Sully District Council of Citizens Associations
P.O. Box 230042
Sully Station, VA 20120-0042
Notes from the 19 August 2019 Joint Sully District Land Use and Transportation Committee
by Lewis Grimm, 2nd Vice President, SDCCA
- CALL TO ORDER:
In the absence of the respective co-chairs of the committees – Jeff Parnes for SDCCA and John Litzenberger for WFCCA – the meeting was facilitated by Lewis Grimm representing SDCCA and Carol Hawn representing WFCCA. The meeting was called to order at approximately 7:05 PM.
- MEETING ANNOUNCEMENTS:
- SULLY DISTRICT COUNCIL TWEETS!
- Follow us at @SullyDistrict!
- For transportation and related issues, follow the Sully District Transportation Advisory Commissioner at @SullyTAC
- No SDCSC Membership meeting was scheduled for August 2019
- LAND USE AND TRANSPORTATION COMMITTEE:
- 7:00 -- Dominion Electric Supply Company
The only item presented for discussion by the attendees was the proposal of Dominion Electric Supply Company for proposed changes to the retail component of the Dominion Electric Supply Company business locate at 14605 Lee Jackson Memorial Highway in Chantilly. The three representatives of the applicant in attendance – Mr. Evan Pritchard, Mr. Matt Rowan, and Mr. Ted Britt – outlined the proposed action as described below.
- Proponent: Evan Pritchard, Venable LLP
- Location: 14605 Lee Jackson Memorial Highway, Chantilly, VA
- From the On-line Land Use and Transportation Committee Presentation Registration Form:
- Exempt: Is not
- Statement Acknowledged: Not Applicable
- Proposal: Proposed changes to the retail component of Dominion Electric Supply Company business located at 14605 Lee Jackson Memorial Highway in Chantilly. Landscaping upgrades are proposed as well.
- Meeting Notes
- Mr. Pritchard began his presentation by noting that, at the time the existing facility had been approved and constructed in the early 1980s, the then applicable county zoning ordinance for mixed-use retail / warehouse facilities allowed only 5% of the total building area to be used for retail sales, with the remaining 95% of the building designated only for warehouse functions. Subsequent amendments to the zoning ordinance now allow as much as 40% of the total building area to be used for retail sales activities.
- The existing facility has a total of 2,000 square feet devoted to retail sales functions, with the proposed building reconfiguration proposing to result in between 7,000 and 8,000 square feet of retail sales activities. Mr. Pritchard noted that the redesign of the interior of the building is still in progress at this time, which explains the variation in retail space floor area being sought. He noted that even the largest retail area size of 8,000 square feet would still be substantially below the 40% of total building size allowed for retail use under the current county zoning ordinance.
- In response to a question posed by Mr. Grimm, Mr. Pritchard indicated that he would be transmitting an electronic copy of the PowerPoint presentation made to the group to Mr. Parnes for incorporation into the records of the meeting.
- Mr. Pritchard went on to note that while the official corporate name of the organization will remain Dominion Electric Supply Company, the name of the various retail / warehouse facilities is being changed to “Dominion Lighting.” He explained that this new name is better suited to describe the evolving interior and exterior lighting design and sales orientation of the facilities. He noted that the Chantilly operation is the highest revenue generating operation among the four current facilities, due in large part to the continuing residential and commercial growth in the Chantilly / Centreville areas of Fairfax and Loudoun Counties.
- He then went on to describe the new interior sales and consultative design concept to be implemented at the Chantilly operation through reference to the ongoing renovation of the Arlington County operation. Construction is now underway at the Arlington location, with a “soft” opening anticipated in January of 2020, and the full completion and reopening activities anticipated to take place in February 2020. The Arlington location is viewed as the “pilot” for the renovation concept to be implemented at all the other facilities in the region. These interior renovations and expansions of the retail area are designed to better accommodate the needs of both walk-in customers and professional lighting and interior space designers working on a variety of residential, commercial, and office projects.
