A proposal to build a wireless communications tower next to a fire station in Vienna is about get a vote of confidence from the McLean Citizens Association.

The unofficial town council of McLean will discuss a resolution supporting the project when its board of directors meets at 7:30 tonight (Wednesday).

“The Application is consistent with and furthers the goals and objectives of the [Fairfax County] Comprehensive Plan, and will provide improved communication services without undue impact on the surrounding community,” a draft of the proposed MCA resolution says.

The Reston-based cell tower developer Milestone Communications submitted plans to Fairfax County in October for a wireless tower on the Wolf Trap Fire Station site at the intersection of Leesburg Pike and Beulah Road.

According to Milestone’s plans, the tower will consist of a 114-foot-tall pole with antennas, topped by a two-foot lightning rod, and it will be surrounded by an eight-foot-tall chain link fence. The facility is expected to occupy 2,500 square feet within the 11.5-acre site, which is owned by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors.

Milestone says all existing structures and open space will be preserved, and the impact of the unmanned facility on neighboring properties will be minimal, noting that the structure will be screened by existing trees.

“There will be no noise or fumes emitted and only 1-2 maintenance vehicle visit sper month maximum,” the plan submitted to Fairfax County says.

The tower will be initially outfitted with Verizon wireless cables and antennas, though designs show that it will be able to accommodate at least four more wireless carriers in the future.

In order to pursue the project, Milestone has asked Fairfax County to grant a special exception and a proffer condition amendment to permit telecommunications facilities on the site, which is zoned for low-density residential use.

The project also has to be approved through the county’s 2232 review process, which determines whether proposals for public facilities are in accordance with the county’s comprehensive plan.

The MCA board of directors notes in its draft resolution that Milestone held a virtual town hall to present the project to the community and has agreed to provide additional buffering to further minimize the visual impact in response to community comments.

MCA says it supports the Milestone tower because it will “improve the cell phone capacity and coverage levels in the areas surrounding the property and would also work with existing neighboring Verizon sites to handoff signals for wireless transmission of voice and data.”

“This will improve customer service including Internet connectivity speed and voice connectivity, resolve customer complaints in the area, and help address increasing demand for quality wireless service so that the service does not further degrade,” the MCA resolution says.

The Fairfax County Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on the Milestone tower on May 12, and a hearing before the Board of Supervisors has been scheduled for June 8.

Images via Google Maps, Milestone Communications

Girl Scouts troops will start selling cookies in-person at dozens of locations in Fairfax County on Friday (Feb. 5).

For those looking to stay home, Girl Scouts Nation’s Capital is also offering online cookie sales, which will be delivered through the Girl Scouts Nation’s Capital chapter. Online sales began on Monday (Feb. 1).

Here are the locations and schedules, according to the Girl Scouts’ cookie finder:

Falls Church 

• Conte’s Bike Shop (1118 W. Broad Street): weekends through Feb. 27
• Lazy Mike’s Deli (7049 Leesburg Pike): Feb. 6-7
• Kids First Swim Schools (1104B W. Broad Street): Feb. 7 and Feb. 14
• Doodlehopper 4 Kids Toy Store (234 W. Broad Street): Feb. 12-13 and March 5-7
• State Theatre (220 N. Washington Street): Feb. 12 and 13
• Clare & Don’s Beach Shack (130 N Washington Street): Feb. 20
• Jason’s Deli (7505 Leesburg Pike): weekends through March 6
• H Mart (8103 Lee Hwy): this Saturday and Saturday, March 6

McLean

• Child’s Play Toys (1382 Chain Bridge Road): This Friday, followed by Saturdays through March 6
• CVS (1452 Chain Bridge Road: Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through March 7

Vienna

• Marshalls (8353 Leesburg Pike): Fridays, Saturdays and Sundays through March 7
• Dollar Tree (264 Cedar Lane, SE): Feb. 5-7, Feb. 13-14, Feb. 19
• Bards Alley (110 Church St. NW): Feb. 6 and 20
• Lacrosse Unlimited of Vienna (209 Maple Avenue E): weekends through March 7
• Petco (225a Maple Avenue E): weekends through March 7
• Vienna Rexall Drug Center (150 Maple Ave, West): weekends through March 6

All cookie sales end March 14.

“This year we had a decrease [in in-person booths], but of course, Girl Scouts have found a way,” Tygerian Burke, the marketing and communications manager for Girl Scouts Nation’s Capital, said.

Buying cookies online works like this:

• Customers can type their zip code into the cookie finder and find local troops selling cookies virtually. Each time the page loads, it will feature a different virtual booth.
• When customers click the link corresponding to the troop of their choice, the link will take them to a page with a description of what the sales will go toward and directions for buying the cookies.
• The cookies can be shipped to the customer’s house or to someone else as a donation.

