Vienna residents shared mixed feedback on a proposal that would relax lot coverage requirements earlier this week.
At a town hall on Monday, town officials and staff listened to dozens of residents’ thoughts on a proposal that would allow for more decks, patios and other types of “outdoor living space.”
Councilmember Nisha Patel’s outdoor living space proposal would allow extra amenities as long as stormwater management systems are implemented
Currently, Town Code says that buildings, accessory buildings, automobile parking spaces and access, sport courts, tennis courts, patios, and terraces can only take up 25% of a lot.
Patel said that the proposal was sparked by people who said they didn’t know their builder had maxed out the lot coverage or couldn’t get out of their driveways safely because they don’t have a turnaround space.
“It’s open for modification, which is why we’re having this meeting tonight,” Patel said at the start of the meeting. “Should we allow 1%, 3% or 5%?”
Patel added that the proposal does not aim to encourage larger houses.
People who spoke in support of the proposal said that it could benefit people who live in older homes and fix drainage issues in the town.
Christine Silvia-Degennaro said she supports the proposal because she lives in a rambler and ran into zoning issues with her driveway when trying to put an addition on her house.
“I think that it would be a very beneficial thing for people to make this small adjustment,” she said. “We’re not speaking as somebody who has a 600,000-square-foot home. We have a very modest home in Vienna.”
Another person, an engineer, who spoke in favor of the proposal said that the stormwater management would fix drainage issues in the town.
Other residents opposed or critiqued the proposal, while a few said they have mixed feelings about the idea.
Some people said that people buying an expensive home in Vienna had a responsibility to be aware of lot coverage rules. “It’s not OK to claim ignorance,” one person said.
Other residents asked how the proposal would affect homes that have already been built versus future homes, raising concern that it could make a loophole allowing larger homes.
Shawn Thompson, who said he lives in a McMansion, summarized a NextDoor thread with concerns about privilege, protecting older residents, developers abusing rules and huge homes.
“It feels like privilege to me that the problem we’re having here is I bought my $1.5 million house and I don’t have even lot coverage left to put in the patio for a grill.”
Thompson said that he’s heard concerns from residents that older residents won’t be able to afford to live in the town.
“One of the reasons we all love Vienna is because grandma grew up here,” Thompson said. “Do we want grandma to have to move to Herndon or Loudon County?”
Meanwhile, Chuck Anderson, a former Planning Commissioner for the town, told the town officials and staff to be cautious with how they relax the lot coverage rules, if the proposal moves forward.
“Be very careful about selecting changing lot coverage rules on an ad hoc basis, because you don’t know the unintended consequences,” Anderson said, recommending that the lot coverage be considered on a comprehensive basis that could promote aging in place.
Sarah Couchman, the current vice chair of the Planning Commission, said that the proposal would boost her landscaping business, yet Couchman said that she’s concerned about developers building to the limit.
Ultimately, town staff said that they are looking to get more data and bring on a consultant as they consider reorganizing the zoning code, which hasn’t been overhauled since 1969.
Residents can submit comments and fill out a questionnaire through Monday, March 9.
During the second half of the meeting, attendees were asked to prioritize recommendations from the Maple Avenue Corridor Multimodal Transportation and Land Use Study.
The 16 near and mid-term recommendations range from under low cost to up to $150,000. They include:
- improving Church and Mill streets
- redesigning W&OD Trail crossings
- filling “vital” sidewalk gaps
- creating a bicycle network
- having a parking supply and demand study
- considering a local circulator
The town asks that people rank their priorities online or on a paper version by 5 p.m. on Monday (March 9).
“We hear stories and we’re not sure how many people are affected,” Patel said about the significance of the town hall. “It’s important that we get a sense of what the community wants.”
Three images in story via Town of Vienna
Vienna police say a gun store along Maple Avenue was recently burglarized.
The incident happened at the Vienna Arsenal (386 Maple Ave E.) around 6 a.m. on Monday (March 2).
“Investigation revealed that the suspects forced entry into the establishment and stole approximately 25 firearms,” according to the press release.
Vienna Police Detectives and Agents from the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, and Firearms are investigating the case, the press release said.
People with any information about the case are asked to contact Detective Leroux at 703-255-6322 or email him at [email protected].
Image via Google Maps
Three Vienna residents, who want to put the town on the map for foodies, decided to create Vienna VA Foodies on social media, which have since attracted the attention of thousands of people.
Founders Lydia Russo, Christopher Drinkuth and Katherine Drinkuth first came up with the idea to create a Facebook group to bring together food lovers while chatting at the annual Taste of Vienna event last year, Russo told Tysons Reporter.
“Chris, Katherine and I would join together and give our reviews on who was our favorite vendor, which item we enjoyed the most, and thus, we were inspired to create Vienna VA Foodies as a project to work on in our free time,” Russo said.
