Better integrating parks with surrounding land uses (neighborhoods and employment centers) and increasing park-to-park connections within the system will allow for greater access and enjoyment. Strategy suggestions include adding trails, trail connections, bridges and other forms of improved access to and between parks.

Map 3 illustrates existing and planned connections and points of interest within the McLean 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. 

Strategies:
M-C-1.  Use criteria provided in the Park Authority's Trail Strategy Plan to evaluate potential new trails, connections and improvements;
M-C-2.  Complete missing sections of the planned Pimmit Run and Wolf Trap Run Stream Valley Trails;
M-C-3.  Build a trail from Route 7 to Browns Mill Road along the Wolf Trap Run stream valley;
M-C-4.  Improve two miles of the Potomac Heritage National Scenic Trail along the Potomac River at Scotts Run Nature Preserve;
M-C-5.  Build a trail that connects Langley Fork Park to the Potomac River;
M-C-6.  Build a trail that connects Magarity Road to Dolley Madison Boulevard through Westgate and Scotts Run Stream Valley Parks;
M-C-7.  Improve trail connecting Marie Butler Leven Preserve to the Little Pimmit Run trail;
M-C-8.  Continue to seek opportunities to connect Lahey Lost Valley to area trail networks; and
M-C-9.  Work with other public agencies and private partners to improve connectivity in the Tysons Corner area as that area redevelops and provide connections from future residential and mixed use area to the W&OD Trail.

Map 3: Non-motorized Connections and Points of Interest in the McLean 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:
M-C-10.  Consider linking the Marie Butler Leven Preserve and the community garden plots at Lewinsville Park through a gardening interpretive theme including Green Spring Gardens and other horticultural parks;
M-C-11.  Include Scotts Run Nature Preserve, Langley Oaks Park, and the Pimmit Run Stream Valley as significant nodes along a natural areas interpretive trail within the county; and
M-C-12.  Determine suitability of adding Scotts Run Nature Preserve and Langley Oaks Park to the Virginia Birding and Wildlife Trail.

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.

Public (bus) transportation is available to parks in the inner part of the district via Dolley Madison Boulevard (Route 123), Route 7, Georgetown Pike, Old Dominion Drive, Great Falls Street, Chain Bridge Road, Magarity Road, Westmoreland Street and the streets in the Pimmit Hills residential subdivision (Route 7 vicinity). With the extension of Metrorail through Tysons Corner, expected to be complete by 2013, Westgate Park and Scotts Run Stream Valley Park will have a high level of transit accessibility.

Strategies:
M-C-13.  Promote the creation of new parks and pedestrian connections in Tysons Corner that will be within walking distance of the four planned new Metrorail transit stations.

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

Potomac River access is provided at the County's Scott's Run Nature Preserve, where fishing and hiking are the primary riverfront activities. No district- or park-specific strategies exist for this issue in the McLean Planning 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.

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:
M-CB-1.  Provide a neighborhood-scale off-leash dog park to serve the McLean community;
M-CB-2.  Promote the establishment of off-leash dog parks in Tysons Corner as that area redevelops and its population grows;
M-CB-3.  Encourage developers to provide community gathering spaces, both indoor and outdoor, in Tysons Corner as that area redevelops and its population grows; and
M-CB-4.  Seek opportunities to include flexible open spaces for public performances and arts in the parks in McLean and Tysons Corner.

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

McLean Central Park is collocated with the McLean Community Center and Dolley Madison Library. The park is used for programming and events associated with the library and community center, while parking and restrooms at these facilities serve park users. Tysons-Pimmit Park is also located adjacent to a library (the Tysons-Pimmit Library). Several parks in the district are collocated with schools, including Westgate, Haycock-Longfellow, Cooper Intermediate School, and McLean High Parks.

Strategies:
M-CB-5.  Add recreational facilities and amenities, where appropriate, to parks in the district that are collocated with other civic uses; and
M-CB-6.  Promote the collocation of parks with schools and other civic uses in Tysons Corner as that area redevelops and its population grows.

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 county-wide 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. 

+ 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.

Because most of the McLean Planning District was developed around the middle of the twentieth-century, the rate of growth between 1980 and 2005 was 50 percent below the County's overall growth rate. The projected growth rate between 2005 and 2015 is slightly higher than the County's overall and is projected to be the second highest of all the planning districts.

Most of the population growth in the McLean district will be generated by new high-rise residential development in the Tysons Corner Urban Center, which is expected to be served by Metrorail transit during the next decade. The impact of this type of development will increase the need for urban parks and recreational facilities of all types in this part of the district. The McLean Community Business Center is planned as a medium-sized development center with mixed residential, office and commercial use and will be another source of anticipated growth in the district.

Strategies:
M-SD-1.  Expand the Spring Hill RECenter with additional fitness, program and gymnasium space;
M-SD-2.  Study whether new rectangle fields can be added at Langley Fork Park;
M-SD-3.  Identify a suitable location for a neighborhood-scale skate park within this district; and
M-SD-4.  Encourage developers to provide athletic facilities in Tysons Corner as that area redevelops and its population grows. This may include creative approaches, such as on rooftops, indoors or collocated with other civic uses and/or stormwater management facilities.

