The Town of Vienna is leading the way in Virginia with a newly conceived celebration of four amendments to the U.S. Constitution that enshrined the rights of people of color and women.

The town announced on Friday (March 12) that planning for the inaugural Liberty Amendments Month celebration is officially underway, and community organizations, businesses and individuals are encouraged to help shape the four weeks of festivities.

Liberty Amendments Month is the brainchild of Vienna Town Manager Mercury Payton, and the Vienna Town Council adopted a resolution on Dec. 7 to officially recognize the occasion. It has since been ratified by the Virginia General Assembly as well.

“We all can celebrate these amendments that ensure rights and liberties for each of us,” Payton said.

Patrons of the now-passed bill included Del. Mark Keam (D-Vienna) and state Sen. Mamie Locke (D-Hampton), who was one of Payton’s professors at Hampton University, Inside NOVA reports.

“I’m so proud that the Town of Vienna is leading the way in initiating this holiday and month-long commemoration of these fundamental rights that we all cherish,” Mayor Linda Colbert said. “I’m especially proud that Town Manager Mercury Payton came up with the idea and has worked hard to see it become a reality.”

In the wake of last summer’s racial justice protests, Payton conceived of Liberty Amendments Month as a celebration of the 13th, 14th, 15th, and 19th Constitutional amendments, which abolished slavery, granted citizenship to anyone born or naturalized in the U.S., and extended voting rights to all citizens regardless of race and gender.

Liberty Amendments Month will begin on June 19 — also known as Juneteenth — with an educational event that will “offer a thoughtful reflection on the liberties assured by these four amendments to the U.S. Constitution,” according to the town.

Each of the next four weeks will be dedicated to one of the four liberty amendments with contests, lectures, classes, themed restaurant specials, walks, art exhibits, films, and performances.

The celebration will culminate on July 19 with a multicultural festival featuring food, drinks, crafts, and entertainment from around the world. The Vienna Town Council has designated that day as Liberty Amendments Day, replacing Columbus Day on its list of official holidays.

“There’s lots to celebrate here,” Councilmember Chuck Anderson said. “This is going to be a people’s event just as the Constitution is the people’s document.”

Groups interested in sponsoring, participating in, or hosting events can apply online by April 1.

The town is advising planners to accommodate COVID-19 restrictions and social-distancing guidelines, which could still be in place this summer.

Planning meetings will be held at 5 p.m. on the fourth Tuesday of each month. Interested organizations can contact [email protected] for a Zoom link to the meetings or more details.

Photo via Town of Vienna

Federal American Recovery Plan Will Prevent Metro Budget Cuts — Metro will not need to make the drastic service and personnel cuts proposed in its fiscal year 2022 budget, thanks to Congress’ approval of a new COVID-19 relief package that includes $1.4 billion for D.C. region transit agencies. The potential changes, which included closures of the McLean and Greensboro stations, would have taken effect in January 2022 if the advertised budget got approved. [WMATA]

Thomas Jefferson Admissions Changes Spur New Federal Lawsuit — “Fairfax County Public Schools is facing a second lawsuit over changes officials made last year to the admissions process at Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, its flagship STEM magnet school. The suit, filed in federal court Wednesday, alleges the changes are discriminatory against Asian Americans and therefore violate the equal protection clause of the U.S. Constitution.” [The Washington Post]

Ramp Closure Planned for I-495/I-66 at Fairview Park — The ramp from southbound Interstate 495 to westbound Interstate 66 will be closed from 11 p.m. Saturday (March 13) to 7 a.m. Sunday, and again on 10 p.m. Sunday to 4 a.m. Monday. The ramp will have two exit lanes when it reopens, one of which has been closed since late January for the construction of a new ramp as part of the Transform 66 Outside the Beltway project. [Patch]

Vienna Town Council Debates Undergrounding Utilities — “Placing utility lines underground in Vienna’s Maple Avenue corridor would beautify the streetscape and improve service reliability, but at a steep cost. According to a feasibility study…presented at the Vienna Town Council’s March 8 work session, utility undergrounding in 10 locations would cost an estimated $22 million – the equivalent of about half of the town’s general-fund budget for one year.” [Sun Gazette]

Capital One Appoints New Board Members — “McLean banking giant Capital One Financial Corp. (NYSE: COF) has appointed executives from Facebook Inc. and Nike Inc. to its board of directors, the company said Tuesday. In May, shareholders will vote on the election of Ime Archibong, head of new product experimentation at Facebook, and Craig Williams, president of Jordan Brand at Nike.” [Washington Business Journal]

Vienna Fire Department to Host Two Inova Blood Drives — The Vienna Volunteer Fire Department (400 Center St. S) will hold two blood drives this spring for Inova, one from 1-7 p.m. on March 25 and the second from 10 a.m.-4 p.m. on April 2. Face coverings are required at both events. [@ViennaVFD/Twitter]

Businesses in the Town of Vienna will now have more leniency for outdoor dining and other commercial activities until at least Sept. 1, as the COVID-19 pandemic continues to constrain indoor activities.

