Man Arrested for Pointing Laser at Police Chopper — Fairfax County police detectives arrested a 25-year-old man for allegedly pointing a laser at the department’s Fairfax 1 helicopter around 11:25 p.m. on Saturday (March 11). The Fairfax 1 crew was assisting Virginia State Police with a search and traced the laser’s source to an apartment in the 9200 block of Ashland Woods Lane. [FCPD/Facebook]
Dunn Loring Metro Escalator Replacements Underway — Metro began work on Monday (March 13) to replace the two platform escalators at the Dunn Loring station, part of a push to upgrade 130 escalators in the rail system by 2028. Construction will be done on one escalator at a time, with the open one being treated as stairs. The project is expected to take about eight months, finishing around the end of October. [WMATA]
Park in Springfield Gets New Name — The Franconia District’s transition continues with the Fairfax County Park Authority Board approving “Grove Point Park” as the new name of Franconia District Park. The move avoids confusion with Franconia Park in Groveton — formerly known as Lee District Park — and helps “connect the new name of the park with surrounding neighborhoods.” [FCPA]
Chantilly Pizza Chain Eyes Expansion — “More than a decade after selling its first Italian restaurant franchise, Paisano’s plans a major expansion that would nearly double its D.C.-area footprint, and stretch it much further along the East Coast. The pizza chain, with more than two-dozen Greater Washington locations and roughly 75 in all, aims to add 200 total new spots by 2026.” [Washington Business Journal]
Renovated Merrifield Office Building Features ‘Treehouse’ — “Bridge Investment Group recently completed amenity renovations to Willow Oaks Corporate Center at 8280 Willow Oaks Corporate Boulevard…Renovations include the run-of-the-mill amenity updates, like a fitness center, coffee bars and a new cafe, but the renovation at the top of the building is a little different.” [WTOP]
Laser Hair Removal Clinic Opens in Tysons — LaserAway has opened its doors at The Boro. The company provides laser hair and tattoo removals as well as skin care services and products. Also at The Boro, ShowPlace ICON Theatre is reviving its $5 Tuesdays discounts this spring, which will be valid all day for all movies. [The Boro/Tysons Today]
GMU Backs Bringing FBI HQ to Springfield — “George Mason University is throwing its support behind the effort to attract the new FBI headquarters to Springfield, citing its academic programs that align with the FBI’s interests and its three campuses near the proposed site.” [Patch]
County Seeks Performers for New Farmers Market Season — “The Fairfax County Farmers Markets are seeking musicians to perform at local farmers markets. Musicians and singers are invited to apply online through the Music at Market website…Farmers markets are open Wednesdays through Sundays from April until December” [FCPA]
It’s Thursday — Clear throughout the day. High of 59 and low of 33. Sunrise at 7:19 am and sunset at 7:17 pm. [Weather.gov]
The McLean Community Center’s efforts to attract the attention of a younger generation appear to be paying off.
Earlier this week, the organization announced a robust slate of candidates for its upcoming governing board election that includes five adults and 10 teens — more than tripling the number of kids who competed in last year’s elections.
Voters will once again choose three adult board members and two teens, one representing students in the McLean High School boundary area and the other representing the Langley High School area.
Open to all residents of MCC’s tax district, absentee voting began today (Wednesday) and will continue through 5 p.m. on May 17. The official election will be held at the annual McLean Day festival from 10:30 a.m. to 5 p.m. on Saturday, May 20, at Lewinsville Park (1659 Chain Bridge Road).
Absentee ballots can be requested online, by phone (703-744-9348) or by email at [email protected]. They can be dropped off in-person at the McLean Community Center (1234 Ingleside Avenue) or sent by mail.
The candidates certified for this year’s election are:
Adults
- Gloria Marrero Chambers
- Matt Colsia
- Katie Gorka
- Kathleen Cooney Porter
- Lincom (aka Amirthalingam Thillaichidambaram)
Teens — Langley High School
- Sophia Bruno
- Cabot Fisher
- Charlotte Loving
- Duy Nguyen
- Ethan Pwu
- Sonya Thott
Teens — McLean High School
- Eleanor Ague
- Rafik Hanna
- Katy Perez-Nesmith
- Philip Rotondo
The slate features a couple of familiar names. Current Langley representative Charlotte Loving is seeking another term, and former Trump administration official Katherine Gorka is making another bid for a seat after falling short last year.