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.

Strategies:
M-SD-5.  Encourage creation of new urban parks in Tysons Corner, in accordance with the Urban Parks Framework and the urban parkland standard, as that area redevelops; and
M-SD-6.  Acquire land, or join in a public-private partnership to acquire land to accommodate a signature central park for Tysons.

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.

Table 1 identifies the parks in the McLean district that may need some type of master plan action (amend or revise an existing plan or develop a master plan where none exists). An explanation for each of these parks is included in the strategies below.

Strategies:
M-SD-7.  Revise the master plan for Greenway Heights Park to reflect that the park is undeveloped and should be managed as a resource-based park and
M-SD-8.  Consider revising the master plans for Chesterbrook, Falstaff, Langley Fork, Lewinsville, McLean Central, Tysons Pimmit and Westgate Parks to allow for development of new recreational facilities to meet the needs of McLean residents

The Park Authority has a great diversity of facilities and resources in various lifecycle stages. Funding and schedules for replacement or reinvestment are inconsistent and 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.

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.

Playgrounds at parks in the Pimmit Hills area need to be replaced and there is community interest in equipment that is geared towards older kids (climbing structures, skating facilities, etc). Parking lot pavements and facility lighting at several parks are due to be upgraded soon.

Strategies:
M-FR-1.  Replace playgrounds at Bryn Mawr, Griffith, Kent Gardens, and Lisle Parks;
M-FR-2.  Renovate parking lots and roadways at Marie Butler Leven Preserve and Langley Fork, Olney and Spring Hill Parks;
M-FR-3.  Replace tennis court lighting at Linway Terrace, McLean Central, and Westgate Parks; and
M-FR-4.  Upgrade rectangle fields at Langley Fork Park.

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

There are frequent parking shortages at Clemyjontri and Lewinsville Parks. Olney Park has a variety of recreational facilities and the park is heavily used, but it has only 20 parking spaces (asphalt) and parking overflows into the adjacent neighborhood.

Strategies:
M-FR-5.  Consider increasing parking capacity at Clemyjontri and Olney Parks.

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.

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 McLean Planning District for the year 2020.

Table 3: McLean 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.

The McLean District is well served by local parks, except along the Potomac River and in the Tysons Corner area. With redevelopment, there will be opportunities to add local parks in the Tysons Corner area. The Potomac River area is dominated by large parks and overall, the district is well served by District and Countywide parks of all types.

Strategies:
M-LA-1.  The Park Authority should seek to acquire the Langley Fork Park property from the National Park Service.

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:
M-LA-2.  Additional land should be added to Westgate and Scott's Run Stream Valley Parks to buffer and protect the Scott's Run Stream Valley and to offset impacts of growth in the Tysons Corner Area;
M-LA-3.  New development in the Tysons Corner Urban Center should provide improvements to Westgate and Scott's Run Stream Valley Parks;
M-LA-4.  New development in the Tysons Corner Urban Center should provide new urban parkland and facilities throughout Tysons, including pocket parks, civic plazas, common greens and recreation-focused urban parks; and
M-LA-5.  New development in the McLean Community Business Center should provide new urban parks to serve that area.

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

Strategies:
M-LA-6. The Park Authority should assist in protecting known historic structures in the McLean District (such as Swinks Mill Millers House and the Spring Hill Spring House).

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

Strategies:
M-LA-7.  Acquire land to extend Scott's Run Stream Valley Park and encourage new Tysons Corner development to make improvements to channelized segments of Scott's Run to control stormwater flow volumes and limit further downstream degradation of Scott's Run;
M-LA-8.  Acquire land to fill in gaps along the Pimmit Run Stream Valley, which is fragmented;
M-LA-9.  Seek to acquire and/or protect through purchase, donation, development dedications, or conservation easements remaining natural areas in the district especially large tracts, those connecting to other natural areas and those containing unique or significant natural resources; and
M-LA-10.  Encourage owners of large private parcels to place conservation easements on their property, where appropriate, 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.

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

The McLean Planning district contains the Langley Fork Historic Overlay District and a small portion of the Colvin Run Mill Historic Overlay District, as well as many other important cultural resources. The most important of these are Civil War features, a number of 18th and 19th century mills and domestic sites, and many Native American sites. These Native American sites exist in abundance in the undeveloped portions of parkland. Site types include Native American campsites, hunting stations and stone quarries.

Scotts Run Nature Preserve and the Marie Butler Leven Preserve provide opportunities to experience and learn about nature and horticultural resources. There are no nature centers in the McLean district.

