The McLean Citizens Association will hold a virtual public forum with Fairfax County’s head prosecutor in two weeks to discuss criminal justice policy and reform.
According to the event announcement, Fairfax Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve Descano will be present to speak about several justice issues including:
- The Fairfax County Police Department’s body-worn camera program
- The 2020 Fairfax County Commonwealth’s Attorney Resources Report
- His request for additional funding to expand staffing for the Office of the Commonwealth’s Attorney and its implications for enforcement of criminal laws in Fairfax County
- An update on criminal justice reform legislation from the 2020 Virginia General Assembly’s special session and what the policy changes mean for Fairfax County
The virtual forum will take place Wednesday (Dec. 16). at 7 p.m.
Those who wish to attend can watch on MCA’s Facebook page or register on its website.
Photo via McLean Citizens Association/Facebook
The Fairfax County Planning Commission unanimously agreed to defer its vote on the mixed-use development planned for Merrilee Drive after holding a public hearing on Wednesday (Dec. 2).
The planning commission will now decide whether to support the rezoning application for the project from Elm Street Development on Dec. 9.
Though he expressed support for the project, Providence District Planning Commissioner Phil Niedzielski-Eichner moved to push the decision back by a week after he and other members of the commission raised questions about the availability of park space in the development.
Located at 2722 Merrilee Drive on a site currently occupied by an office building, Elm Street’s project will feature 20,000 total square feet of open space, including a 0.17-acre public park space along the front of the building, two corner pocket parks, and a private dog park for residents, according to a county staff report.
However, the proposal still falls 0.45 acres short of the on-site park space that Fairfax County expects for developments in the Tysons area, including the Merrifield Suburban Center where the Merrilee project is situated.
“This is an exciting next opportunity to continue developing in the Merrifield area and to help more fully realize the suburban center vision for Merrifield,” Niedzielski-Eichner said. “…I think you’ll agree that the park issues, particularly toward the end of the process, were particularly challenging to realize.”
The Tysons Comprehensive Plan requires that developments provide 1.5 acres of public park space for every 1,000 residents and one acre for every 10,000 employees. Under the urban parks standard, Merrilee would need 0.63 acres of on-site public park space.
Fairfax County Senior Planner Kelly Posusney says the failure to meet that standard was the biggest issue with Elm Street’s application when it was accepted for review in March.
County planning staff worked with Elm Street to add as much on-site park space as possible, but they ultimately reached the limit of what they could provide without adding height to the building or other undesired elements.
“Given the size of the development and the type of building, they just couldn’t do any more in terms of meeting the park need,” Fairfax County Park Authority Development Review Chief Andi Dorlester said.
The comprehensive plan does offer alternatives for projects that fall short of the urban park standard. Developers can provide at least 0.45 acres of off-site, publicly accessible parkland. If they are unable to find off-site park space, they can contribute $500,000 to the park authority for the future acquisition and development of park resources in the Merrifield Suburban Center.
According to McGuireWoods managing partner Greg Riegle, who represented Elm Street at the planning commission public hearing, the developer is now looking for properties that could be turned into park space and has committed to contributing $500,000 if the land isn’t found.
When Braddock District Planning Commissioner Mary Cortina expressed concern that the money would end up sitting unused in an escrow or proffer account, Riegle emphasized that the developer’s “strong preference” is to find park space, potentially by combining resources with other land owners as other development applications for the area come in.
“I think time is our friend,” Riegle said. “We’ve got a lot of good leadership in Merrifield and the Providence District, and we’re committed to finding a solution for all the reasons you stated.”
Photo courtesy Elm Street Development
Abandoned shopping carts are likely to stay put in Fairfax County.
County staff is recommending against adopting any legislation that would allow the county to remove abandoned shopping carts and charge a maximum $300 fine to the owner.
The Virginia General Assembly enacted legislation this year enabling jurisdictions to adopt stricter legal measures to contain the spread of carts in the area.
If the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approves the measure, the county can warn the owner of a cart to remove it after fifteen days. The owner would be charged a fee of up to $300 per cart. If someone is using a cart outside the premises of the cart owner, the county could collect a fine of up to $500.
