Potentially Icy Sidewalks and Roads Pose Hazards — “Temps near or below freezing combined with recent rain may cause ICY spots on roads and sidewalks this morning…Motorists and pedestrians should use caution this morning!” [Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department/Twitter]

Fairfax County Seeks Input on Fairfax Connector Future — “The Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) is beginning outreach on the 10-year Transit Strategic Plan (TSP) and is seeking input from county residents…The TSP incorporates outreach results from short-term, sub-area studies that are being conducted in Herndon/Reston, Franconia-Springfield, Centreville/Chantilly/Vienna/Tysons and Huntington.” [Sun Gazette/Inside NoVA]

McLean District Police Recover Car Reported Stolen — “Officers stopped a 2016 Acura RDX which had been reported stolen. The driver, Chesterfield Stewart, 21, of Maryland, was taken into custody. A gun with an altered serial number was located inside the SUV. Stewart was charged with receiving stolen goods and alteration of a weapon serial number.” [Fairfax County Police Department]

Fairfax County Prosecutor Makes Major Sentencing Reforms — “Prosecutors in [Commonwealth’s Attorney Steve] Descano’s office will stop using mandatory minimum sentences in plea deals, and charging people who commit minor offenses with felonies. And that’s just the start.” [WTOP]

How the Vienna Foodies Grew Into a Movement for Good — “Over a year ago, Vienna VA Foodies was started as a Facebook group celebrating Vienna’s restaurants. Today, it has become a community effort to help restaurants, thank first responders and assist people in need.” [Patch]

Staff Photo by Jay Westcott

The Church of the Holy Comforter in Vienna raised more than $2,600 in donations with the drive-thru Nativity that it held on Dec. 19.

Patti Boerger, the Holy Comforter’s director of childcare, says the funds will be allocated to local food, shelter, and support services throughout the coming year.

Situated on Beulah Road, the Episcopal church typically stages a retelling of the Nativity — the Biblical story of Jesus’s birth — during its Christmas Eve services, but staff members knew continuing with that tradition would be ill-advised while the COVID-19 pandemic continues to rage.

While Virginia has not imposed mandatory capacity limits on religious services, the Virginia Department of Health warns that such gatherings present a risk for increasing the spread of the novel coronavirus, and faith organizations are encouraged to offer virtual or drive-in options instead of in-person services.

The Holy Comforter canceled several of the family activities it usually organizes during the holiday season, including events for making Advent wreaths and gingerbread houses. Church staffers came up with the idea of a free drive-thru live Nativity as a way to make up for those cancellations.

“We shifted gears at our staff meeting and asked ourselves what we could do differently,” Holy Comforter Rector Jon Strand said. “…The live drive-thru Nativity allows all ages to be safe in their vehicles and celebrate the glory of Christ’s birth.”

The Nativity featured costumed volunteers and live animals arranged in six scenes around the church’s parking lot. It lasted from 1:30 to 3 p.m.

The Holy Comforter was not the only church in the Tysons area to pivot to a drive-thru Nativity.

Patch reported on Dec. 15 that a similar event hosted by the McLean Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints attracted an estimated 3,000 attendees over two nights. Donations went to the Share of McLean food bank run by the McLean Baptist Church.

Photo by Zachary Conroy/ImagesforGood.org

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 (Dec. 28)

• Providence District Coat Drive — The Providence District Community Center and James Lee Community Center are still accepting donations of new or gently used coats for local community members. Donors can call the location they are visiting ahead of time to ensure a contactless drop-off. The coat drive is ongoing until Jan. 31, 2021.
• ESOL Conversation Group (Online) — 7-8 p.m. — The City of Falls Church’s English as a Second Language Conversation Group will host its weekly meeting for people looking to practice their English. Request a Zoom invite by emailing Marshall Webster at [email protected].

Tuesday (Dec. 29)

• Falls Church Writers Group (Online) — 7-8 p.m. — Writers looking to give and receive feedback on their work can join this group hosted by the City of Falls Church. You can email [email protected] to get an invite to the Zoom meeting.

