The weekend is almost here. Before you check out the Richmond Highway corridor’s first parklet or head to bed for some much-needed sleep, let’s revisit the past week of news in Fairfax County.
Here are the 10 most-read stories on FFXnow this week:
- Undeveloped site on Route 50 could become data center or warehouse
- Woman killed in crash near Fairfax Towne Center, capping deadly week for local pedestrians
- Teen in hospital with serious injuries from accidental BB gun shooting in McLean
- NEW: Two killed in moped crash on Dulles Toll Road in Wolf Trap
- New Lorton Community Center is now open, joining renovated library and park
- Police: Man shot at officers and led chase from Arlington to West Falls Church
- Fairfax County School Board commits to supporting transgender students, as community speaks out
- Fairfax County could introduce speed enforcement cameras with pilot next year
- Police search underway for missing woman, last seen in Reston
- Man killed on I-95 in Springfield by driver who tried to flee, police say
Ideas for potential stories can be sent to [email protected] or submitted as an anonymous tip. Photos of scenes from around the county are welcome too, with credit always given to the photographer.
Feel free to discuss these topics, your weekend plans, or anything else that’s happening locally in the comments below. Have a great weekend, Fairfax County!
A church in McLean and an orchestra based in Tysons have teamed up to do their part to assist humanitarian relief efforts in Ukraine.
The Virginia Chamber Orchestra will put on a free Benefit Concert for Ukraine in the McLean Baptist Church sanctuary (1367 Chain Bridge Road) at 4 p.m. this Sunday (Oct. 16).
The concert will feature soprano singer Mandy Brown, violinist Emil Chudnovsky, and pianist Tatiana Loisha as well as the VCO String Quartet.
They will primarily perform classical music, including works by Johann Sebastian Bach, Joseph Haydn, and Antonín Dvořák, but Rogers and Hammerstein also appear. The program closes with “Shche ne vmerta Ukraina,” the national anthem of Ukraine.
While the concert is free to attend, the church will accept donations that will be used to provide medical supplies in Ukraine, according to VCO.
“The Virginia Chamber Orchestra is very pleased to partner with the McLean Baptist Church in presenting a Benefit Concert to provide medical supplies for the people of Ukraine,” VCO Board of Trustees President Douglas Lovejoy said in an emailed statement. “We welcome everyone to the concert and will appreciate your donations.”
Since Russian military forces invaded Ukraine in February, more than 15,000 civilian casualties have been recorded by the Office of the UN High Commissioner for Human Rights, as of Monday (Oct. 10), though the organization believes the actual numbers of deaths and injuries are much higher.
Like in other communities across the U.S., acts of solidarity and support for Ukraine have become common in Fairfax County, from a regional winter coat drive and a fundraiser by local breweries to symbolic displays of the eastern European country’s blue-and-yellow flag.
The full program for Sunday’s benefit concert in McLean is below:
- “Sheep May Safely Graze” by Johann Sebastian Bach — VCO String Quartet
- “Uzun Hava” by Osman Kivrak — for violin and viola
- Selections from “44 Duets” by Béla Bartók, including Ruthenian songs from Ukraine
- “Allegro from Quartet in F Major, Op. 96 ‘American’” by Antonín Dvořák — VCO String Quartet
- “Polonaise Brilliante in D Major” by Henryk Wieniawski — Emil Chudnovsky, violin
- “Chanson d’amour” by Jan Tarasiewicz — Tatiana Loisha, piano
- “L’invitation au voyage” by Henri Duparc — Mandy Brown, soprano
- “The Winds are Blowing,” a Ukrainian folksong by Mykola Lysenko — Mandy Brown, soprano
- “Introduction” and “Rondo Capriccioso” by Camille Saint-Saëns — Emil Chudnovsky violin
- “Nocturne in C Sharp Minor” by Frédéric Chopin — Emil Chudnovsky, violin
- “You’ll Never Walk Alone” from “Carousel” by Rodgers & Hammerstein — Mandy Brown, soprano
- “Shche ne vmerta Ukraina” by Chubynsky/Verbytsky
Halloween is showing up on Tysons Corner Center’s doorstep a couple weeks early this year.
