North County Governmental Center Community Room
Call to order at 7:37 p.m.
Summary of meeting:
PCA 87-C-060, FCPS (McNair Farms ES), modular classrooms, PC 10/22/2003 - The committee voted to recommend approval of the application. Applicant will determine feasiblity of adding pedestrian access along north side of property.
RZ/FDP 2002-HM-043, SE 2002-HM-040, Launders property, PC in January. - Presentation of a development plan that contains a mix of residential, commercial, and retail land uses on the 53 acre Launders property at Centreville Rd and the Dulles Toll Road. Currently zoned R-1, proposed zoning is PDC. Information only.
Attendees: Steve Cerny, Sarah Newman, Chris Jaeschke, Thom Arnsperger, Bruce Wright, Betty Little, Steve Psarakis.
Other Attendees: Frank de la Fe (Planning Commissioner), John McGranahan (Hunton Williams), Sunny Sarna (Fairfax County Public Schools), Elizabeth Baker (Walsh, Colucci, Lubeley, Emrich, & Terpak), Jeff Fairfield (Launders property trust), Robin Antonucci (Wells & Associates), Robert Kohler (Wells & Associates).
PCA 87-C-060, FCPS (McNair Farms ES), modular classrooms, PC 10/22/2003 - Mr. Sarna and Mr. McGranahan discussed questions raised at their earlier appearance before the committee. The McNair community, the PTA and others had an oppportunity to meet with the applicant and ask questions at a community meeting sponsored by Supervisor Hudgins.
The Great Oak community being developed on the other side of Fox Mill Rd could add 100+ students. The original plan for the proposed addition was to remove the existing modular units. Based on the recent development in the surrounding area, some of the existing modular units will remain. In July the school will know how many students they will need to accomodate in the following year.
The existing FAR cap is .16 based on the current school square footage. With the proposed addition, the school system is asking for a .2 FAR cap. 13 classrooms will be added. There are currently 12 existing modular units.
How far along are the plans for the addition? The Fire Marshal is about to sign off on the plans.
What is the long term plan for the school? There are many factors that will be involved in determining how many students will be in the area. The new Coppermine school will accomodate much of the new growth. There are currently no plans for an additional large modular unit similar to the one being proposed. One of the factors that make it difficult to prepare for population growth is that plans for new additions usually go through the CIP and bonding process which can take up to six years.
When will the new units will be available? In time for the 2004 school year.
Is there a large expense in taking out the existing modular units and having to put them back in later? If some units are removed and then added back one at a time the cost is not great.
The school opened with 850 students. There are 1013 now, and there will be an additional 100 from Greg Roy and 100+ from other new developments.
There is some planning money in this bond referendum ($1.5M) for the Coppermine school. The Coppermine site is narrow and it may take a more extensive planning effort than a site without similar restrictions.
What are the boundaries of the McNair school district? Beyond Old Centreville Rd. on the west, possibly all the way to Route 28.
What is the percentage of children who walk to school? Don't know but we can find out.
Will access be provided on the north side of the school where there is a fence and there are many residences? The children who live in the neighborhood to the north must walk around the front of the school. Direct access would encourage more children to walk or cycle to school. Mr. Sarna will discuss access on the north side with the school with school officials.
Is a traffic light warranted at the 4-way stop intersection? Mr. Sarna will find out.
If there is a need for additional landscaping, will it be provided? Yes, the school will provide it. Staff is recommending a a landscape plan to provide screening and to visually soften the view (condition no. 16). The applicant will continue to work with the community on any concerns they might have.
Ms. Newman moves recommending approval of the addition of the modular unit, second by Mr. Wright. The motion passed by a vote of 6-0.
Mr. de la Fe would prefer that the school system put the money for this expansion into the new Coppermine school so that it can be built as soon as possible. This proposed expansion will cost $3M. This money along with the $1.5M of planning money resprents a large percentage of the total construction cost of the new school (40%).
RZ/FDP 2002-HM-043, SE 2002-HM-040, Launders property, PC in January - Ms. Baker gave an overview of the proposed application. She appeared before the committee earlier in March with a different proposal that contained less residential use. This property, 53 acres, is located on the southwest corner of the Dulles Toll Rd. and Centreville Rd, in Land Unit A. The property is now part of a charitable trust.
The Meiselmans own a lot and home near the Sunset Hills Rd./Centreville Rd. intersection, 2346 Centreville Rd. That home was built in the late 1700's. They plan to live in the home for the rest of their lives at which time it will become part of the larger site. The Park authority does not want to purchase the 1700's era home.
The applicant is requesting a change of zoning from R-1 to PDC. The Comprehensive Plan suggests office or mixed use at .5 - 1.0 FAR. This plan contains .97 FAR, 2.26M sq. ft. With a full funding agreement for a future Metro line, higher density is allowed. The .5 mile circle from the planned Metro to the north encompasses about half of the site. The applicant plans to go ahead with development plans that will NOT take advantage of the higher allowable density if rail is built.