Thursday (Dec. 31)

• New Year’s Eve Dinner — 5 p.m. at Blend 111 (111 Church St. NW) — The Vienna restaurant Blend 111 is offering a five-course tasting menu to celebrate New Year’s Eve. Both indoor and outdoor dining are available, and there will also be a “Spanish-themed” carryout option for people who would prefer to eat at home.
• Flashback to the ’80s — 8 p.m. at Jammin’ Java (227 Maple Ave. E) — Doors open at 7 p.m. for this New Year’s Eve party in Vienna with DJ D, who will play classic hits of the 1980s from Prince and Madonna to The Cure and Billy Idol. There will also be a “Name that Tune” contest, prizes for ’80s outfits, and a midnight champagne toast. Tickets cost $35, and tables come with a two-item minimum purchase. Guests should adhere to social distancing protocols and wear masks at all times except when eating or drinking. You can purchase tickets through Jammin’ Java’s website.
• Be Safe and Bubbly (Dec. 31-Jan. 2) — all day at the Hyatt Regency (7901 Tysons One Place) — The Hyatt Regency at Tysons Corner is offering a promotional package for guests who would like to celebrate the new year from the comfort of a hotel room. The $175 package includes $75 of credit per day for in-room dining from Barrell & Bushel, along with parking and a complimentary bottle of sparkling wine. Reservations can be booked through the Hyatt using the promo code 85936.

Sunday (Jan. 3)

• “Sit and Sip” Meet and Greet (Online) — 10 a.m. — The Junior League of Northern Virginia is inviting prospective new members to a Zoom call to learn more about the organization, which aims to empower women through volunteerism and focuses specifically on addressing childhood obesity. During the call, current members will share their experiences and answer questions. People can RSVP through this link.

Photo by Michelle Goldchain

With Christmas just around the corner, many government offices and services will be closed for the remainder of the week, as employees take Thursday and Friday off for the holiday.

Fairfax County government offices will officially close at noon on Thursday (Dec. 24), and they will be closed for the entirety of Christmas Day.

All county parks and recreation facilities, including golf courses and RECenters, will be closed on Christmas.

However, all RECenters will be open until noon on Christmas Eve, and other facility hours vary that day depending on the specific location. The Jefferson District Golf Course in Falls Church, for instance, will have its last tee time at noon on Dec. 24, while the Oak Marr Golf Complex in Oakton will close at 2 p.m.

The McLean Community Center will be closed on Dec. 25 and have a half-day on Dec. 24 in accordance with the Fairfax County government’s holiday hours.

Fairfax County libraries will close at 1 p.m. on Thursday for the holiday weekend.

In the City of Falls Church, all city offices and services will be closed for the entirety of Dec. 24 and 25, including City Hall, the community center, and Mary Riley Styles Public Library. The library will also be closed on Dec. 26 and 27.

The Town of Vienna will close its offices on both Thursday and Friday. The Vienna Community Center will be closed from Dec. 24-27. Waste collection will proceed as normal on Christmas Eve, but there will be no collections on Christmas Day.

Fairfax County will not provide any trash and recycling collection services on Christmas Day. Customers who typically have their waste collected on Fridays will instead get service on Saturday (Dec. 26).

In addition, the county’s recycling and disposal centers at the I-66 Transfer Station (4618 West Ox Rd.) and the I-95 Landfill Complex (9850 Furnace Rd.) will close at 1 p.m. on Dec. 24 and stay closed throughout Dec. 25.

For transit users, Fairfax Connector will operate on Christmas Day according to its Sunday service schedule. Information about specific routes can be found here.

With students on winter break since Monday (Dec. 21), Fairfax County Public Schools has put its meal distribution services on hold starting today through Jan. 1. Yesterday, FCPS offered four days of breakfast and lunch to students who picked up meals at bus stops, and students who used Grab & Go locations or meal kits sites received 14-day meal kits.

Bus route meal distributions will resume on Jan. 4, while distribution at Grab & Go locations and meal kits sites will return on Jan. 5 and 6, respectively.

Staff photo by Ashley Hopko

A reconstructed Cedar Lane Bridge over Interstate 66 in Vienna will reopen to traffic today as anticipated, the Virginia Department of Transportation confirmed yesterday (Tuesday).

Restoring Cedar Lane’s connection between Cottage Street to the north and Route 29 (Lee Highway) to the south, the new bridge is wider and features a sidewalk on its west side. A new shared-use path on the bridge’s east side will eventually link to a 66 Parallel Trail being developed from Dunn Loring to Centreville.

VDOT closed the bridge to both drivers and pedestrians on May 15 so that crews could demolish the existing structure and build the new one.

The bridge reconstruction is part of VDOT’s Transform 66 Outside the Beltway project, which is adding toll lanes along 22 miles of highway between Vienna and Gainesville.

