The board heard a presentation by County Manager Michael Brown regarding staff research into the proposed development plan for East Falls Church. Details are available on the county’s web site.
Funds for the design of a better Ballston beaver pond were approved unanimously. The $471,842 contract calls for a new design that will allow the pond to do a better job of treating stormwater while still providing a habitat for wildlife.
In the news business, this is known as a “process” story. On Saturday the county board voted to accept a task force’s plan for development around the East Falls Church Metro Station. The board passed the plan on to county staff, who will review it and make changes while preserving 15 priorities outlined by the board. The board’s action will have no actual, practical consequences. That will come when the final plan is adopted by the board about six months from now, following more revisions and public discussion.
For what was essentially a procedural action, however, there sure were plenty of people who wanted to talk about it. About 25 speakers voiced their opinion on the EFC plan, most of them residents who believe that the addition of transit-oriented, mixed use retail/office buildings and the subtraction of the commuter parking lot would “destroy” or otherwise sully their relatively quiet residential neighborhood.
The East Falls Church (EFC) development plan calls for the creation of a “transit town” of neighborhood-oriented retail and restaurants, six to nine-story mixed-use buildings, and pedestrian-oriented walkable and bike-able streetscapes. Development is inevitable, EFC task force chairman Mike Nardolilli says, since the station will soon become the transfer point to Tysons Corner and the Silver Line. Members of the task force spent three years working on the plan and says it mostly incorporates ideas that most residents welcome, based on a neighborhood survey.
But according to one man, supporters of the plan are “passive sheep,” the task force wants “to limit our freedom,” and the proposed narrowing of Sycamore Street is “idiotic.” That invective, and any other criticism of the plan, was greeted by loud applause from like-minded folks in the audience, who were clearly in the majority.
Happy Flag Day — Today is Flag Day. The holiday commemorates the adoption of the United States flag by the Second Continental Congress in 1777. June 14th also happens to be the birthday of the U.S. Army. Today the Army turns the ripe old age of 235.
Post Writes Up EFC Development Battle — The Washington Post is running a story this morning about the increasingly ugly battle between the East Falls Church Planning Task Force and vocal anti-development residents. The task force and their pro-development allies say that development is inevitable given that East Falls Church will be the transfer station to the new Silver Line. Anti-development forces say they don’t want a nine-story “high-rise” among their “bucolic” bastion of single-family homes. The County Board will discuss the task force’s development plan on Tuesday.
Army Chief Apologizes for Mismanagement at Arlington National Cemetery — Poor record-keeping and inept management has resulted in hundreds of misidentified or unmarked graves at Arlington National Cemetery, the military revealed. At a press conference, Secretary of the Army John McHugh apologized to families whose loved one’s final resting place was affected by the mix-ups. He also promised to reform the “dysfunctional” management culture at the cemetery. Two of the top cemetery administrators are being forced out as a result of the Army probe. More from the Washington Post.
Battle Lines Drawn for East Falls Church Redevelopment Fight — A plan to redevelop the area around the East Falls Church Metro Station has many East Falls Church residents up in arms. Michael Perkins of the blog Greater Greater Washington, however, is singing the plan’s praises, saying it would “transform the East Falls Church Metro area into a mixed-use, pedestrian, bicycle and transit-oriented community.” More from Greater Greater Washington.
The widening of Interstate 66 inside the Capital Beltway is moving forward.
Virginia Gov. Robert F. McDonnell this week hailed a $10.2 million contract that was awarded to a construction firm for spot improvements on the four-lane highway inside the Beltway.
Arlington residents spoke out for and against proposed traffic control, parking and development plans for East Falls Church on Tuesday at a county-sponsored forum at Tuckahoe Elementary School.
A presentation outlined the current plan, which calls for developing four to six story mixed-use commercial and residential buildings by removing all 422 spaces at the Metro park-and-ride lot. The presentation also mapped out changes to pedestrian and bike paths as well as a plan to narrow Washington Boulevard to slow down traffic.