The mall’s Fall Festival this weekend will include a full Halloween experience, with trick-or-treating, pumpkin carving, and other activities.
The festivities will mostly unfold on the Plaza, where Maniac Pumpkin Carvers founder Marc Evans will put on live pumpkin-carving demonstrations from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m. There will also be face painting, a photo booth, a vender market, a beer garden from Barrel & Bushel, and a Seasons52 wine tent.
Live entertainment will be provided by country musician Scott Kurt and the bands Under the Covers and The Moonlighters. In addition, the Traveling Players Ensemble will stage a puppet show from 1-5 p.m. tomorrow (Saturday).
There will also be a kids’ corn maze set up on Sunday (Oct. 16).
Kids who arrive between noon and 2 p.m. on both days can participate in Tysons Mall-o-Ween, where they’l be able to collect candy from over 40 retailers in the mall. Free tote bags will be handed out at the Plaza.
Advance registration is required for Mall-o-Ween, but only one ticket is needed per family, according to an announcement on Facebook. The mall encourages kids to don costumes, but Halloween masks won’t be allowed inside.
The Town of Vienna is also getting a head start on the season of ghosts and ghouls with Halloween on the Green.
From 10:30 a.m. to 12:30 p.m. tomorrow, the parks and recreation department will offer snacks, games and prizes, story times, moon bounces, crafts and pumpkin decorating at the Vienna Town Green. The event page says a limited number of pumpkins will be available.
For area residents who’d prefer to celebrate closer to the actual holiday, Vienna will have its annual Halloween parade at 7 p.m. on Oct. 26. Saturday, Oct. 29, will bring costume contests to The Boro and The Perch at Capital One Center, and a Festival of Frights to McLean Community Center’s Old Firehouse.
The Mosaic District in Merrifield will close the weekend with a Halloween Spooktacular, which will feature trick-or-treating and a screening of the 2019 “Addams Family” movie on Oct. 30.
Finally, on Halloween itself (Monday, Oct. 31), Celebrate Fairfax will throw a party at The PARC (8508 Leesburg Pike) with “face painting, balloon twisting, mad science activities, and of course candy and other treats,” according to the Facebook event page.
Live Fairfax is a bi-weekly column exploring Fairfax County. This recurring column is sponsored and written by Sharmane Medaris of McEnearney Associates. Questions? Reach Sharmane at 813-504-4479.
We got a sneak peek of the newest Halley Rise community in Reston and its first Fall Festival.
A community event taking place onsite Saturday, October 22 (11 a.m.-2 p.m.) featuring live music, food, and family-friendly activities (including pumpkin painting and make your own bouquet stations).
It will also include the introduction of the Farm at Halley Rise, an urban farm operated by Up Top Acres that grows food and flowers and provides produce to organizations working to reduce food insecurity.
Such a fun way to spend a fall Saturday!
Best,
Sharmane
Explore Fairfax with Sharmane Medaris of McEnearney.
Sharmane Medaris | Live Fairfax | www.soldbysharmane.com | [email protected] | @soldbysharmane | 813-504-4479 | 374 Maple Avenue Suite 202, Vienna, VA 22180
The preceding sponsored post was also published on FFXnow.com
Fairfax County will waive fees for permitting and installing electric vehicle chargers for at least the next year and a half.
The Board of Supervisors unanimously voted on Tuesday (Oct. 11) to waive all county-imposed permit, installation and signage fees for electric vehicle chargers for a trial period of 18 months. The waiving of fees will go into effect alongside the release of the new Planning and Land Use System (PLUS) on Oct. 31.
“Exempting EVC installations from permit fees may help incentivize use of electric vehicles,” reads the staff report as the rationalization to waive fees.
