The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors will consider plans to declare a state of local emergency tomorrow (Tuesday) due to the spread of the coronavirus.
In a statement, Jeff McKay, the board’s chairman, said the board is expected to hold an emergency session tomorrow at 10 a.m as part of its next phase of emergency response.
Declaring a local emergency would activate the county’s Emergency Operations Plan and allow the county to quickly mobilize county resources. The board must vote to pass the declaration.
So far, all county agencies have been directed to shift to core functions. Residents are strongly encouraged to conduct any needed business online. All county parks, libraries and school buildings are closed for two weeks beginning today.
The meeting will be broadcast on Fairfax County Government Channel 16 and streamed online.
As of Sunday, March 15, the Virginia Department of Health says there are 10 presumptive cases of COVID-19 in Fairfax County.
This story was also published on our sister site Reston Now.
(Updated 3/19/2020) Fairfax County announced today (Sunday) more closures to prevent the risk of spreading the coronavirus.
Starting Monday (March 16), indoor parks, community facilities and libraries will be closed for two weeks.
“The impacted facilities include recreation, nature, community, resource and teen centers, as well as golf courses, historic sites and (permitted use of) athletic fields and picnic shelters,” the county said.
Some of the closures will allow the facilities to be used as meal distribution centers, the county said.
Earlier today, the county said it has closed senior and adult day health care centers until further notice.
Image via Fairfax County
(Updated 3/18/2020) To combat COVID-19, Fairfax County officials are postponing or making changes for online access to their upcoming town halls on the proposed budget.
For residents in the Providence District, the meeting at 7 p.m. on Wednesday, March 25, that was supposed to be held at the Providence Community Center (3001 Vaden Drive) will now be held online.
Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik will host the meeting, according to her spokesperson, who added that they are working on setting up links to the meeting.
Meanwhile, the Hunter Mill District budget meeting, which was originally set for March 21, from 9 a.m. to noon at the Town Hall (127 Center Street S.) in Vienna, has been postponed.
It is unclear at this time when the meeting will take place.
“It is very important that you have a voice in the budget process and I will reschedule as soon as it is appropriate,” the press release said.
The upcoming budget discussion for the fiscal year 2021 includes controversial topics such as a deal with the Virginia Department of Transporation to create a legal cut-through program for drivers during certain times when turns usually aren’t allowed.
Fairfax Connector shared the steps being taken to prevent the spread of the coronavirus, as more cases are reported in the D.C. area.
Fairfax County’s Department of Transportation announced on Friday (March 6) that contractors are following these steps:
- reviewed and updated cleaning protocols based on guidance from public health officials
- increased vehicle cleaning cycles with a special focus on bus interiors and critical touchpoints such as door handles, handrails and other surfaces.
- initiated regular communication with Fairfax Connector workforce
Fairfax County also has suggestions for passengers to curtail the rapidly-spreading illness:
- wash hands often with soap and water and use hand sanitizer
- avoid touching your eyes, nose or mouth with unwashed hands.
- cover your mouth/nose with a tissue or sleeve when coughing or sneezing
- avoid contact with people who are sick
- stay home while you are sick and avoid close contact with others
“FCDOT highly values the health and safety of Fairfax Connector customers and personnel,” the county said.
Virginia has three “presumptive” cases of coronavirus, also known as COVID-19.
Fairfax County is seeking proposals that would revamp the former home of the Container Store into a pop-up space.
The site sits across from Embassy Suites by Hilton by the Spring Hill Metro station. After the Container Store relocated from 8508 Leesburg Pike to 8459 Leesburg Pike in 2018, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors bought the site.
The county announced yesterday (Monday) that the new Department of Economic Initiatives has an inaugural pilot aiming to “transform vacant commercial spaces into economic development destinations,” and its first commercial space will be the Leesburg Pike spot, according to the press release.
Rebecca Moudry, the new department’s director, told Tysons Reporter that the “Activate Fairfax: 8508 Uncontained” project is a “bold initiative” focused on supporting small businesses, encouraging creative placemaking and supporting the Made in Fairfax Network, which helps local producers.
Moudry, who started as the director in October, said that the “pretty small” department is staffed by 11 people and is embedded within a larger county structure that works with partners like the planning, transportation and economic development departments.
