Issues
Issues
Engage the Community to Plan for Success
Walter values citizen participation in Fairfax County’s land use planning and development review process. New development and the dramatic changes around our transit stations needs input and guidance from the broader community. From building more affordable housing to making transit financially sustainable, to enforcing human rights laws on housing and employment, to supporting collective bargaining, Walter is working to make One Fairfax championed by the late Hunter Mill District Supervisor Cathy Hudgins a reality. DEI – diversity, equity, and inclusion – is not a dirty word in Fairfax County, and Walter continues the fight to keep it that way.
Protecting Open Spaces from Development
Walter recognizes that as our region grows it is more important than ever we protect open and green spaces by focusing growth around transit.
Reston Golf Courses Redevelopment
Walter brought residents surrounding Hidden Creek and Reston National into the land use planning process by placing their concerns and values above development interests. He directed the golf course owners to make their redevelopment pitch not to him, but directly to communities surrounding the courses. He waited to hear from the communities about whether they supported changing the comprehensive plan. Following more than a year of outreach and engagement by the landowner, Walter issued a statement in October, 2020 finding that the community had clearly spoken and he would not consider a change to the comprehensive plan for the Hidden Creek property. After reviewing input from the surrounding communities, in September 2022 he issued a similar statement for Reston National Golf Course.
Make Our Community Safe for Pedestrians and Bicyclists
The pandemic highlighted how important our trails, sidewalks, and crosswalks are for getting around and getting out and about. But too many of our streets were designed to move vehicles from point A to B as fast as possible without consideration for human-scale mobility. As chair of the Board’s Transportation Committee, Walter leads initiatives to design safer roads and retrofit our existing transportation network to accommodate active transportation – especially near transit stations, schools, and anywhere else people bike or walk – and to secure funding to make it happen.
Tackling the Affordable Housing Crisis
The flip side of our area’s attractiveness as a great place to live and raise a family is that the price of housing is out of reach for far too many. This is especially true for our younger residents and most anyone with a household income less than the regional average of $163,900 for a family of 4. Addressing this growing problem requires action on three fronts: 1) preserving and enhancing existing affordable housing; 2) maximizing implementation of Fairfax County’s inclusionary zoning and planning policies; and 3) finding land and funding for constructing new affordable housing developments. Our housing needs extend across the range of the housing market, including the need to house our unhoused in permanent supportive housing as necessary. And we must make our permitting process more efficient to remove impediments for constructing units zoned but not yet built (more than 11,000 zoned but unbuilt in Reston alone).
Focus Local Law Enforcement on Enforcing Local Laws
Walter supports Fairfax County’s Trust Policy and opposes FCPD collaboration with ICE. Fairfax County remains the safest jurisdiction of our size in America and is committed to community policing and building trust with all residents.
Making the One Fairfax Policy a Reality
Walter is working to make Hunter Mill a place where all are welcome, and all have the opportunity to live, work, play, and thrive. From championing police reforms and transparency, to ensuring that COVID vaccines are made available to every community in Fairfax County, and from ramping up affordable housing production to supporting workers seeking fair wages and benefits, Walter is working to make the One Fairfax championed by previous Hunter Mill District Supervisor Cathy Hudgins a reality.
Acting Locally to Protect our Environment
Between the rush of data centers depleting the electricity in our regional grid, to our electricity provider who indiscriminately clear-cut trees in Vienna along its easement, to developers threatening our green spaces, the threat to our local environment has never been greater. Walter is fighting these local environmental battles and continues our commitment to reduce greenhouse gasses globally.
Fund Public Education as Top Priority
Public education is Walter’s top priority in Fairfax County’s budget, and since Walter joined the Board of Supervisors in 2020 Fairfax County support for Fairfax County Public Schools has increased by 37% even as enrollment has flattened. To make our investment in schools sustainable we must pair well-managed schools with alternative revenue sources to avoid our historic overreliance on property taxes on our residents.
