Vienna Would Lose Family-Friendly Character If Tysons Casino Is Built

VIENNA, VA — Bob McCahill, president of the Northeast Vienna Citizens Association, made the following statement to members of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors during the public comment section of its Feb. 20 meeting.

I am Bob McCahill and am here today to ask that the Board make it clear that there is no place in Fairfax County for a casino, specifically in Tysons.

As president, I represent the largest civic association in Vienna, the Northeast Vienna Citizens Association.(1) We are the part of the town that lies closest to the proposed casino location.

Vienna has been deemed one of the best places to live in the U.S. a number of times. Our small town character and family friendly focus, and large number of community events, are some of the reasons why. Vienna and Tysons have existed as different, but complementary types of urban communities for many years. I cannot comprehend how a casino could make that relationship better.

Tysons is an especially bad place for a 24/7 gaming facility, especially for Vienna.

Traffic on Maple Avenue, already beyond its capacity, would only get worse. A recent traffic study graded the "Level of Service" along Maple Avenue as "E" or "worse." (2) Imagine having a large gaming facility, less than two miles away from our borders. This increased traffic would make life worse for our residents, and would make ti more difficult for our businesses to attract drive-by traffic, as those seeking to dine out or shop would gravitate toward less congested areas.

A nearby casino could easily lead to lowered commercial property values, the closing of our local businesses, and replacement by the type of businesses that co-locate with gaming sites, businesses such as pawn shops, tattoo parlors, and the like. The negative impact on Vienna's family friendly image could be enormous.

We are also concerned about the negative impact of a casino on our residential property values. Tam sure that you have heard that studies have shown that nearby residential
property values decline significantly when casinos are built.

Finally, the Board should consider what you are asking Vienna to absorb. Vienna is the
closest town to the proposed casino locations. We, along with Tysons, McLean, and Great
Falls, would be the most negatively affected communities. Vienna, in particular, would be
asked to pay the price, in terms of increased crime, lowered property values, and added
traffic congestion, but we would get virtually none of the additional tax benefits, as the proposed casino lies outside our boundaries. Vienna already pays more than its fair share
of taxes to Fairfax County, as we tax ourselves for services that the Town provides (3), but that are provided by the County elsewhere. It is patently unfair to ask this of Vienna.

1. NEVCA. www.nevca.org.
2. Maple Avenue Corridor Multimodal Transportation and Land Use Study. July 10, 2020. "E" being the next-to- worst of 6 classifications in the High Capacity Manual. 637436560357830000 (viennava.gov)
3. Police, Parks and Recreation, and road maintenance, for instance.