Staff said it will report back to the board in a year on the “effectiveness of eliminating permit fees in incentivizing installation of EVC equipment.”
Coupled with the “Charge Up Fairfax” program aimed at supporting HOAs in installing electric vehicle chargers, the fee waivers indicate the supervisors have made it a clear priority to encourage more of the public to make the transition to electric vehicles.
The board directed staff in late September to look at the possibility of suspending the fees.
“This is but another step towards our journey of a carbon-free Fairfax,” Mount Vernon District Supervisor Dan Storck said. “[It’s] an essential statement about our board’s further commitment to incentivizing, supporting, and encouraging…folks who want to make a difference with the vehicles they drive. That and buildings are the single highest emitters of carbon and if we can start addressing those two major ones…we can start making a difference.”
He noted that this might be “one piece…of a larger package” in reducing the county’s carbon footprint, but it’s one of the “most visible” pieces.
The board vote technically included a public hearing, but no one from the public commented. The discussion was also minimal among supervisors, only lasting a few minutes.
By waiving the fees, however, the county will be missing out on some money. Fees vary depending on the size and complexity of the charging stations, but the county is expected to lose between $10,000 to $15,000 in revenue during fiscal year 2023, which started July 1.
Still, that’s a drop in the bucket compared to the entire Land Development Services budget.
“The lost revenue will not have a significant impact on the adopted LDS budget of approximately $46 million,” reads the staff report.
As a whole, the county’s budget is nearly $5 billion.
“They would be delivered much sooner than if these other projects built out over the next 10 to 20 years,” he said.
To ensure the Somos project’s long-term affordability, the 4-acre site will be conveyed to the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority (FCRHA), which will then lease the newly constructed property to SCG for a 99-year term.
The Board of Supervisors authorized the agreement between SCG, Capital One and FCRHA by a 9-1 vote, with Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity expressing opposition to the use of public funds for the project.
The county has increasingly turned to public-private partnerships as it aims to create 10,000 more units of affordable housing by 2035. The board awarded $33.6 million in public financing to Somos in August, a model also used for Tysons’ upcoming Dominion Square West project and the Ovation at Arrowbrook residences under construction near the Innovation Center Metro station.
The Somos funds consist of about $13 million in local tax dollars, $19 million in federal COVID-19 relief funds, and $1.2 million in developer contributions. The project’s total cost per unit is about $451,000, including “just shy of $30,000” in local funds, Fairfax County Housing and Community Development Director Tom Fleetwood said.
“Government-subsidized housing at $450K a unit paid for by people who can’t really afford that themselves is an issue for me,” Herrity said.
Palchik and Board Chairman Jeff McKay countered that the funds are an “important investment” in the community, noting that the site’s proximity to the McLean Metro station, Tysons Corner Center and other amenities makes it particularly valuable.
Sandwiched between Scotts Run to the north and the Highland District to the south, Somos will have 1.21 acres of privately owned but publicly accessible park space, including a 21,008-square-foot Meadow Gardens park, a 6-foot-wide recreational trail, and a “play and pedestrian court area,” according to the approved plan.
Built in 1984, the existing, vacant office building will be demolished, but SCG will retain the property’s three-story parking garage as the base of one of its residential mid-rises.
After working with county staff, the developer moved the development’s main entrance from Old Meadow Road to the Lincoln Street that will eventually connect Tysons East to Pimmit Hills. A driveway off of Old Meadow will be limited to loading and emergency vehicle activities, leaving room for a park and a tree grove, according to McGranahan.
In a concession to the community, the time frame for when construction will be allowed has been shortened by two hours, and a “point of contact” will be provided to handle comments or concerns, McGranahan said.
“I think this is a very important investment in our community and ensuring the housing that we wish to see,” Palchik said.
