Reston Regional Library

ATTENDING: Committee members - Bruce Wright, Steven Cerny, Gene Klein, Joe Stowers, David Gibson and Edythe Frankel.

Other attendees: Goldie Harrison, Supervisor Hudgins' office; Keith Martin and Elizabeth Baker, Walsh, Colucci, Stackhouse, Emrich & Lubeley; Edward Byrne, KSI; Richard Rose, Lincoln Property Co.; Lee Fifer, McGuire Woods LLP; Jonathan Bond, BC Consultants Inc.; Beej Nissel, Verizon; Jeffrey Parnes and Glenn Stroup, Sully District Land Use Committee.

Ms. Frankel called the meeting to order at 7:35 p.m. The committee agreed to proceed with the proposed agenda.

Middleton Center, RZ & FDP 2000-MD-020 - Mr. Martin of Walsh Colucci summarized the application. The property consists of 66 acres located at the SE intersection of Frying Pan Road and Rt. 28. The application is for a rezoning from the R-1 district to Planned Development Commercial (PDC). Commercial, retail and residential structures will be built for a total FAR of 0.5. Park Center Road will be constructed as an extension of Horse Pen Road traversing the property from N to S across extensive wetlands at a cost of $3,000,000. The road follows the planned route of light rail from the Dulles Toll Rd. roughly to Route 28.

36 acres of floodplain are located on the property. The southwest section of the site will contain the highest density. Retail development was originally planned for a 2 - 2.5 acre section of non-flood plain land along Frying Pan Road. The developer is discussing the possibility of dedicating that land to the Fairfax County Park Authority to be used for recreation pending approval of the application.

The property is primarily located in the Sully District; Glenn Stroup and Jeffrey Parnes of the Sully Land Use Committee were present. The Sully Committee has met with the applicant and is generally satisfied with the plan. It supports the construction of Park Center Road as a needed local arterial road.

The residential development includes multi-family units similar to those on the GregRoy property, with elevators in the parking structure and similar affordable dwelling units requirements will apply.

The staff report is not yet complete, and no Planning Commission hearing date has been yet. There was discussion of adjacent parcels that are located in the flood plain and whether they will be included with the Middleton property in an out-of-turn amendment. The applicant will return in January for the recommendation meeting.

Bell Atlantic (Verizon) SE 00-H-043 - Mr. Fifer gave an overview of the application. The property contains 1.67 acres currently zoned R-E (residential estate, 1 dwelling unit/2 acres). It is located between Horse Pen Road and Route 28 near the Dulles Corner parcels that were recently before the committee. Verizon is planning to build a switching station needed to support increased computer traffic in the region. Two large oak trees will be removed. A magnolia tree in the front of the property will remain. The proposed structure will be 3 stories high with a total of 63,800 sq. ft.

After discussions with Fairfax County staff, the façade of the building was redesigned to be compatible with adjacent office buildings. Total FAR is 0.88.

There was discussion about the amount of impervious surface on the site. Despite the small number of employees working in the building, county regulations require a minimum number of parking spaces. There is a need to for a waiver of full County parking requirements for this case, and there may be a need for a general reduction of County parking requirements for large structures with few employees.

The surrounding asphalt road is needed to allow access for large vehicles. The Countywide Trail plan is being modified to include a trail along Route 28. When asked if the applicant would be willing to comply with this future requirement he declined. The applicant will return on Dec. 5.

Lincoln Property/Norton (Coppermine Associates) RZ & FDP 1999-HM-022 - Ms. Baker presented the application to rezone the 22 acres from R-1 to Planned Development Commercial (PDC). Four office buildings are planned, with 2 parking structures and ground level parking. An open space in the center of the development is planned for recreation uses for the building occupants. Density will be 0.75 FAR. A large area along the north property boundary is located in the flood plain, and the Environmental Quality Corridor and will be dedicated to the County for park purposes. It will contain a stream valley trail that connects to adjacent properties.

Mr. Stowers noted that Ms. Rice had concerns about the application and was not able to attend the meeting. He discussed her concerns that the proffers for a rezoning from R-1 to PDC should be more extensive and that there should be a commitment on the part of the applicant to provide retail uses. Ms. Baker stated that there are ongoing discussions with County staff in preparation for the staff report and there may be changes as a result. She noted the difficulty of making a commitment to retail uses when there may be limited after hours use of the facilities.

Mr. Gibson was concerned that the cemetery adjacent to the property may be located within the property. Ms. Baker will check on the precise location of the cemetery. Mr. Gibson also thought that the delineation of the flood plain extent is incorrect. Ms. Baker noted the difficulty of determining the boundary line when walking the property.

Mr. Wright asked why there was no mention of car-pooling or other transportation alternatives in the proffers. Ms. Baker said in the discussions with County staff there may be inclusion of additional proffers.

Mr. Wright asked if there were plans to save any of the large mature trees along the edge of the Summerfield Suites property. Ms. Baker said there were no plans to save those trees.

Mr. Cerny asked if the ground level parking area along Coppermine Road could be minimized to allow for more open space. Ms. Baker stated that the applicant feels there is a need for all planned parking.

The Planning Commission hearing is scheduled for December 14. The applicant will return on Dec. 5.

Minutes - Minutes of the Oct. 17, 23, Nov. 6 and 21 will be acted upon at the Dec. 5 meeting. Committee members should be prepared to discuss any suggested changes. The secretary will not provide copies of the minutes.

Recommendations - There was general agreement to use the format of the GregRoy recommendation format for future recommendations.

Infill Comments - There was limited discussion of the Infill Report comments developed by Mr. Gibson. Ms. Frankel stated that she disagreed with the uniformity of design comments, stating that by being too strict, appropriate infill development may be discouraged. The committee decided to continue the discussion on Dec. 5. Mr. Gibson asked members to send him comments in the format he used for his document.

Z.O. Amendment for PRM District - There is a proposed Zoning Ordinance amendment to establish a new planned development district, PRM, Planned Residential Mixed Use District, to allow high density residential uses and high density residential and commercial uses in areas designated for such uses in the Comprehensive Plan. The Planning Commission public hearing is scheduled for November 2, 2000 at 8:15 p.m. and the Board of Supervisors public hearing is scheduled for December 11, 2000 at 3:30 p.m. This item was deferred to the Dec. 5 meeting.

New Business - There was some discussion of when the permanent Hunter Mill District Land Use Committee will be established. Initial discussions with Supervisor Hudgins indicate that there will be 15 members, 5 appointed by Supervisor Hudgins and 10 from the civic associations, selected approximately in proportion to population in the planning districts (except for Reston, which has its own P&Z Committee).