It’s unclear how pervasive the abandoned shopping cart problem is in the county.
County staff note the legislation could help reduce the “visual clutter” of unused and neglected shopping carts in the area, especially if they’re in the way of roads and sidewalks, but it would also be incredibly challenging to enforce the legislation and keep shopping carts at bay.
“Enabling legislation falls short of that needed to establish an effective shopping cart ordinance for the county,” according to meeting materials.
Staff suggested that the county consider new legislation that would require businesses to monitor, control, and prevent cart removal.
More outreach and education about the issue, along with the voluntary implementation of an “abandoned cart prevention plan,” was also suggested.
The board’s Land Use Policy Committee is expecting to take up the issue at a Dec. 8 meeting.
Photo via David Clarke/Unsplash
The winter holiday season tends to be a crucial time for retailers, restaurants, and other small businesses that rely on the annual flurry of gift-giving and festivities to bring in the revenue they need to stay afloat, but it will be especially pivotal this year after months of economic challenges wrought by the COVID-19 pandemic.
As part of its ongoing efforts to encourage community members to support local businesses, the Vienna Business Association has expanded the Small Business Saturday guide that it normally puts together every year into a Vienna Holiday Guide.
Launched online on Nov. 1, the guide gives local businesses a platform to share the deals and promotions that they are offering during this holiday season. It also features public events hosted by the VBA and the Town of Vienna, such as the Shop & Stroll series and the annual decorating contest.
“We just want to do everything we can to help the businesses that are struggling so much, and this holiday season is so critical,” VBA Executive Director Peggy James said. “Nothing against Amazon, but our businesses really, really need the business. Small businesses really need the business, so it just seemed like a nice thing to do.”
Vienna business owners say the VBA’s support and the sense of community fostered by Town officials and residents have buoyed them as they adapted their products and services to a world of social distancing and public-gathering restrictions.
“Vienna is really awesome. They’re really a loyal customer base,” Potomac River Running Marketing and Community Outreach Coordinator Gina DeGaetano said. “…The business association [is] doing everything right to encourage people to continue to shop small, whether that’s supporting them online or coming into the store, and we’re certainly seeing the Vienna customer base is doing just that.” Read More
The Fairfax County School Board is postponing its decision to rename Mosby Woods Elementary School to solicit more community engagement.
“We have not had the level of public participation that we had hoped for, and therefore, we are working with staff to come up additional options and to solicit additional community input,” Providence District School Board representative Karl Frisch said during the school board meeting last night (Thursday).
“More information about these two items will be announced as details are worked out with staff,” he said.
Frisch and at-large member Karen Keys-Gamarra proposed renaming Mosby Woods Elementary School on June 18 with the support of descendants of Mosby.
The school board voted on Oct. 8 to change the name so that it no longer recognizes John S. Mosby, a Confederate colonel who led a guerrilla campaign against Union supply and communications lines in Northern Virginia during the Civil War.
Fairfax County Public Schools Superintendent Scott Brabrand assembled a list of recommended names in October:
- Mosaic – a nod to the school’s proximity to the Mosaic District
- Five Oaks – the name of the road where the school is located
- Katherine Johnson – a mathematician who helped make spaceflight and the Apollo 11 moon landing possible as a “computer” for NASA
- Mary McBride – a teacher who helped start a school near Fairfax Court House for the children of freed slaves after the Civil War
- Barbara Rose Johns – a student civil rights activist who led a strike in protest of conditions at the all-black Moton High School in Farmville, Va., paving the way for Brown v. Board of Education
Five Oaks currently has a slim lead in Tysons Reporter’s poll on the subject.
During a public hearing on Wednesday (Dec. 2), Mosby Woods teachers Nikki Hudson and Jenny Smith endorsed Mosaic.
“Every teacher on our staff, every enrolled student, all have colorful pieces within themselves that represent their nationalities, religions, heritage and beliefs, and so much more,” Hudson said. “These pieces come together to create an atmosphere that is conducive to acceptance and learning.”