Major Earthquake Drill Coming Next Week — “This year’s Great Southeast ShakeOut Day earthquake drill is scheduled for 10:20 a.m. on Thursday, Oct. 20. Make plans to join millions of people worldwide who will participate in earthquake drills at work, school or home.” [Fairfax County Emergency Information]
Motorcyclist Dies After Crash in Groveton — “Darrell Hayes, 75, of Alexandria, was operating a 2018 Honda Goldwing motorcycle, making a left turn from northbound Lantern Place to westbound South Kings Highway. Hayes lost control of his motorcycle, laying it down on the roadway. Hayes was taken to a hospital and succumbed to his injuries on Oct. 13.” [FCPD]
Board Calls for Changes to State Arrest Notifications — “The chairman of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors is urging Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin and Secretary of Education Aimee Guidera to make immediate changes to current procedures to ensure that school systems are notified when an employee is arrested.” [WTOP]
Metro Sees More Crowds — “Trains are 35% more crowded during the 8 a.m. hour and 13% more crowded during the 5 p.m. hour, Metro officials said during a Thursday board meeting. The Red Line (between NoMa and Metro Center and between Farragut North and Van Ness) and the Orange and Silver lines (between Virginia Square and Farragut West) are seeing the brunt of the crowding — despite Metro adding 1-2 extra trains during peak periods on those lines.” [DCist]
Covid Testing Sites Coming to Schools Later This Month — “COVID diagnostic testing will be available for FCPS students, teachers, and staff at five locations across the county on October 17, 18, and 19. This testing is for those who are either experiencing COVID symptoms or have been exposed to someone diagnosed with COVID.” [FCPS]
Debate Over an Independent McLean Continues — “Should McLean incorporate itself as a city or town to obtain greater sway over its fortunes than being under Fairfax County’s control? The McLean Citizens Association (MCA) in January 2021 formed a Community Governance Committee and gave it a five-year mission to ponder those prospects in detail. The MCA board on Oct. 6…found that members are divided on how — and whether — the work should continue.” [Sun Gazette]
Brothers Add Public Art to Penn Daw Development — “This past August, Jared and Aaron Scales, brothers who launched the BroCoLoCo design firm from their Washington, D.C. apartment a decade ago, spent nine or 10 days under the hot sun painting two brightly colored murals at the South Alex residential and retail complex.” [On the MoVe]
Youth Fishing Event at Lake Accotink Tomorrow — “On Saturday, Oct. 15, 2022, a free Youth Fishing Derby for youngsters ages 15 and below will take place at Lake Accotink Park Marina located at 7500 Accotink Park Road in Springfield, Virginia. This event promises a morning filled with fun, fishing and prizes.” [Fairfax County Park Authority]
A Look at Lorton Prison’s Transformation — “The Workhouse Arts Center in Lorton is real-life proof of the adage that everything old is new again. The refurbished former prison, which officially closed two decades ago, now hosts community performing and visual arts events, classes, and studios for artists…It’s poised for even bigger things: Its first retail businesses are coming, in addition to a relatively new apartment complex.” [Northern Virginia Magazine]
It’s Friday — Clear throughout the day. High of 65 and low of 48. Sunrise at 7:18 am and sunset at 6:33 pm. [Weather.gov]
Fairfax County planners want to cultivate more tree-lined streets, but to make that a reality, some more leeway for developers may be needed.
With a proposed pilot program, the county’s Department of Planning and Development (DPD) will let developers in more urbanized areas count street trees as part of their 10-year tree canopy requirements — an option already offered in Tysons.
Credits would be awarded in tiered rates designed to encourage high-quality trees, while recognizing that some sites can’t meet the county’s existing standards, staff told the Fairfax County Planning Commission’s environmental committee last Thursday (Oct. 6).
If approved, the pilot will involve Tysons; transit station areas in Reston, Herndon, West Falls Church, Springfield and Huntington; and the county’s community revitalization districts in McLean, Lake Anne, Annandale, Bailey’s Crossroads, Lincolnia, Merrifield, Springfield and Richmond Highway.