Vienna VA Foodies, which has more than 2,000 followers on Facebook and an active commenter base, began roughly six months ago. The Instagram account, which has roughly 340 followers, only began in January after the trio decided to expand their outreach efforts.
“The members — consisting of Vienna citizens and neighbors — are frequently posting local happenings, their personal restaurant reviews and even crowdsourcing answers to questions about restaurants that cater to their diet needs,” Russo said, adding that the three founders usually just act as moderators.
As a Taste of Vienna volunteer and local real estate agent, Russo said she wanted to help her community celebrate the “vibrant food scene.”
Currently, the group doesn’t plan to monetize the Facebook or Instagram pages for their personal gain, according to Russo, who said the group often relies on donations and giveaways from restaurants or bars who want to promote themselves in the group.
Just last week, the Chick-Fil-A in Vienna partnered with the group to give away eight prizes to people who commented on a post within the Vienna VA Foodies Facebook group after doing other giveaways throughout town the same day.
As a realtor, Russo said she often uses the food scene in Vienna to convince people to buy real estate in the area and thinks the social media accounts will help the town thrive economically.
As the accounts continue to grow, the group wants to encourage chatter within the channels.
“There is now a forum that allows for there to be easy communication between the business owners, chefs and local community,” Russo said.
A variety of performers are set to come to Wolf Trap this month, ranging from an alternative soul singer to a group that combines bagpipes and fiddles with classic rock.
Tomorrow (Thursday), award-winning R&B singer-songwriter Liv Warfield is set to perform at 8 p.m.
“Warfield was hand-selected by Prince to be a part of his backing bands New Power Generation and 3rdEyeGirl,” her bio says, adding that her sound is influenced by Nina Simone, Etta James and Mary J. Blige. Tickets start at $27.
Later in the month, Enter The Haggis will bring their bagpipes fiddles and rock rhythm to the stage. The Toronto group is set to perform next Thursday (March 12) at 8 p.m. Tickets start at $30.
The month will wrap up with several performances by The Second City. The comedy troupe’s “Laughing For All The Wrong Reasons” show is rated R due to language and innuendo. Tickets start at $32.
The list of Wolf Trap events in March:
- March 5: Liv Warfield
- March 11: Enter The Haggis
- March 12: Riders in the Sky
- March 13: Aoife O’Donovan
- March 16-17: Ladysmith Black Mambazo
- March 19: Rodney Crowell
- March 20: The 5th Dimension
- March 25-28: The Second City
Photo via Wolf Trap
Luggage Plus isn’t currently open in Tysons Corner Center, but the store plans to soon return to the mall.
The store was located in a spot on the first level near Nordstrom. When Tysons Reporter stopped by earlier this week, the space was empty and locked up.
An employee at the Luggage Plus store in the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City said that the store closed to move to a different spot in the Tysons mall. The employee said shoppers can expect the new store to open in a few weeks.
A spokesperson for the mall confirmed to Tysons Reporter that the mall is working with Luggage Plus to finalize an alternate, permanent location, saying that the former space was a temporary lease.
Hat tip to Chuck and Polly D.
Police arrested a Falls Church resident who works for the Town of Vienna for allegedly having child pornography.
City of Falls Church police arrested 36-year-old Tyler Weepie this morning (Tuesday) and charged him with four counts of possession of child pornography, the city said in a press release.
Weepie has worked as an engineering technician for the Town of Vienna since 2016, according to a Vienna press release, which said that Weepie has been placed on administrative leave.
Officers participating in the regional Internet Crimes Against Children Task Force made the arrest, according to the City of Falls Church.
“We’re obviously disappointed and disturbed by this news,” Vienna Town Manager Mercury Payton said in a statement. “We support the important work of the ICAC task force and have zero tolerance for crimes against children.”
Currently, Weepie is being held without bond in in the Arlington County Jail, the press releases said.
Separately Tuesday afternoon, a Vienna man pleaded guilty to multiple child exploitation offenses, the U.S. Attorney for the Eastern District of Virginia announced.
Alan Tabish pleaded guilty to possession of child pornography and the attempted transfer of obscene material to minors and will be sentenced on June 23, facing 7 to 12 years in prison, according to a press release.
Photo via Arlington County
A rezoning request for a proposed office tower near the McLean Metro station will be considered by the Board of Supervisors later this month.
Akridge and the Ronald D. Paul Companies are looking to develop 1690 Old Meadow Road, a triangular spot between Dolley Madison Blvd and the Old Meadow Road, into a 15-story tower with Class A offices.
Called One Tysons East, the project would include a 8,300-square-foot restaurant and cafe on the main level, along with retail space and a bike room, according to the website.
The project plans for five levels of parking with 500 spaces — two levels of parking would be underground, while three would be above the lobby. Above the parking, the tower would have 11 floors of office space totaling 24,500 square feet.