The Vienna Town Council unanimously voted last night (Monday) to extend an emergency ordinance temporarily waiving zoning regulations on outdoor commercial operations that was scheduled to expire on Mar. 31.

This is the fourth time that the council has adopted the ordinance, which enables the town manager to grant temporary permits to businesses so they can operate outside without necessarily meeting all of the town’s usual requirements.

Vienna first adopted the measure for a 60-day period on June 1, 2020 in recognition that “COVID-19 constitutes a real and substantial threat to public health and safety,” as stated in the ordinance, which was extended on June 15 to Sept. 30, 2020 and again on Aug. 31 to Mar. 31, 2021.

With scientific evidence suggesting that the novel coronavirus spreads more easily in enclosed, indoor settings, many restaurants and retailers pivoted to offering outdoor activities last summer so they could keep operating under capacity limits imposed by state guidelines. While Virginia Gov. Ralph Northam loosened some restrictions starting this month, dining establishments are still limited to 10 indoor patrons, and capacity for all businesses is limited by the need for at least six feet of social distancing.

Under the emergency ordinance, Vienna is waiving requirements in the Town Code related to business activities that occur “outside of a wholly enclosed building, use of onsite sidewalks, and required parking areas for outdoor commercial activity.” Town Manager Mercury Payton

Town of Vienna Director of Planning and Zoning Cindy Petkac told the town council on Monday that the town has issued temporary permits to 32 businesses so far.

While the extension was approved quickly, Councilmember Chuck Anderson noted that, with the weather about to warm up and public health restrictions easing as COVID-19 cases decline, town officials should start considering what to do once more people start spending time outside of their homes.

“As more and more people get the vaccine and people start going out, the demand for those parking spaces, which has been pretty low, is going to increase,” Anderson said. “I don’t have any good ideas myself right now. It’s just something I thought we should keep on the radar screen over the next several months.”

Mayor Linda Colbert agreed that the town will need to prepare for potential conflicts between businesses that want to maintain outdoor operations and drivers looking for parking, which tends to be a challenge to find along Maple Avenue.

“We’d all be happy to have that problem, I think,” Colbert said. “We want those restaurants to just be booming, but I agree. We should be looking forward and thinking about that.”

Photo via Vienna Business Association/Facebook

After a year off, ViVa Vienna will look quite different in 2021 — if it gets held at all.

Planning for the Town of Vienna’s annual Memorial Day festival has commenced, but with the COVID-19 pandemic still an unavoidable threat to any public gathering, many details remain up in the air, from exactly when and where it will be held to how to control attendance at the typically bustling event.

The Rotary Club of Vienna, which sponsors the festival, told the Vienna Town Council on Monday (Feb. 8) that it would like to hold ViVa Vienna around Memorial Day as usual. This year’s Memorial Day weekend falls on May 29-31.

However, organizers say it will not be feasible to move forward with the event if Virginia is still limiting fairs and other entertainment businesses to 250 people at that time.

“We’re still working through a lot of this,” Rotary Club of Vienna ViVa Vienna Committee Chair AJ Oskuie said. “If we have the number [at] 250, it just won’t work from an economic standpoint.”

As an alternative, the rotary club has proposed pushing ViVa Vienna back to the weekend of Oct. 16. Oskuie says that is the earliest possible date if Memorial Day weekend does not pan out, because the festival’s usual ride vendor, Cole Amusement Company, is booked until then.

Town officials noted that, while it would leave more time for the pandemic to get under control and restrictions on crowds to potentially lift, an October date would present its own challenges, both from a health standpoint with the cooler weather and a logistical one.

Vienna already hosts a Halloween parade and Oktoberfest that month, and if the 2022 ViVa Vienna returns to the normal May date, it would mean having the same event twice in one fiscal year, something the town has never done before.

“Those are big events,” Vienna Town Manager Mercury Payton said. “That’s the part that makes me wonder how it would affect staff. We can make that work, but that to me is a higher concern than the monetary piece.”