Personal statements submitted by each candidate can be found on MCC’s website.
The 11-member governing board oversees the community center’s budget, programs and facilities. Adults serve three-year terms, while the youth members serve for one year.
Spring Hill Road in McLean has no townhouses now, and at least some area residents are unconvinced that there should be any in the future.
During a workshop on Thursday (March 9), the Fairfax County Planning Commission preliminarily advanced a request for more density at the northwest corner of Spring Hill Road and the Dulles Airport Access Road, but said the concept plan must be revised before it’s fully considered.
The decision came after homeowners spoke in opposition to the Spring Hill Assemblage development proposed for the 4.97-acre site.
“There are a number of issues, and they need to be thoughtfully viewed,” Dranesville District Commissioner John Ulfelder said, pointing to compatibility with the surrounding neighborhoods, site access and open space utilization as factors that need to be reviewed.
As part of the county’s Site-Specific Plan Amendment (SSPA) process, property owner Spring Hill Road Investments LLC is asking the county to allow three to four dwelling units per acre at 1336, 1340, 1344 and 1348 Spring Hill Road. The parcels are currently zoned for just one unit per acre, with a future density of two to three units envisioned by the Fairfax County Comprehensive Plan.
There’s “a disconnect” what the comprehensive plan allows and “the reality of how that redevelopment can occur,” according to Matt Roberts, a principal at Hirschler Law who’s representing the developer.
Past attempts to develop the site under the existing plan guidance haven’t worked out, because they “always come in more dense,” he told the planning commission.
“What we see with the SSPA process is an opportunity to address that issue. We can also do it in a way that respects the existing neighborhood and align ourselves with county housing and planning goals,” he said, noting that the proposed concept consolidates the lots and vehicular access points while offering “ample opportunities for on-site open space.”
However, McLean residents challenged the claim that increased density is necessary to make development “economically viable,” as stated in the statement of justification for the SSPA nomination.
Many of the benefits touted by the developer — including open space, trail connections and the new site entrance — could be achieved without altering the comprehensive plan, argued representatives of the McLean Hunt Estates Civic Association and the Lewinsville Coalition, which has homeowners on Lewinsville Road to the north of the property.
“The applicant mentions on-site amenities and recreational areas without defining what they might be,” Irwin Auerback with the Lewinsville Coalition said. “It is hard to imagine how there can be much usable open space on 4.97 acres at the requested density.”
The coalition believes “the amendment is unjustified and would be detrimental to the neighborhood” and fears that “making such a change would open the way for similar actions on other properties in the future,” he concluded.
The Spring Hill Assemblage concept plan calls for 19 townhouses — five more than the maximum currently recommended, county staff confirmed.
McLean Hunt Estates Civic Association representative Susan Bartram recalled previous failed applications to increase the property’s density from 2004 and 2020, calling this “yet another attempt to squeeze more onto this small assemblage than is compatible with nearby residential housing.”
“Both the opening and concluding paragraphs [of the statement of justification] state that the development of the property is more economically viable at a higher density,” she said. “That is simply not a valid justification for amending the comprehensive plan. Compatibility with the neighboring subdivisions is the relevant issue for the county, not maximizing profit margins.”
In response to the incompatibility concerns, Spring Hill Road Investments has introduced an alternate plan for single-family detached houses, though townhomes are its preferred approach.
“What we submitted was the one that we felt met many more perhaps goals of the comprehensive plan in terms of lot consolidation, open space and otherwise,” Roberts said.
The revised concept shows 19 units but reduces the size of the proposed amenity space and reconfigures a trail through the property. It was presented to the Lewinsville Coalition and the McLean Citizens Association before last week’s planning commission meeting, Roberts told FFXnow.
Roberts says the applicant has also committed to working with the community to add “guardrails” in the comprehensive plan amendment that would provide “guidance on how the future rezoning could ensure compatibility with its surroundings.”
