The McLean Islamic Center (MIC) will be returning to the Fairfax County Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) on Nov. 14 in an effort to overturn earlier restrictions on worship hours and attendance.

The MIC, the only Islamic center in the Tysons/McLean area, was granted a special permit in 2015 to operate as a house of worship at 8800 Jarrett Valley Dr.

But the authorization also came with restrictions to mitigate the MIC’s impact on the surrounding neighborhood.  The MIC was prohibited from having more than ten worshipers at its pre-dawn prayer service and no group worship between 4-7 p.m. Monday through Friday.

Since then, the facility and the roads surrounding it have grown. The MIC has expanded the parking lot from 52 to 92 spaces to facilitate a prayer hall with a 200 person capacity. Route 7 has been widened and its turn lanes lengthened.

Now the MIC is hoping the BZA will amend the conditions to allow 24-hour operation of the facility and lift the restriction on parking.

“[The restrictions] are untenable,” said Dr. Sultan Chaudhry, president of the MIC Board of Directors. “We’re not allowed to have more than ten people for morning prayer service. But sometimes 20 or 25 come… we’ve never had more than 40, but you don’t RSVP for the prayer.”

Chaudhry said the number of attendees to morning prayer spikes during holidays or when there’s a death in the community.

“At the end of the day, we have 92 spots,” said Chaudhry. “So telling the eleventh person they can’t park there when we have 92 spaces, is hard.”

But a staff report from Sept. 26 recommended denial of the application pending further documentation on the site’s impact on the surrounding community. According to the staff report:

“Staff’s review determined that the applicant’s request could negatively impact the surrounding neighborhood in terms of noise and light from the parking area, since the possibility of groups arriving at and leaving the Center at all hours of the day could create incidental noise (such as from car alarms, car locking systems, or conversations held outside).”

A noise study, prepared by MIC, is under review by county staff.

The report also noted that concerns had been raised about access to the property from the congested Jarrett Valley Drive/Leesburg Pike intersection. Fairfax County Department of Transportation reviewed the project and said the overall impact on the intersection would be minimal, while the Virginia Department of Transportation’s (VDOT) analysis is pending.

The Carrington Home Owners Association had been vocal about the concerns for the increased traffic and light pollution issues at the original MIC approval in 2015. The association could not be reached for comment, but concerns about traffic at the site have been an ongoing issue.

Earlier this year, an anonymous complaint was made to the county that there were more than 10 vehicles in the parking lot during a morning prayer service. An investigation by the County found the MIC in violation, after which the MIC suspended its morning prayer service.

But Chaudhry said that neighbors will have to recognize that the surrounding area is growing. Chaudhry pointed to a VDOT study in 2015 that showed that there as an average of 61,000 cars traveling on Route 7 every day even before the road was expanded.

“This is Tysons,” said Chaudhry. “In the last four years, the four tallest buildings [in the region] have been built.”

Recently, there was a death in the MIC community. Chaudhry said when the MIC was helping to plan a prayer service for the family, he was also working to keep the number of mourners low.

“I had to contact the family and tell them not to publicize it on our listserv for fear that we might have more than 80 vehicles show up,” said Chaudhry. “We had a death and our top concern was traffic.”

Photo via Facebook

A two-vehicle crash closed Georgetown Pike in both directions during this morning’s rush hour.

The crash happened at Dogue Hill Lane in McLean, just east of Langley High School. One person was hospitalized following the wreck, according to Fairfax County Fire and Rescue.

Georgetown Pike was reported to be back open about 10-15 minutes after authorities first tweeted about the closure.

Units on scene of two car crash on Georgetown Pike at Dogue Hill Ln, in McLean area. One person being transported to area hospital for evaluation. Georgetown Pike closed in both directions. #traffic #vatraffic #news pic.twitter.com/qJ149iEzkQ

— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) October 24, 2018

UPDATE: Georgetown Pike has reopened.

https://t.co/Etav7Hd2RA

— Fairfax County Police (@FairfaxCountyPD) October 24, 2018

Map via Google Maps

If you want to help make your community a better place, VolunteerFest 2018 is the place to get started.

VolunteerFest is an annual week of community service throughout Fairfax County and the Washington, D.C. area on Saturday, Oct. 27. Hundreds of volunteers are mobilized to help nonprofits on projects they would not have the time or resources to handle on their own.

In McLean, volunteers are requested to help plant hundreds of native plants at the Marie Butler Leven Preserve.