The Town of Vienna co-sponsors ViVa Vienna and provides staffing support for security, road closures, trash removal, and setting up the facilities. Vienna Finance Director Marion Serfass says the town spent about $43,000 to pay staff overtime for the last ViVa Vienna in 2019, though a two-day event would cost closer to $28,000.

Councilmember Nisha Patel noted that the festival has the advantage of being outdoors, which poses less of a risk for spreading COVID-19, but organizers will have to implement safety measures, like a mask requirement, regardless of when the event takes place.

Oskuie confirmed that enclosed amusements like a funhouse will not be included, and the festival might use food truck vendors instead of stalls so they can spread out, rather than stay confined to one location.

Vienna Parks and Recreation Director Leslie Herman recommended preventing crowds by moving the festivities to an area that can be fenced in with entrances and exits, and by requiring attendees to register for time slots.

An event plan has to be approved by the Fairfax County Health Department and Fire Marshal’s Office, along with the Vienna Parks and Recreation Department. Oskuie told the town council that the Rotary Club will deliver a status update on Mar. 1, with Apr. 5 as the deadline for making a final decision on how to handle the festival this year.

Despite the obstacles, Vienna officials expressed hope that ViVa Vienna will go on. In addition to drawing as many as 30,000 to 40,000 people every year, the festival typically generates about $175,000 in proceeds that the Rotary Club gives to local charities and community organizations.

“We just need to be cautiously optimistic. There are so many unknowns out there right now,” Councilmember Steve Potter said. “…Just take it one week at a time and see where we go, but we need it. The town needs the uplift. Everybody needs it right now, and I don’t think we should drop it.”

Electrify America has its sights set on the Town of Vienna as it embarks on ambitious plans to expand its national network of electric vehicle charging stations.

Specifically, the Reston-based subsidiary of Volkswagen would like to install a station with three or four chargers in the parking lot next to the Sunoco gas station at the intersection of Maple Avenue and Center Street.

After meeting with town staff on Sept. 4, Electrify America representatives presented the proposal to the Vienna Town Council during its conference session last night (Monday).

“We think it’s a good location, because while people are charging, they can walk to different shops,” Electrify America Mid-Atlantic Project Manager Ian Hostetler told the council. “We just think it’s a great amenity that would benefit the town and its citizens, and we’re hopeful we can make this work.”

Electrify America currently operates more than 2,000 electric vehicle chargers at 556 different sites in the U.S., including one in the parking garage of the Tysons West shopping center off of Route 7.

The company announced in August that it is working with Tysons Corner Center to bring a station to the mall sometime early this year as part of its plans to add 800 sites by the end of 2021.

This is not the first time that Electrify America has pursued projects in the Town of Vienna, which got its first electric vehicle chargers last year when Wawa opened with a Tesla station.

According to Hostetler, the company had a deal to bring electric vehicle chargers to the Bank of America lot at 235 Maple Avenue, but the town determined that, as an automobile service station, the utility is not permitted by the site’s “special commercial” zoning. A separate plan for chargers at Maple Avenue Shopping Center stalled when negotiations with property owner Washington Realty reached an impasse.

The parking lot now being eyed by Electrify America is owned by the Town of Vienna, but the company would have to clear a few hurdles to turn its pitch into a reality. Read More

Vienna Town Councilmembers Announce Reelection Bids — Howard Springsteen, a 12-year veteran of the council, and newcomers Steve Potter and Nisha Patel announced earlier this week that they will seek reelection on May 4, though no candidates have formally filed paperwork yet. [Sun Gazette/Inside NoVA]

CVS to Offer COVID-19 Vaccine in Virginia — “CVS plans to offer COVID-19 vaccine appointments starting Feb. 11 at select locations in Virginia for people eligible in phases 1a and 1b…According to a CVS spokesperson, the list of specific stores for vaccines will be provided on the CVS website as stores receive shipments and appointments become available.” [Patch]

Police Charge Maryland Man for Using Stolen Identities to Buy Cars — “Detectives from our Major Crimes Bureau charged Nickolas Mathis, 36, of Maryland, with multiple felony offenses following a serial crime spree involving the fraudulent purchases of several automobiles at dealerships in Fairfax, Tysons and Chantilly.” [Fairfax County Police Department]

Tysons Start-Up Seeks to Create 5G Network — “Tysons satellite communications company Omnispace LLC has raised $60 million in fresh funding…The startup, founded in 2012, aims to create seamless 5G connectivity to companies that operate across urban and more rural areas across the world.” [Washington Business Journal]

Virginia Senate Passes Bill Requiring Schools to Have In-Person and Virtual Learning Options — “Sen. Chap Petersen, D-Fairfax, a co-sponsor of the measure, said the nearly yearlong stretch of remote learning has frustrated families, including his own, and threatened the loss of a generation of students.” [Associated Press/WTOP]

The Town of Vienna has expanded a push for more sidewalks.

