Map 3 illustrates existing and planned connections and points of interest within the Jefferson Planning District. The map depicts high-level, conceptual connections and incorporates elements from the adopted Countywide Trails Plan and Park Authority Trail Strategy Plan. Connections link natural and cultural resources and recreational destinations, supporting recreational activity and frequently offering alternative transportation options.

Issue: The Park Authority should work to improve non-motorized access to parks from commercial and residential areas and to increase connectivity between park sites.

Many local parks in the district are accessible from their surrounding communities by bicycle and foot. Bicycle access to district and community parks is more difficult because of the need to cross major highways with high volume of traffic. The Holmes Run Stream Valley Park is moderately accessible by automobile, but quite accessible by foot and bicycle due to the presence of stream valley trails. Some parks are highly accessible by automobile in the Jefferson Planning District, especially those that are developed with major facilities. Metrobus and Fairfax Connector bus routes serve Route 50, Route 7, Lee Highway, Annandale Road, portions of Gallows Road, Sleepy Hollow Road, and Fairfax Park Drive near Jefferson District Park. Map 3 illustrates planned connections and points of interest within the Jefferson Planning District.

Strategies:
J-C-1.  Use criteria provided in the Park Authority's Trail Strategy Plan to evaluate potential new trails, connections and improvements;
J-C-2.  Complete trail connections in Holmes Run Stream Valley - either within parkland or by marking a route along adjacent neighborhood streets - to provide a continuous route from Jefferson District to Roundtree Park and beyond;
J-C-3.  Support the construction of neighborhood trail connections to the John C. and Margaret K. White Gardens Park and improve the internal trails there; and
J-C-4.  Support the construction of neighborhood connections to park resources in the district.

Issue: Multiple, separate park sites located across Fairfax County should be linked through thematic interpretive connections.

Thematic connections, emphasized through elements such as signage, maps, or website information, can foster greater public awareness of important features. Increased knowledge of site features could encourage greater support for stewardship and management activities.

Strategies:
J-C-5.  Consider linking John C. and Margaret K. White Gardens Park to a gardening interpretive theme including Green Spring Gardens and other horticultural parks.

Issue: District and Countywide parks and the Cross County Trail should be served by the public transportation system to provide equitable access to recreational facilities.

Strategies:
J-C-6.  Promote the creation of new urban parks that will be within walking distance of the existing Dunn-Loring and West Falls Church Metrorail transit stations as well as those planned in the future when these urban areas are redeveloped.

Issue: The Park Authority should work to improve access to waterways and promote the use of "water trails" throughout the County.

Since there are no navigable waterways in the district, no district- or park-specific strategies exist for this issue in the Jefferson Planning District.

Map 3: Non-motorized Connections and Points of Interest in the Jefferson District

Local parks are places where people can interact and build community. Well-designed and located parks, park facilities, and programs support greater social interaction. Community-building park facilities and activities include reservable picnic areas, amphitheaters, dog parks, garden plots, farmers markets, performances, and special events. Collocation of facilities with other community uses can also assist in strengthening communities. Strategy suggestions include ways to increase the community-building role of local parks in residential neighborhoods and providing parks and recreation facilities near other civic uses.

Jefferson District parks have only a few community building types of facilities. The only facilities in this category include a reservable picnic shelter at Roundtree Park and privately-sponsored concert series at the urban Merrifield Park within Merrifield Town Center. As this park expands in conjunction with future adjacent development, it will also support other community building events and activities at Merrifield Town Center. Nottoway Nights, a summer concert series held at nearby Nottoway Park in Vienna, serves Jefferson District and provides a well attended community building activity. In addition, some of the parks in this district could support a dog park, garden plots, farmers markets, performances, and special events.

Issue: Local and urban parks should include a combination of facilities, amenities and gathering spaces to attract and promote social interaction among community members.

Strategies:
J-CB-1.  Consider adding a picnic shelter at Jefferson Village Park and Jefferson District Park;
J-CB-2.  Consider adding a tot lot at the Providence RECenter;
J-CB-3.  Develop a Master Plan for Merrilee Park and construct local/urban park facilities; and
J-CB-4.  Ensure Merrifield Park becomes an integral community-building public space as it fully develops.

Issue: Parks should be co-located with other civic uses (libraries, community centers, senior centers, etc.) to promote social interaction among community members.

A few parks in the district are located adjacent to schools and other public buildings, including Pine Spring Park, James Lee School Site Park, Westlawn Elementary School Site Park, Larry Graves Whittier School Site Park, and the Providence RECenter.

Strategies:
J-CB-5.  Add recreational facilities and amenities, where appropriate, to parks in the district that are co-located with other civic uses; and
J-CB-6.  Promote the co-location of parks with schools and other civic uses as urban areas such as Merrifield and Dunn Loring Metro area redevelop.

