The Weekly Planner is a roundup of interesting events coming up over the next week in the Tysons area.
We’ve searched the web for events of note in Tysons, Vienna, Merrifield, McLean, and Falls Church. Know of any we’ve missed? Tell us!
Monday (Mar. 22)
- Cherry Blossoms at The Boro — The cherry blossom installation is opening at The Boro (8350 Broad St). The vignettes will be up from Mar. 22 through Apr. 18. Sit and enjoy the spring weather, and snap a picture to join their social media campaign and a chance to win a gift card.
Wednesday (Mar. 24)
- (The) Unruly Theatre Project’s Virtual Improv Show (Online) — 7 p.m. — The McLean Community Center’s teen improv group is putting on its latest virtual performance. Registration is open up to two hours before the show. The Zoom link and password will be emailed to those who register. For more information, contact [email protected].
- Conversation with Tyler Cowen (Online) — 7-8 p.m. — The Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library hosts a virtual talk with economist Tyler Cowen, who will discuss “the insane stock market, future of jobs, arts going global, favorite books, local ethnic food and more.” Register in advance to receive a Zoom link to the event.
- Mystery Book Club (Online) — 7-8 p.m. — The Mary Riley Styles Public Library’s monthly mystery book club is meeting to discuss “Mystery in the Channel” by Freeman Wills Crofts. To get the Zoom link for this event email [email protected]
- Student Town Hall (Online) — 6:30-7:30 p.m. — Fairfax County School Board member Melanie Meren is hosting a town hall for students to ask her questions. Meren represents the Hunter Mill District, but the Q & A is open to all FCPS students. The theme of the town hall is “What can FCPS do to help you during these times?” Students are required to register ahead of the event to receive the Zoom link, and questions can be submitted through the registration form.
Thursday (Mar. 25)
- Ask Chair McKay (Online) — 10-11 a.m. — Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay will answer questions about everything from the COVID-19 vaccine rollout to the county budget and Metro during a Twitter town hall. Questions can be submitted by using the hashtag #askChairMcKay.
- Falls Church Writers Group (Online) — 7-8 p.m. — This online group is for writers to share their work and receive constructive criticism. For more information or to request the Zoom link, email Pete Sullivan at [email protected].
Friday (Mar. 26)
- Family Fun Trivia Night (Online) — 7-9 p.m. — The McLean Community Center is hosting a family-friendly, virtual trivia night. Registration is required, and the price is $5 per team. There will be prizes for the winning teams.
- Vienna Theatre Company Production: Dear Elizabeth (Online) — 7:30 p.m. — Dear Elizabeth is the story of the famed correspondence between two of the 20th century’s top poets, Elizabeth Bishop and Robert Lowell. Live, virtual performances will also be available to view on Saturday (March 27) and April 2 and 3, with matinees at 2 p.m. on Sunday (March 28) and April 3. Tickets are on sale now for $15. Questions call Lily Widman at 703-255-5738 or email [email protected]
- Mayor’s Walk — 9:30 a.m. at Vienna Town Hall (127 Center St S) — Meet Vienna Mayor Linda Colbert in front of Town Hall and take a walk through town. This is an opportunity to chat with Mayor Colbert or voice questions and concerns.
Saturday (Mar. 27)
- Doggie Playdate at The Boro — 11 a.m.-noon at The Boro Park (8350 Broad Street) — A pop-up springtime doggie playdate is happening at The Boro Park. Register for your pet to receive a floral bandana, doggie biscuits, and cherry blossom treats. If there is rain, the make-up day is March 28.
Photo via The Boro/Twitter
Traffic is starting to flow again in the Vienna area of Interstate 66 after a multi-vehicle crash shut down the eastbound lanes after Cedar Lane around 9:20 this morning (Monday).
The crash occurred at the 63.6 mile marker and backed up traffic for approximately two miles, according to the Virginia Department of Transportation.
VDOT’s live traffic cameras showed vehicles starting to move again around 9:40 a.m., but the left lane appears to still be closed as of 10 a.m.
“Motorists can expect delays due to a multi-vehicle crash,” VDOT said in an update at 9:51 a.m. “The East left shoulder and left lane are closed.”
