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TextLake Anne Village Center Comprehensive Plan Amendment
On December 4,
2006, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors authorized evaluation of a
plan amendment (ST06-III-UP2) by Department of Planning and Zoning staff
for Reston’s Lake Anne Village Center and adjacent areas. Staff
will consider changes to the Comprehensive Plan to help achieve the land
use objectives identified by members of the Lake Anne community through
the efforts described below.
Latest News
On March 30, 2009, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors adopted the final Comprehensive Plan text to guide the revitalization of the Lake Anne Village Center in Reston. The Village Center encompasses approximately 41 acres located south of Baron Cameron Avenue, on both sides of North Shore Drive and Village Road. The Plan recommendations are contained in the UP5 - Reston Community Planning Sector of the Upper Potomac Planning District in the Area III volume of the Comprehensive Plan. The amendment revised the boundary of the Village Center and the boundary of the Lake Anne Village Center Commercial Revitalization Area. The Plan recommendations provide guidance as to the desired mix of uses and intensities to meet revitalization goals for the Village Center. In addition, the new Plan text includes urban design guidelines to encourage redevelopment that is supportive of the unique character of the historically significant Washington Plaza.
Board of Supervisors - Adopted Text (03/30/2009)
Planning Commission Recommended Approval of the Amended Text (03/18/2009)
Final Staff Report – Lake Anne Village Center (02/10/2009)
Draft Comprehensive Plan Amendment Text – Lake Anne Village Center (11/06/2008)
Lake Anne Village Center Parking and Transportation Study Final Report prepared by PB Americas, September 2008.
Contact Us
For questions or comments,
Write:
Lake
Anne Village Center Study
Department of Planning & Zoning
Planning Division, Suite 730
10255
Government Center Parkway
Fairfax, VA 22035-5505
Email:
DPZ-LakeAnne@fairfaxcounty.gov
Phone:
Planning Division Main Number 703-324-1380
Background
The citizens of the Lake Anne community and staff from Fairfax County have been engaged in a multi-stage process to develop a vision for the future of the Lake Anne Village Center. The Comprehensive Plan Amendment process was preceded by an intensive information-gathering stage, conducted primarily by the Fairfax County Department of Housing and Community Development (DHCD).
The first step in the information-gathering process was an Economic Analysis of the Lake Anne business community and surrounding market area, conducted by Basile Baumann Prost & Associates Inc. and published in March 2005. The Economic Analysis reviewed the physical infrastructure, land ownership, and market and financial conditions of the Lake Anne Village Center to determine if revitalization activities were appropriate for the study area. The study concluded that revitalization efforts in the study area were necessary to allow the Village Center to continue to be an economically viable entity. The consultant team offered three potential revitalization concepts for consideration by the community. These included:
- Strategic Marketing (included no new development)
- Modest Infill (included a low level of new development)
- Master Plan Realization (reflected moderate levels of additional development reflective of those that were proposed for Lake Anne in the original Reston Master Plan).
The consultant report recommended that the Village Center residents and other stakeholders in the area be provided with a forum to evaluate and comment on the three concepts presented as a result of the consultants’ analysis and the associated recommendations.
The Economic Analysis and Initial Revitalization Concepts report can be found on the DHCD Revitalization website for Lake Anne.
The next step in the process was to solicit input regarding potential revitalization from Village Center area residents, merchants, developers, government employees and community groups. The Perspectives Group was retained in Spring 2005 to conduct targeted focus groups and a public meeting. The results of this public-outreach effort were used to shape a design charrette that focused on the three potential revitalization strategies identified in the Economic Analysis report. The Perspectives Group prepared a Focus Group Findings report with the results.
In June 2005, the Lake Anne Design Charrette was held to identify the community’s preferred direction for revitalization. The purposes of this design exercise were stated as follows:
- To retain and strengthen the signature of Lake Anne;
- To define the best Land Use components for the future;
- To identify possible design options;
- To join plans and programs for implementation; and
- To see consensus for plans and programs for the near future.
The charrette panel of design experts depicted for participants five different options that were derived from the three concepts in the Economic Analysis report, which can be found in the Lake Anne Charrette Presentation.
Comprehensive Plan Amendment Process
The plan amendment process will consider potential changes to the Fairfax County Comprehensive Plan for the Lake Anne Village Center and selected adjacent areas. These changes may include possible adjustments to the boundary of the Lake Anne Commercial Revitalization Area and the addition of new guidance as to a desirable mix of uses in the study area.
Consultant Study
In the fall of 2006, the Fairfax County Department of Housing and Community Development, Office of Revitalization, selected the consultant team of Basile Baumann Prost & Associates, Conklin Costantin Architects LLP, and Architecture Inc. to undertake a study with the following components:
- Review existing plans and policies impacting the Lake Anne Revitalization Area.
- Propose design concepts to support revitalization goals.
- Prepare draft land use text and draft land use design guidelines to support revitalization goals.
Supervisor Catherine M. Hudgins, Hunter Mill District, appointed a Technical Advisory Panel (TAP) to work with the consultant team. The TAP consisted of seven Reston residents with experience in architecture and design, local knowledge of Lake Anne and Reston and other technical and community expertise.
The consultant team worked, with input from the TAP, to refine a revitalization concept from those identified in the Economic Analysis Report and develop draft land use text and draft land use design guidelines that support the concept.
Given that a portion of the study area is the Lake Anne Village Center Historic Overlay District, the consultant team presented a Summary of Draft Land Use Plan Text Land Use Design Guidelines on March 8, 2007, to the County’s Architectural Review Board (ARB), which is responsible for evaluating development in the county’s Historic Overlay Districts.
Representatives from the consultant team, led by BBPA, presented an overview of the draft Comprehensive Plan recommendations as detailed in their report, Lake Anne Village Center Recommendations for Draft Comprehensive Plan Text and Urban Design Guidelines at a public meeting on Wednesday, March 28, 2007.
A second public meeting on the draft Comprehensive Plan recommendations was held on April 25, 2007. Department of Planning and Zoning staff and consultants from BBPA provided additional information about the draft recommendations and answered questions. Click here for a copy of the presentation.
Next Steps
Staff in the Department of Planning and Zoning is developing revisions to the consultant’s draft land use recommendations and draft land use design guidelines. Once this process is completed, the next steps in the plan amendment process will include the following:
- Recommendation by staff of the preferred land use guidance;
- Review by the Planning Commission of the staff recommendation and receipt of public input at a public hearing;
- Recommendation by the Planning Commission to the Board of Supervisors of preferred Plan language;
- Consideration by the Board of Supervisors of the Planning Commission recommendation, staff recommendation and public input at a public hearing.
It is anticipated that the Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors’ public hearings on this plan amendment will take place in the first quarter of 2009. The Plan Language and the Staff Report for the plan amendment will be posted on this webpage when they are available.
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