Freeze Watch to Take Effect Tonight — “The National Weather Service has issued a Freeze Watch from late Wednesday night through Thursday morning. Temperatures between 26 – 30 degrees are possible. Frost and freeze conditions could kill crops, sensitive vegetation, and possibly damage unprotected outdoor plumbing.” [Ready Fairfax/Twitter]
Renamed Seven Corners Fire Station Welcomes New Engine — “FS28, Fort Buffalo, held a push in ceremony for its new engine, E428. In Sept 2023, the Fairfax County [Board of Supervisors] accepted the recommendation of FS28 members to rename the station from Seven Corners to Fort Buffalo. This is the 1st piece of apparatus to carry the new name.” [FCFRD/Twitter]
Springfield Shopping Center Lines Up Tenants — The former Whole Foods Market at Old Keene Mill Shopping Center will be subdivided into six spaces, including one for a relocated Trader Joe’s. Leasing materials indicate that other spaces will be filled by McAlister’s Deli, European Wax Center and Zips Dry Cleaners, and a “high-end” restaurant called Kanji Sushi is set to fill a suite vacated last year by Austin Grill. [Washington Business Journal]
Fix or Demolish Bailey’s Crossroads Property, Judge Says — “The code violations at the dilapidated building in Bailey’s Crossroads that formerly housed the Zaaki restaurant and hookah lounge must be fixed or the owners could be forced to tear it down…The building, at 6020 Leesburg Pike, has been vacant for years. After Zaaki closed, the property became a dumping ground and a nighttime gathering spot for groups of men.” [Annandale Today]
Tex-Mex Restaurant at Capital One Expected This Year — “Upscale Tex-Mex restaurant Ometeo is gearing up for a big, margarita-fueled opening in Tysons Corner before the year’s out…Ometeo will bring big Texas energy to the growing Capital One Center with multiple dining rooms, bars indoors and out, and a huge patio.” [Axios]
County Fire Department Delivers Free Winter Coats — “The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department sent 2,000 free winter coats to local students in need Tuesday morning. Some of the youngest students even got to visit the Virginia firehouse and pick out their jackets. Around 200 preschoolers filed off buses into the Fairfax County Fire Station 11.” [WTOP]
Apartment Rents Tick Up in Tysons — “The median rent of $1,839 for a one-bedroom unit and $1,817 for two bedrooms in Tysons in October was effectively unchanged from a month before but was up 1.1 percent from a year ago, according to new data reported Oct. 31 by Apartment List. No change from September to October shows the relative strength of the community’s rental market, as median rents typically tend to decline toward the final months of the year.” [Gazette Leader]
Reston Education Company Reports Record Earnings — “Shares of Reston-based Stride Inc. have soared to an all-time high in recent days after the online learning company reported record revenue in its most recent quarter. The revenue surge was driven by an unexpected enrollment boost in both its general education and career learning programs.” [WBJ]
It’s Wednesday — Expect a mostly sunny day with highs near 50°F and northwest winds blowing at 14-17 mph, gusting up to 29 mph. Wednesday night will be clear, with lows around 33°F. The northwest wind will continue at 7-11 mph, with gusts reaching up to 20 mph. [Weather.gov]
The official ballots for next week’s general election identify just one candidate for the job of top prosecutor in Fairfax County, but a group that identifies itself as victims’ rights supporters hopes to push another man into the office instead.
Defense attorney Ed Nuttall, who lost the Democratic primary in June to incumbent Steve Descano, officially endorsed a write-in campaign last week that seeks to make him the next Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney.
According to a press release, the former county prosecutor agreed to publicly back the write-in push on Oct. 24 after the Fairfax County Democratic Committee removed him from the party, allegedly for attending a Brain Foundation fundraiser on Oct. 18 that featured Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity and Sully District supervisor candidate Keith Elliott — both Republicans.
“If the work of the write-in group is successful, Ed Nuttall would accept the job as Commonwealth’s Attorney serving Fairfax County and the City of Fairfax,” the Oct. 28 press release said.
