Vienna Town Council Candidate: Laurie DiRocco

Laurie DiRocco is running for her third term on council — a decision she didn’t make lightly.

“I do think about it each time I run because I need to decide, can I put in the time and energy into this? I care about the town a great deal — I think seriously, what do you think you can accomplish, what do you think you can do?” she said.

One thing DiRocco plans to see through, after years of pushing it through the planning commission and council: the Maple Avenue Vision, a revitalization that will allow for more businesses and mixed use development along Vienna’s main corridor.

The Maple Avenue Vision Steering Committee is returning to council this spring with some “pretty substantial changes to our ordinances and commercial district ordinance,” DiRocco said.

Changes would be introduced by late 2013 or early 2014.

“A lot of people say we want outdoor seating, we want people tor ride more bikes, we want public art — but how will it look? The details of that are going to be within an ordinance, so this will really lay the groundwork,” she said.

Moving Maple Avenue forward in light of the growing Tysons Corner is especially important, DiRocco says — “not because we’re going to be like Tysons … but because we want to allow some of these buildings and businesses to update and stay current,” she said.

“We could incentivize them” to grow and stay, she said.

Those kinds of changes, along with a planned parking garage and better infrastructure, could help some businesses thrive where other recently-closed shops— Plush Gelato, Wolftrap Deli, Stalcups and Magruder’s among them — have faltered.

The newly-formed along with the Town Business Liaison Committee, will also be key in those efforts.  

“You never want to see a business [close], especially one who has been serving customers well,” DiRocco said. “Some buildings and commercial areas are not conforming to our businesses and what they need. [The Maple Avenue Vision] will help our economic cycle to some extent. I don’t want to have to, in 10 years, go to Tysons for all of my shopping or other needs. It’s not going to be as feasible so to have the things we need here in town on a daily basis is going to be so important.”

DiRocco says the town has stabilized from the economic downturn and is once again seeing more people settle in the area — last year, the town had a record number of knockdown and rebuilds, usually a sign new younger families are settling in the area, she said. 

As those families move into homes, older families or senior citizens are looking to downgrade, and right now, there aren’t many options, DiRocco said. 

“A lot of those people want lofts or condominiums to be able to stay in town without having a yard or property to maintain,” she said, noting the Maple Avenue Vision could incorporate those concerns though some level of mixed use development.

DiRocco says she’s proud of the council’s work on a water agreement with Fairfax Water, which will give Vienna residents a better rate, and maintaining the town’s AAA bond rating.

“I see us continuing to be conservative in how we spend money and keeping our debt low,” DiRocco said. “I don’t see that changing.” 

Rising property values, while good for the town’s real estate tax revenues, will also make residents’ tax bills higher. Part of her work over the next two years would be exploring how much the town can reduce the tax rate without hurting the quality of services.

DiRocco said the town will also need to ensure police and parks and recreations services keep up with population growth. 

She wants to see through assessments of both the Vienna Police Department and the Vienna Community Center, which will give the council a better sense of how the facilities are meeting needs and what changes they might need to improve.

The town would go out this fall for funding for those projects, DiRocco said.

Along with her background in finance, DiRocco says her 17 years in town, 10 of them spent on boards or community groups, indicates her long-term investment in the town.

“My family is growing up here … I care about its growth and it being a unique and special place to live,” she said. 

She may not always fall on the majority side of the table, she says, but “I look at every agenda item and I think about it and vote according to what I think is best for the community. I don’t always vote with everyone but that’s kind of how I work,” she said. 

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