The Park Authority provides quality facilities that are well used, but may not be equitably distributed across all parts of the County or accessible to all groups. Countywide and specialty facilities, in particular, may not serve a true countywide service area. Residents desire recreational facilities and opportunities at parks near where they live and for all age groups and socio-economic populations. Strategy suggestions include creating more facilities, better distributing facilities across the County, and reducing barriers to use.

Service level standards for over twenty park facility types were established through the 2004 Needs Assessment process and incorporated into the Countywide Policy Plan in 2005. Facility standards are countywide goals for providing park and recreation facilities that reasonably satisfy community needs. Standards are expressed in units per population, and are based on extensive analysis of citizen demand and preferences compared with the existing public facility inventories. Based on the Countywide adopted facility service level standards and projected population growth, Table 2 shows the projected surplus or deficit of several key local serving facilities in the Jefferson Planning District for the year 2020. While overall facility needs are quantified in Table 2, the location of needed facilities is determined through the site specific master planning process that considers site conditions, context, resources, and community input. For more detailed information on existing facilities in each park and service levels, please see the Existing Conditions Report.

Table 2: Jefferson Planning District 2020 Facility Needs Analysis

+ 60 ft and 65 ft diamond fields are assigned to the sport where primarily allocated.

Issue: The Park Authority should provide and equitably distribute facilities to meet established facility service level standards.

Land uses in Jefferson District were developed in the mid-twentieth century and have remained relatively unchanged in population and housing growth over the past twenty-five years. In 2007, the population in the district was about 49,800. The population is projected to grow modestly over the next ten years, to about 53,000 by 2020. Most of the growth will be generated by existing and planned growth areas in the planning district including the Merrifield Suburban Center-Dunn Loring Metro station area and part of the West Falls Church Metro station area. These are higher intensity, mixed use nodes, which are still evolving into urbanized locations within the district. The impact of this type of development will increase the need for urban parks in these growth portions of the district.

Strategies:
J-SD-1.  Consider adding picnic shelters at Jefferson District and Jefferson Village Parks; and
J-SD-2.  Encourage rezoning applicants to provide turnkey urban parks and recreational facilities in the growth areas of Merrifield and Dunn Loring areas to serve new residents and employees that will be concentrated there.

Issue: The Park Authority should provide new kinds of parks and facilities and in new ways to meet the needs of the County's changing population.

No district or park-specific strategies exist for this issue in the Jefferson Planning District.

Issue: The Park Authority should re-examine park master plans to determine if parks are planned to best serve the needs of Fairfax County residents.

Strategies:
J-SD-3.  Consider revising the master plans for Jefferson District, Jefferson Village, Providence, and Roundtree Parks to allow for development of new or different recreational facilities to meet the needs of Jefferson residents;
J-SD-4.  Develop a master plan for Merrilee Park; and
J-SD-5.  Identify available properties that might be suitable for the relocation of the Area 1 Maintenance Shop.

The Park Authority has a great diversity of facilities and resources in various lifecycle stages. Funding and schedules for replacement or reinvestment are inconsistent. Adding new facilities has sometimes taken precedence over renewal of existing facilities. Strategy suggestions include repairing, replacing, upgrading, and improving utilization of existing facilities and equipment.

Idylwood Park has a variety of recreational facilities, but only 20 gravel parking spaces, so parking overflows into the adjacent neighborhood. Due to periodic overuse of the facilities at Roundtree Park, the parking overflows into the adjacent neighborhood.

Issue: Repair, replacement, and upgrading of existing park facilities should be addressed through a system-wide lifecycle replacement program that takes into account changing facility needs.

Strategies:
J-FR-1.  Upgrade existing athletic fields in the district to maximize playability;
J-FR-2.  Consider options to increase athletic field and associated parking capacity at Roundtree Park as part of the master plan amendment process;
J-FR-3.  Move the chess tables at Roundtree Park to a location where they will get more use;
J-FR-4.  Upgrade mini-golf at Jefferson District Park and make it fully accessible; and
J-FR-5.  Repair basketball courts at Jefferson District Park.

Issue: Parking standards and levels of service should reflect user patterns to minimize impacts on surrounding neighborhoods.

Strategies:
J-FR-6.  Consider expanding the parking at Idylwood and Roundtree Parks to accommodate facility use needs.

Additional parkland is needed to protect and buffer natural areas and historic sites and to provide room to develop new recreational facilities. Strategy suggestions include ways to continue to add appropriate land to the Park Authority's land holdings to expand the park system.

The Jefferson District is highly underserved by local parks and not well served by larger parks. In particular, there are no parks in the district that provide significant groupings of athletic facilities. Jefferson District Park provides a golf course and mini golf, but no playing fields. It may be possible to establish more of the smaller, local parks, especially if some older areas redevelop.