Nuttall said the FCDC had also urged him “to denounce the write-in campaign on my behalf started by a victims rights group,” but he “refused to do so.”
“I was told more than once by more than one person to ‘resign for the good of the party,'” Nuttall said in an Oct. 25 Facebook post. “I chose not to do so because I’ve always put people over party. Those who know me know that disability rights and public safety have always been my passion, personally and professionally. I won’t let politics dictate how I act or whom I choose to work with, no matter the political price.”
The FCDC declined to comment when contacted by FFXnow, but chair Bryan Graham told WJLA that Nuttall’s attendance at a fundraiser supporting Republican candidates violated his pledge to the committee.
A spokesperson for Descano’s campaign also declined to comment.
According to its website, the write-in campaign for Nuttall was organized by “Fairfax County and Fairfax City voters” who supported his candidacy in the July 20 primary, which he lost by just over 10,000 votes.
“We waited for a couple of months for the current Commonwealth’s Attorney to implement action items brought to his attention during the primary campaign,” the campaign says. “However, that office continues to be disappointing and being politicized as a referendum.”
Changes sought by the group include oversight for the commonwealth’s attorney’s office, procedural training for prosecutors, and more communication with victims during plea deal negotiations. Spokesperson Scott Birdwell says the recommendations were compiled by 10 families of crime victims after a town hall in May.
The website says the campaign wasn’t authorized by any candidate or political group, but it has been backed by the Fairfax County Republican Committee, which held a rally on Oct. 3 with Herrity, Southern States Police Benevolent Association Fairfax County President Steve Monahan and GOP-endorsed at-large school board candidate Saundra Davis.
Nuttall didn’t “attend the rally as it was held during the day,” according to the Fairfax County Times. Read More
The next wastewater pump station to serve Tysons West will be able to handle 25 times as much water as its predecessor.
That added capacity will provide critical support for an area expected to add more than 10,000 new residents by the end of this decade, according to Fairfax County staff and the planning commission, which unanimously approved a plan last Wednesday (Oct. 25) to build a new station at 8608 Leesburg Pike.
“The addition to the public infrastructure must be viewed as essential,” Providence District Commissioner Phil Niedzielski-Eichner, who represents most of Tysons, said. “Without it, development in Tysons would end, and the risk of overflows and backups for the broader community will grow.”
Replacing the existing Tysons Dodge Wastewater Pump Station on the same site, the new facility will consist of an 11,200-square-foot pump station and a 2,500-square-foot generator building, county planning and public works staff told the commission.
With four pumps, including one as a backup, and a storage tank that can hold up to 12,000 gallons of diesel fuel to support the generator, the station will have the capacity for 25 million gallons of water per day — a significant boost from the 1 million gallons that the current station can process.
The facility will occupy just 1.5 acres on the 3-acre site, which includes the adjacent parcel at 8608 Leesburg Pike. Tysons Self Storage, the previous occupant, was razed after the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors bought the property for $14.1 million in 2021, according to county property records.
The remainder of the site will be left undeveloped for now, but the county intends to utilize it “for another potential public facility for the future,” according to Mohamed Ali with the Department of Planning and Development.
“This project is probably our highest priority [capital] project right now,” Department of Public Works and Environmental Services engineer Tom Grala said. “The reason for its high priority is both capacity related to Tysons development and also the time when that capacity is needed.”
He noted that the facility will be designed to limit greenhouse gas emissions, odors and its visibility from the road, including with an enclosure for the generator and evergreen vegetation along the north and south property line.
“Since there will be other facilities nearby, that’s going to be very important,” Dranesville District Commissioner John Ulfelder said of controlling emissions and noise from the generator. “I think the last thing the county needs is for people to come in and complain about what they’ve installed and what it’s doing to their quality of life.”
Niedzielski-Eichner praised the design from an aesthetic standpoint as “high quality” and “sensitive to the fact that Tysons is an evolving urban center,” but he and Braddock District Commissioner Mary Cortina questioned why the planned facility isn’t able to meet county standards for stormwater retention.