Over the last year, Buddhist-environmentalist group Earth Sangha has worked to remove invasive plants from the forest’s edge. Now, Earth Sangha is requesting help from volunteers to restore native plants that local wildlife relies on to survive.

The event runs from 9 a.m.-12 p.m. The maximum number of volunteers for the effort is 25, with ten spaces remaining. Parking is available at the site but it is not Metro or wheelchair accessible.

Volunteers are asked to wear sturdy shoes and long pants. Work gloves and a bottle of drinking water are also encouraged. Earth Sangha will provide tools, gloves for those that don’t have them, a water cooler for refills and snacks.

In Tysons, volunteers are requested to beautify the Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library. The event will run from 11 a.m.-1 p.m. on Saturday.

Outside, volunteers will improve the outdoor landscape by trimming plants around the parking lot and doing general litter pick-up. Inside, volunteers will clean the meeting room tables and chairs. 

Volunteers are requested to wear comfortable clothes that can get dirty and closed toe shoes.

Photo via Earth Sangha

This Saturday (Oct. 27) Fairfax County residents will have a chance to safely and anonymously rid themselves of all those old pills stockpiled in the medicine cabinet.

Those in the Tysons area can dump their unused or expired medicine at the McLean district police station at 1437 Balls Hill Road free of charge from 10 a.m.-2 p.m. The drop off is only taking pills and liquids, no needles or pressurized canisters.

Other FCPD stations will also be open for drop offs.

Getting rid of unused or expired medicine is important, as abuse, misuse or accidental poisoning can lead to serious health problems, but simply washing the pills down the drain or throwing them away can lead to environmental issues when the medicine filters into a body of water.

Last year’s Operation Medicine Cabinet Clean-Out collected a total 2,623 lbs of drugs across the county, with 264 lbs collected in the McLean district.

For those with a substance abuse issue, services are available in Fairfax via:

• Emergency Services (24/7) – 703-573-5679 (TTY 711)
• Fairfax Detoxification Center (24/7) – 703-502-7000 (TTY 703-322-9080)
• CSB Entry & Referral Services – 703-383-8500
• Call 911 for life-threatening emergencies

The following article excerpt is from our content sharing partner, FairfaxNews.com.

Vernon Davis of the Washington Redskins and Mohamed Sanu of the Atlanta Falcons are best known for catching passes and outrunning defenders. But the NFL standouts also have a keen interest in business development, and recently announced a joint partnership to open six Jamba Juice stores in Northern Virginia.

While no locations have been formally announced, Davis and Sanu are specifically eyeing areas in Fairfax County (Reston, Chantilly, McLean) and Loudoun County (Ashburn, Leesburg, Sterling) for their stores.

“Jamba Juice is an iconic brand that, like me, cares about helping others live a healthier, higher quality life,” says Davis, who already owns five successful Jamba Juice locations in Northern California. “I honestly couldn’t be more excited about partnering with Mohamed, expanding my relationship with Jamba Juice and, of course, bringing more of the fresh fruit and vegetable goodness of Jamba to the region.”

Read more at FairfaxNews.com

Even The Fallstead’s biggest proponents admitted there were times it looked like the 82-unit affordable housing complex for seniors was never going to open.

But yesterday (Thursday), after over a decade of planning and struggling to find funding, The Fallstead at Lewinsville Center in McLean opened its doors at 1609 Great Falls Street to the public.

The Fallstead is an independent senior living community, with 72 one-bedroom and 10 two-bedroom rental units available to persons 62 years of age or older with a household income at or below 50 percent of area median income (AMI). Of those units, 10 percent are fully accessible for individuals with mobility impairments and two percent are accessible for individuals with vision and hearing impairments.

In addition, the complex also has amenities like a fitness center, a library, a community garden and more.

The Fallstead is a result of public-private partnerships between the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and Wesley Hamel Lewinsville LLC, itself a partnership between Wesley Housing Development Corporation and Hamel Builders.

“It was a dream, and at times a nightmare, but we’re here,” said Supervisor John Foust. “We’ve been looking forward to this for a long time. It’s been a very long journey.”

Foust said for years, the cost of redeveloping the parcel of land owned by Fairfax County into an affordable housing facility was not considered feasible. But Foust said that changed as the County looked into developing it as a public-private partnership.

“In McLean it can be a challenge for [older] citizens to find housing,” said Foust. “That need is only growing.”

At the grand opening, guests, neighbors, and new residents were led on a tour of the facility.

