Attendees: Dick Frank (TAC), Carol Hawn (Singleton's Grove), Al Linch (Virginia Run), Mark McConn (Bull Run Estates), Jeffrey Parnes (Chantilly Highlands), Glenn Stroup (Franklin Farm), Larry Tessier (Franklin Glen)
Guests: Tom Carney (Wilmot/Sanz), Damien Chaves (Mobil Oil), Joan Danneman (INOVA Health System), Rick Dengler (Coscan/Brookfield), Chuck Dunlap (W.L. Phillips, Inc.), David Farrell (Fairfax Construction, LLC), Joe Luce (CPI), Gil Kesser (Sully Station), Peter Renek (BC Consultants), Sara Kroll (Land Design Consultants), Jim Scott (INOVA Health System), Marie Travesky (Travesky & Associates), Tom Thomas (Fagelson, Schonberger, et al), Art Walsh (Walsh, Colucci), Susan Yantis (Walsh, Colucci), Philip Yates (Dewberry and Davis)
1. Marie Travesky spoke on PCA 74-2-112 in which Mobil Oil proposes to build a service station, mini-mart with accessory fast food, and car wash on the corner of West Ox and Piney Branch roads. The facility is planned to operate 24 hours with six gas pumps, one of which will provide diesel fuel. The design of the facility is the same as a recent facility put in at Stone Road in Centreville, which was the result of consultation with the citizens there.
The parcel in question is part of four lots. The southern lot fronting on both West Ox and Piney Branch roads is being rezoned to C-8. The lot to the north (currently zoned I-5 with a .25 FAR limit) is not part of the proposal but will have access to Piney Branch Road through this parcel. Until access is granted to a private road along the northern parcel, VDOT has authorized right in/right out access to this parcel from West Ox Road at a point that can serve both this and the northern parcel. The two lots to the east are not considered in this development proposal, and await access along the same private drive.
The proposal has already been discussed with the Windsor Mews townhouse community, and Marie was given a phone number of a contact in the Dix-Cen-Geto community. The county staff was concerned with the spread of commercial development north on West Ox Road. In order for the proposal to get their approval three sets of proffers were made. Currently the staff is recommending approval and has offered only minor comments. The developers will landscape both the southern and northern lots even though they are only developing the southern one. There will be an eight-foot high sign. The planning commission hearing is 28 April.
The committee had no formal comments on the facility.
2. Tom Thomas returned to answer concerns that the committee had on plans to redevelop the old Craftsman out-lot on the corner of Route 50 and Centreville Road as part of the existing Sully Plaza shopping center. The developer wants to construct a 10,000 square foot freestanding CVS facility to the south and a 2500 square foot fast-food facility to the north on the parcel. Staff has reviewed the proposal and recommends denial based on the comprehensive plan language that discourages auto-oriented usage.
Jim Hart, who could not attend the meeting, had furnished his concerns on the site in writing to the committee (see last month's minutes). Mr. Thomas was made aware of Mr. Hart's objections, which mostly were in regard to the fast food facility to the north, and especially concerning the dead-end parking in front of the pad. Mr. Thomas indicated that he had surveyed other fast food restaurants in Northern Virginia, and felt that the configuration being proposed was suitable and would work. He also indicated that the proposal was zoned C-8 and in a highway corridor overlay district.
The committee voted 5 yea, 0 nay, with 2 abstentions to object to the fast food restaurant to the north but express no objection to the CVS facility to the south.
3. Art Walsh returned to answer questions concerning the Coscan/Ridge Top Road development west of the Smith-Carney tract and north of the Warren Tract. He indicated that the number of units in the development had decreased from 130 to 116. The major concern that the committee had was with parking for the ADUs as they would not have garages but would be given assigned spaces. The committee was afraid that that would not stand in light of a recent court decision that common-ground parking must be allocated without regard as to whether individuals units contain garages. Art was able to clarify the letter he had sent the Council by explaining that in the court decision depended on the interpretation of the association's legal documents. In that association's legal documents were both the assignment of common-ground parking space to certain residences and at the same time a statement that all the common ground was available to all. Art indicated that if the documents had specifically assigned the parking spaces, and had identified them as not common ground, then there would have been no problem. He also indicated that they planned to ensure that that problem did not exist in this development.
Art also indicated that this development along with the Smith-Carney tract to the west, and the Warren tract to the south, were asked by staff to coordinate their design efforts. This include recreational facilities (pools, trails, parks, fields, etc.), lighting, signage, mail boxes, etc.
4. Art Walsh and Susan Yantis then spoke about the Smith-Carney tract, located west and southwest of the Coscan/Ridge Top Road development, and to the east of the Government Center. The 80-acre Smith-Carney tract was the subject of a recent Comprehensive Plan amendment, with a resulting planned use of PDH 12 and C3. Since illustrative drawings were presenting during the Plan Review, the commercial sector was moved from the southwest portion of the property to the southeast section, that way no longer backing to other residential development but instead to 13 acres to be donated to the Park Authority.
Multi-family housing is planned on the southwestern portion of the property, where the commercial development had originally been planned. Town houses will go on the north on both sides of the land to be dedicated to the Park Authority and adjoining the Coscan/Ridge Top Road development. The developers propose to construct a soccer field, tennis courts, a fitness trail and a multi-purpose on the proposed Park Authority land. Two major four-lane roads will be built as part of the development, continuing the roads that have been started by others on both sides of the Government Center. There will be two pools serving this area, with one probably oriented to the multi-family units and the other serving the townhouses in the rest of the Smith-Carney tract as well as the Coscan/Ridge Top Road and Warren developments.