In a report, county planning staff urged DPWES to find “additional opportunities” to increase the 0.37 inches of rainfall that the facility will be able to retain on-site as currently designed to 1 inch, as required.
“I know we need [the pump station], but if DPWES can’t reach the standard in Tysons, it’s a cringe for asking everybody else to do it,” Cortina said.
Grala said the team is trying to “fine-tune its design,” but the property’s high groundwater table limits options for containing stormwater.
The new pump station is part of a larger DPWES initiative to upgrade the wastewater system in Tysons, including by installing new, larger pipes to carry water from individual properties to the station from the station to the county’s Norman J. Cole Pollution Control Plant in Lorton.
The county estimates that it’ll take until summer 2025 to finish designing all elements, and construction isn’t projected to finish until summer 2028.
A Fairfax County judge is weighing whether to throw out a lawsuit from environmental groups challenging Republican Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s effort to remove Virginia from a regional carbon market.
Judge David Oblon heard oral arguments from Virginia Solicitor General Andrew Ferguson and Southern Environmental Law Center Senior Attorney Nate Benforado Friday morning in Fairfax Circuit Court. The hearing, which lasted about 30 minutes, concluded with the judge saying he would take the case under advisement before issuing a written decision.
Ferguson argued on behalf of the State Air Pollution Control Board, the Department of Environmental Quality and DEQ Director Mike Rollband to dismiss the lawsuit filed by SELC on behalf of Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions (FACS), Appalachian Voices, Interfaith Power and Light and the Association of Energy Conservation Professionals. The suit challenges Youngkin’s regulation to remove Virginia from the Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative.
The Regional Greenhouse Gas Initiative, or RGGI, is a multi-state carbon market that requires electricity producers to purchase allowances to emit carbon. The allowances are then returned to the states; in Virginia, those proceeds are funneled into energy efficiency and flood resilience programs.
Youngkin, even before he became governor, has alleged that RGGI creates a “hidden tax” on Virginia utility customers, since utilities in Virginia are allowed to recover costs for the allowances from their ratepayers.
In July, the administration published the regulation to repeal Vrignia’s participation in RGGI at the end of this year.
Environmental groups have decried the withdrawal since Youngkin began pushing for it by citing the funds – over $500 million – it directs toward reducing energy bills for customers by helping homes conserve energy better and preventing flood damage through planning and infrastructure projects.
On Friday, Ferguson opened arguments by stating that out of all the plaintiffs, only the Association of Energy Conservation Professionals had demonstrated any harm worthy of a lawsuit because the group claims that they work with professionals who rely on the revenues the state receives from RGGI. The suit from the other groups, including Fairfax County-based FACS, doesn’t demonstrate that the other entities are directly impacted by the loss of any RGGI revenues, and should be dismissed, Ferguson argued.
The environmental groups could also have jurisdiction in Floyd County, where the Association of Energy Conservation is based, in Richmond where Interfaith Power and Light is headquartered and in Charlottesville, where the Southern Environmental Law Center is based, Ferguson added. He said that in the interest of “judicial economy,” the case should be dismissed entirely and not allowed to be transferred elsewhere, to prevent the plaintiffs from searching for favorable venues.
Oblon questioned both sides about Ferguson’s argument and deliberated if the court had the authority to prevent another jurisdiction from taking up the case, or if he should simply dismiss it and allow the plaintiffs to find another venue themselves.
Benforado, in response to a question from Oblon on whether he would prefer a venue in Floyd County should the case be dismissed, stated that he would prefer another hearing to determine what the appropriate venue would be.
Ferguson also argued that even if the plaintiffs were to find jurisdiction elsewhere, there’s no harm actually coming to them from the regulation repeal, because future revenues from RGGI wouldn’t stop flowing as a result of the state’s withdrawal.
The future lack of revenues would be guided by article 10.7 of the Virginia Constitution that states appropriation measures expire after two-and-a-half years. That deadline passed Oct. 7, Ferguson stated, meaning future funds would sit in the RGGI account and need to be appropriated by the General Assembly, similar to any other excess revenues.
