It looks like the proposed mini-city to be built adjacent to the Vienna metrorail station in Fairfax County could be in jeopardy with the powerful chairman of the House Government Reform Committee threatening to insert language into legislation that would block the sale of WMATA land to Pulte Homes, the Michigan-based developer of the project. (For those who don’t know, Davis was the chairman of the committee that oversaw the steroids in baseball hearings, and is now eyeing similar hearings for football.)

According to the Post, the congressman, Tom Davis, lives just a few miles from the development (to be called Fairlee-MetroWest … the site is seen here in this aerial shot from Fairfax County) and attended a recent community meeting on the development as a citizen, but left a citizen hero to those who feel that they’ve been left out of the decision-making process.

From the Post:

Davis said his legislation will be tucked into a $1.5 billion capital spending bill to be taken up later this year. Without the Metro land, the Board of Supervisors would be forced to reconsider Pulte’s proposal, he said.

Davis’ move is roiling local planners, who are accusing the congressman with intervening in local and regional planning decisions, and denying the overcrowded county a smart-growth opportunity to develop valuable land near metrorail.

Some District activists might respond: Yeah, now you know how we feel.