Spring Hill Road Investments maintains, however, that an increase in allowed density is necessary to facilitate any kind of development on the site, Roberts said in a statement:
The County’s planning and economic policies recognize that more housing is needed countywide. The right incentives need to be in place to achieve the County’s redevelopment and housing goals. The current Comprehensive Plan language envisions greater density here, but while that language has been in place since the 1980s, it has not facilitated any redevelopment at this site. Our nomination promotes additional housing in the County without detracting from the existing neighborhood.
The planning commission backed county staff’s recommendation that the nomination be included in the third tier of the SSPA work program, meaning a review will be deferred until after other higher priority items.
Elsewhere in the Dranesville District, a proposal to replace an office building in Pimmit Hills with townhouses was put in the work program’s second tier, which is for “valuable” nominations that don’t quite qualify as top priorities. Developer Elm Street Communities is expected to file a formal development plan once the SSPA is officially accepted.
The commission also voted to designate development around the Innovation Center Metro station as a top-tier priority.
Ulfelder said he anticipates getting more community feedback on the Spring Hill proposal before the commission finalizes its proposed SSPA work program, a vote expected on March 29. After that, the package will go to the Board of Supervisors for its approval on April 11.
Fairfax Student Hospitalized After Possible Overdose — “Just hours after a student suffered a possible overdose at Fairfax High School on Monday, the school district held a meeting with parents to discuss the school system’s growing drug problem. Rescue crews rushed to the high school after a male student was suspected of overdosing on fentanyl, according to 911 dispatch.” [NBC4]
Medicaid Enrollment Requirements Resume — After letting all Medicaid members stay covered during the first years of the pandemic, all states are now reevaluating members’ eligibility. Coverage won’t be canceled or reduced before Virginia reaches out to each person, but members should update their contact information to ensure they get the notification. [Fairfax County Public Assistance and Employment Services]
Sexual Assault Lawsuit Against FCPS Advances — A student’s lawsuit filed in 2019 alleges that Fairfax County Public Schools officials ignored and retaliated against her when she reported being sexually assaulted at Herndon’s Carson Middle School a decade ago. A judge allowed the case to move forward on Friday (March 10), but FCPS said “several counts” against it were dismissed. [FOX5]
Rock Band Acquires Springfield Vinyl Records Company — “Bay Area rock legends Metallica have purchased a majority interest in a Northern Virginia record-pressing company. Furnace Record Pressing, located in 6315 Bren Mar Drive…said Tuesday the acquisition formalizes a long-standing relationship between the company and the hard-rock pioneers.” [Washington Business Journal]
Residents Weigh in on Potential Rose Hill Redevelopment — At a planning commission workshop, community members voiced both support for and opposition to mixed-use development at Rose Hill Plaza. Some residents argued that the shopping center has no need for a revitalization, while others called the proposal “a good opportunity to transform the large parking lot” with more housing and improved walkability. [Patch]
Sushi Restaurant Coming to Gunston Plaza — Sushi Queen, which originated in Sterling, has leased 4,000 square feet of space at 7730 Gunston Plaza. The all-you-can-eat Japanese restaurant will follow in the footsteps of the Middle Eastern Rana Café and American’s Best Wings, which opened at the Lorton shopping center in January. [On the MoVe]
Tysons Events Company Goes Private Again — “Tysons events software giant Cvent Holding Corp. (NASDAQ: CVT) has reached a deal to go private again via a sale to private equity firm Blackstone Inc. (NYSE: BX) that values the local company at $4.6 billion…The deal is expected to close in ‘mid-2023,’ the companies said in an announcement.” [WBJ]
Unemployment Rises in Virginia — “Virginia has one of the lowest state unemployment rates in the nation, but it rose last month and is now higher than it was a year ago. The U.S. Bureau of Labor Statistics reports Virginia’s unemployment rate in January was 3.2%, up from 3.1% in December, and up from 2.9% in January 2022.” [WTOP]
Animal Shelter Plans St. Patrick’s Day Adoption Event — “Adopt Your Lucky Charm Adoption Event, this Friday, March 17 through Sunday, March 19. All dog adopters can pick their adoption fee from the lucky pot o’ gold! Adoption fees will range from $5 to $25 for all dogs adopted during this event. View all our available dogs (and other pets!) online” [Fairfax County Animal Shelter/Facebook]
It’s Wednesday — Clear throughout the day. High of 47 and low of 30. Sunrise at 7:21 am and sunset at 7:16 pm. [Weather.gov]
(Updated at 2:50 p.m. on 3/16/2023) Virginia’s extension of the I-495 Express Lanes past the George Washington Memorial Parkway in McLean remains on track for a 2025 opening, even as its counterpart across the Potomac River faces another setback in its efforts to widen the Capital Beltway.
