Speaking as a long-time citizen of Fairfax County (off and on for 20 years now): If you ask any church or private school how their experience with the County's various zoning and planning boards is, you will hear horror story after horror story about how hard it is to get any changes in at all.
Immanuel Bible Church, for instance, has had parking and traffic overflow problems for at least 12 years now. It took them something like 5 years just to get a minor expansion to their parking lot approved. They're just now starting to enter the process to expand their building yet again—but I haven't heard how that's been going for a while.
Fairfax Christian School, who used to own the buildings that ISA is seeking to expand, moved out in 1985, and then was immediately denied permission to build their school on the land they purchased to move to. (They fought with the County for the next 5 years, and were finally allowed to move into their new building, which is a fraction of the capacity of the Pope's Head location, in the mid 90's.)
This county has continually closed its doors to religious entities—Except for one particular religion. Which is given sweetheart (and endless) lease deals, freedom from being held under the same criminal standards as everyone else, and now, apparently, completely unlimited permission for expansions.
Wonder why that is?
Regards,
Brian
Yeah, I wonder. May Gerry Connolly has some insight into this question.