The Vienna Town Council voted unanimously yesterday (Monday) for an amendment that will require developers of single-lot properties to construct a sidewalk regardless of whether an adjacent sidewalk exists.

The approved amendment to Sec. 17-67.2 of the town’s code also permits the director of public works, in consultation with the town attorney and town manager, to waive the construction of a new sidewalk in exceptional circumstances.

“This is exciting, I think, to make Vienna more walkable. This just gets us a little closer to that goal,” Mayor Linda Colbert said.

The amendment to the town’s code comes after the Virginia General Assembly revised Sec. 15.2-2242.9 of the Code of Virginia in July 2019. The state’s revision allows jurisdictions to require construction of sidewalks even when there are no existing sidewalks adjacent to the property.

“I think this is a great idea. I know if we had this 10 or 15 years ago, it would solve a lot of problems,” Councilmember Howard Springsteen said. “But I think things have changed. I don’t think 10 or 15 years ago we could have done this. The fact that they changed in Richmond has really given us a great start in that.”

The amendment to the town’s code does not change an existing requirement for the dedication of land for public use.

Town Attorney Steve Briglia clarified for the council that the only change being discussed at Monday’s meeting was requiring a sidewalk regardless of whether there are adjacent sidewalks. He also said that the amendment couldn’t require a curb or gutter to be the responsibility of the developer.

He added that, since the mid-1960s, the town has required property developers to dedicate land and build a sidewalk unless the council waived it. Even if the requirement was waived, a right-of-way was always dedicated and owned by the town for public use.

“It’s a legal issue in the sense that we already require the dedication. This is not new. 17-67.1, which is not before the Town Council for an amendment, already requires the dedication,” Briglia said.

“If you develop a lot in Vienna, teardown single family or a subdivision — we’ve always done it for subdivisions — you have to dedicate the land on the frontage of the street for sufficient right-of-way for sidewalk, curb and gutter,” Briglia added.

The council also discussed addressing the language elsewhere in the town code, specifically Sec. 17-67.1 and Sec. 18-203, to clarify issues on the dedication of land for sidewalks and nonconformity for the dedication of land for public use, respectively.

Virginia has awarded the Town of Vienna close to $50,000 so that it can assist residents and businesses struggling to pay their water and sewer bills due to economic effects of the COVID-19 pandemic.

The Vienna Town Council voted yesterday (Monday) to formally accept the $49,290 grant from a coronavirus relief fund that the Commonwealth of Virginia established using federal CARES Act money to help municipal utility customers experiencing economic hardship as a result of the ongoing pandemic.

The grant funds must specifically go toward overdue utility payments incurred between Mar. 1 and Dec. 30 of last year.

Town of Vienna Finance Director Marion Serfass told the council that the town has identified about 59,000 water and sewer customers who might be eligible to receive funds.

“We’re now going through the process of reaching out to customers and trying to get them to accept the funds, because we really want to give those funds away,” Serfass said.

The town sent out letters to individuals and businesses that meet the grant criteria. Staff members will also call customers to ensure all of the funds are distributed by the grant’s Jan. 29 deadline.

Vienna coordinated with Fairfax County to apply for the state grant in November.

The grant can cover up to 5% of the administrative expenses related to allocating the funds, but Serfass says the Town of Vienna will only need to use a fraction of that amount to cover postage costs.

In order to receive relief, customers must show that they are dealing with economic challenges because of the COVID-19 pandemic, whether it is because they have been laid off or lost hours, are unable to work because they have contracted or at a high risk of contracting the disease, or have to stay home to provide childcare.

Serfass says the process of contacting eligible residents and businesses has been “slow-going,” but she is confident that the town will be able to distribute all the grant funds in time.

For residents of Fairfax County and the cities of Falls Church and Fairfax, Fairfax Water has extended the application window for its COVID-19 municipal utilility relief program to Jan. 15. The deadline to apply for payment assistance was previously Dec. 30.

