A procedural rulethat Fairfax County supervisors say stems from a local corruption scandal four decades ago could cause some headaches this month, as officials gird for a rash of land decisions before a temporary moratorium kicks in. Supervisors won’t touch rezonings and other land cases in the twilight between an election and when the newly elected members take office the following year, which means cases that could be spread out over three months – October, November and December – are all crammed into October’s lone meeting.
The rule was one of the reforms to sprout from a cash-for-rezonings scandal in the 1960’s, in which three sitting or former supervisors and five developers were convicted on corruption charges. As a result, “lame duck” officials were barred from ramming through a series of last minute rezonings, which can cause enormously lucrative spikes in land value, as they prepare to leave office.