“Street trees have a lot of requirements for soil volume, for underdrains, for watering, and so, fundamentally, they’re very expensive to install,” JoAnne Fiebe, who manages the county’s revitalization program, said. “We count them as some of the most important trees that we can plant, particularly in areas that are urbanizing, yet we currently don’t give them credit in most areas.”
According to Fiebe, Fairfax County’s “treeless areas” like Annandale and the southern Route 1 corridor tend to more urban, hotter and home to its lowest income residents, raising equity issues.
Trees can also provide a critical buffer between streets and sidewalks. To illustrate the safety issues that come without that buffer, Fiebe showed an image of Maple Avenue in Annandale, where a driver hit four pedestrians, including a DPD employee, and killed one of them in May.
“I’m not saying that street trees would’ve prevented that incident, but they create this visual friction as you’re driving that just encourages you to look around you and slow down,” she said. “I can’t help but think that if we had designed this road differently, we would’ve had a different outcome.”
The county’s public facilities manual generally requires tree planting areas to be at least 8 feet wide and over 4 feet away from any “restrictive barrier.” At least 700 cubic feet of soil must be provided, with about 500 cubic feet added for each additional tree in the pit.
Under the proposed tiered system, developers would get 1.5 credits toward their tree canopy coverage if they meet all of the requirements and a full credit if they at least meet the soil standards.
The pilot would give developers partial credit for street trees if the planting area is at least 5 feet wide, 17.5 feet long and 3.5 feet deep with 300 cubic feet of soil provided per tree. They would also have to maintain and replace the trees “in perpetuity.”
The proposed standard would allow trees in spots where they otherwise won’t fit due to limited space, utilities and other constraints, Fairfax County Urban Forestry Management Director Brian Keightley said.
“Right now, we see a lot of trees in these smaller spaces,” he explained. “…This would allow those smaller spaces, one, to become bigger, two, for us to kind of guarantee good quality soil is installed, and three, we have significantly more influence on the long-term stability of the tree.”
While staff said the tiered system would incentivize developers to meet the county’s full requirements, Fiebe acknowledged that the Tree Commission and other environmental advocates worry that the lower standard will become the default, a concern shared by the planning commission.
“I’ve just found that [developers are] going to default to the smaller trees,” Franconia District Commissioner Dan Lagana said. “I know they’re going to do that. And we lose the benefit of the deep root systems that we’re in really short supply of right now.”
Commission was generally supportive, but had concerns that we may wind up with more lower quality trees as opposed to oaks and other natives that give lots shade, cool their surroundings, and absorb rain water w/strong root systems.
— Dan Lagana (@Dan_Lagana) October 7, 2022
According to Keightley, the alternative standard would still surpass what’s required by neighboring localities like Arlington County, where street tree pits are typically 12 feet long and 5 feet wide.
A former Arlington employee, Keightley pointed to trees along Columbia Pike outside the Penrose Apartments as an example of what would be acceptable under the new standard. However, DPD wants to avoid isolated trees in small, shallow pits like what can be seen on Wilson Blvd in Ballston.
Fiebe said criteria for when the partial credit option can be used will be specified in an amendment to the county’s urban design guidelines. They anticipate presenting the amendment to the Board of Supervisors on Dec. 6.
Mason District Commissioner Julie Strandlie, whose district includes Annandale, asked how more street trees could be added without having to wait on developers.
Fiebe said the county should ensure street trees are provided with transportation projects when feasible, and the revitalization districts have maintenance programs that could monitor the trees. However, to do more than one-off plantings, the county needs a full street tree program like in Arlington.
“Unless we have a true program that looks at both installation and maintenance, we’re going to be reliant on the development community,” Fiebe said. “But [for] those capital projects, we should have a policy that they get included anywhere possible.”
Maple Avenue image via Google Maps
Fairfax County has officially allocated millions of unspent revenue from the previous year’s budget for items like restrooms for school stadiums and a boost of the county’s hiring program.