5. Jim Scott and Susan Yantis presented INOVA's plans for three additional structures adjoining Fair Oaks Hospital. The property to the west of Fair Oaks Hospital up to Rugby Road had been replanned several years ago. At that time proffers had been made not to have direct access from Rugby Road, to dedicate both a 100-foot buffer along Rugby Road, and the right-of-way to four lane Rugby Road on the east side of the road, to retain a FAR of .20 and limit any buildings to a 60-foot height. These conditions are all being met. INOVA and the county/VDOT are currently negotiating about whether INOVA will have to build that four-lane section of Rugby Road. The Planning Commission public hearing date is 5 May. INOVA would like to build three structures.
The first would be a three-story, 72,000-square-foot assisted-living facility for senior citizens. It was explained that the term assisted-living is equivalent to such other terms as home for adults and adult care residences. It describes a facility for people who need assistance for up to four types of care, while nursing homes are for those who need help in five or more types of care - such as dressing, feeding, washing, etc. There will be 92 units in the facility with 134 beds. It will contain a 20-unit wing for memory impaired patients (people suffering from Alzheimer disease, for instance). The structure will be located to the southwest of the furthest of the two existing medical office buildings, and its footprint will be on both the current property and on the property which had been replanned. It is expected that construction on the facility will occur as soon as the plans are approved. The facility will be a joint project between INOVA (nonprofit) and Sunrise (for profit), with INOVA supplying the facility and Sunrise providing the services. Jim Scott was asked what commitment that INOVA had to providing services to indigent county residents since it was a non-profit, and he indicated that INOVA had a commitment to provide facilities for people who could not afford the commercial rates.
The next two structures will be two four-story, 88,000 square-foot office buildings planned to be 52 feet high. The first of the two, built to the west of the hospital and to the south of the planned location of the second building, will be used for medical offices and ambulatory surgery. Plans for the second are still rather vague, as the timetable for their construction show that the first would be build three years hence and the second ten years out.
The committee was concerned with the traffic flow serving the projected two new buildings. It seemed that they would have to be accessed through parking lots, without a direct route. The committee recommended that INOVA reconsider its internal circulation plan.
6. The committee then voted 6 yea, 0 nay with 1 abstention to support both the Smith-Carney and Coscan/Ridge Top Road developments as examples of what coordinated developments should be.
7. Glenn Stroup the showed plans approved by the county for a self-storage facility on southwest corner of Wall and Centreville roads. The plans for the self-storage facility show that they plan to provide storage for recreation vehicles that cannot be stored with the adjacent communities (Franklin Farm and Chantilly Highlands being directly across Centreville Road). The planning notes indicate that such usage is conformance with previous proffers.
Glenn pointed out that the staff has already stated, in a letter he presented, that such storage was not in conformance with the proffers, and was concerned that staff had approved this development without considering the true meaning of the their own interpretation.
The committee voted unanimously, with no abstentions, to strongly oppose the introduction of mini-storage at Wall and Centreville roads, and vehemently oppose the non-conforming proposal to store recreation vehicles as contraindicated by the proffered conditions.
8. Larry Tressier reported on the Park Authority invitation-only meeting on 9 February where it solicited input from citizen, school and sports groups. The School Board has offered 30 acres next to the West Fairfax High School site, off Lee Road near Westfields, to the Park Authority to use for the West Fairfax Recreation Center if the Park Authority chooses. Only 15 of the 30 acres are usable, as the rest are environmentally sensitive. The Park Authority has a $15 million total budget for recreation center, so if it does not choose to use the suggested site, then the cost of land acquisition will have to come out of budgeted amount.
At the meeting, many sports groups requested features, such as Olympic sizes swimming and diving areas, indoor tracks, etc., which are available no where else in the county. The Sully representative felt that the sports groups were clambering for a facility of county-wide interest, but thought the facility should be built to serve the interests of Sully residents, rather than the be a county-wide facility. The proposed location drew comment, as it is far west even in the Sully District, and is accessibility to Loudoun and Prince William counties brought up concerns that residents of those counties who did not pay for its construction could be using it to the detriment to Fairfax County residents. The Park Authority tries to recoup the operating costs in user fees for the facility, and should be directed to institute a two-tier fee schedule, one for county residents and the other for residents of other counties.
A Park Authority representative will attend the Sully District Council Meeting on 28 April to discuss their plans for the West Fairfax Recreation Center.
9. Larry also commented the need for oversight on VDOT's road construction. He described the poor construction he has seen on the various projects that VDOT has completed. Dick Frank commented that VDOT labors under a serve disadvantage in that all the construction so mentioned had to be accomplished while the road was open to traffic. Larry responded the Maryland seemed to be able accomplish their improvements, such as on Route 50 from the Beltway to Annapolis, with much better results.
10. Al Linch invited the members to the 16 March meeting of the West Fairfax County Citizens Association (WFCCA) which will consider SYA's plans to develop playing fields near Virginia Run. He also asked the members to review the points that the WFCCA had made which were reported in the February minutes. He suggested that the Sully District Council might want to consider taking positions on them at its April meeting.
Respectfully submitted,
Jeffrey M. Parnes
Chair, Sully District Council
Land Use and Transportation Committee