“It’s wonderful to have this finished,” said Jan Auerbach, a nearby resident. “These 82 units are terrific, and we need more, but I can’t complain.”

Auerbach and many other visitors said they were excited for the Lewisville Senior Center currently under construction behind The Fallstead. The Lewisville Senior Center is scheduled for completion in Spring 2019.

“It’s been a long time coming,” said Mark Finks, a nearby resident. “There’s been years of talk, now it’s finally here. After all the noise and dirt, it’s great to come here and see it. It looks nice and there’s such a need for it in our community.”

Aurora Singletary is scheduled to move into the The Fallstead soon and said she was delighted to walk around and look at the facility.

“It feels really great to be here,” said Singletary. “My daughter drove by in February and saw the ad for senior housing… When I came in, I thought it was absolutely beautiful. I won’t even have to take the bus to work out, it will be right here near the courtyard.”

Singletary moved to the area recently from Portland. She said one of her favorite things about the facility — apparently in contrast to her previous housing arrangement in the Pacific Northwest — is the fact that it doesn’t reek of marijuana in every room.

Ever wanted to march in a parade? Registration is now available to join the annual McLean Winterfest.

The parade is scheduled to be held along Old Chain Bridge Road on Sunday, Dec. 2 as part of the 10th annual Winterfest. Check-in for the parade starts at 2 p.m. and the parade itself will begin at 3:30 p.m.

From 2-5 p.m., Old Chain Bridge Road from Fleetwood Street to Elm Street will be closed for the parade.

The parade will feature an “official” Santa Claus, so others in Santa costumes not be allowed in the parade. Also, pets that are not a part of rescue organizations are not allowed to march without prior written approval from parade officials.

A full list of rules for those marching or driving in the parade is available online.

Photo via McLean Winterfest

Tysons Reporter has put together a map and list of planned and ongoing transportation projects in McLean.

During their Sept. 25 meeting, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved a status report on transportation projects throughout the County. Included in the report is an updated list of all ongoing and planned transportation projects.

McLean, part of the Dranesville District, begins on page 443. Most of the projects planned for McLean are new sidewalks, aligning with Fairfax County’s goals of making McLean more walkable.

Projects in the pre-construction phase are marked in blue. Projects currently undergoing construction or scheduled to begin in October are marked in red. Projects that have not begun their design process were not included.

In Pre-Construction:

• Intersection of Balls Hill Road and Old Dominion Drive: A project is currently being designed to make intersection improvements, including a potential roundabout and pedestrian facilities. The design process is expected to end in December. Land aquisition activities are underway to secure the land at the intersection for development. Current funding for the project is $200,000.
• Chesterbrook Road Sidewalks: Three small sidewalk extensions are planned along Chesterbrook Road in McLean. Project scoping and initial coordination for these projects are expected for summer 2019. Each walkway extension is priced at $1 million.
• Sidewalk on Georgetown Pike: 700 feet of a ten-foot wide sidewalk is planned for the east side of Georgetown Pike south of Colonial Farm Road. An additional 350 feet of five-foot wide sidewalk is planned for the east side of Route 123 and Potomac School Road. The project is currently undergoing land acquisition with construction beginning in April 2020. Current estimate of project cost is $1.3 million.
• Sidewalk on Idylwood Road: 200 feet of five-foot wide sidewalk is planned for Idylwood Road near Falls Church between Norwalk Street and Eastman Drive. Final design for the sidewalk is underway and expected to be completed by July 2019. Construction is scheduled to begin April 2020 and continue through October 2020. Current estimated cost of the project is $300,000.
• Kirby Avenue Sidewalks: 520 feet of sidewalk connecting Chesterbrook Elementary School to Halsey Road along the south side of Kirby Road. The project is currently in land acquisition with construction scheduled to begin in March 2019 and finish in December 2019. Three additional sidewalk projects are planned along Kirby Avenue.  The total project cost is estimated at $925,000.
• Lewinsville Road and Spring Hill Road Intersection: Improvements to the intersection in design and expected to be completed in December. The aim is to improve traffic flow and safety and add pedestrian crosswalks. All construction dates are still to be determined. The total project cost is estimated at $15.8 million.
• Magarity Road Sidewalk and Crosswalk: A new eight-foot wide sidewalk is planned for the south side Magarity Road near Tysons between Lusby Place and Peabody Drive and one new crosswalk. The project is still in design until November 2020. Total project cost is estimated at $2.3 million.
• Westmoreland Street and Rosemont Drive Bike Lanes: A 400-foot widening of Westmoreland Street to add bike lanes is currently in the design. Construction is expected to begin in November 2019 and finish in August 2020.