Smith said that sixth-grade teachers had the opportunity to share the recommended names with all seven classes. Students “overwhelmingly” voted for Five Oaks and Mosaic, which received 56 and 74 votes, respectively.
While students said Five Oaks was “simple” and “sounds good,” their answers for Mosaic went deeper.
“They said things like, ‘We are all different cultures, and when we are all put together, we are a beautiful picture where we all belong,'” she said.
They were very concerned, however, about the mascot: “The mascot of mustangs is very important to these sixth graders,” Smith said. “Mosaic Mustangs seems to fit.”
Speaking for unionized Fairfax teachers, Fairfax County Federation of Teachers President Tina Williams recommended Barbara Rose Johns because of how “her dedication, perseverance and hard work contributed to the ruling of Brown v. Board of Education.”
“Unfortunately, racial segregation is still alive and present in Virginia,” she said. “A recent report found that racial segregation has gotten worse over the last 15 years, especially in Virginia metro areas, due to overt and covert racist policies.”
A few people suggested names not on the list, including civil rights icon Ruby Bridges and L. Douglas Wilder, the first African American governor in the country and the Commonwealth.
“He was a man who brought so much service and dedication to our Commonwealth and the country as a former war hero, governor and state senator,” student Teddy Geiss said.
Photo via FCPS
McLean Private School Announces New Leader — “We are excited to announce that Jason Shorbe, current Head of School at BASIS International School Guangzhou, will join the BASIS Independent McLean community as Head of School for the 2021-2022 school year.” [BASIS Independent Schools]
Researchers Seek Public Input on Merrifield Self-Driving Shuttle — “Relay will be available to public riders for about a year, and George Mason University School of Business is seeking public feedback on the pilot program.” [Greater Greater Washington]
Vienna’s Jammin’ Java Awarded COVID-19 Assistance Grant — “The Live Music Society has committed to giving $2 million in grants in its first two years of operation to support the live music ecosystem around the United States.” [Falls Church News-Press]
Salesforce to Purchase Acumen Solutions in McLean — “On Dec. 1, the same day it announced that it was acquiring workplace communication service company Slack for $27.7 billion in cash and stock, cloud-services company Salesforce.com Inc. revealed that it’s also acquiring McLean-based professional services firm Acumen Solutions.” [Virginia Business]
Haycock Elementary Teacher Turns Treehouse into Classroom — “For Haycock Elementary School teacher Nellie Williams, creativity took on new heights as she and her husband decided to upgrade their backyard treehouse for her to use as a classroom.” [Fairfax County Public Schools]
The Vienna food scene has a new addition with the arrival of Box’d Kitchen, a fast-casual restaurant that specializes in Mediterranean cuisine.
Box’d Kitchen opened its doors on Dec. 1 in the Avalon Dunn Loring apartment complex at 2750 Gallows Road. This is the second location for Box’d Kitchen after founder and CEO Curtis Lee introduced the concept in 2018 with a venue near the University of Virginia campus in Charlottesville.
“With extraordinary food offering at an affordable pricing, we are looking forward to becoming a great neighborhood restaurant in Vienna,” Lee said.
Open from 11 a.m.-9 p.m. seven days a week, Box’d Kitchen allows customers to build rice and salad bowls or flatbread gyro wraps with lamb, steak, chicken, pork, and vegetables.
Dishes are served with the restaurant’s version of Tzatziki sauce and an optional hot spice sauce. The spiciness level can range from mild to extra hot.
According to the restaurant’s new Yelp profile, Box’d Kitchen does not have outdoor seating, but it offers delivery, takeout, and curbside pick-up services along with sit-down dining.
It also has a contactless payment system, enforces capacity limits and social distancing, provides hand sanitizer, and requires masks as a safety measures during the COVID-19 pandemic.
Updated at 6:30 p.m. — Blake Lane has reopened. The person who was injured in the crash is a bicyclist, and they remain hospitalized. The incident is under investigation by Fairfax County police detectives.
Earlier — Blake Lane is currently closed between Hibbard Street and Bushman Drive in Oakton due to a vehicle crash that occurred this afternoon.