The department chose “Activate Fairfax: 8508 Uncontained” as its first project to fit into the bigger picture of people moving away from suburban and office environments to urban, multi-modal options, she said.
“It’s actually what we’re trying to do,” she said about the project’s name. “We literally want to activate this particular space.”
Currently, the county plans to add a new street that would connect Leesburg Pike and Greensboro Drive, the Washington Business Journal reported last year.
Moudry said that it could take three to five years before the county kicks off the road work. Until then, the initiative looks to turn the vacant 19,000-square-foot storefront into a useful space.
While Moudry said that other programs in the region and around the country have focused on pop-ups and activities, Moudry said that “Activate Fairfax: 8508 Uncontained” is looking for pop-ups that will last longer than usual.
“We’re not talking a weekend or a couple of months,” she added.
The county is accepting applications that intend “to develop, implement, manage and market an activation program” until April 20, the press release said.
“Dynamic pop-up, cultural, artistic or community-oriented programming aligned with these goals will be encouraged to ensure that the space functions as a vibrant asset and experience for residents and visitors,” the press release said.
Moudry said she hopes the applicants generate new ideas and innovate concepts. “We have a set of goals and parameters for what we’re looking for within the space,” she said.
Two tours of the space for applicants and their potential contractors will be held at 1 p.m. on March 9 and March 23, Moudry said.
Once the application window closes, Moudry said the staff will take a few weeks to review the proposals and talk with potential operators about lease agreements. The goal is to launch the chosen proposal this year — potentially in the fall.
People interested in learning more can visit the Fairfax County website’s Activate Fairfax page.
Image via Google Maps
The Langley School, a private school in McLean, wants a multi-million-dollar makeover.
Today (Tuesday), the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved issuing $21 million in revenue bonds by the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority to the school for a renovation.
“The bonds will be entirely supported by the revenues of The Langley School,” according to county documents.
County documents said that the funding will help cover the costs of renovating, equipping and acquiring a three-story academic building that would serve as the school’s “hub,” along with:
- flexible learning spaces
- primary school facilities
- fifth-grade space
- library
- music facilities
- renovating existing campus primary school facilities
“In addition, the applicant requested the ability to pursue refinancing or refunding certain prior debt, funding reserves, capitalized interest and/or swap breakage costs related to the proposed bonds or the prior bonds and funding certain costs of the issuance of the proposed bonds,” the documents said.
The school (1411 Balls Hill Road) teaches kids from preschool to eighth grade.
Image via Google Maps
A research team from the University of Texas at San Antonio (UTSA) will study use-of-force incidents by Fairfax County police.
About nine months ago, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors directed Police Auditor Richard Schott to find an academic after a study released almost three years ago found that 40 percent of use-of-force cases in 2015 involved Black people.
After the study was released, Schott reviewed the police department’s data, but several of the supervisors called for more data.
The county announced today (Wednesday) a contract was awarded to a research team from UTSA in partnership with researchers from the University of Cincinnati on Jan. 27.
The study is expected to be completed by Jan. 31, 2021, the press release said.
More from the press release:
The study will build upon previous Independent Police Auditor’s reviews of Fairfax County Police Department’s (FCPD) use-of-force incidents. It is intended to identify patterns and trends in uses of force by the FCPD with emphasis on racial, ethnic, gender, or similar disparities across subpopulations.
The study will address the following questions specific to incidents that occurred between 2016-2018:
What factors or combination of factors contribute to the use-of-force by FCPD officers? Specifically, what role does civilian race, ethnicity, gender, or similar personal characteristics play in the decision to use force?
Does the rate of force experienced by persons of different races and/or ethnicities align with those groups’ representation among persons at risk for having force used against them by the police? Do disparities exist in rates of force experienced by different racial and/or ethnic groups relative to risk?
Is civilian race, ethnicity, or gender-related to the level of force used by the police while accounting for resistance and other relevant individual, situational, and environmental factors?
How can the FCPD improve its use-of-force data collection processes to help facilitate future analyses?
What steps can the FCPD take to help reduce bias in use-of-force incidents?
“The UTSA team will issue a public report detailing the study’s methods, findings, conclusions, and recommendations and present it to the Board of Supervisors,” the press release said.
A Tysons citizen group recently sent a list of concerns to Fairfax County officials.