Private toll lanes operator Transurban pulled out of Maryland’s project to add toll lanes on its side of the Beltway and replace the American Legion Bridge on Friday (March 10), citing “significant delays to environmental approvals, changing political landscape and environmental lawsuits that remain unresolved.”
While that project is now in limbo, the Virginia Department of Transportation says Transurban’s departure won’t affect its I-495 Northern Extension (495 NEXT) plan, which is entering a second year of construction this month.
“Virginia’s 495 NEXT project to extend the Express Lanes on the Beltway is independent of the Maryland project,” VDOT told FFXnow. “…While VDOT will continue to coordinate with Maryland as they determine how to best deliver the Maryland project, we do not anticipate changes to the 495 NEXT project.”
The Virginia project has long been plagued by fears that Maryland won’t follow through on the so-called Beltway Accord that then-governors Ralph Northam and Larry Hogan announced in 2019 to replace the American Legion Bridge, which opened in 1962 and last expanded in 1992.
(Correction: This story previously said the bridge hadn’t been updated since it originally opened, but it was widened to 10 lanes in 1992. Hat tip to boywaja)
Where Virginia officials have embraced them as a means of addressing traffic congestion, express lanes have faced fierce opposition in Maryland from residents, environmental groups and local leaders, particularly in Montgomery County from as far back as 2005.
Despite that tangled history, which has included court battles, delays and a downsizing, VDOT expressed confidence in a statement to FFXnow that Maryland will ultimately move forward with its Beltway toll lanes, noting that the project has gotten federal approval.
Our colleagues in Maryland have told us that they remain committed to congestion relief in the corridor and have expressed their intention to deliver their project in accordance with the federally approved Record of Decision, which is a managed lanes project. Virginia will continue to coordinate with Maryland as they determine their next steps to alleviate one of the region’s worst traffic bottlenecks.
The department maintains that, even on its own, 495 NEXT will reduce congestion and provide new travel options. In addition to adding 2.5 miles of toll lanes to the region’s roughly 90-mile network, the project includes a shared-use trail and could usher in bus service between Tysons and Maryland.
An environmental assessment from 2020 found that 495 NEXT will move 2,500 more people per hour in both directions and reduce travel times by up to 24 minutes for northbound drivers, according to VDOT.
“By increasing the person-carrying capacity of I-495, drivers will have less incentive to use neighborhood cut-through routes, reducing traffic on local roads,” VDOT said. “The 495 NEXT project will also improve safety throughout the corridor, and replace aging bridges and other existing infrastructure.”
McLean residents and Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust, who represents the area, have argued that failing to extend the toll lanes into Maryland will result in traffic getting bottlenecked at the American Legion Bridge, forcing their neighborhoods to bear the project’s costs for minimal benefits.
Construction on 495 NEXT is expected to continue into 2026, with the express lanes opening to traffic by late 2025.
Several Fairfax County restaurants are joining in Spring Wine Fling — a nearly two-week stretch of wine and dinner specials on offer around the region.
The special is set to run from Monday, March 20 through Friday, March 31.
Across Maryland, D.C. and Northern Virginia, restaurants will offer a $55 dinner with an appetizer, entree and two one pairings. Each restaurant has their own selection of wine pairings with certain entrees.
In Fairfax County, participating locations include:
- Alta Strada Mosaic (2911 District Avenue)
- Circa at The Boro (1675 Silver Hill Drive)
- Hamrock’s Restaurant (3950 Chain Bridge Road)
- Matchbox McLean (1340 Chain Bridge Road) and Matchbox Reston (1900 Reston Metro Plaza)
The event is being organized by the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington (RAMW), the trade organization that also puts on the region’s biannual Restaurant Week.
A full list of participating locations can be found on the Spring Wine Fling website.
