(Updated at 5 p.m.) The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors has approved new zoning rules to try and make building elderly care facilities easier.

At its Dec. 4 meeting, the board approved a new zoning district and land use category for continuing care facilities.

The change creates a special set of zoning requirements for retirement communities and nursing facilities. Such facilities frequently combine residential and medical care operations, which were previously not allowed under Fairfax zoning code.

The McLean Citizens Association (MCA) expressed support for the new zoning regulations, but also noted that there were concerns that the new proposals could create development incompatible with low density residential neighborhoods.

We recognize the need for more senior housing and related facilities in an aging county, but also insist on rules that reasonably protect the character of low-density residential neighborhoods,” MCA said in a press release press release.

The MCA resolution called for limits on waivers granted to projects with regards to issues like open space and sufficient parking.

The MCA wasn’t alone in its concerns about the added density. The zoning ordinance includes a maximum building height of 75 to 100 feet tall. Clyde Miller, President of the Holmes Run Valley Citizens Association, spoke at the Board of Supervisors meeting to express concern that the density bonuses granted to for-profit senior living facilities were originally intended to be used by nonprofits.

“The proposal jeopardizes single family residential districts with crowding, overall buildings, bulk and congestion,” said Miller. “Proposed density bonuses should be eliminated.”

Continuing care for elderly residents is an issue of particular importance to McLean, where 30 percent of the population is age 55 or older. McLean’s older population is disproportionately large compared to the rest of Fairfax County, where the median age is under 40.

The county has made some progress in providing senior living recently. In October, new affordable senior living complex The Fallstead opened in McLean after a decade of planning and funding challenges.

But McLean also has a history of struggling with the scale of elderly care facilities. In 2017, the Board of Supervisors rejected a proposal by Sunrise Senior Living to build a 73-room facility on a 3.79 acre lot in McLean after three years of arguments from local citizens that the facility would add to local traffic in an area already overburdened by schools, houses or worship and other senior centers.

At the Board of Supervisors meeting, McLean District Supervisor John Foust praised the MCA resolution and said he shared their concerns about waivers for parking.

“I ran some numbers, and it looks like it can work so I’m comfortable enough to vote for this,” said Foust, “but I understand we’re taking another look at all of this as part of a parking zoning ordinance amendment. This will be reviewed and we will look in great detail at this.”

Foust also noted that, depending on public transportation access, the Board of Supervisors can require additional parking for developments.

The Board of Supervisors unanimously approved the zoning change.

This Saturday, the McLean Police District Station is hosting a “Stuff the Cruiser” food drive.

The cruiser will be located at the Giant Food at 1454 Chain Bridge Road. The idea is to bring enough food and other goods to fill one of the Fairfax County Police Department’s cruisers. The supplies will be donated to the Share of McLean Food Pantry.

Share of McLean is a nonprofit organization established in 1969 to meet the needs of those less fortunate in McLean and surrounding Northern Virginia localities. The organization is all-volunteer and relies on donations. In addition to the food pantry, the organization also collects clothes and furniture to give to those in need.

According to their website, the organization distributes 700 bags of groceries and 200 bags of clothing each month.

If you are unable to attend the food drive on Saturday, the organization also accepts food donations at the McLean Baptist Church on 1367 Chain Bridge Rd, Wednesdays through Saturdays from 9:30 a.m.-12 p.m.

Police say the food drive currently needs:

• Breakfast cereal
• Applesauce
• Canned vegetables
• Canned foods
• Canned pasts sauce
• White sugar
• White rice
• Dried beans
• Vegetable oil
• Crackers and snacks
• Macaroni and cheese
• Granola bars
• Dried pasta
• Single toothbrushes
• Shampoo
• Feminine hygiene products
• Toilet paper
• Baby wipes
• Diapers
• Laundry soap

Photo via Twitter

Tysons Agenda is a listing of interesting events for the week ahead in the Tysons area.

We’ve scoured the web for events of note in Tysons, Vienna, Merrifield and McLean. Know of any we’ve missed? Tell us!

