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TextBraddock District Land Use Update
Commonwealth Swim Club Public Hearing July 20 Applications 2232-B08-7; SE-2009-BR-020 and SPA 79-A-075-03
Public Hearings before the Planning Commission and the Board of Zoning
Appeals are currently scheduled for July 20 and August 3, respectively
for a proposed 120 foot telecommunications tower on property owned by the
Commonwealth Swim Club located at 9800 Commonwealth Boulevard. The
application, which would ultimately allow for usage by three separate
carriers, has been submitted by T-Mobile Northeast. The pole, disguised
as a pine tree, will be placed in the rear parking lot of the club,
adjacent to the tennis courts which are accessed via Walport Lane.
A second community information meeting was held on the status of this
application on April 11, to show updated maps, and to provide current
information on the exact placement of the pole. At the request of staff,
the original location was revised to reduce any environmental impacts to
the adjacent Resource Protection Area and to review the visual impacts of
the pole based on a 2009 balloon flying. The pole has been reduced in
height from 150 feet to 120 feet.
On or about July 8, the staff from the Department of Planning and Zoning
will publish two separate reports which will provide their
recommendations on this application. Hard copies of these reports will
also be available in the Braddock office within several days of
publication. The reports can also be accessed at these addresses:
For the 2232 Report:
http://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpz/2232/staffreports/
For the Special Exception:
http://ldsnet.fairfaxcounty.gov/ldsnet/Zaps.aspx; then enter SE-2009
–BR-020 into the appropriate boxes. Click the link to the application and
then the link to “staff reports” on the left.
To testify before the Planning Commission call 703-324-2865 or sign up
on line at www.fairfaxcounty.com/planning/speaker/htm before 3:00 pm on
the date of the hearing. You will have five minutes to speak. Planning
Commission meetings begin at 8:15 pm. You can also email your thoughts on
this application to Braddock District Planning Commissioner Suzanne
Harsel at PlanCom@fairfaxcounty.gov and she will submit your letter into
the formal record of this hearing. Please copy Supervisor Cook at
Braddock@fairfaxcounty.gov.
To testify before the Board of Zoning Appeals call 703-324-1280 or email
clerktobza@fairfaxcounty.gov . The BZA meets at 9:00 am. A hearing before
the BZA is required because the swim club operates under a Special Permit
originally granted in 1975. As part of this hearing, the Club has agreed
to a development condition that caps its future membership at 350
members, as opposed to the current maximum of 425.
Trinity Christian School July 28 Public Hearing Scheduled
A public hearing before the Planning Commission has now been scheduled
for July 28 at 8:15 p.m. to hear testimony on a Special Exception
Amendment request (SEA 96-B-010-02) by Trinity Christian School to modify
some of its operational development conditions to allow use of its
buildings and fields when school is not in session. The school is located
at 11204 Braddock Road. Of particular concern to the school is a
condition that states that “the school buildings and outdoor playing
fields shall not be leased, rented or otherwise made available to groups
not affiliated with the school.” This precludes the school from making
its facilities available for evening classes, scout troops, community
sports leagues and church groups.
On June 9, Supervisor Cook hosted a Community Information Meeting at the
School to hear concerns from nearby residents and to allow the school to
answer questions regarding this proposal. Staff is currently working with
Planning Commissioner Suzanne Harsel to develop conditions that would
preclude lighting on the fields, restrict the use of the public address
systems to three times per year, restrict the maximum number of
individuals at an event to 350, restrict the hours for evening events and
limit outdoor activities to between 9:00 a.m. and 8:00 p.m. One indoor
overnight event per year is currently proposed and church use with a
capped attendance would be allowed between 9:00 a.m. and 1:00 p.m. on
Sundays.
Questions were also raised about the queuing that occurs on Braddock
Road when school begins and ends. Although the school is controlled by a
traffic signal at the School Driveway, parents attempting to access the
campus frequently are backed up into the through lanes of Braddock Road.
The school was requested to look at options for eliminating this backup,
including better stacking on the campus and/or increasing its carpool use
which is currently mandated to be a minimum of 40 percent of enrollment.
To register to speak before the Planning Commission call 703-324-2865 or
register on line at: www.fairfaxcounty.gov/planning/speaker.htm. To
submit testimony for the record, e-mail PlanCom@fairfaxcounty.gov
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