Thomas Peterson

Thomas's 224 votes by the kind of item, read from the agenda titles.

The 22 no votes

Grouped by what was before the council. The tally is the whole body's; “with” names who voted no alongside Thomas.

The matters Thomas has voted on most

Every motion links to the topic it was about. Several motions on one night count separately.

On the record

What the minutes and transcripts record Thomas saying, by topic. 40 topics.

• Personnel Matters

  At the November 18, 2025 regular meeting, Peterson acknowledged the conclusion of a long City Manager search process, welcoming Dan Alexander, and noted the inherent tension between confidentiality requirements in personnel matters and the public's desire for transparency, stating: 'this was a long process the council has worked very very hard and I know it is frustrating to the public not to be able to have the transparency that they would like to have on personnel matters — it's one of those areas of confidentiality that we accept in our duties as elected officials.'

• Urban Agriculture

  in progress

  Councilmember Peterson is noted in a February 2026 ESC presentation as having been chair of the committee when urban agriculture first became a concern of the ESC, indicating early advocacy for the topic at the committee level.

• George Snyder Trail

  denied

  At the March 2025 Council meeting, Councilmember Peterson noted the Council was working toward a permanent resolution, and attended the VDOT meeting with Councilmember Bates. In June 2025, Peterson was the sole vote for full cancellation of the project, and voted against reaffirming the full trail. Peterson voted no on both the December 2025 supplemental appropriation introduction and the January 2026 supplemental appropriation.

• Urban Forest Master Plan

  approved

  Councilmember Peterson voted yes on both the failed substitute motion and the main adoption motion on February 10, 2026, joining Hall as the only supporters of the substitute motion requiring an expedited progress report.

• Stafford Park

  In April 2025, Council Member Peterson was cited in discussion around the potential reappropriation of the $1.6 million Stafford Park CIP balance, with staff seeking clarity from Peterson on whether those funds should be reappropriated to reduce the general fund transfer or applied to the tax rate instead.

• Fairfax City Parks Foundation

  in progress

  At the September 9, 2025 meeting, Council Member Peterson asked about the term length of the director appointments, confirming they are three-year terms. Peterson also seconded the motion to appoint Emilio Alonso on September 30, 2025.

• Small Area Plans

  in progress

  At the October 6, 2026 work session, Peterson sought clarification on the total development benchmarks, specifically confirming whether the figure stood at approximately 4,700 additional high-density housing units across the small area plans.

• 4131 Chain Bridge Road

  Councilmember Peterson voted against all three approvals at the July 22, 2025 City Council meeting.

• Appointments to boards and commissions

  On June 24, 2025, Peterson moved adoption of the consent agenda that included consideration of appointments to boards and commissions, which passed unanimously.

• Willard-Sherwood Community Center

  in progress

  Peterson voted in favor of the failed May 2025 amendment to defer the project to FY 2027, and opposed the SUP, both special exceptions, and the Certificate of Appropriateness at the October 14, 2025 hearing. Peterson voted yes on R-26-13 to proceed to construction in April 2026.

• 10201 Fairfax Boulevard

  As of September 9, 2025, Peterson had raised a question (not detailed in the material) during the work session on whether to reevaluate the comprehensive plan's guidance on mixed-use development outside activity centers, which staff addressed in their presentation that evening.

• Comprehensive Plan Amendment

  approved

  Council Member Peterson seconded the motion for the Comprehensive Plan Amendment at the September 22, 2026 meeting and voted yes on all three items. Peterson asked a clarifying question during discussion of the original motion for the Comprehensive Plan Amendment.

• 10300 Willard Way

  in progress

  Councilmember Peterson voted to defer on July 22, 2025 and voted to deny the special exceptions and Certificate of Appropriateness on October 28, 2025; the transcript records Peterson as having seconded the denial motion.

• Stormwater Utility

  Voted aye on the May 5, 2026 motion; no recorded comment beyond the vote.

• Ordinance Amending Chapter 90 Article VI Section 90-262 (Meals Tax)

  proposed

  Voted against introduction of the ordinance on April 8, 2025.

• FY 2026 Budget

  approved

  Voted yes on the motion to defer budget adoption to May 13, and yes on all three failed amendments. Voted no on incorporating the Budget Change Document and ultimately voted yes on final budget adoption.

• NVTA Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Action Plan

  On June 24, 2025, Councilmember Peterson briefed the Council that the NVTA Planning Coordination Advisory Committee was scheduled to vote on endorsing the BRT Action Plan on June 25, 2025, and noted that the proposed plan includes the City of Fairfax.

• Z-23-00073

  approved

  Councilmember Peterson voted against all three approvals at the July 22, 2025 City Council meeting.

• Fairfax City Purchasing Resolution

  approved

  Councilmember Peterson was recognized in connection with the consideration of the Purchasing Resolution item at the June 23, 2026 meeting, per the transcript, and voted yes on its approval as part of the consent agenda.