The Girl Scouts are also delivering cookies via GrubHub, a promotion that started in the D.C. area last Thursday (Jan. 28), Burke said. Drivers can deliver cookies to homes within a 25-minute radius of where a scout or troop is located, which in D.C. traffic, will mean varying distances, she noted.

She advised checking social media for Facebook Live promotions of GrubHub deliveries throughout the month-and-a-half of sales.

Burke said some troops within the council are setting up drive-through locations as well as signs with QR codes linking to their personalized virtual booth pages.

Girl Scouts are selling Thin Mints, Samoas, Trefoils, Do-si-dos and Tagalongs — as well as a new cookie called Lemon-Ups — for $5 a box. Two specialty cookies, S’mores and Toffee-tastics, go for $6 a box.

Image via Girl Scouts Nation’s Capital

Fairfax County Public Schools students will start resuming in-person instruction on Feb. 16 under a new timeline unanimously approved by the Fairfax County School Board yesterday.

The board intended to formally vote on the latest proposal from FCPS Superintendent Scott Brabrand during its regular meeting on Thursday (Feb. 4), but enough members stated that they would support the plan during the board’s work session on Tuesday that they ultimately decided to not wait to give their consensus.

“While there’s no guarantee for anything in life regarding a pandemic, I think this is a strong plan with the resources we have to return to some semblance of what school was like before COVID,” Melanie Meren, who represents Hunter Mill District on the school board, said. “Of course, a lot will be different, but I think it’s needed to help people recover their learning loss.”

As with previous Return to School plans, families have a choice between all-virtual learning and a hybrid model with two days of in-person learning and two days of distance learning. All students have been learning virtually since FCPS returned from winter break.

Under the new timeline, students who opt to get some in-person learning will return to school buildings in phases, starting on Feb. 16 with about 8,000 special education and career and technical education students and concluding with third through sixth-grade students on Mar. 16.

This schedule deviates from the one that was implemented in the fall before being suspended in having elementary school students restart in-person learning at the same time or even later than their older peers in middle and high school, whose return will be staggered across Mar. 2 and 9.

Braddock District Representative Megan McLaughlin questioned the two-week gaps between groups of elementary school students, noting that Loudoun County Public Schools plans to have students in pre-kindergarten through fifth grade in buildings by Feb. 16.

FCPS officials attributed the extended timeline for elementary schools primarily to staffing issues.

As of Feb. 1, FCPS has filled 74% of the 846 classroom monitor positions that it says are needed to restart in-person learning, but that still leaves 205 vacancies. The biggest gap is in grades three through six, where 94 positions – or 46% — remain vacant.

FCPS Deputy Superintendent Frances Ivey told the school board that, while some may prefer a more aggressive timeline, discussions with elementary school principals indicate that most of them support Brabrand’s proposal.

“There’s an overall positive consensus to the timeline, and recommendations were made based on that feedback,” Ivey said. Read More

Vienna Town Councilmembers Announce Reelection Bids — Howard Springsteen, a 12-year veteran of the council, and newcomers Steve Potter and Nisha Patel announced earlier this week that they will seek reelection on May 4, though no candidates have formally filed paperwork yet. [Sun Gazette/Inside NoVA]

CVS to Offer COVID-19 Vaccine in Virginia — “CVS plans to offer COVID-19 vaccine appointments starting Feb. 11 at select locations in Virginia for people eligible in phases 1a and 1b…According to a CVS spokesperson, the list of specific stores for vaccines will be provided on the CVS website as stores receive shipments and appointments become available.” [Patch]

Police Charge Maryland Man for Using Stolen Identities to Buy Cars — “Detectives from our Major Crimes Bureau charged Nickolas Mathis, 36, of Maryland, with multiple felony offenses following a serial crime spree involving the fraudulent purchases of several automobiles at dealerships in Fairfax, Tysons and Chantilly.” [Fairfax County Police Department]

Tysons Start-Up Seeks to Create 5G Network — “Tysons satellite communications company Omnispace LLC has raised $60 million in fresh funding…The startup, founded in 2012, aims to create seamless 5G connectivity to companies that operate across urban and more rural areas across the world.” [Washington Business Journal]

Virginia Senate Passes Bill Requiring Schools to Have In-Person and Virtual Learning Options — “Sen. Chap Petersen, D-Fairfax, a co-sponsor of the measure, said the nearly yearlong stretch of remote learning has frustrated families, including his own, and threatened the loss of a generation of students.” [Associated Press/WTOP]

The Japanese barbecue restaurant Gyu Shige is finally ready to make its American debut at the Mosaic District (2980 District Ave.) in Merrifield after a long delay due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

Owner Edward Wong says the restaurant will open its reservation system tomorrow (Wednesday) so people can book tables ahead of a soft opening planned for the weekend of Valentine’s Day. Doors will technically open earlier in the week, but customers for the first couple of days will be limited to family and friends.