Photo by Pan Xiaozhen on Unsplash

The Town of Vienna has hired the real estate consulting firm Streetsense to conduct a market study and formulate an economic development strategy that the town can use to support and attract businesses.

The Vienna Town Council approved the $100,000 contract last night (Monday). Half of the funding comes from Fairfax County through an Economic Development Support Fund grant.

For the market study, Streetsense will be responsible for analyzing Vienna’s commercial market and proposing policies, programs, and strategies that could improve its competitiveness and address challenges, such as vacancy rates.

The study will be used to create the economic development strategy, which “will provide a roadmap to guide business recovery, better support existing businesses, and bring in complementary new businesses,” the town says in a news release.

“Streetsense has a wealth of knowledge when it comes to retail and other businesses,” Vienna Economic Development Manager Natalie Monkou said. “We’re confident that not only does the Streetsense team have the skill set to complete the market study and strategy development, but that they also understand the need for inclusivity and have the capability to assist the Town in reaching out to Vienna’s diverse businesses and business stakeholders.”

Streetsense was chosen for the project out of 13 teams that responded to a request for proposals that Vienna issued in October. Five finalists were then chosen for interviews by a four-person selection committee that consisted of three town staff members and an economic development professional from the Town of Herndon.

Streetsense will partner with fellow consultant RCLCO Real Estate Advisors to conduct the market study, a process that will include a kick-off meeting, site visits, a survey of consumers and businesses, and conversations with stakeholders.

In its proposal to the Town of Vienna, Streetsense says its analysis will focus on the physical environment of the town’s commercial areas, local economic conditions, demographic and market data, and the town’s administrative capacity and resources.

The need to develop a clear economic development strategy has emerged as a priority for the Town of Vienna after its attempt to encourage redevelopment and mixed-use projects by establishing a Maple Avenue Commercial zone floundered.

The town hired Monkou as its first economic development manager in November 2019, and it is currently working to update its zoning code with Code Create Vienna, a process that is expected to be completed towards the end of this year.

Streetsense says that Vienna is at a “critical juncture” in its evolution, particularly in light of the economic challenges presented by the ongoing COVID-19 pandemic.

“The Town is in need of a forward-thinking, clear, and actionable roadmap to guide business recovery and resilience efforts, as well as key investment decisions in the coming years,” the consulting firm said in its proposal.

According to the Town of Vienna, the market study and economic development strategy are both expected to be finished this summer.

Staff Photo by Jay Westcott

In many ways, the Town of Vienna epitomizes the classic vision of a suburb with a main street surrounded by a sprawl of single-family houses, but the town’s effort to overhaul its zoning code for the first time in half a century could change that.

The town’s future could instead look more like the cottage-style housing that a pair of developers proposed to the Vienna Town Council during its work session on Monday (Dec. 14).

The first proposal came from Sekas Homes, which is looking at turning the Vienna Courts condominiums at 127-133 Park Street NE into a residential complex with 13 townhouses and 10 two-story, cottage-style duplexes.

For the second proposal, the homebuilder JDA Custom Homes wants to potentially redevelop the buildings at 117 and 121 Courthouse Road SW as a cottage-style subdivision with 12 units, either duplexes or detached houses.

Vienna Mayor Linda Colbert says the need to explore different housing options became apparent during the contentious, ultimately unsuccessful effort to establish a Maple Avenue Commercial zone, which was intended to encourage redevelopment and mixed-use projects.

According to Vienna’s Comprehensive Plan, which was last updated in 2015, its housing stock is comprised of 82.2% single-family houses, 7.6% townhouses, and about 10% multi-family units, including apartments, duplexes, and condos.

“With the MAC, there was a lot of discussion about what other kind of housing does Vienna offer for people who want to stay here, who don’t want a single-family house, or younger people,” Colbert said. “I know that conversation has been around for a while.”

According to Vienna Deputy Director of Planning and Zoning Michael D’Orazio, cottage homes offer a middle ground between condos or apartments and traditional single-family houses. They are smaller than traditional single-family units and can take the form of either detached houses or duplexes.

Cottage houses are also generally built around a central common area with parking separate from the main residence. They often appeal to people who want to downsize or age in place, since they are typically set up so residents can mostly live on one floor.

The Railroad Cottages in Falls Church are among the most prominent examples of cottage housing in Fairfax County.

D’Orazio said that Vienna’s comprehensive plan currently does not permit cottage housing, but it does mention village housing as an option for transitional areas between residential neighborhoods and commercial districts. Read More