The Cedar Lane Bridge reopening will enable Fairfax Connector to restore service on Routes 462 and 467 between the Dunn Loring-Merrifield Metro station and Tysons Corner to the routes and schedules they had before the bridge closed.

The Fairfax County Department of Transportation announced last week that it will also add Sunday service to Route 467.

Until the service changes take effect on Jan. 4, Fairfax Connector buses will continue following a modified route that utilizes Cottage Street and Gallows Road for those two routes.

Even with the new bridge completed, some construction activities will continue in the Cedar Lane area.

“Drivers, pedestrians, cyclists, and other bridge users should be alert for continued construction activity in the area surrounding the bridge, including completion of nearby sidewalks, noise walls, and the shared-use path along I-66,” VDOT said.

Photo courtesy VDOT

The Vienna Police Department received three separate reports of vehicle break-ins at the Vienna Dog Park on Courthouse Road earlier this week.

The incidents all reportedly occurred between 3:45 and 4:34 p.m. last Sunday (Dec. 13).

There were two grand larceny cases involving women who said someone broke one of their vehicles’ windows and stole their purses. One of the women said other items were also missing.

In the third case, a male town resident said someone broke a window in his vehicle and seemed to have rummaged around, but nothing appeared to have been taken. Police have classified the incident as an act of vandalism.

This week’s Vienna police report includes two other crimes involving vehicle break-ins outside of the dog park incidents.

One resident reported that, between 3:30 p.m. on Dec. 12 and 9:30 a.m. on Dec. 13, someone had entered her unlocked vehicle and “rummaged through” it, though nothing appeared to have been taken.

Another citizen reported on Dec. 13 that his wallet and cell phone were stolen from his unlocked vehicle sometime between 8 and 10:50 p.m. The man’s car had been parked in the alley behind Domino’s Pizza at 331 Maple Ave. East.

Past issues with rampant vehicle tampering and thefts have prompted the town police department to advise residents to lock their car doors and remove all valuables and keys from the vehicle.

Photo via Vienna Police Department/Facebook

Fairfax County School Board Approves Revised TJ Admissions Process — “The Fairfax County Public Schools board voted Thursday to adopt a “holistic review” for admissions to Thomas Jefferson High School for Science and Technology, a revision meant to boost diversity at the top-tier magnet school and that ends months of fraught and fiery debate.” [The Washington Post]

Express Lanes Operator Adds Co-Investors After Year of Reduced Traffic — “While impacts of the COVID-19 pandemic led to a reduction in Express Lanes traffic of around 80 percent in April compared to last year, Transurban has seen traffic increase gradually through 2020. In November traffic on the 495, 95 and 395 Express Lanes was down 39 percent.” [Transurban]

McLean Tech Company Donates WiFi Spots to Families — “To help provide equitable access to today’s digital curriculum through safe and reliable embedded internet connectivity, Kajeet and [Amazon Web Services] teamed up to donate Kajeet SmartSpots – controlled WiFi hotspots – with unlimited data plans to GOODProjects, which were distributed to 30 local families in need.” [Kajeet/PRWeb]

Town of Vienna Announces Holiday Decorating Contest Winners — Potomac River Running and the resident of 121 Casmar Street SE won Vienna’s annual holiday decorating contest. This was the first year of the competition to include residents. It also featured a porch parade. [Town of Vienna/Twitter]

Staff photo by Angela Woolsey

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

Icy Roads and Sidewalks Pose Hazards after Yesterday’s Snow — “So far, between 5:30 and 6:00 a.m., FCFRD has responded to two incidents related to people slipping and falling on ice and injuring themselves. If you must be out this morning, walk with care and caution! Walk like a penguin!” [Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department]

Office Leasing in Tysons Remains Slow — “Tysons, one of the country’s largest suburban office hubs, appears well-positioned to benefit from an anticipated pandemic-related shift in demand away from downtowns. But while office developers in the market hope to capture that demand, they have yet to see it materialize.” [Bisnow]

McLean Church Supports Food Bank with Drive-Thru Nativity — “The McLean Stake of the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints hosted the drive-thru live Nativity and food drive Friday and Saturday…Organizers estimate over 1,000 cars drove through on the two nights with an estimated 3,000 attendees.” [Patch]

Vienna Police Department Joins Annual Santa’s Ride for Children — “All donate [sic] toys, games, books and gifts were distributed to children at FFX Hospital, Georgetown Lombardi Cancer Center.” [Vienna Police/Twitter]