Photo via Alta Strada Mosaic/Facebook
While the Fairfax County Planning Commission deferred a decision on the project to tomorrow (Wednesday), Metro board members seemed optimistic about its potential to transform not just that area in Idylwood, but the transit agency’s overall approach to development around its stations.
“They’re not just plots of land. They are assets we own,” Board of Directors Chair Paul Smedberg said. “There’s always been talk about…how do we best utilize those assets, whether it be parking lots or working with the jurisdictions?”
According to Segerlin, the West Falls Church project is one of WMATA’s first to evaluate parking needs based on station utilization and area household growth trends instead of requiring every eliminated parking space to be replaced, a change implemented as part of a joint development policy update in 2018.
Some residents have objected to the project’s density and elimination of roughly 700 parking spots, but Fairfax County and Metro officials have championed transit-oriented development as necessary to create more vibrant, less car-reliant communities.
In conversations with local leaders, Metro General Manager and CEO Randy Clarke said he has heard “loud and clear” that the authority should accelerate the strategic plan for development that it unveiled last year, calling for 20 more joint agreements to develop various stations by 2032.
“One of the things that we have to do is we have to make our sites pencil out, and if we’re going to tell people they have to do a one-to-one parking ratio change, these deals will never pencil out,” Clarke said. “…We want people to be as close as possible to our stations and build as many town centers, village centers.”
At the Morgan Blvd station in Prince George’s County, Maryland, it takes eight minutes to walk from one end of the parking lot to the other, he recalled from a recent visit.
“The reality is we need to have probably less parking there and more housing and mixed development. That’s what the state wants, that’s what we want,” he said.
Board member Michael Goldman cited North Bethesda as another underutilized station that has “laid fallow for 40 years.” He anticipates it’s one of several sites in Montgomery County — which figures heavily into the strategic plan — that will seek to take advantage of Metro’s updated policy on parking requirements.
“These are exciting. The West Falls Church project is a great way to utilize that station and breathe some life into it,” Letourneau said.
The West Falls Church and Franconia staff reports will both go to the full Metro Board of Directors for a vote on March 23.
Don’t be surprised if you notice more cops on the road in the coming days.
The Fairfax County Police Department wants its officers to make their presence known this week with a “Road Shark” campaign intended to crack down on and deter aggressive and unsafe driving behaviors, such as speeding and distracting phone usage.
Joined by the Virginia State Police, which will also participate, the police department officially launched the first, week-long phase of the campaign yesterday (Monday).
“Traffic safety is community safety,” FCPD Deputy Chief for Operations Robert Blakley said outside the county’s Public Safety Headquarters. “…This offers us the opportunity to remind everybody to look down at that speedometer, set their mobile phone down and pay full time and attention to the conditions around them to increase traffic safety on our roadways.”
First introduced in 1999, Road Shark was supplanted over the years by other programs, but the FCPD has decided to revive it after the county saw an alarming increase in pedestrian fatalities last year.
There has been an increase in reckless driving throughout the county, including at the meet-ups of car enthusiasts that have become popular around the D.C. region, according to Blakley.
Already this week, police broke up an informal car meet on Willard Road in Chantilly after getting reports of “several cars driving recklessly,” the FCPD said in a Facebook post:
When officers tried to stop the cars from leaving, a 2001 BMW struck two marked Fairfax County Police cruisers. Officers took the 22-year-old driver into custody. He was charged with two counts of attempted malicious wounding of law enforcement, two counts of hit and run, driving while intoxicated and no operator’s license. He was held without bond. Thankfully, no officers or community members were hurt.
Blakley said the police department doesn’t have an issue with car meets, but participants should “respect the rules of private property and the laws on public highways and drive in a manner that’s safe and responsible and not going to get someone hurt or even killed.”
For the Road Shark campaign, officers have been instructed to be vigilant throughout their daily shifts for traffic violations, including speeding, distracted driving, school zone-related issues, and attempts to run red lights.
The campaign will particularly focus on locations known to see frequent crashes and other safety issues. Blakley pointed to Fairfax County Parkway and Popes Head Road in Fairfax Station as an example.