- In addition to the interior building renovations and remodeling, the proposal incorporates some modest external revisions to the existing site layout. A reconfiguration of the existing parking area will result in a net increase of 37 parking spaces. The proposed site plan also recommends the vacation of a previously required multiuse trail easement along the south side of US Route 50. This multiuse trail segment across the frontage of the property was provided as part of the VDOT sponsored widening and reconstruction of US Route 50 to provide three general use travel lanes in each direction through this portion of Fairfax and Loudoun Counties.
- This proposal is currently scheduled to go before the Fairfax County Planning Commission on October 30, 2019 with potential Board of Supervisors action anticipated in January or February of 2020. If the BOS action takes place at that time, it is anticipated that final design would take approximately 6 months, followed by 1 month for permitting, and a 3-6-month duration construction period. This would translate into an opening of the renovated Chantilly operation sometime in the spring of 2021.
- There were no questions or concerns raised by either the SDCCA or WFCCA representatives in attendance, and no one indicated a need for the applicant to make a return visit to the group.
- Old Business
- Jim Hart gave a brief status report on anticipated Planning Commission activities on items the Joint committee has already considered previously:
- The applicant for the proposed assisted living facility to be constructed along Hunter Mill Road has requested an indefinite deferral of further action. Further investigations have identified the presence of a natural spring on the property in addition to continuing concerns regarding the viability of the proposed facility’s septic system to properly treat all the resident effluent.
- The Fairfax County Water Authority proposal is scheduled to go before the Planning Commission on September 18th
- The Luck Stone Quarry proposal is scheduled to go before the Planning Commission on December 4th. Mr. Hart noted that an additional public information meeting is likely to be held prior to that date.
- New Business
- Jim Hart gave a brief status report on anticipated Planning Commission activities in the coming months:
Three more Westfields area residential development projects are also anticipated to come before the Planning Commission in the coming months
- Elm Street in January 2020
- K Hovnanian in February 2020
- Stanley Martin in March 2020. This latter project is within the Dulles Airport 65 dBA noise contour zone
- Carol Hawn expressed concerns that the long-established Fairfax County Planning & Zoning process was, in her view, deteriorating.
- She expressed the view that new and evolving information on key decision factors such as the updated Dulles Airport noise contour mapping was not being adequately considered by either the Planning Commission in making their recommendations or by the Board of Supervisors in making their final decisions.
- Similarly, she noted that evolving activities such as the way to best assess the implications of “Contaminants of Emerging Concern” (CEC) upon county waterways and underground aquifers did not seem to be giving proper consideration. She commented that such growing environmental concerns across the county, especially with respect to the implications on private wells and septic systems need to be given a much greater level of consideration than now seems to be the case.
- Next month's meetings will start at 7 PM in the Sully District Governmental Center Front Meeting Room, 4900 Stonecroft Boulevard, Chantilly, VA, 20151 unless otherwise noted
- The next Membership meeting will held on 25 September 2019
Topic: Fairfax County Candidates Forum with the League of Woman Voters, Fairfax Area
- Sully Supervisor
- Kathy Smith (Democrat – Incombent)
- Srilekha R. Palle (Republican)
- Sully School Board Member
- Stella G. Pekarsky (Democratic-Endorsed Independent)
- Tom A. Wilson (Republican-Endorsed Independent – Incombent)
- The next Joint Sully Land Use and Transportation Committee meeting is scheduled for 16 August
Topics:
- 7:00 -- Residential Development on Westfields off Conference Center Drive | RZ/FDP 2019-SU-009
- ADJOURNMENT
The meeting adjourned at approximately 8:30.
Respectfully submitted,
Lewis Grimm
2nd VP
Sully District Council
Sully District Council Home Page
Sully District Council Minutes
Land Use & Transportation Committee Minutes
Data Area Transportation Association information
© SDC;
http://www.SullyDistrict.org webmaster2018 @ SullyDistrict.org
modified by Jeffrey M. Parnes