https://twitter.com/WTOPtraffic/status/1373992946010353664
Images via VDOT
Virginia Extends Tax Deadline — Gov. Ralph Northam announced on Friday (March 19) that the state taxation department will extend deadline for filing and paying individual income taxes from May 1 to May 17. The move came shortly after the IRS and Treasury Department pushed the deadline for federal income tax filings and payments from April 15 to May 17. [Virginia Governor’s Office]
Bicycling Still Hazardous in Tysons, Study Finds — A market study commissioned by the Tysons Partnership found a lack of the protected bicycle lanes and connections between neighborhoods and streets needed to make the area friendlier to cyclists. Nearly 10 miles of road in Tysons rank in the Fairfax County Department of Transportation’s most dangerous category, compared to just two miles receiving the highest bikeability rating. [Greater Greater Washington]
Vienna Police Arrest Man Suspected of Burglary — The Vienna Police Department arrested a 58-year-old man on March 15 after receiving calls about a man “pulling on doors, possibly trying to enter businesses in the area” and later entering a resident’s home while they were sleeping. Police are looking for assistance in identifying jewelry and other property that the man allegedly stole. [Vienna Police Department]
CDC Updates Social Distancing Guidance for Schools to Three Feet — “Fairfax Superintendent Scott Brabrand said Friday in a message to parents that the new guidance was “very encouraging,” but under review. He said he will meet with principals and county health officials next week to work on the issue.” [The Washington Post]
Dranesville District Budget Town Hall Tonight — Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust is holding a virtual town hall at 7 p.m. to discuss Fairfax County’s proposed fiscal year 2022 budget. The meeting will be televised on Channel 16, streamed online, and streamed live on Foust’s Facebook page. [Supervisor John Foust/Facebook]
The ballot for the Town of Vienna’s May 4 election has been finalized, with four candidates — three incumbents and one challenger — vying for the three seats that are up for a vote.
Councilmembers Nisha Patel, Steve Potter, and Howard Springsteen all announced on Feb. 1 that they will be campaigning to retain their seats. Patel and Potter are both seeking second terms after being elected to the council for the first time in 2019, while Springsteen has served six consecutive, two-year terms since 2009.
The fourth candidate is Vienna Planning Commissioner David Patariu, a lawyer who was appointed to the commission in October 2019. This is his second time running for a position on the town council after he joined six other candidates in last year’s race.
The Town of Vienna holds elections annually on the first Tuesday of May. Three town council seats go on the ballot every year, and even years also feature mayoral elections.
Polls will be open from 6 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the Vienna Community Center (120 Cherry Street SE).
All Vienna residents who are over 18 years old and have U.S. citizenship are eligible to vote in town elections. New voters can register in person with the general registrar’s office at the Fairfax County Government Center (12000 Government Center Parkway), by mail, or online.
Vienna will not be utilizing ballot drop-off boxes for the upcoming election, according to the Fairfax County Office of Elections.
However, that could potentially change. The Virginia General Assembly passed a bill during its special session in February that requires the establishment of drop-off locations for absentee ballots, aiming to make permanent a measure that was implemented on a temporary basis last year due to the COVID-19 pandemic.
The legislation went to Gov. Ralph Northam’s desk on March 1 with a deadline of 11:59 p.m. on March 31 for him to act on it.
Sekas Homes is planning to replace a two-story office building next to the mini-roundabout on Park Street in Vienna with a quintet of townhouses that will be priced “in the low $1 millions,” the developer says on its website.
The Town of Vienna Board of Architectural Review is scheduled to discuss Sekas’ request for approval to construct the proposed Cadence on Park development at 201 Park Street SE during its meeting tonight (Thursday).
Dated June 2020, the site plan calls for the construction of five attached condominium townhomes on a 0.41-acre lot. The buildings would be approximately 33 feet tall above grade with four floors and a rooftop terrace.
The plan proposes a total of 14 parking spaces, including two garage spaces per unit and four surface spaces for visitors. Utilities would be located underground, and the site would feature a concrete pad surrounded by a six-foot wooden fence for trash containers.
Sekas, which built a similar townhome complex on Center Street in 2019, has committed to providing new road and sidewalk development as part of the Park Street proposal, according to its application to the Vienna Department of Planning and Zoning.
In order to build the townhomes, Sekas plans to demolish the existing structure at 201 Park Street SE.
The office building had been primarily occupied by medical practices, but most of the tenants have now retired, according to an individual with Vienna Hearing Center, the last remaining occupant.
The person told Tysons Reporter that Vienna Hearing Center will be relocating just down the road to the office complex at 124 Park Street SE. The audiology clinic is scheduled to move out of its current space on March 26 and will start seeing patients again at its new location on March 30.
Image via Cadence on Park L.C./Town of Vienna
A house fire on the 9700 block of Meadowlark Road in Vienna displaced seven people on Tuesday (March 16).
Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department units were dispatched to the single-family home at approximately 6:04 p.m. There was “heavy fire and smoke showing” when they arrived on the scene, the FCFRD said in a report released yesterday.
While no civilians were injured, one cat died in the fire, and a firefighter was transported to a local hospital with minor injuries. The firefighter has since been released.
The fire was detected when one of the three people who were in the house at the time smelled smoke. The occupants evacuated and called 9-1-1 after seeing smoke and fire issuing from the basement. Three dogs were also present and “escaped the fire unharmed,” according to the county fire department.