Service level standards for both local and district/countywide parkland were established through the 2004 Needs Assessment and incorporated into the Countywide Policy Plan in 2005. Parkland standards represent countywide goals for providing land for the two types of parks (Local and District/Countywide) that support service delivery and facility development and are expressed in units per population. Local parks include both suburban and urban park types. Resource-based parks occur where resources are located and therefore do not require quantitative service level standards. Please refer to the Park Classification discussion earlier in this chapter for additional information on park classification descriptions.

Based on adopted service level standards and projected population growth, Table 3 shows the projected surplus or deficit of parkland in the Jefferson Planning District for the year 2020.

Table 3: Jefferson Planning District 2020 Park Land Needs Analysis

+ The District and Countywide Parks that serve this Planning District may be located outside the Planning District and this outlying acreage is not reflected in this table.
* There is no service level standard for Resource-Based parkland. The amount of resource based parkland owned and/or protected is based on the existence and sensitivity of the resources.

Issue: Parkland for recreation should be provided according to adopted service level standards and distributed equitably throughout the County.

Strategies: J-LA-1. Acquire land to establish more local parks as redevelopment occurs; and J-LA-2. Make it a high priority to seek opportunities to acquire land suitable for recreation uses in this district.

Issue: Urban parks should be provided in higher density/mixed use areas of the County (i.e. Tysons Corner, Transit Station Areas, Commercial Revitalization Districts).

Strategies: J-LA-3. Encourage new development to contribute to improvements at existing parks, particularly Jefferson District and Merrilee Parks; and J-LA-4. Encourage new development to provide new urban parks in the district, especially in the Merrifield Suburban Center area.

Issue: Property acquisition is important for protecting cultural resources in Fairfax County and ensuring their preservation for future generations.

Strategies: No district or park-specific strategies exist for this issue in the Jefferson Planning District.

Issue: Property acquisition is an important strategy for protecting natural resources in Fairfax County and ensuring open and natural areas for future generations.

Strategies:
J-LA-5.  Seek to acquire and/or protect through purchase, donation, development dedications, or conservation easements remaining natural areas in the district, especially large tracts connecting to other natural areas and those containing unique or significant natural resources;
J-LA-6.  Seek opportunities to add land adjacent to John C. and Margaret K. White Gardens Park;
J-LA-7. Encourage owners of large private parcels to place conservation easements on their property to protect natural resources;

Residents may not be aware of or understand the importance of the vast number of natural and cultural resources the Park Authority holds in public trust. Strategy suggestions include adding to the existing interpretive facilities, signs, and programs. Roadway and trail waysides permit park visitors opportunities to stop and view interpretive signage.

Jefferson Planning District is one of the oldest developed areas in the county. When the District was developed, mid-twentieth century there was little preservation of public parkland. Today the district is largely built out with mostly small-lot residential and commercial land uses. The result is an intensely developed landscape with a suburban and urban character and very little natural open space.

The Jefferson Planning District has many important cultural resources. The most important of these are Civil War features, a number of 18th through 20th century domestic sites, and many Native American sites, which mostly exist on undeveloped portions of our parklands. Historic sites in county parks in the district reflect different phases of the architectural and agrarian history of Fairfax County during the 18th, 19th, and 20th centuries. They provide opportunities to interpret the evolution of Fairfax County from colony through the Revolution, Civil War and into the 20th century.

Issue: The full range of natural and cultural resources within Fairfax County should be interpreted through facilities as needed.

Strategies:
J-RI-1.  Provide cultural resource interpretive facilities at John C. and Margaret K. White Gardens, the James Lee Center, Luther Jackson Middle School, Providence Park and along stream valleys; and
J-RI-2.  Provide natural and cultural interpretive features at Roundtree Park to educate the public about the park's natural resources and reflect the importance of the park's location during the Civil War era.

Many factors threaten the health, protection and viability of natural and cultural resources on county parkland. Strategy suggestions include focusing on managing threats and actively managing existing natural and cultural resources consistent with guidance provided in the countywide Cultural Resource Management Plan and Natural Resource Management Plan.

Cultural Resources

The Jefferson Planning District contains many important cultural resources, including Civil War features, a number of 18th and 19th century mills, important for understanding early industry, manufacturing of building materials and food products. There are also Native American sites existing mostly in the undeveloped portions of the parks. These sites include Native American campsites, hunting stations, and stone quarries used for tool making that date back to the earliest known occupations in the county 12,000 years ago.

Issue: Historic structures should be stabilized, repaired, renovated, and/or restored to ensure their preservation and availability for public viewing and interpretation.

Strategies:
J-CR-1.  A concerted effort should be made to preserve and protect the historic features of this district, particularly the Native American sites, Luther Jackson Middle School, and James Lee School.