The tower also plans to have a landscaped outdoor terrace with a bocce court on the fifth floor, which would also include a client-only cafe, coffee bar, conference room, fitness center and yoga space.
The developers are looking to increase the floor area ratio and receive approval for their plans.
The Planning Commission recommended approval for the rezoning last April after discussion on how the distinctive curved-glass tower could potentially kill birds.
Now, county documents indicate that the Board of Supervisors will hold a hearing on March 24.
Images via One Tysons East
A new restaurant plans to start serving up a “traditional” Cantonese brunch this spring in Tysons.
The upcoming HAN Palace (7900 Westpark Drive) will feature an all-day dim sum menu and will be the first restaurant in the D.C., Maryland or Virginia area to do so, according to the location’s owner Chris Zhu, who added that most restaurants only offer dim sum for lunch.
The eatery plans to open in April, according to Zhu. She plans to host a soft opening with VIP promotions before the grand opening later next month once supplies from China arrive, she said.
Dim sum is a form of Chinese small-plate dining that traditionally allows families and groups to gather for a communal meal. Items usually include various types of dumplings and sweets served in a steamer basket.
People familiar with China Garden (11333 Woodglen Drive), which recently relocated to Rockville, Md., may recognize the style of cooking since the restaurants are both owned by Zhu.
HAN Palance will be open from 11 a.m. until 10 p.m. every day and feature happy hour specials on drinks from 4 to 7 p.m., Zhu said.
Two hours of free garage parking will be offered on weekdays, and free validation will be offered after 6 p.m. on weekdays and for six hours on the weekends, according to the restaurant’s Facebook post.
Photos courtesy Chris Zhu
Local Vienna eatery Pure Pasty Co. won several international awards this past weekend for its food.
The 2020 World Pasty Championships took place in Cornwall, England, which is home of the traditional meat pocket. Pasties are a traditional English specialty and can come in a variety of flavors but are typically a savory snack filled with a variety of ingredients and encased with a flaky crust.
At a biodome venue called the Eden Project, the competition brought together chefs from Argentina, Canada, the U.S. and the United Kingdom, according to Michael Burgess, the Vienna eatery’s owner.
Burgess beat most of the other roughly 180 entries and took home a silver medal for his lamb jalfrezi pasty and a bronze medal for the cheese and onion flavor pasty, which were both in the savory category.
The lamb jalfrezi, which embodies a flare of Indian cuisine, is one of his favorite recipes since it has a good “flavor profile and heat,” Burgess told Tysons Reporter, adding that he credits one of his friends and customers for giving him the original recipe, which he tweaked.
In past years, the eatery at 128 Church Street NW has won other awards at the competition as well, and Burgess said attending the competition became a “pilgrimage” and “tradition.”
Many community members congratulated the eatery online after a shoutout on the Town of Vienna’s social media accounts.
“Wonderful! I’ve had the cheese onion one and it is scrumptious!,” wrote one Facebook user.
Congratulations to Vienna’s own Pure Pasty Company, which took two of the top three spots in the open savoury category at this weekend’s 2020 World Pasty Championships in Cornwall, England! pic.twitter.com/zmSI3nlltA
— Town of Vienna, VA (@TownofViennaVA) March 2, 2020
Originally living in the United Kingdom, Burgess worked in a banking firm and used to visit the U.S. with friends on snowboarding trips, he said. He and his friends used to talk about the lack of pasty options, and after Burgess said he saved up some money, he decided to open his own business.
“We have spent years honing our craft, and these results show that we are getting it right,” a press release said. “We do our best to give all the ex-pats in the D.C. area a real taste of home.”
The group plans to return to Vienna shortly, he said, adding that “we have a lovely certificate to hang on the wall when we get back.”
For anyone wishing to try one of the award-winning pasties, the restaurant is open on Sunday-Monday from 11 a.m. until 4 p.m., Tuesday-Friday from 11 a.m. until 7 p.m. and on Saturdays from 10 a.m. until 7 p.m.
Besides pasties, the eatery also offers pies and sausage rolls, desserts, soups and salads according to its online menu. Prices for individual dishes are about $8.
Though the store doesn’t deliver small orders for individual meals, it does catering for events and the British Embassy in D.C. is a regular client, Burgess said.
Photos courtesy Pure Pasty Co.
Trader Joe’s has a planned expansion in the works at Tysons Station.
Building permits at the vacant space next to Peet’s indicate that the grocery store (7514 Leesburg Pike) plans to demolish the interior and turn it into a commercial use.
Federal Realty, the real estate investment trust behind the shopping center, shows the space already incorporated into Trader Joe’s — totaling 15,286 square feet for the grocery store — on its brochures.
Other changes are also happening at the shopping center.
The space that used to house Tysons Cakes (7500 Leesburg Pike, Suite 12B) is listed as available for rent on the brochure.