Whether or not the regulation enabling Virginia to participate in RGGI remained “on the books,” Ferguson said, “We just don’t think that it’s relevant” because future RGGI revenue wouldn’t be disbursed because of the appropriation clause.
Benforado, in his response, argued that there are also specific requirements in the 2020 law that introduced Virginia into RGGI; one says the revenues “shall” be directed toward the specified programs. Article 10.7, the appropriation clause in the constitution Ferguson referenced, did not “scrub” the requirements of that law, Benforado said.
Additionally, Benforado pointed out that under the previous case of Morgan v. Board of Supervisors, the plaintiffs he is representing have shown they met the standard of being “affected” by the RGGI regulation repeal, versus being “aggrieved,” which requires a higher standard to be met. With the loss of future revenues, the groups are affected by not being able to carry out their mission to help the Fairfax County Public School program reduce emissions, Benforado countered.
Oblon did not provide a timeline of when he would issue a decision. The case has future hearings scheduled for Nov. 17 to argue if the case is strong enough to continue, and Dec. 1 to argue for a stay of the regulation repeal.
This article was reported and written by the Virginia Mercury, and has been reprinted with permission.
The Reston District Station collected the most unused and expired over-the-counter and prescriptions medications as part of the Fairfax County Police Department’s 25th annual drug-take back day.
The police department’s stations collected 776 pounds as part of the annual event, which is a partnership with the Drug Enforcement Administration.
Reston’s drop-off location — which included Reston Hospital Center — raked in 183 pounds, followed by 151 pounds by the West Springfield District. The Fair Oaks District came in third place with 127 pounds overall.
The remaining totals are below:
- Franconia District: 99
- McLean District: 72
- Mason District: 59
- Mount Vernon District: 43
- Sully District: 33
“This important initiative addresses vital safety and public health issues,” the FCPD said in a press release. “Unused or expired over the counter or prescription medicine left unsecured can be prone to misuse and may contribute to overdoses and accidental poisonings.”
This year’s totals were far less than last year’s grand total of 1,329 pounds and 2021’s total of 2,038 pounds.
(Updated at 3:45 p.m.) A stolen vehicle wound up on top of a gas pump after a brief police chase near Tysons Corner Center yesterday (Monday).
Fairfax County police arrested a man suspected of larceny and carjacking after he crashed into the Shell gas station at 8103 Leesburg Pike around 4:36 p.m., according to the police scanner on Open MHz.
“The suspect was running from the mall after committing a larceny when he carjacked a second victim in a parking garage,” the Fairfax County Police Department said. “He left the location at a high rate of speed and crashed a short distance away.”
According to an update from FCPD, an officer responded to a store in Tysons Corner Center at 4:32 p.m. after loss prevention personnel reported seeing the man — identified as a 20-year-old from D.C. — steal “over $2,500 worth of merchandise.”
Upon seeing the officer, the man fled into a nearby parking garage, police say. Scanner traffic suggests the garage was the one outside Bloomingdale’s.
The FCPD says the man then tried to open the door of a 2013 Kia Optima that entered the garage.
“The victim, a teenager, was alarmed and drove away, with [the man] holding onto the door and being dragged for a short distance,” police said. “The victim stopped a short distance away and exited the car.”
Per the police scanner, an officer told the dispatcher at 4:32 p.m. that the man “carjacked somebody” and took off onto Route 7 (Leesburg Pike), jumping a curb in the process.
The officer said the suspect initially headed west before attempting to make a U-turn at Gallows Road. However, he lost control of his vehicle and “took out a gas station,” according to police.
The man got out of the car and briefly went into the convenience store but then came out and surrendered to police.
Officers said at 4:36 p.m. that no further police assistance was needed, but a Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department unit should be called.
“They got a fuel leak here. He nailed one of the gas pumps, took it out,” an officer said.
Police also requested an ambulance to treat injuries to the man, reporting that he sustained “facial injuries” after getting “dragged by the vehicle.”
The FCPD confirmed that the man was taken to a hospital for injuries not considered life-threatening, and the person who got carjacked didn’t get injured.