• Conflict of Interest

  Voted yes on the January 13, 2026 ordinance enacting updated conflict of interest financial disclosure requirements. In September 2026, spoke publicly about being surprised that the city lacks a local code of ethics, argued that state COIA sets only a 'bare minimum legal floor' defining what is criminal rather than best practice, and called on the council to hold itself to a higher standard given its regular votes on land use, development projects, and municipal contracts.

• Accessory Dwelling Unit Occupancy

  Voted yes on July 22, 2025 to approve Ordinance 2025-06; no recorded verbal comments in the material.

• Scout on the Circle

  Voted no on July 22, 2025 to reverse the April 8, 2025 pause on the Pickett Road Trail project, and voted yes on directing staff to set up the public outreach meeting for Scout on the Circle and Foxcroft Colony residents.

• Stacy Sherwood Community Center

  in progress

  Peterson voted against all three land-use motions (SUP, special exceptions, and Certificate of Appropriateness) on October 14, 2025, but voted in favor of R-26-13 on April 28, 2026.

• FY 2027 Financial Policies and Council Budget Guidelines

  approved

  On November 18, 2025, Councilmember Peterson pulled the item from the consent agenda to be considered as a standalone item, prompting separate discussion before the unanimous vote.

• Budget Open House

  completed

  At the March 24, 2026 City Council meeting, Peterson asked — acknowledging she may have missed a prior decision — whether the council had decided not to hold a Budget Open House during the current (FY 2027) budget cycle. She separately asked about scheduling one at the March 3, 2026 meeting.

• Transform 66 Outside the Beltway Concession Funding

  Voted no at both the December 9, 2025 introduction and the January 13, 2026 final vote, consistently opposing the $4.6 million supplemental appropriation.

• Pickett Road

  Voted yes on the February 2026 resolution authorizing the City Manager to submit the Regional Roadway Safety Program application endorsement letter covering Pickett Road.

• Northern Virginia Transportation Authority

  Councilmember Peterson briefed the Council on June 24, 2025 that the NVTA Planning Coordination Advisory Committee would vote on endorsing the BRT Action Plan the following day, noting the plan includes the City of Fairfax. Peterson serves on NVTA's policy committee and subsequently reported back (July 8, 2025) that the committee approved the action plan framework but placed the conclusions and recommendations in draft due to technical and public policy concerns shared by virtually all committee members. As of February 2026, Peterson was noted as being knowledgeable about the NVTA BRT corridor identification process.

• Northern Virginia Transportation Authority

  Voted no on January 13, 2026 on the motion to approve the $4,600,000 supplemental appropriation from Transform 66 Outside the Beltway Concession Funding for the George Snyder Trail, contributing to the 3-3 failure of the motion.

• Meals Tax

  Peterson seconded Hardy-Chandler's motion on May 5, 2026 to approve the meals tax increase ordinance.

• FY 2027 Budget

  approved

  At the May 5, 2026 budget adoption meeting, Council Member Peterson seconded the motion on the appropriation resolutions and voted yes on all four adoption votes.

• Special Use Permit

  approved

  Peterson voted yes on the substitute motion to defer the detached ADU ordinance (July 28, 2026) but also yes on final approval of the ordinance, which passed without an SUP requirement for conforming detached ADUs.

• Courthouse Plaza

  in progress

  Peterson voted yes on the July 22, 2025 deferral and yes on both denial motions on October 28, 2025, voting to deny the first-cycle application.

• Warwick Ave /Fairfax Blvd /McLean Ave Intersection Improvements

  approved

  Voted yes on April 22, 2025 to award the construction contract to Sagres Construction Corporation. No additional recorded comments.

• Capital Improvement Program FY2026 to FY2030

  approved

  At the May 6, 2025 special meeting, Peterson voted in favor of deferring budget consideration to May 13 and supported all three failed amendments. Peterson voted against incorporating the Budget Change Document but ultimately voted yes on the final budget and CIP adoption and all appropriation resolutions.

• Pickett Road Connector Trail

  in progress

  Peterson voted yes on the April 8, 2025 pause motion. On July 22, 2025, a council member noted that Peterson had conveyed significant community concern about the sidewalk, safety, and bike lane on the western side of Pickett Road. Peterson voted no on the July 22, 2025 motion to reverse the pause.

• Ordinance Amending Chapter 38 Article II Noise

  approved

  Voted yes on March 24, 2026 to continue the public hearing and defer action to May 12, 2026.

• Small Area Plan Zoning Ordinance Amendments

  in progress

  At a June 2026 City Council meeting, Peterson raised a question about how the potential small area plan zoning ordinance amendments (item three on the agenda) relate to the June 23 discussion also addressing amendments to some of the small area plans, signaling interest in understanding the sequencing and interplay between the two tracks.

• Blenheim Boulevard Multimodal Improvements

  in progress

  Councilmember Peterson seconded the April 28, 2026 motion to award the construction contract to Fort Myer Construction Corporation.

• Future Meeting Topics

  Peterson is recorded as asking questions or being recognized for comment during future meeting topics discussions at the September 22, 2026 and October 6, 2026 sessions, though the specific content of those comments is not captured in the available material.

Positions as recorded in meeting minutes; votes without recorded comment aren't summarized.

Voting record