Though enforcement is a major component, officers won’t necessarily issue more citations or warnings, Blakley said. Instead, the FCPD hopes that its increased visibility in the community — including having crime prevention and traffic safety officers work with local schools — will lead people to adjust how they drive.
The campaign will be conducted in four phases during this year, with this week marking the first phase.
“The majority of people who drive too fast or maybe make an unsafe lane change, they’re probably distracted or not intending to drive aggressively,” Blakley said. “…When we engage in high-visibility enforcement — lots of police, lots of blue lights throughout the area — it causes us to remember. ‘I’m going to watch my speedometer, I’m going to pay attention.’ And that’s really the goal of this whole campaign.”
One person got trapped and needed to be extracted from a vehicle in a crash on the Capital Beltway (I-495) in McLean this morning (Tuesday).
The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department reported at 9:05 a.m. that it had units on the scene of the multi-vehicle crash on northbound I-495 at the George Washington Memorial Parkway interchange.
“Occupant being evaluated by EMS. Only one lane open on I495 NB. Expect delays,” the department tweeted.
As of 9:25 a.m., traffic backups extend nearly 7 miles, almost to the I-66 interchange in Dunn Loring, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation’s traffic cameras.
Units on the scene of a multi-vehicle crash on I-495 NB at George Washington Memorial Parkway. One occupant was trapped and extricated by #FCFRD crews. Occupant being evaluated by EMS. Only one lane open on I495 NB. Expect delays. #traffic pic.twitter.com/H6uVm4cXyK
— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) March 14, 2023
Wind Advisory Expected Today — “There is a Wind Advisory in effect from 2 PM Tuesday (3/14/23) to 2 AM Wednesday (3/15/23). Northwest winds from 20 to 30 mph with gusts up to 50 mph are expected. Use extra caution when driving and secure objects that could blow around outside.” [Ready Fairfax/Twitter]
Fatal Car Crash Victim’s Family Not Satisfied With Sentencing — The family of a woman killed in a DWI crash on I-495 near Telegraph Road says prosecutors should’ve pursued higher charges. The Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney sought 10 years in prison for former D.C. Advisory Neighborhood Commission chairperson Devon Lesesne, who pleaded guilty to involuntary manslaughter, but Judge John Tran sentenced him to just four years, one of which has already been served. [WUSA9]
Metro Sees Low Initial Ridership for Silver Line Phase 2 Stations — “Figures from the extension’s first months show light usage at new stations…Regional leaders and transit officials, whose expectations have been reshaped by the realities of the pandemic, say they are optimistic after the slow start.” [The Washington Post]
Former School Board Member Seeks to Return — “Former school board member Ilyrong Moon kicked off his campaign on Saturday for one of the three at-large seats on the Fairfax County School Board…From 2004-2019, Moon was an at-large member on the school board, twice serving as its chairman.” [Patch]
County Updates Covid Vaccine Data Display — The dashboard now aligns “with current vaccine recommendations and new measures reported by the Virginia Department of Health…In the Fairfax Health District, about 24% of people 6 months and older have gotten an updated booster dose. Nationally, about 16% of the population has received an updated booster dose.” [FCHD]
Fairfax City Restaurant Week Extended — “Fairfax Economic Development Authority and the Central Fairfax Chamber of Commerce are extending the sixth annual Fairfax City Restaurant Week for a second week. From Monday, March 13 through Sunday, March 19, the city’s restaurant community will be offering a week-long selection of meals and deals.” [Patch]
Merrifield Gets New Art Gallery — “Mosaic Arts, the new art gallery next to the Mosaic District, is more than a showcase for local artists; the gallery also has a studio offering art classes…Sisters and artists Van Nguyen and Lynh Nguyen opened Mosaic Arts in December at 2931-B Eskridge Road…in the space formerly occupied by Auntie Te’s consignment shop.” [Annandale Today]
Springfield Photographer Wins International Award — “A photo of wildlife taken at Huntley Meadows Park was a winner in the 2022 World Nature Photography Awards, announced Feb. 20. The photo of a male Hooded Merganser won gold in the ‘behavior — birds’ category.” [On the MoVe]
It’s Tuesday — Partly cloudy throughout the day. High of 43 and low of 33. Sunrise at 7:23 am and sunset at 7:15 pm. [Weather.gov]