The current plan is a transit-oriented development with an urban form. The change of use from the earlier plan is an ncrease in retail and residential components. Office buildings will be located along the Dulles Toll Rd., possibly including a hotel. There will be ground-level retail in the office buildings. The planned retail is not big-box type. Residential uses will be in the interior, with some residential combined with retail and a parking garage. The office bldgs are about 120 feet tall, probably 10 stories.
The proposed plan will not have the large, separate parking garages of the earlier plan. Some parking will be located under the commercial/retail along DTR. There will be a major entrance across from Woodland Park Dr., just north of Sunrise Valley Dr. A second major entrance will be located on Sunrise Valley Dr. just west of Centreville Rd. There will also be a right-turn-in, right-turn-out on Centreville Rd. near the DTR.
In the current plan there will be 1,000 resdential units, 62% of the total square footage. There will be 150-175,000 sq. ft. of retail use. Heights of buildings taper from high along DTR to lower near Sunrise Valley Dr.
There are 23.5 acres in the Resource Protection Area (RPA). There are 32 buildable acres. There is extensive floodplain on the south of the site. The applicant will create a parklike wetlands pond in the southern section, which will also handle the stormwater management for the site.
Where are the recreation fields? The Comprehensive Plan recommendations that the entire area should be park. If not, then development is allowed with up to .5 FAR with a 10 acre park. The applicant has been looking for parkland in other locations. If found, the applicant may buy a site in the area and give it as a proffer. This land is too important to use as a park.
The applicant stated that he is a trustee who is accountable to charities. He is required to provide the maximum profit that is possible for this property.
The applicant met with staff last week. Staff thinks there is too much residential in the plan and would like to see more commercial use and less residential. Some of the four-story units may be changed to include some high density townhouses. Staff wants approximately 40% residential, 60% commercial/residential.
The traffic engineers, Ms. Antonucci and Mr. Kohler, are working closely with VDOT. They produced a traffic study, a few copies of which were handed out to committee members and will be available on the website in PDF format.
What interparcel access is planned? None but we are working on it. Only emergency access is allowed along Sunrise Valley Dr. We very much want to have full interparcel access. There is an agreement for pedestrian access to the existing hotel to the west that could be part of the proffers.
Crimson Partners is building the road improvements at Sunrise Valley and Centreville Rd. There will be deceleration lanes on Centreville Rd. Crimson Partners has submitted a site plan and may start building in the Spring.
There has been some discussion in the past about a pedestrian bridge over Centreville Rd. Are there plans for such a bridge? Don't know of any plans.
Mr. Wright noted that there are plans for a pedestrian walkway under the Dulles Toll Rd. along Centreville Rd. He hopes that the applicant will be able to help make sure this connection is made to allow Herndon residents access to the site.
It was pointed out that there need to be crosswalks and pedestrian lights at all of the signaled intersections. This area is not pedestrian friendly, and the more that the applicants can do to foster pedestrian and bicycle access, the better it will be for their development and for the community as a whole. Mr. Fairfield said that he is very supportive of pedestrian accomodations and will work to ensure they are provided.
There will need to be a traffic signal on Sunrise Valley Dr entrance.
Ms. Newman - There is a need to look at this entire area. Many residential units were recently developed nearby in Coppermine (500 units) and elsewhere. She doesn't know how this area will be able to support this much development. - Land unit A has 10M sq. feet of non-residential use approved already. That's why Dulles Rail is being planned. The applicant will proffer aggressive Transportation Demand Measures (TDM) and possible lane improvements.
Commissioner de la Fe - When will this likely come before the PC? The applicant may submit a new plan in December. They would like a decision in the first half of 2004.
The applicant will support the rail tax district.
What are the public transit options in the area? - Bus.
What kind of retail will be there? Will depend on the market. It's possible it could include a grocery.
What will happen to the 1700-era house? The County does not want it. Assume it will be torn down.
Any children living in the development will probably go to the new Coppermine school.
Don't know if units will be rental or condos.
Ms. Little - Would like to see good pedestrian and bicycle facilities to allow nearby residents and office workers the ability to easily walk to nearby sites. She likes the idea that the number of residential units will be reduced.
Mr. Arnsperger would like to have a list of all the issues that will be addressed in the future.
It was noted that parkland in this area is very important. It sometimes makes sense to have parkland amidst dense development. An example is Central Park in New York. This is a good location for park access. - The applicant is currently looking for commercial property for the parks.
What happens next? The applicant will probably return on January 20 with a revised plan.
Adjournment
The meeting was adjourned at 9:15 p.m.