Tuesday, Dec. 11

Best Trails for Winter Hikes
REI (8209 Watson Street)
Time: 7-8 p.m.

Winter doesn’t have to mean the end of your outdoor activities. This free discussion tomorrow will look at what trails and scenic tours are still available during the winter. The session is free, but advanced registration is required.

Kirby Road Sidewalk Community Meeting
Chesterbrook Elementary School Cafeteria
Time: 7 p.m.

This meeting will discuss the sidewalk extension project planned for Kirby Road near Chesterbrook, connecting the neighborhoods to the eastern side of the road to the shared use trail on the west side.

Wednesday, Dec. 12

A Conversation with Dr. Jerry Gordon
FCEDA Headquarters (8300 Boone Blvd)
Time: 2-5 p.m.

Dr. Jerry Gordon, President of the Fairfax County Economic Development Authority, will discuss development and question and answer session before a holiday reception at 3:30 p.m.

Lox and Legislators
Temple Rodef Shalom (2100 Westmoreland St)
Time: 7:30-9:30 a.m.

The Jewish Community Relations Council of Greater Washington is hosting a breakfast with elected officials and presenting its 2019 legislative agenda. Prices for an individual “mensch” ticket is $36.

Ha Ha Hannukah, A Jew-Ish Comedy Show
Tysons Biergarten (8346 Leesburg Pike)
Time: 8-9:30 p.m.

The Biergarten often has comedy shows, but this week’s special show will feature Jewish stand-up comedians. Doors open at 7 p.m. Entry to the show is free.

Thursday, Dec. 13

Annual Champagne Gala
McLean Wine Outlet (6727 Curran St)
Time: 5-8 p.m.

Champagnes and sparkling wines from around the world will be available for sampling at the annual Champagne Fest. Food and cheese spreads that pair with the champagnes will also be served. Tasting is $30 per person.

(Updated at 11:20 a.m.) McLean could be going through some significant changes, and next week is the final meeting to weigh in on those plans.

After nearly a year of collecting feedback and holding community meetings, the final vision plan meeting for the McLean Commercial Business Center (CBC) will be held on Monday, Dec. 17 from 7-9 p.m. in Longfellow Middle School (2000 Westmoreland Street).

The plan is to transform downtown McLean, the CBC, from a clump of intersections linked by gas stations to a more pedestrian friendly community destination. At earlier community meetings, ambitious comparisons were made to Maple Avenue in Vienna or Old Town in Alexandria.

At the most recent meeting, on Nov. 19, consultant Streetsense announced that the plan would recommend closing Center Street to vehicles and developing it as a pedestrian route. The plan recommends more off-street trails and on-street bike lanes be added throughout McLean, connecting the downtown area to the community center and library.

The five-way intersection at Old Dominion and Chain Bridge Road is recommended to be replaced with a roundabout.

At next week’s meeting, the CBC website says Streetsense will present the compiled and analyzed community input from the open houses and the final plan for the downtown area. The next steps following the plans completion will also be discussed at the meeting. For those unable to attend the event, it will be recorded and available on the project webpage.

Most of those who spoke at the open houses said their big goal was to make the downtown area walkable. Residents said they often wind up driving from one business to the other rather than cross busy streets. Community amenities like the McLean Central Park are cut off from the rest of the downtown by the busy Dolley Madison Blvd.

The study found that the CBC is mostly ranked as a “high stress” area for bicycling. Plans for future bike improvements would relieve some of that stress for cyclists, particularly along Chain Bridge Road.

Graphic via Fairfax County Department of Transportation

The McLean Citizens Association meeting tonight (Wednesday) is scheduled to feature an illuminating discussion on replacing the local streetlights with LEDs.

The meeting is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. at the McLean Governmental Center (1437 Balls Hill Rd).

Over the next few years, Fairfax County plans to work with Dominion Energy to replace its streetlights with LEDs.

A resolution under consideration at tonight’s meeting would endorse the County’s plans and recommend lower levels of blue light emissions. The aim of the resolution would be to improve the light’s impact on humans as well as local animals.

