Background
Fairfax County, in partnership with Loudoun County, formed the Route 28 Highway Transportation Improvement District on December 21, 1987. Under Virginia law, such a district may be formed only upon the joint petition of owners of at least 51 percent of the land area in each county located within the boundaries of the adopted district, and which has been zoned or is used for commercial or industrial purposes.
The district was formed to provide improvements to State Route 28, which connects State Route 7 in eastern Loudoun County to U.S. Route 50 and Interstate Highway 66 in western Fairfax County, running approximately parallel to the county's eastern border. State Route 28 provides access to Dulles International Airport, along with the Dulles Access Road, which connects the Capital Beltway to Dulles Airport, and the Dulles Greenway, which provides highway access into central Loudoun County.
This district was formed upon landowner petition to accelerate planned highway improvements adopted by the state which relied primarily on slower pay-as-you-go financing from the Northern Virginia region's share of the state primary road fund allocation.
Additional Tax Assessments
The district, administered by a commission appointed by the Boards of Supervisors of both counties, may subject the owners of industrial and commercial property within the District to a maximum additional tax assessment of 20 cents per $100 of assessed value. These funds, in addition to funds received through the State Primary Road Fund allocation formula, are to be used for the road improvements and debt service on bonds issued by the state.
All debt issued by the state to fund road improvements to Route 28 was authorized during the 1988 Virginia General Assembly and became effective July 1, 1988. The Commonwealth of Virginia issued $138.5 million in revenue bonds for the Route 28 project in September 1988.
Loudoun County and Fairfax County entered into a contract with the District on September 1, 1988, and agreed to levy additional tax assessments as requested by the District, collect the tax and pay all tax revenues to the Commonwealth Transportation Board. The contract specified that: (1) the County Administrator shall include in the budget all amounts to be paid by the county under the district contract for the fiscal year; (2) the county shall provide by February of each year the total assessed fair market value of the district as of January 1 of that year; and (3) the district in turn shall notify the county of the required payment and request a rate sufficient to collect that amount, up to a maximum of 20 cents per $100 of assessed value.
Final figures based on the district request will be forwarded to the Board of Supervisors prior to their action. Initially, tax collections at the maximum amount were not sufficient to pay the debt obligation in full. Consequently, the difference has been made up from the Northern Virginia State Highway allocation. This process is expected to continue until such time as district revenues are sufficient to fund debt service costs in full.
Meetings
Advisory Board Meetings
The Advisory Board meets annually in March at the call of the chairman. If other meetings are necessary, the chairman sends out a notice calling for a meeting.
Commission Meetings
The Commission meets annually, usually a few weeks after the Advisory Board's annual meeting.
For meeting notices, agendas and materials, please visit the Route 28 Tax District Governance page.