The man has been charged with carjacking and grand larceny, the FCPD announced today (Tuesday). He’s currently in custody at the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center without bond.
Larceny suspect in custody after carjacking a victim in the 8100 blk of Leesburg Pike as he attempted to flee. Suspect crashed the car into a nearby gas station & was taken into custody. pic.twitter.com/9GgAz7gs5p
— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) October 30, 2023
Plaza America Architect Has Died — “George Dove, who started his architecture career in D.C. in 1971 and later rose to become managing principal of WDG Architecture, died Oct. 23. He was 81…He led designs for projects in Crystal City and Arlington Gateway in Arlington; Skyline Center in Falls Church; Plaza America in Reston; and the Portals project near the Jefferson Memorial in D.C.” [Washington Business Journal]
Mixed-Use Development in Bailey’s Crossroads Advances — “The Fairfax County Planning Commission on Oct. 25 recommended approval of a Comprehensive Plan amendment to facilitate a mixed-use redevelopment project on the Food Star site…The plan amendment would allow for increased density — with building heights up to 14 stories — on a 13-acre site at the southeast intersection of Leesburg Pike and Carlin Springs Road.” [Annandale Today]
Bunnyman Brewing Expects Spring Launch in Lorton — “The Lorton Workhouse Campus officially has a new tenant now that Fairfax County has turned over the keys to historic building W13 to the owners of Bunnyman Brewing. According to Bunnyman co-founder and co-owner Sam Gray, he and fellow co-owner Eric Barrett are targeting a spring 2024 opening date for the new Bunnyman Brewing and Café.” [On the MoVe]
Police Called After Vienna Students Bite Each Other on Bus — “A juvenile…told Vienna police on Oct. 24 at 3:37 p.m. that she allegedly had been assaulted while riding home on the school bus from James Madison High School. The girl told police that after she jokingly bit another student, the other student bit her back, causing a bruise.” [Gazette Leader]
GMU Opens Behavioral Health Facility in Fairfax — George Mason University hosted a grand opening Friday (Oct. 27) for its new Center for Community Mental Health and Center for Evidence-Based Behavioral Health. The 9900 Main Street location “is optimally located to enable community members’ easy access to critical mental health services, while also providing space to advance research and train the next generation of behavioral health providers.” [GMU]
Tysons Hotelier Named Top Workplace for Women — “McLean, Virginia-based Hilton Worldwide and Bethesda, Maryland-based Marriott International consistently rank at or near the top of best workplaces rankings, and they take the top two spots in Fortune’s 2023 Best Workplaces for Women list — Hilton is No.1 and Marriott is No. 2. The rankings are based on employee surveys.” [WTOP]
Oakton Mental Health Nonprofit Changes Name — “PRS, a Northern Virginia-based mental health nonprofit, is changing its name to HopeLink Behavioral Health. The organization, which is 60 years old, announced the change at its annual Imagine Hope Benefit earlier in October.” [Inside NoVA]
Eden Center Welcomes New Vietnamese Restaurant — “Truong Tien, buried deep within a mall at the Vietnamese shopping center in Falls Church, specializes in…Hue royal cuisine, named for the ancient imperial city where the preparations sprang to life during the Nguyen dynasty of the 19th and early 20th centuries. Imperial plates are not totally foreign to the D.C. region…but I have encountered nothing like the food at Truong Tien in my years of learning and writing about Vietnamese cooking.” [Washington Post]
It’s Tuesday — Expect partly sunny skies and a high around 53 degrees, accompanied by a north wind of 3-8 mph. At night, partly cloudy conditions will prevail, with temperatures dropping to around 37 degrees. [Weather.gov]
A police pursuit of a man who reportedly attempted to abduct a woman crossed county lines before ending just outside the Town of Vienna this afternoon.
Route 123 (Chain Bridge Road) is currently closed at the Flint Hill Road intersection in Oakton in the wake of the arrest, according to the Fairfax County Police Department. The Town of Vienna said on Twitter at 4:30 p.m. that one southbound lane between Flint Hill and Nutley Street had opened.