Gyu Shige has a strong presence in Japan, but this is the chain’s first venture into the U.S.

Wong was introduced to Gyu Shige — one of several brands operated by the company Food’s Style — in Japan about two years ago, and he says he has “great confidence” that it will prove just as popular on this side of the Pacific Ocean, particularly with a setting like the Mosaic District as its launching pad.

“Mosaic District definitely has [a] combination of all different people, from young kids to older people,” Wong said. “…I believe the Japanese barbeque experience is not just for any group, so it will be a great place to attract all kinds of people.”

While Fairfax County diners are no strangers to sushi restaurants and noodle shops like fellow Mosaic tenant Jinya Ramen Bar, they might be less familiar with Japanese barbecue, or yakiniku, which literally translates to “grilled meat.” Before Gyu Shige’s arrival, the closest venue specializing in this kind of cuisine was Gyu-kaku in Arlington.

Like Korean barbecue, yakiniku is cooked at the diners’ table, but it tends to come in smaller portions to encourage patrons to try a variety of dishes, and there is a greater emphasis on the quality of the meat cuts served, Wong says.

Among the options on the menu for Gyu Shige customers will be A-5 grade wagyu beef imported from Japan.

“The taste is definitely different from Korean barbeque, and we want people to take the time to enjoy the whole process,” Wong said. “…We also offer the service to cook for them if they want to, but we mostly let them cook for themselves. Let them experience it. Let them have fun with it.”

In addition to yakiniku, Gyu Shige will have a variety of appetizers and sushi, which will be prepared by a former Sushi Seki chef. The restaurant’s head chef also comes from New York City, where he previously worked for EN Brassiere.

The appetizers and sushi will be available for takeout, but the barbecue can only be served in-person and indoors, another potential challenge presented by COVID-19. Wong says the pandemic led to a three-month halt to construction. Even after work resumed, progress was slowed since fewer people could be on the site, resulting in an overall delay of about a year.

Initially, Gyu Shige customers will need to reserve tables in advance, and the restaurant will only be open during dinner hours, which will run from 4-10 p.m. The menu will also be exclusively a la carte, though set meals will be added in the future.

“When people order the set menu, they tend not to order other stuff. So, right now, we’re going to put the meat into a combo menu,” Wong said. “That way, people can experience most of the meat, but at the same time, they can get to choose their own appetizer, their own other items and try it out.”

In addition to Gyu Shige, local diners can look forward to the opening of Urban Hot Pot right next door. Tysons Reporter first reported that the Chinese restaurant was coming to the Mosaic District in September 2019.

After being delayed by the pandemic, Urban Hot Pot is now on track to open in May, according to Wong, president and CEO of IVEA International Restaurant Group, which is guiding the marketing for both restaurants.

Photo courtesy Gyu Shige/Facebook

Fairfax County has made progress in its efforts to vaccinate priority groups for COVID-19, but challenges remain as officials contend with still-limited supplies while attempting to improve communications and outreach, particularly to minority and disadvantaged communities.

According to a presentation delivered to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Tuesday morning, 53,731 of the 58,825 first doses that the Fairfax County Health Department has received since late December have been administered by either the health department or its partners, which include Emergency Medical Services, the Fairfax County Adult Detention Center, pharmacies, and other healthcare providers.

The county health department has also received 25,800 second doses of the Moderna vaccine. 7,875 of those doses have been administered.

With its weekly allocation from Virginia currently limited to 13,600 doses, Fairfax County has scaled back the number of available vaccination sites. The health department is now only providing first doses at the county government center, reserving local health district offices for second doses.

However, the county has also started working with more partners over the past week, including Kaiser, the first private healthcare provider to get the COVID-19 vaccine, and George Mason University’s Mason and Partners (MAP) clinics.

Fairfax County Health Director Dr. Gloria Addo-Ayensu says partnerships like those will be critical to getting the vaccine to more people in Fairfax County, since not everyone can easily travel to the Fairfax County Government Center and other established vaccination sites.

“The ideal thing would be for us to be able to engage clinicians, private providers when we have sufficient vaccine,” Addo-Ayensu said. “…We do know for sure that more vaccine is coming our way, but we just don’t have dates and timelines. All we’re doing right now is building that capacity by engaging with our partners.”

While acknowledging that supply constraints remain the biggest challenge facing the county’s vaccine program, several supervisors shared frustrations that they have heard from constituents who have registered for a vaccination but have no clear sense of when it will actually be their turn to get an appointment. Read More

The Town of Vienna has expanded a push for more sidewalks.

The Vienna Town Council voted unanimously yesterday (Monday) for an amendment that will require developers of single-lot properties to construct a sidewalk regardless of whether an adjacent sidewalk exists.