In 2016, the American Medical Association (AMA) adopted recommendations for LED color temperatures of 3,000 Kelvin or lower, based on studies indicating that blue light emissions from LEDs at higher color temperatures can create glare, impact human sleep patterns, and disorient animal species. […]

Now, therefore be it resolved that the MCA supports Fairfax County streetlight conversions to LEDs with lower blue light emissions, at approximately 2,700 Kelvin.

The resolution recommends updating the lighting ordinance to encourage warmer color temperatures as well as shielded fixtures to prevent upward light, adaptive controls such as dimmers, timers and motion sensors.

Vienna Mulling Economic Development Push — “Vienna is the only Northern Virginia locality without personnel expressly devoted to economic development, but that may change soon. Vienna Town Council members, in a joint work session Dec. 3 with their Planning Commission counterparts, supported town staff’s proposal to hire a consultant (for about $100,000) who would develop an economic-development strategy and conduct a market study.” [InsideNova]

NBC4 Covers Vienna Bike Corral — The Vienna Town Council’s concern about a bike corral potentially taking up a single parking space on Church Street was the subject of an Adam Tuss story on NBC4 yesterday. Via Twitter, the bikes@vienna store said in response: “Needless to say, we at bikes@vienna support the move. Will the Town get on board with providing much needed bike infrastructure, or will cars still rule?” [Twitter, Twitter]

Photos: Reindogs in McLean — “The 2018 Greater McLean Chamber of Commerce Reindog celebration, which took place Dec. 1… brought out the creativity of local residents and the understanding of canines who found themselves dressed up in holiday-themed costumes.” [InsideNova]

Fairfax Approves Funds for Tech Firm’s Tysons Move — “Cloud computing company Appian Corporation will receive $4 million from Fairfax County for the company’s expansion and new headquarters in Tysons… The Fairfax County’s Board of Supervisors approved the Development Opportunity Fund grant from the Commonwealth at its meeting on Tuesday (Dec. 4).” [Reston Now]

Christmas is just a couple weeks away, so it’s time to stop procrastinating and go out and grab a tree.

In Vienna, the Lions Club is selling a variety of trees outside the Walgreens (225 Maple Ave W) in Vienna.

Prices range from $55 for Fraser firs under 9 feet tall or “giant” firs for $100. Other Christmas accessories like wreaths, pine roping, coloring books and cans of Virginia peanuts are also on sale.

Trees can be purchased between 2-8 p.m. during week days, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. on Saturdays, or 10 a.m.-8 p.m. on Sundays.

Those in Vienna could also shop at the Optimist Club of Greater Vienna’s Christmas Tree Sale at 359 Maple Ave E, outside of the Giant grocery store. All profits go towards supporting students in local schools.

Sale hours for the Optimist Club’s sale are 2-8 p.m. during weekdays, 9 a.m.-8 p.m. on Saturdays, or 9 a.m.-6 p.m. on Sundays.

Two churches in McLean are also hosting Christmas tree sales.

The Saint John Academy’s Christmas Tree Sale is located in the parking lot in front of the St. John the Beloved Catholic Church at 6422 Linway Terrace. In addition to trees, the sale will include wreaths and garlands.

The Trinity United Methodist Church at 1205 Dolley Madison Blvd is also selling Christmas trees in the church lot.

(Updated 3:30 p.m.) Ribbon-cuttings usually mark the grand opening of a new facility, but that’s not quite the case for McLean Community Center’s Ingleside Avenue Facility.

The project, which first broke ground in March 2017, is not fully completed yet but an invitation-only ribbon cutting ceremony will still be held tomorrow (Wednesday) at the McLean Community Center at 1234 Ingleside Avenue.

Sabrina Anwah, director of communications for the McLean Community Center, said the renovations are mostly complete and the facility is scheduled to open Jan. 2.