“Our officers assisted @Loudounsheriff after a man abducted a woman and fled from deputies,” the FCPD said in a tweet. “The pursuit entered Fairfax County and man was arrested with the help of @VSPPIO.”
Suspect in custody. Our officers assisted @Loudounsheriff after a man abducted a woman and fled from deputies. The pursuit entered Fairfax County and man was arrested with the help of @VSPPIO. Chain Bridge Road is closed at Flint Hill Road. #FCPDhttps://t.co/R0jG09KRip pic.twitter.com/AwEfocO6Tp
— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) October 30, 2023
The Loudoun County Sheriff’s Office says it got a call around 1:52 p.m. from someone who reported “an abduction in progress” in Ashburn.
Per scanner traffic on Open MHz, the “suspicious activity” occurred at a Wells Fargo bank (43650 Yukon Drive) in the Ryan Park Center, a shopping center, and was suspected to be “possible trafficking.”
“As deputies arrived on the scene, the suspect, driving a black Hummer, drove away northbound on the Loudoun County Parkway,” the sheriff’s office said in a news release. “The deputies activated their emergency equipment and attempted to pull the vehicle over. The driver disregarded the deputies’ attempts and continued into Fairfax County.”
A sheriff’s deputy told a dispatcher at 2:13 p.m. that the driver ran three red lights and wasn’t pulling over for him. Police also said the driver “may have struck a vehicle.”
The FCPD got involved in the pursuit at approximately 2:20 p.m. when it entered Fairfax County via the Dulles Access Road (Route 267), according to the department and scanner traffic. Patrol officers, K9 units and the Fairfax 1 helicopter assisted.
The chase continued onto I-495 North, passing Tysons Blvd and entering Vienna. Upon reaching the Chain Bridge and Flint Hill intersection at 2:45 p.m., the driver stopped and “attempted to steal two other vehicles,” the FCPD says.
“Our officers arrived on scene to stop the potential carjacking and arrest the man,” Fairfax County police said. “An adult female was discovered inside the vehicle a short distance away. She is being treated for minor injuries related to the abduction that occurred in Loudoun County.”
The driver “struck several community members’ vehicles” during the pursuit, resulting in some reported injuries that were determined to be non-life-threatening, the FCPD said.
The man’s identity and any charges being filed haven’t been shared yet, but both agencies say more details will become available as the investigation continues. Virginia State Police also provided assistance.
“The LCSO is committed to ensuring the safety and security of our community,” the Loudoun sheriff’s office said. “We want to thank the officers and troopers with the Fairfax County Police Department and the Virginia State Police for their assistance in bringing this pursuit to a safe conclusion.”
All Fairfax County Public Schools employees will get a bump in their paychecks, starting next year, after the school board unanimously approved 2% raises last week.
The additional pay was made possible by the budget that the Virginia General Assembly belatedly adopted in early September, which provided money to raise teacher salaries across the state. But school board members and FCPS workers argue that overall state funding for education falls far short of what they need.
“While the 2% raise is a start, it is clearly insufficient in ensuring our professionals are compensated at their full value, nor does it bridge the gap enough for family liaisons, drivers, [instructional assistants] and others to earn a wage that allows them to reside in Fairfax County,” Mason District Representative Ricardy Anderson, chair of the school board’s budget committee, said before the vote on Thursday (Oct. 26).
Effective Jan. 1, the 2% raise will ensure FCPS can “retain teachers at the status quo, essentially,” keeping pace with other school districts in the state, Mount Vernon District Representative Karen Corbett-Sanders said. Loudoun, Arlington, Prince William and Alexandria schools have also approved the increase, FCPS staff told the board.
State formula underestimates school staffing costs
According to the meeting agenda, FCPS is getting a $19.7 million increase in state revenue from the revised fiscal year 2024 budget. However, only $5.3 million of that was designated for the 2% raises, with the remainder intended as “reimbursement” for support staff positions, Anderson explained at the school board meeting.