At a Fairfax County Board of Supervisors meeting on Tuesday (Oct. 11), the board voted 7-1 to allocate $7.5 million in carryover funds to help install permanent restrooms at 15 Fairfax County Public School outdoor high school stadiums.
“At its heart, this is a matter of equity. No matter which school a student goes to in Fairfax County, it is expected they receive not only a high-quality education, but that they are provided high-quality, accessible facilities as well,” Board Chairman Jeff McKay wrote in a statement.
The school board has already agreed to pitch in half of the funds needed for the new facilities.
The board also approved an additional $2 million for a “comprehensive hiring incentive program,” which could grant up to $15,000 in bonuses for new hires in critical county positions. In total, the reserve includes more than $4 million, but exactly where the money will go remains to be determined.
“A portion of all the funding could be used for all agencies, but we do not know exactly how much of the allocation will be towards hiring incentives until the County Executive reports on the design of the program,” McKay’s office told FFXnow.
The move comes as the Fairfax County Police Department and other public safety entities face historic vacancy rates and staff shortages.
Tammie Wondong, a 32-year county employee and president of SEIU Virginia 512 Fairfax, lauded the board for amending the carryover package to create a hiring incentive program instead of funding raises for top executives.
A recent “benchmark study” of the county’s executive and managerial positions found salaries were generally below market rate. Staff recommended that the pay scale be simplified and adjusted to be more competitive at the Board of Supervisors’ personnel committee meeting on July 26.
“The Board clearly heard employees’ voices because they changed the carryover package to invest in a hiring incentives reserve, instead of executive pay,” Wondong said. “However, the county must do more to ensure fair pay for their hard-working employees who got our community through the worst of the pandemic.”
The union delivered hundreds of petitions urging the county to maintain transparency around the use of carryover funds, relieve wage compression, and ensure all county employees are engaged in future benchmark studies.
Dave Lysons, executive director of the Fairfax Workers Coalition, said the county is no longer competitive for many jobs, adding that its current vacancy rate is 13% overall with a 17% rate in public works.
“Fairfax County is no longer competitive for these jobs…We can’t continue like this,” Lyons said.
Other allocations include roughly $25 million for pedestrian and bicycle safety improvements, part of an overall commitment to fund $100 million in projects over six years.
Supervisors had requested that funds be provided specifically for new sidewalks to Huntley Meadows Park and trail improvements in Gum Springs, but those items didn’t make the final cut.
“The sidewalks were not a part of this current package but may be considered as part of the ongoing $100M commitment to pedestrian safety,” McKay’s office said by email.
Among other needs, the county also allocated $175,000 to design and construct a picnic shelter, ADA-accessible pathway and picnic tables and benches for Justice Park in the Mason District.
Five Wolf Trap residents lost their home, at least temporarily, due to a large fire on Tuesday (Oct. 11).
Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department units were dispatched to the 1700 block of Fox Run Court at 4:35 p.m. after a neighbor in the area noticed smoke and fire on a house’s exterior, prompting them to call 911, according to a report published yesterday (Wednesday).
“Prior to arrival on scene, several units noted a large column of smoke in the general area,” the fire department said. “Units arrived on the scene of a two-story, single-family home with heavy fire from the rear and one side of the house.”
No one was home when the fire started outside the house, accidentally ignited by fire pit ashes that had been “improperly discarded,” FCFRD said. Firefighters got the blaze under control in about 15 minutes, and no related injuries have been reported.
However, the house’s five occupants were displaced, and the fire resulted in approximately $293,750 in property damages.
UPDATE: Vienna House Fire Caused by Improperly Discarded Fire Pit Ashes. Units arrived on the scene of a two-story, single-family home with heavy fire from the rear and one side of the house. More: https://t.co/epgpR0TkLA #FCFRD pic.twitter.com/X9TG4lt7Br
— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) October 12, 2022
