Erickson Living has announced its plan to purchase from the Commonwealth of Virginia the 78-acre site on Braddock Road that was formerly home to the Northern Virginia Training Center. 

The company has proposed to construct a Continuing Care Community on the site, similar to Greenspring Village in Springfield, which is owned and operated by Erickson.  In order to do this, Erickson Living will pursue a Comprehensive Plan Amendment and rezoning approval from the county, processes which provide opportunities for citizen input on a number of aspects of the proposal.

The Comprehensive Plan is the County’s land use guide.  It is a vision of what an area will look like in the future.  The Comprehensive Plan is developed through a process of determining community goals and wishes.  The completed document identifies planned uses and intensities for properties, including housing, transportation, and recreation.  The Plan is used by the community and decision makers in making determinations about proposed changes to land use, such as during the review of Plan Amendments or rezoning applications. 

The Comprehensive Plan can be amended.  Changes may be proposed either through Board-authorized Plan Amendments (a Supervisor makes a motion that the Board authorize staff to study a particular area), or through the Site-Specific Plan Amendment process (where anyone can nominate a plan change during a specific timeframe, subject to certain criteria).  Both include community review and input, after which a staff recommendation is made.  Community meetings, land use committee meetings, and the use of task forces are all common approaches to public participation for the review of proposed changes to the Comprehensive Plan.  After a recommendation has been made, public hearings are held by both the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors, with the Board of Supervisors ultimately making the final decision on changes to the Plan.

In order to provide for maximum community input on Erickson’s proposal, I will be forming a citizen task force to assist me, the Braddock Land Use and Environment Committee, Planning Commissioner Nell Hurley, and county staff in the Comprehensive Plan Process.  We will have several broad community forums and a series of smaller task force meetings as well.  Your participation in this process is critical.