With the raises costing a total of $30.5 million, FCPS is taking advantage of “flexibility allowed with” the support staff funding to allocate that $14.4 million to the compensation supplement, Anderson said. The remaining gap will be filled by $10.8 million from the school system’s staffing reserve, which is set aside in case more positions are needed than anticipated in each year’s budget.
The reserve will still have enough money for about 99 staff positions, FCPS Chief Financial Officer Leigh Burden told the board, noting that new positions aren’t often added after October “because of the potential disruption of adding teacher positions once the school year has started.”
In other words, the “burden” of funding the school system and its employees “rests largely on local funds,” Anderson said.
The standards of quality (SOQ) formula that Virginia uses to calculate the number of positions each school division needs and how much they will cost “substantially” underestimates actual school needs, according to a report released in July by the Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC), which evaluates programs and provides state agency oversight for the General Assembly.
The report found that Virginia provides 14% less funding per student than the national average, trailing Maryland by 18% and West Virginia by a whopping 25%.
“The points made in the study about Virginia being one of the lowest paid states for teachers in the United States is an abysmal statistic to behold,” Tamara Derenak Kaufax, who represents Franconia District on the school board, said. “…We cannot continue to be last in the nation in this, with the pay for our teachers in particular, so it is something that we will continue to fight for.”
Unions advocate for more compensation
While appreciative of the new pay increase, FCPS employee union representatives say it isn’t enough to fully address shortages of teachers and other staff, a challenge facing school districts across the U.S.
FCFT President @dpwalrod on the wage increase that was WON last night. FCPS employees will receive a two percent wage increase effective 1/1/24. pic.twitter.com/Y0fIMtlHQd
— Fairfax County Federation of Teachers (@FCFTcares) October 27, 2023
This school year, FCPS hasn’t encountered as many issues with hiring and retention as last year, but “we still found ourselves scrambling to ensure all classrooms have a teacher,” Fairfax County Federation of Teachers President David Walrod told FFXnow.
He noted that the 2% raises will be countered by an 8% increase in health insurance costs. FCPS is contributing slightly more than usual toward employee premiums for 2023 after switching providers to Cigna, according to the FY 2024 budget.
“While we certainly appreciate receiving an additional salary bump, the reality is that the change in paycheck will be negligible, or even negative, for most employees,” Walrod said. “The Fairfax County Federation of Teachers is committed to working with the school board and board of supervisors to ensure that all teachers and educational staff receive robust compensation that demonstrates a commitment to long-term retention of staff.”
Fairfax Education Association President Leslie Houston called the raise “a crucial step” in ensuring FCPS can retain and support “exceptional educators,” but she argued that it can’t continue relying on staffing reserves to fund salaries.
In addition to the state updating its staffing formula and eliminating a cap on support positions, the county needs to continue giving FCPS its full funding requests, she said. Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity had advocated for reducing funds for the school system in the current budget to provide more tax relief.
“It is our hope that the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and the State will recognize the urgency of this situation and take action to ensure that our educators receive the compensation they deserve,” Houston said. “Together, we can maintain the high standard of education that Fairfax County Public Schools are known for.”
Both unions are hopeful that collective bargaining — a right secured for FCPS employees this spring — will begin in time to affect the next budget, which will be presented in January. However, they “still have work to do to call for an election,” Walrod said.
The school board has approved pay raises for all FCPS workers in each of the past three budgets, according to Providence District Representative Karl Frisch, the board’s current vice chair.
“Teachers and school staff deserve a lot more than we’re giving them in this pay increase,” Frisch said. “But this vote is a step in the right direction, and it shows that we value their hard work and dedication to our schools and our students.”
On their own, the first developments approved by Fairfax County since it overhauled its plan to revitalize downtown McLean seem modest.
One is a corporate headquarters expansion, while the other is a seven-story, mostly residential building, promising 130 new units of housing but not exactly rivaling the scale of the high-rises going up in Tysons.
However, the developers and county leaders anticipate that, when considered together, the Mars and Astoria projects will be transformative, a first step in the McLean Community Business Center’s evolution from car-centric strip malls and “superblocks” to a walkable, mixed-use neighborhood village.