Strategies:
M-RI-1.  Provide cultural resource interpretive facilities at Lewinsville, Marie Butler Leven, and Clemyjontri Parks;
M-RI-2.  Establish an interpretive kiosk at a new park near the original crossroads of Tysons Corner to interpret the history of growth and change in the area;
M-RI-3.  Replace Cross County Trail (CCT) waysides and incorporate additional interpretive themes; and
M-RI-4.  Provide new interpretive signs and waysides at Scotts Run Nature Preserve; and
M-RI-5.  Provide resource interpretive facilities at resource based parks and other parks with significant resources in the district.

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
Some of the important cultural resources in the district are Civil War Camp Griffin, Marie Butler Levin Nature Preserve, and Odrick's Corner, an African American settlement. The Langley Fork Historic District and a very small portion of the Colvin Run Mill Historic Overlay District are located in McLean. The district also contains Native American sites that date from the earliest known occupations in the county, some 12,000 years ago up to European contact.

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

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

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

Strategies:
M-CR-1.  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:
M-CR-2.  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 McLean Planning District. This is an issue of countywide concern that should be addressed with centralized facilities.

The natural areas of the district consist of many small parks and stream corridors (not all publicly owned) connecting natural areas, some as narrow as 20 feet. The larger park parcels including Scotts Run Nature Preserve, the Langley Oaks-Langley Forks-Clemyjontri complex (which is congruent with the National Park Service's Turkey Run Park) and the Pimmit Run Stream Valley Park contain fairly healthy wetlands and habitat that supports uncommon plant and animal species. These parks and several adjacent private parcels constitute the best wildlife habitat and stream buffering in the district.

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.

The Marie Butler Leven Preserve is envisioned to become a native arboretum to showcase native plant biodiversity and protect natural resources. The meadow complex on the Salona Property on Route 123 contains several high quality eastern meadow stands that are some of the best in Fairfax County. Most of the parks in the district that provide recreation facilities also have natural areas.

Strategies:
M-NR-1.  Seek to acquire and protect remaining natural areas in the district especially large tracts, those connecting to other natural areas and those containing unique or significant natural resources;
M-NR-2.  Protect and improve existing corridors, linkages and watersheds;
M-NR-3.  Provide new linkages between remaining public and private natural areas;
M-NR-4.  Manage utility corridors and other easements consistent with natural resource goals, not just utility service goals; and
M-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 stormwater runoff.

The district is located across several watersheds, including Bull Neck, Dead Run, Turkey Run, Scotts Run, and portions of Pimmit Run, Four Mile Creek, and Difficult Run. The district is distinguished by the large amount of public parkland located along streams and rivers, including Scotts Run Nature Preserve and Federal parkland along the Potomac River.

Natural areas and stream corridors are in highly degraded conditions overall; for example, streams have cut banks (as much as 12 feet), silted stream bottoms and low stream fauna diversity. There are very few stormwater controls to capture and/or treat stormwater thus greatly impacting water quality. Opportunities to capture additional stormwater are mostly on private property upslope and upstream of park land.

Strategies:
M-NR-6.  Work with the Department of Public Works and Environmental Services (DPWES) and private land owners to capture and treat stormwater. This could take the form of incorporating Low Impact Development (LID) methods on residential and commercial lots and renovation of larger properties to provide new or enhanced stormwater facilities;
M-NR-7.  Encourage private property owners to adopt wildlife and water friendly landscaping practices to improve water quality and habitat;
M-NR-8.  Encourage the incorporation of creative stormwater management techniques at new urban parks in Tysons Corner; and
M-NR-9.  Restore riparian buffers on parkland to include projects along Pimmit Run and Scott's Run Stream Valleys.

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.

Only one of 50 parks in the district has been assessed through a natural resource inventory. As a result, very little is known about what resources exist on park land and what threats they face. There are no natural resource monitoring and management plans in place for natural areas in the McLean Planning District, although a Natural Resource Management Plan for Scotts Run Park is likely to be drafted in the next few years.

Strategies:
M-NR-10.  Direct development of park infrastructure to areas that, when inventoried, reflect few or poor quality natural resources, unless otherwise incompatible;
M-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
M-NR-12.  Conduct natural resource inventories and 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.

Due to the mature nature of the development in portions of the McLean district, invasive plant species are well established and often cover large percentages of vegetated areas. Several Invasive Management Area (IMA) sites have been established in this district, including at Bryn Mawr, Falstaff, McLean Hunt Estates and Pimmit View Parks and at the Marie Butler Leven Preserve, although these areas comprise less than one percent of natural area acreage in the district.

Strategies:
M-NR-13.  Educate citizens on the problems associated with invasive plant species. Work with them to eliminate or limit invasives on private property near parks and to prevent new introductions of invasive species; and
M-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:
M-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;
M-NR-16.  Encourage tree planting and natural landscaping techniques on private land;
M-NR-17.  Incorporate natural landscaping techniques on parkland, avoid tree loss from development and where possible increase tree canopy; and
M-NR-18.  Designate permanent resource protection zones in park master plans that define appropriate uses and development.

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

Strategies:
M-NR-19.  Any additions to or replacement of the Spring Hill RECenter should incorporate green building techniques and materials, low impact development measures and best management practices to the extent possible.