“Fire Investigators determined that the fire was accidental in nature and started in the basement,” the FCFRD said. “The cause of the fire was combustible materials too close to the operating fireplace.”
The fire produced approximately $378,750 in damages. The house’s seven residents are receiving Red Cross assistance after being displaced.
This is the fourth house fire reported in Vienna within the past 10 days.
A house fire on Bowling Green Drive on March 10 and one on Hunt Country Lane in the Wolf Trap area on March 11 each displaced two people. There was also a house fire on Baton Drive in Vienna on Monday (March 15). No people were at home at the time, but neighbors saved a dog that was present.
A combination of strong winds, relatively low humidity, and warming temperatures makes fires more common during this time of the year, according to the Virginia Department of Forestry.
When the National Weather Service issued a Red Flag Warning for Fairfax County on March 11, the Fairfax County fire department warned that cigarettes and other smoking materials discarded in mulch or brush could spark a significant fire.
Voting for McLean Community Center Board Begins — Residents of Small District 1A-Dranesville can now request a ballot to vote in the McLean Community Center’s 2021 governing board election. 13 candidates — five adults and eight teenagers — qualified to run for three adult and two teen vacancies. Ballots and affidavits verifying voters’ residency must be returned to MCC by mail or in-person by 5 p.m. on May 15. [McLean Community Center]
Metro Orders New Fleet of Railcars — “Metro has selected Hitachi Rail Washington LLC (“Hitachi Rail”) to build the system’s 8000-series railcars in the U.S. The contract, valued up to an estimated $2.2 billion, includes a base order of 256 railcars, with options to build up to 800 in the fleet. The project is expected to create direct and indirect jobs in the region.” [WMATA]
Vienna Leaders Skeptical of November Municipal Elections — Gov. Ralph Northam signed a bill last week that moves all municipal elections to November. Elected officials in the Town of Vienna, which traditionally holds elections in May, argue that having separate local elections makes them less partisan and prevents them from getting overshadowed by state and national races. Supporters of the change say it will save money and ensure better voter turnout. [Sun Gazette]
Virginia Issues Preliminary Guidance for Graduation Ceremonies — Virginia plans to allow in-person graduation ceremonies for high schools and colleges this year. Draft guidelines from the Department of Education state that masks and social distancing will be required, and attendance will be capped at 30% capacity, with a maximum of 5,000 people for outdoor events and 500 people for indoor events. [Patch]
140 Anti-Asian Hate Incidents Reported in D.C. Area in Past Year — “140 hate incidents have been reported against Asian Americans across Maryland, Virginia, and D.C. since March 2020, according to a new report by Stop AAPI Hate…The report comes as eight people, including six Asian American women, were killed in a shooting rampage in the Atlanta area.” [DCist]
McLean Depression Treatment Company Joins NASDAQ — “Greenbrook TMS Inc., the McLean mental health company that first went public two years ago in Canada, is now trading in the U.S. markets. The local depression therapy provider made its debut Tuesday on the Nasdaq under ticker symbol ‘GBNH.'” [Washington Business Journal]
Changes to parking standards and codes could be on the horizon in the Town of Vienna.
The Department of Planning and Zoning is assessing a variety of parking issues through the Code Create Vienna process, a comprehensive effort to review and update the town’s zoning and subdivision codes.
No specific changes have been proposed yet, but the town’s limited availability of public parking, particularly in the commercial corridor around Maple Avenue, has been a topic of discussion for years.
“We are currently still working on residential zoning standards and defining the boundaries of the non-residential districts,” Vienna Deputy Planning Director Mike D’Orazio said in an email. “When we get to parking, our lead consultant ZoneCo, along with Nelson/Nygaard, will be assisting us in the review and potential update of parking standards.”
During a “Lunch & Learn” online discussion on March 5, D’Orazio detailed the parking standards that are under review, including the number of parking spaces required for different types of uses, design standards — such as landscape and lighting standards — and dimensional standards related to parking.
The review of parking space requirements will include examining on-site shared parking, such as multi-tenant or multi-use buildings.
The dimensional standards refer to the minimum dimensions for parking spaces, the width of aisles, and other spatial aspects of parking.
“Even though we updated it recently, it’s worth kind of looking at best standards and what other jurisdictions are doing for their parking,” D’Orazio said during the Lunch & Learn discussion.
Landscaping and lighting will also be considered during the parking portion of Vienna’s zoning code update. Currently, landscaping is required five feet between public street and parking areas.
The town also plans to establish bicycle parking standards for the first time in the new zoning ordinance, along with rules regulating electric vehicle charging stations.
“This is something that’s going to be increasing or trending right now as electric vehicles become more popular and adopted,” D’Orazio said. “There’s shopping centers and public spaces that are adding these EV stations. We don’t really have much in the code right now regulating those. So, that’s something that we’ll really have to look at updating.”
