT truck. If so, when would FFX Co. have been expected to contact VDOT?

[Alicia Bradley]

Originally Posted by cdmurphy

See the article I posted in this thread. VDOT has no money, so they want us to do the mowing.

Virginia is a Dillon Rule state; local jurisdictions have limited powers.

Do you happen to know why the public roadsides and medians in Fair Lakes (near Bulova's home, incidentally) are never full of weeds, trash, and illegal signs?

Here's an interesting WaPo article about an Annandale resident (I'm assuming - based on a few details in the article) whose hobby is removing illegal signs from Fairfax County roadsides and medians near her home. This is a great quote:

"County officials said they are weary of having to explain that they lack the authority (and money) to enforce state law..."

As my SO asked me in an email this morning, "Does Fairfax County employ a police department? If so, what on earth is its function if Fairfax County has no authority to enforce state law?"

Anyway, enjoy!

A Midwesterner on the Rampage

And be sure that I will look into this further. I'd love to know (for instance) how other non-incorporated-yet-town-like communities in RoVA keep their 'city streets' (so to speak) maintained. Of course, it'll be interesting to look into other (at least semi-) analogous situations in other states, too.

[cdmurphy]

Originally Posted by Alicia Bradley

Do you happen to know why the public roadsides and medians in Fair Lakes (near Bulova's home, incidentally) are never full of weeds, trash, and illegal signs?

I would guess that the Fair Lakes League may have something to do with it. According to this presentation, they manage "an extensive landscaping and maintenance program, providing annual and seasonal
color changes, holiday enhancement, safe walking and biking trails, and enjoyable lakes and fountain amenities." You could always ask them for more information.

[SteelCityRising]

Can I ask why the answer to every complaint about poor services in this county is always "lack of funds?" Judging by all of the BMWs and Benzes here in Reston most people aren't exactly hurting for money, so why not increase taxes?

[Denton56]

Why not raise taxes? Why not give them more money to waste? Why not give the bloated bureaucracy more money? gDo you want to pay more in rent? Do you want to pay more in income taxes? If so, feel free to send the county and the state a check. I'm sure they will appreciate receiving your money. The rest of us would like to keep some of our money in our pockets.

[tgbwc]

Originally Posted by RestonRunner86

Can I ask why the answer to every complaint about poor services in this county is always "lack of funds?" Judging by all of the BMWs and Benzes here in Reston most people aren't exactly hurting for money, so why not increase taxes?

I'm still thinking that this would be VDOT's responsibility. Weren't they the ones who stopped in the first place?

[Caladium]

Originally Posted by RestonRunner86

Can I ask why the answer to every complaint about poor services in this county is always "lack of funds?" Judging by all of the BMWs and Benzes here in Reston most people aren't exactly hurting for money, so why not increase taxes?

Because we don't want to end up with the same fate as California and New York. Their taxes have become so high people cannot afford to live there and businesses are forced to leave the state.

I was just on Long Island this weekend and it was sad to talk to old friends and hear a touch of fear in their voices. They're between a rock and a hard place when it comes to raising taxes (as well as cutting services). I've never been so grateful to live in Virginia.

[Denton56]

Because Virginia does have somewhat lower taxes, business choose to locate here at the rate of one or two a week, far more than Maryland where the taxes are higher. That keeps our economy in decent shape and it keeps people employed. Keep raising taxes and we end up like CA where no business can afford to go, and businesses are leaving in droves to head to lower tax states like Nevada.

[Dazed&Confused]

Just reading this thread. This pisses me off and sickens me to no end. I'd like to get my hands on the crew that left this dog to die. DAMN I'm mad.