Under Construction:

• Baron Road Walkway from Dead Run Park Trailhead to Douglass Drive: Construction of a new sidewalk is underway along Douglass Drive where it insects the Dead Run Park Trailhead, including a new curb and gutter. Construction is expected to be finished this month. The project budget is $700,000.
• Birch Street Sidewalk: 700 feet of new sidewalk construction is planned for the west side of Birch Street from Grove Avenue to an existing sidewalk. Construction began in September and will continue until June 2019. The total funding the the project is currently $1 million, with an estimated total cost of $1.8 million.
• Chesterbrook Road Sidewalk: Utility relocation is currently ongoing for a five-foot concrete sidewalk on the south side of Chesterbrook Road. Construction on the project is expected to finish in April 2019.
• Sidewalks on Dolly Madison Boulevard: Construction started in September for two five-foot sidewalks along the south side of Dolly Madison Boulevard. The first length, from Chain Bridge Road to Kurtz Road, is estimated to be completed by May 2019 and cost $450,000. The second, from Old Dominion Drive to Beverly Avenue, is scheduled for completion in June 2019  and will cost $450,000.
• Kirby Road Sidewalk: A six-foot sidewalk on the north side of Kirby Road is beginning construction this month and is scheduled to finish August 2019. The total estimated cost is $1.75 million.

Photo via Fairfax County. Map via Google Maps

The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) is looking for public input on ideas to cut down congestion in McLean.

At 7 p.m. on Oct. 18 in McLean High School, VDOT will hold its second meeting on a series of proposals to improve traffic in the area. Among the potential solutions is limiting access to and from Georgetown Pike from McLean, a proposal that drew controversy at an earlier meeting in August when hundreds of residents showed up to voice concerns that the plan would eliminate access to the Beltway from McLean.

A VDOT press release says the organization plans to give an update at the meeting in response to comments from the first meeting.

Several short-term solutions have already been implemented in McLean, including installation of traffic cameras and increased signage. Small traffic improvements have also been made throughout McLean, including widening the shoulder on westbound Route 193.

Intermediate solutions listed by VDOT include:

• Begin cut-through restriction process with Dead Run/Carper neighborhood, two neighborhoods in McLean that met the volume criteria for Fairfax County’s cut-through restriction process.
• Improve the Balls Hill Road and Georgetown Pike intersection, an intersection frequently congested with traffic turning onto the Beltway.
• Additional coordination with local stakeholders and Fairfax County Public Schools to improve safety around Cooper Middle School, which is only 300 yards from the the Beltway and the congested Balls Hill Road and Georgetown Pike intersection.
• Make improvements to Douglass Drive and Georgetown Pike intersection, currently an intersection of two busy two-lane streets whose only traffic control measure is stop signs on Douglass Drive.

The longer-term solutions involve coordinating with Maryland on regional transit projects, namely improving the American Legion Bridge. The American Legion Bridge is a chokepoint for traffic going to and from Tysons, but making substantial improvements is going to be a challenge.

Images via VDOT

A new Thai restaurant recently opened in McLean.

Chiang Mai Thai Cookhouse is located at 6813 Elm Street, in the former Italian Deli space. It appears to have opened in August.

Offering Northern Thai cuisine and a frequently-changing menu, the restaurant is somewhat unique in its approach to dining in.

“We are open for lunch and dinner seven days a week,” Chiang Mai’s website says. “We accept walk-ins only; no reservations. We have a tiny dining room and can only seat groups of 4 or fewer.”

“Our dishes are served as family-style and will be sent to your table once they are made, in no particular order,” the website adds.

The listed business hours are 11 a.m.-3 p.m. and 5-9:30 p.m. on weekdays, and noon-9:30 p.m. on weekends.

So far reviews have been good, with 4.5 stars on Yelp.

“This was some mighty fine tasting Thai food, I actually love that the [desire] of the Chiang Mai Thai Cookhouse is to avoid fusion or American Thai food… and stick to the authentic favors as close as possible,” said one review. “I ordered the Kaosoi, northern Thai sausage, papaya salad and Nam prik oong. Every dish is well prepared, well cooked and well served.”

Photos via Chiang Mai Thai Cookhouse