The Greater Tysons Citizens Association was founded in 2008 and is made up of residents and organizations in the Tysons area, including the Vienna Town Council and McLean Citizens Association.
In the letter dated Jan. 29, the association noted that with the upcoming 10-year-anniversary of the Tysons Comprehensive Plan, the group is worried about the impact of Tysons’ transformation on surrounding communities.
The letter was sent to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, Planning Commission and School Board.
The letter goes on to outline four main concerns:
- traffic congestion
- reaching the goal of 20 urban athletic fields in Tysons
- infrastructure funding and Tysons school planning
- recent interpretations of the Tysons Comprehensive Plan
The association then provided requests for each item.
For traffic congestion, the association would like the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors to look into short- and long-term solutions with community members.
As the athletic fields, the group would like the Board of Supervisors to revisit a follow-on motion decision that allowed a developer of The View to make a monetary contribution to be allocated to a community center.
“We urge investigating and pursuing other funding sources for construction of the Tysons community center,” the letter says. “We urge the PC and BOS to return to the long-accepted practice of requiring in-kind contributions rather than monetary contributions when the calculated field contribution exceeds 1/3 field.”
The association had several suggestions for the school issue:
- complete the revamp of the methodologies used in the capital improvement and proffer formula for better school population projections
- increase staffing in the facilities branch of FCPS
- identify and implement new options to acquire land and fund construction of new schools
Finally, the group requested that the Board of Supervisors and Planning Commission have an in-depth review regarding interpretations of the comprehensive plan and any “potential ramifications.”
Tysons Reporter received a copy of the letter from the McLean Citizens Association (MCA).
Sally Horn, the chair of the Greater Tysons Citizens Association, is set to discuss the letter with the MCA tonight.
The MCA meeting will start at 7:30 p.m. at the McLean Community Center (1234 Ingleside Avenue).
The Tysons area is projected to have more than 50,000 new residents in 25 years.
Released in December, Fairfax County’s demographics report highlights current and past estimates, along with projections for future population growth.
Fairfax County is projected to have roughly 1.4 million residents by 2045 — about 240,000 more residents than in 2019.
Broken down by district, the data in the report that is mentioned below came from the U.S. Bureau of the Census and the Fairfax County Department of Management and Budget, according to the report.
The Providence District encompasses Tysons, Merrifield, Oakton and the area between the eastern border of the Town of Vienna and the western border of the City of Falls Church.
Providence District’s population is expected to spike the most of the county’s nine districts in 25 years, with roughly 57,000 more residents expected in 2045 than in 2019.
Meanwhile, the Hunter Mill District, which includes the Town of Vienna and Reston, is projected to welcome 56,000 new residents. (Stats for the Town of Vienna expect the population to increase by 191 residents.)
Other districts, like Sully, Mount Vernon and Mason, are projected to have an increase of roughly 20,000 residents, while the Braddock and Springfield districts are expected to see less than 10,000 new residents.
While the Tysons area is expected to have the biggest population increase, a Fairfax County press release noted that the data in the report shows that population growth overall is slowing down.
“While our population continues to increase, it’s at a slower rate than before, mirroring national trends as there are fewer births and more deaths nationwide,” the press release said. “Since the 2010 Census, Fairfax County’s population grew at 6.4% compared to Virginia’s 8% growth rate.”
Image (1) via Fairfax County, chart data via Fairfax County
The developer behind the Scotts Run development in Tysons wants to make some changes to the project.
The changes, which were proposed in November, include an adjustment to two heights to a parking podium connected to a residential building, according to Lynne Strobel, the attorney representing the Smith Group.
The developers want to raise the parking garage height from four stories to five for one building and from 4.5 to five for another, according to documentation from Strobel, adding that the height is still within the range originally approved by Fairfax County.
“The podium will appear to be an extension of the building with the use of glass and masonry,” the documents said.
The 26-story building, which will primarily include residential housing, would no longer include underground parking with the proposed changes.
“It’s within the same range of units,” Strobel said, adding the changes won’t affect residents outside of an aesthetic design shift.
When development changes are minor, a Fairfax County Planning Commission spokesperson said that it is not always necessary to host a public hearing or require the Fairfax Board of Supervisors to re-approve the proposal.
The upcoming buildings sit on roughly an acre of land, according to Fairfax County records and will be partially designated for affordable housing options.
Image via Cityline Partners