The estimated timeline for the code update as a whole is between 16 and 18 months.
The Department of Planning and Zoning does not have a date for when a complete draft will be ready for public hearings before the planning commission and town council. However, based on the estimated 16-18 month timeline, D’Orazio said the department anticipates that may happen in fall or winter this year.
“The Code Create Vienna process is an iterative process, and we seek community input throughout the project, not just during the public hearings,” D’Orazio said in an email.
Staff photo by Angela Woolsey
First Baptist Church of Vienna to Hold Free COVID-19 Testing Event — The campaign of Virginia lieutenant governor candidate Sean Perryman, who previously served as president of the Fairfax County NAACP, will provide COVID-19 tests at no cost at the First Baptist Church of Vienna from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday (March 20). Eligible individuals can preregister through the provider Inspire Diagnostics. [Patch]
Wolf Trap Fire Station Neighbors Skeptical of Wireless Tower Proposal — “The vast majority of residents who expressed their views at a March 15 online meeting hosted by the Great Falls Citizens Association said the proposed monopole would be an eyesore, offer still-inadequate coverage and potentially harm neighbors’ home values and health.” [Sun Gazette]
Vienna Resident Sentenced to 33 Months for Fake Bomb Threats — “A former Old Dominion University student has been sentenced to nearly three years in prison for teaming up with white supremacists in a swatting conspiracy that targeted a Black church, his own university and a Cabinet officer, among others.” [WTOP]
Fairfax County Landlords Can Apply to Provide Rental Assistance — Fairfax County has launched a portal where landlords can access emergency rental assistance funds to help tenants who have been financially affected by the COVID-19 pandemic. The portal is part of the county’s efforts to reduce evictions, which have continued despite state and federal moratoriums. [Fairfax County Health Department]
A house fire on Baton Drive in Vienna yesterday afternoon (Monday) might have turned into a tragedy, if not for the intervention of a few quick-thinking, canine-loving neighbors.
The blaze occurred between 4:30 and 5 p.m. on the 1900 block of Baton Drive, according to the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department. Vienna Volunteer Fire Department Chief John Morrison confirmed to Tysons Reporter that units from his department also responded to the incident.
James Madison High School student Peyton Van Stone had just returned home from walking his family’s dog and was chatting outside with Ann Haines, a neighbor from across the street, when they noticed smoke issuing from a house a few doors down the road.
From there, Peyton says he stopped thinking and just acted.
“Me and [Haines] just ran up to the house to check it out and see what was happening, because it looked like there was a fire, or at least there was a lot of black smoke coming out,” he told Tysons Reporter this morning during a break in his online classes.
After another passerby called 9-1-1, Haines called the house’s resident, who is a friend since they often take their dogs on walks around the same time. She learned that no people were home, but their dog — a Rottweiler named Daisy — was inside in a crate.
Upon finding that the front door was locked, Peyton asked the next-door neighbors if they had a key before going around the back of the house and finding a way inside.
The fire had started outside the house near a detached garage, but it was spreading to the main structure by the time Peyton and Haines dashed upstairs to let Daisy out of her crate. Haines had a leash and was able to lead the dog outside, a feat made easier by Daisy’s familiarity with her.
After that, Peyton says fire trucks arrived to put out the blaze, and they later reunited Daisy with her owners.
“I’m glad everyone was okay,” Peyton said. “…I mean, I would hope someone would do the same for my dog, so I was just looking out for another neighbor, because that’s man’s best friend, a dog.”
While Peyton says he was too caught up in the moment to feel scared, his mother, Rebecca Van Stone, describes the ordeal as “surreal” and “very scary” to watch unfold. She recalls that the fire initially looked small, like smoke from a fire pit, before rapidly growing to the point where she worried it would spread to nearby trees and other houses.
“I just had thoughts of California, of these whole neighborhoods going up in smoke, and you could hear the crackling of fire,” Van Stone said.
Van Stone added that she’s proud of her son and Haines for acting quickly to help their neighbors. She was also impressed by the fire department’s response.
“They were very quick and efficient, I have to say, to save this woman’s house,” she said. “If it wasn’t for how quick they responded, the whole house would’ve been up in flames.”
According to Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department spokesperson Ashley Hildebrandt, investigators determined that the fire was accidental in nature, sparked by spontaneous combustion from recently added mulch.
After starting in a mulch bed, the fire spread to the detached garage and the main house but was largely confined to the exterior of the building. It caused $25,000 in damages, but people and animals all got through the incident unscathed.
“We all made sure the owners weren’t home. To know they were safe was the biggest thing,” Haines said. “Then, we knew we could focus on Daisy.”
Photos by Rebecca Van Stone