“This has been a long process. It’s not just this application. It’s the whole CBC plan, the design guidelines, really reshaping McLean in a way that’s going to be amazing and permanent,” Holland & Knight partner Michelle Rosati told the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors at an Oct. 24 public hearing, where she represented Astoria developer JAG Partners LLC.
Approved by the board with back-to-back unanimous votes, the Astoria and Mars projects will redevelop adjacent commercial lots bounded by Old Dominion Drive and Elm Street. Those two streets will get a much-needed connection along the shared property line in the form of a linear park with an 8-foot-wide pedestrian walkway provided by JAG Partners.
The Mars expansion
Based in McLean since 1984, Mars filed a proposal in April 2022 that would double the size of its headquarters building at 6860 Old Dominion Drive to 126,974 square feet — the first rezoning application in downtown McLean since the Board of Supervisors adopted the new comprehensive plan in June 2021.
Under the development plan, the candy manufacturer will demolish a second office building on the site at 6867 Elm Street and shift parking to a 205-space underground garage. The existing surface parking will mostly be replaced by a 1,850-square-foot, publicly accessible park with seating and a pergola along Old Dominion Drive.
Mars has also agreed to upgrade a Metrobus stop on Old Dominion with a new bus shelter. A private amenity space for employees at the property’s rear will be renovated with walking paths and terraces for entertainment.
Cozen O’Connor land use attorney Evan Pritchard, representing Mars, noted that the new headquarters will add a loading dock with a mechanical turntable to avoid creating traffic issues on Moyer Place.
“The truck will be able to come front-end into the loading dock and be rotated 180 degrees,” Pritchard said. “It can do its unloading and drive right back out, which is not something I’ve seen before, so I want to toot Mars’ horn and the architects’ efforts.”
He also highlighted a relocation of exterior backup generators inside the two-story building as “a big improvement for the community” and architectural changes that will let in more natural light.
Astoria of McLean
The first mixed-use residential project to come out of the revitalization plan, the mid-rise, multi-family building will replace two office buildings at 6858 Old Dominion Drive and 6861 Elm Street and a standalone restaurant currently home to Moby Dick at 6854 Old Dominion Drive.
Reiterating comments made to the Fairfax County Planning Commission on Oct. 18, Rosati emphasized the development team’s prioritization of “the pedestrian realm” when designing Astoria.
Along with the aforementioned 0.34-acre linear park, JAG Partners will provide the streetscape recommended by the design guidelines that the Board of Supervisors approved for the McLean Commercial Revitalization District in September. That includes 8-foot-wide sidewalks with 6-foot-wide landscape panels along Elm Street, and a 12-foot-wide shared-use path along Old Dominion.
Mars has also agreed to the same commitments. Pritchard told the board that the Old Dominion pedestrian and bicycle path will be lined on both sides with two rows of trees. In addition, both projects will move all overhead utilities underground.
Noting that they’re are located in the 75-acre “Center Zone,” where the CBC plan envisions the highest-intensity development, Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust, who represents McLean, lauded both proposals.
The Mars project will give the company a “stunning corporate office,” while bringing the property up to “today’s high development and environmental standards,” he said. Astoria, meanwhile, will “provide much needed housing, including affordable workforce housing.”
According to a county staff report, JAG Partners initially proposed 12 workforce dwelling units (WDU), which would exceed county requirements for rental housing but not for for-sale units. The developer hasn’t indicated yet whether the building will have apartments or condominiums.
Staff also took issue with the locations and sizes of the WDUs. The developer later agreed to meet the county’s workforce housing policy, regardless of what kind of units will be constructed, and explained that the provided floor plans “are conceptual,” which alleviated staff’s concerns.
“It’ll also help diversify the mix of uses in McLean and provide a customer base, which has been missing for our small businesses, that will support existing and future commercial uses,” Foust said. “In my opinion, the design and layout of the building, along with the on-site park spaces and critical mid-block connection, will set a high bar for all future multifamily applications.”