Fairfax County police reported the accident just after 3:30 p.m. today (Thursday). One person has been transported to the hospital with life-threatening injuries.
Police are asking people to avoid the area, and travel delays should be expected.
Blake Lane is now open. Detectives from our Crash Reconstruction Unit continue to investigate. The bicyclist remains hospitalized. #FCPD https://t.co/P2gyh3QUk5
— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) December 3, 2020
Anyone who says a Zoom webinar can’t be action-packed should brace themselves for the young actors of the Traveling Players Ensemble, who will be fighting ogres, evacuating subways and fleeing detectives in three one-act plays adapted for Zoom next week.
The players are making final preparations for the inaugural festival, which will be held on Dec. 13 with shows from 2-3:15 p.m., 3:30-4:45 p.m. and 7-8:30 p.m. Tickets are $10 for access to a Zoom webinar.
A McLean-based theater company for youths in grades 4-12, the Traveling Players Ensemble is known for its summer camps, so when COVID-19 arrived this spring, it had to make a choice: be outdoors with masks, or be virtual without them.
Since masks were not going to be an effective way to perform, the group went virtual. Producing Artistic Director Jeanne Harrison says she was pleasantly surprised by the results.
“We couldn’t believe it worked, or that the community became strong,” she said. “We thought it would be isolating. It didn’t work for 100% of the kids, but it worked for most of them.”
She decided to carry that energy into the fall by doing something new for TPE: fall plays. The young actors are upbeat about performing for the Zoom screen.
“I feel like it hasn’t affected the way I act very much,” said Sara Kaufman, who plays Flavia, a teen who travels back in time to first-century London when it was occupied by the Romans, in “Dust.”
While she does not have to do as much physical blocking, Kaufman says “you can still interact and play off people’s energies online on Zoom.”
She and fellow actor Kaitlyn McCarley say it is hard not to see the audience and play off their reactions. Instead, Kaufman, McCarley, and fellow actor Liam Mclaughlin read the congratulatory messages on the Zoom chat for a confidence boost between acts.
Mclaughlin plays a comic relief character named Unferth in “Beowulf (and the Bard).” While his acting has not changed, he has started moving the camera around to alter what the audience sees for comedic effect.
“Sometimes, that makes things, if anything, a bit better,” Mclaughlin said. “You can do a lot of things with a camera that you couldn’t do with an audience’s point of view.” Read More
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted on Tuesday (Dec. 1) to nominate the Tysons Partnership to receive $1 million in additional economic opportunity funds.
The funds will help the nonprofit continue wayfinding, business and event promotion, and other initiatives designed to support the growth of Tysons in accordance with the Tysons Comprehensive Plan.
The $1 million will come from Fairfax County’s Economic Opportunity Reserve fund, which goes to projects that are expected to stimulate economic growth in certain priority areas but don’t fall under the county’s capital improvement program or other standard procurement processes.
The county board nominated the Tysons Partnership for the fund in a joint board matter introduced by Chairman Jeff McKay, Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik, Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn, and Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust.
“Since its inception, the Tysons Partnership has played a key role in the success that Tysons has seen,” Palchik said in the board matter. “…The projected trajectory for Tysons is robust and we need to do whatever we can to ensure that it is maximized.”
According to the board matter, assessed real estate tax values in Tysons have increased from just over $11 billion to nearly $17 billion in the seven years since Fairfax County established the area as a special tax district on Jan. 1, 2013.
The Board of Supervisors nomination is the first step in a review process that the board and county staff undertake before allocating any Economic Opportunity Reserve funds, according to the board matter.
By approving the board matter, the supervisors also directed county staff to work with the Partnership to develop a plan that explains the nonprofit’s role in the Tysons community and identifies governance rules, metrics for success, and a sustainable funding stream.
Palchik says she anticipates any recommendations that come out of the staff and Partnership group to be implemented in the timeframe of Fairfax County’s Fiscal Year 2023 budget.
“Tysons Partnership sincerely appreciates Fairfax County’s support for Tysons as an economic engine for the County and region,” the Tysons Partnership said in a statement.
The Tysons Partnership’s full statement is below the cut: Read More