Issue: Cultural Resources should be identified and evaluated prior to any proposed construction activity.

Strategies:
J-CR-2.  For any site subject to proposed construction activity, a preliminary assessment of the property will be carried out using GIS and pedestrian reconnaissance. Should potential resources be present, a cultural resource survey will be conducted and mitigation measures will be developed, as necessary.

Issue: Impacts to National Register eligible cultural resources should be avoided where at all feasible. If impacts cannot be avoided mitigation level documentation or data recovery should occur.

Strategies:
J-CR-3.  Document and record buildings and structures using Historic American Buildings/Historic American Engineering methods (research, measured drawings and archival photographs) and conduct data recovery excavations for archaeological sites, as appropriate.

Issue: New, expanded, and upgraded facilities are needed to house artifact collections to ensure their preservation for future generations.

No district- or park-specific strategies exist for this issue in the Jefferson Planning District. This is an issue of countywide concern that should be addressed with centralized facilities.

Sizeable natural open space in public ownership in the Jefferson district is limited. The most sizeable parkland in public ownership in the district is a portion of the Holmes Run stream valley adjacent to the Providence RECenter.

Issue: Natural habitats and the wildlife they support are disappearing due to development and are fragmented from development, trails, easements, and utilities. Meadow and upland habitats are especially scarce.

Strategies:
J-NR-1.  Seek to acquire and protect remaining natural areas in the district especially those connecting to other natural areas and those containing unique or significant natural resources;
J-NR-2.  Protect and improve existing corridors, linkages, and watersheds;
J-NR-3.  Provide new linkages between remaining public and private natural areas;
J-NR-4.  Manage utility corridors and other easements consistent with natural resource
goals, not just utility service goals. This is especially important along the W&OD trail; and
J-NR-5.  Designate permanent resource protection zones on parkland that define appropriate uses and development.

Issue: Water resources and stream valleys are degraded due to development and associated storm water runoff.

The parkland possessing the most significant known natural resources within the district lies primarily within the Holmes Run stream valley, with several miles of stream corridor protected as parks. The resources in Holmes Run Stream Valley include areas of broad floodplain that support a variety of mostly bottomland habitat. It is likely that the parcels making up this park contain some isolated, high-quality resources.

Strategies:
J-NR-6.  Work with the Department of Public Works and Environmental Services (DPWES) and private land owners to capture and treat storm water. This could take the form of incorporating Low Impact Development (LID) methods. Properties could be renovated to provide new or enhanced storm water facilities;
J-NR-7.  Encourage private property owners to adopt wildlife and water friendly landscaping practices to improve water quality and habitat;
J-NR-8.  Restore riparian buffers on parkland; and
J-NR-9.  Seek opportunities to improve storm water detention and streams in Jefferson District Park to help protect headwaters of Holmes Run, improve water quality and habitat, and protect and enhance recreational resources. These efforts may be pursued by the Park Authority alone or working in conjunction with DPWES Stormwater Management Division under the umbrella of the Cameron Run Watershed Management Plan.

Issue: The Park Authority does not have an adequate inventory of natural resources on parkland, nor the capacity to actively manage and protect natural resources.

It is likely that the parcels making up Holmes Run Stream Valley Park contain some isolated, high-quality resources but they remain under stress due to human activity, invasive species, and deer herbivory. The Park Authority has not conducted a complete natural resources inventory for any parks in the district.

Strategies:
J-NR-10.  Direct development of park infrastructure to areas that, when inventoried, reflect few or poor quality natural resources, unless otherwise incompatible;
J-NR-11.  Ensure that natural resources are assessed prior to any park development. Use design principles that minimize natural resource impacts and include monitoring and restoration of impacted natural areas as part of development plans; and
J-NR-12.  Conduct natural resource inventories, develop, and implement natural resource management plans for natural areas.

Issue: Non-native invasive plants are threatening natural resources by reducing the diversity of native species and impacting wildlife habitat.

Strategies:
J-NR-13.  Educate citizens on the problems associated with invasive plant species. Work with them to eliminate or limit invasive plants on private property near parks and to prevent new introductions of invasive species; and
J-NR-14.  Expand non-native invasive plant management and habitat restoration on parkland by implementing the Non-Native Invasive Plant Prioritization Plan and Assessment.

Issue: The County has a goal to expand tree canopy. The Park Authority should contribute to this goal wherever possible by ensuring existing forested areas are sustainable and expanding canopy where possible.

Strategies:
J-NR-15.  Ensure sustainability of tree canopy on parkland by developing and implementing management plans and controlling threats such as non-native invasive plants and deer herbivory;

Issue: The Park Authority should utilize innovative practices in construction of recreational facilities and buildings to minimize impacts to the environment and demonstrate stewardship.

No district or park-specific strategies exist for this issue in the Jefferson Planning District.