The $8 million project is a complete overhaul of the facility. Administrative offices are consolidated, ADA and fire compliance issues are addressed, and the facility’s lights, walls, and flooring are all updated or replaced. The renovations include two new multipurpose rooms and an enclosed courtyard.

Photo via McLean Community Center

Fairfax County Police are investigating an overnight burglary at a gas station in McLean.

Police say a man broke into the Chesterbrook Excel station just before 2 a.m. Friday and stole cigarettes. The burglary was discovered when employees found a garage bay window shattered.

More from FCPD:

6268 Old Dominion Drive (Chesterbrook Excel Gas Station), 11/30/18, 1:50a.m. Employees of the gas station arrived at work to find the shop had been broken into through a garage bay window. Video surveillance showed that a male of unknown race wearing jeans, a puffy winter jacket, and a mask, broke into the store and stole cigarettes.

Photo via Google Maps

Looking for a way to kick off the last month of 2018 in style?

There are plenty of holiday and nightlife events around Tysons this weekend, including McLean’s annual WinterFest and an auction featuring a Star Wars Episode IV movie poster signed by the original cast.

Tomorrow (Dec. 1)

22nd Annual ReinDog Parade (8-9:30 p.m.) — In exchange for two cans of dog food, the community is invited to bring their dogs and costumes to a dog parade at the Langley Shopping Center (1398 Chain Bridge Road). The parade, hosted by the McLean Animal Hospital, will include gift bags, hot chocolate, and donuts.

Sensation Saturday Grand Opening (6 p.m.-2 a.m.) — The Palladium (1524 Spring Hill Road), Tysons’ newest club, is hosting its first “Sensation Saturday.” The event will be DJed by Jeff Carr and DJ Pootie.

Wilder vs. Fury Live at Tysons’ Biergarten (7 p.m.-1 a.m.) — The Tysons Biergarten will host a cover-free viewing of the boxing match between Tyson Fury and Deontay Wilder. Sound will be on for the event. Registration is required.

Merry & Bright Bash (8 p.m.-11 p.m.) — The Junior League of Northern Virginia, a women’s organization devoted to voluntarism, is hosting a gala in the Sheraton Tysons Hotel (8661 Leesburg Pike). The event will feature an open bar, a DJ, and an exclusive auction and raffle. Items at the raffle include the aforementioned Star Wars Episode IV poster, as well as an NHL hockey puck signed by Washington Capitals captain Alex Ovechkin and an autographed Taylor Swift album. The event is black tie optional and tickets are $90, with proceeds going towards the Junior League’s community and leadership development programs.

Sunday (Dec. 2)

Santa Breakfast (8-10 a.m.) — Tysons Corner Center is hosting its 2018 Santa Breakfast. Guests can bring their own camera to get a picture with Santa or have professional photographs taken. Those attending are encouraged to bring unwrapped toys for the mall’s Help Through Holiday Giving program. The breakfast is first-come, first-serve at 8 a.m. and Santa is scheduled to leave promptly at 10 a.m.

After Thanksgiving Healthful Hike (1-2:30 p.m.) — The Friends of Wolf Trap are hosting a group hiking tour through the forests and trails around Wolf Trap National Park for the Performing Arts. The event is free, but attendees can bring canned or non-perishable food items for humans, dogs or cats to be donated to local food pantries and animal rescues. The group will meet at the Ranger Station to the left of the Filene Center Box office for an easy-moderately paced three-mile hike.

McLean WinterFest Parade (3:30 p.m.) — McLean’s annual parade starts at the Langley Shopping Center, with pre-parade entertainment beginning at 2:30 p.m. before the parade’s start at 3:30 p.m. Be aware, there may be road closures along Old Chain Bridge Road as a result of the parade from 2-5 p.m.

Also this weekend, Santa will be traveling McLean via fire truck, courtesy the McLean Volunteer Fire Department (MVFD). Tomorrow he will be in the Kings Manor/Dolley Madison Library area and on Sunday he will be at Churchill Road in the McLean Central Park area. The MVFD’s Santa Tracker will allow locals keep track of where they can find Santa.