The approved amendment to Sec. 17-67.2 of the town’s code also permits the director of public works, in consultation with the town attorney and town manager, to waive the construction of a new sidewalk in exceptional circumstances.

“This is exciting, I think, to make Vienna more walkable. This just gets us a little closer to that goal,” Mayor Linda Colbert said.

The amendment to the town’s code comes after the Virginia General Assembly revised Sec. 15.2-2242.9 of the Code of Virginia in July 2019. The state’s revision allows jurisdictions to require construction of sidewalks even when there are no existing sidewalks adjacent to the property.

“I think this is a great idea. I know if we had this 10 or 15 years ago, it would solve a lot of problems,” Councilmember Howard Springsteen said. “But I think things have changed. I don’t think 10 or 15 years ago we could have done this. The fact that they changed in Richmond has really given us a great start in that.”

The amendment to the town’s code does not change an existing requirement for the dedication of land for public use.

Town Attorney Steve Briglia clarified for the council that the only change being discussed at Monday’s meeting was requiring a sidewalk regardless of whether there are adjacent sidewalks. He also said that the amendment couldn’t require a curb or gutter to be the responsibility of the developer.

He added that, since the mid-1960s, the town has required property developers to dedicate land and build a sidewalk unless the council waived it. Even if the requirement was waived, a right-of-way was always dedicated and owned by the town for public use.

“It’s a legal issue in the sense that we already require the dedication. This is not new. 17-67.1, which is not before the Town Council for an amendment, already requires the dedication,” Briglia said.

“If you develop a lot in Vienna, teardown single family or a subdivision — we’ve always done it for subdivisions — you have to dedicate the land on the frontage of the street for sufficient right-of-way for sidewalk, curb and gutter,” Briglia added.

The council also discussed addressing the language elsewhere in the town code, specifically Sec. 17-67.1 and Sec. 18-203, to clarify issues on the dedication of land for sidewalks and nonconformity for the dedication of land for public use, respectively.

The hair salon KLS Studios is moving to the Tysons area.

Tysons Reporter’s affiliate site, Reston Now, reported yesterday that the salon had closed its existing venue at the North Point Village Center on Jan. 30. It is currently operating out of Spa Noa in Reston on a temporary basis.

Co-owner Stephanie Gardiner Stout confirmed to Tysons Reporter that KLS Studios has found a new home at Tysons Dulles Plaza on 1430 Spring Hill Road in McLean. It will be located in Suite 100.

“We moved because we wanted to be in a more urban environment,” Gardiner said.

Gardiner co-founded KLS Studios in 2010 with Karen Grimm. They envisioned having a salon managed and operated by its senior staff, who would also serve as mentors for other members of its hair team.

Describing KLS as “a color specialist salon more than anything,” Gardiner says the new salon will be a more industrial, high-tech space than the previous venue in Reston.

According to property owner CBRE, the suite is 1,671 square feet in size and can be found on the ground floor of the Tysons Dulles Plaza building, which also counts Orangetheory Fitness among its tenants.

Some permits are still pending, but the KLS Studios team anticipates opening the new McLean location in early or mid-March, Gardiner says.

Photo via Google Maps

MetroWest residents near the Vienna Metro station might soon finally start to see progress on stalled portions of the planned community, which led the way for mixed-use development in Fairfax County when it was originally approved more than a decade ago.

As the Washington Business Journal reported on Jan. 19, Pulte Homes — one of two developers involved, along with CRC Cos. — submitted an application to the Fairfax County Department of Planning and Zoning on Dec. 23 seeking to update its proffers for the joint project.

The proposed modifications include the removal of a barrier to construction on additional residential buildings with retail, an increased enrollment cap for a planned daycare center, and the replacement of a proposed business center with community space.

“The modest adjustments will allow the Applicant to deliver critically needed housing at market and affordable rates, thoughtful open space and an activated community hub,” DLA Piper associate Kevin MacWhorter, one of the attorneys representing Pulte, said in a statement of justification to Fairfax County Zoning Evaluation Division Director Tracy Strunk.

As of last week, Pulte’s application was still going through the county’s review process, but it is expected to be accepted and assigned to a staff coordinator soon.

The History

The MetroWest development encompasses 56 acres south of the Vienna Metro station from I-66 to Lee Highway.

The original plans approved by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Mar. 27, 2006 called for up to 2,248 residential units, 300,000 square feet of office, and at least 100,000 square feet of floor area for retail, service, institutional, and governmental uses, according to DLA Piper.

Much of the southern portion of the site has now been built out with homes, including housing for seniors, and the Providence Community Center, a $12 million project that was funded by Pulte and Fairfax County and opened in 2014.

However, construction has yet to start on a four-building parcel from Pulte and the CRC portion of the site, which are collectively supposed to bring retail and hundreds of residential units to the development. Read More