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Update 5/9/2024
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The Rose Hill Coalition LLC provides current information on land use issues in the Rose Hill Planning District which lies within Franconia District in Fairfax County, Virginia. The Coalition supports full transparency in land use issues directly affecting local residents.
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Supervisor Lusk Publicly Acknowledges Alternative Uses for Franconia Governmental Center
Rose Hill Coalition LLC Calls for New Public Meetings and Hearing to Consider Alternative Uses
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Community meetings were held in April and May 2024 by Franaonia District Supervisor Lusk to get public input on the future of the Franconia Governmental Center for Affordable Housing. The first two community meetings were held April 13 and 22, 2024. The presentations and "discussions" were primarily geared towards the conversion of the site to affordable housing and input on the desires of the community for the district overall. Nevertheless, residents took the opportunity to voice their interest in redeveloping the site for other uses. According to the County summary of the meetings, the top suggested alternative for redevelopment of the site is "Expansion or relocation of fire stations and police stations to ensure public safety."
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Despite previous requests from Chairman McKay (March 5, 2024, Board of Supervisors meeting, at hour 3:40), little effort has been made to include the Franconia Volunteer Fire Dept (FVFD) in the discussions over future use of the site. FVFD (not Fairfax County) owns and finances the FVFD property, including the fire and EMS trucks.
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The first and only meeting to date initiated by Supervisor Lusk with the chief (and secretary) of the Franconia Volunteer Fire Dept was held on May 3, 2024 (immediately prior to the community summary presentation on May 6). During the meeting, Lusk acknowledged the possible alternate use of the site for a new volunteer fire station, which has been a need expressed by FVFD and the community.
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According to the FVFD website, it was established in 1933, and provides fire and emergency medical services "in partnership with" the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department in Franconia, Rose Hill, and Kingstowne. The Franconia Volunteer Fire Department is an independent and separate 501(c)(4) organization. "We depend on proceeds from our charitable bingo operations and community fundraising to maintain our fire station, purchase emergency vehicles and equipment, and support activities of the department," notes the website.
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Summary Presentation
Supervisor Lusk, in coordination with the Housing Authority, made a single summary presentation on May 6, that included presentations by the Fairfax Housing and Redevelopment Authority, Fairfax County Fire Dept (not the Franconia Volunteer Fire Dept.), an environmental expert on chemicals related to the removal of the site's fuel tank, and staff from the Planning Commission. Attendees (100+) were asked to share their "favorite aspect of their community", submit questions on index cards, and vote on their priority of improvements in community amenities not related to the redevelopment of the governmental center.
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At the conclusion of the May 6 meeting, Supervisor Lusk acknowledged the community's interest in making the site available to the Franconia Volunteer Fire Department which is located around the corner and adjacent to the Franconia Governmental Center. In addition, Lusk said additional research and "conversations" with Fairfax County would be necessary to determine the viability of the site as a new home for the Franconia Volunteer Fire Dept.
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Based on comments made by County lawyers at the end of the Public Hearing on January 23, 2024, BOS meeting (hour 10:58), if there is a change to the "subject" of the transfer of the governmental center to the Housing Authority for affordable housing*, a new advertisement and scheduling of a public hearing would be legally required. Since Supervisor Lusk's publicly stated on May 6 that additional conversations are necessary to consider this alternate use, the Rose Hill Coalition LLC contends that new public meetings and hearings are now required to consider alternative uses and the vote to transfer the property to the Housing Authority is no longer valid.
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*The public notice in The Washington Times (12/1/23) read: "FAIRFAX COUNTY NOTICE December 5, 2023 Public hearings before the Board of Supervisors of Fairfax County...3:30 Public hearing to consider the validation and conveyance of property located at the Franconia Governmental Center, with an address of 6121 Franconia Road and identified as Tax Map Nos. 81-3 ((05)) parcels 0002A, 0002B, 0002C1 and 0003A and Tax Map No. 081-3 ((08)) parcels 0503, Franconia District, to the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority." The notice was published again on Jan 12, 2024, due to the deferral of the initial public hearing.
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Next Steps
At the direction of the Board of Supervisors, the Fairfax County Department of Planning and Development staff recently held three virtual Q&A sessions to allow residents to ask questions and express their concerns about the "by right" placement of data centers in Fairfax. These one-hour virtual sessions served as educational forums for the public to better understand the complex land use review process in the County.
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The Rose Hill Coalition suggests such virtual information sessions be offered for the Franconia Governmental Center (and other key land use proposals) going forward. "This inclusive format would allow for uncensored questions and presentations by all stakeholders," said Coalition Founder Sharada Gilkey.
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Surveys and Feedback
Note that for several weeks in April, a survey was posted online where residents could submit their views to Supervisor Lusk on the redevelopment of the Franconia Governmental Center site. The "results" of the survey were also summarized at the May 6 meeting, but had little to do with the redevelopment of the site other than for affordable housing and local community amenities.
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A separate "live" survey of the attendees at the May 6, meeting was conducted to determine the top three "preferred community amenities to include if this is a housing redevelopment on this site". No public survey by the Franconia District or the County has been conducted at any time to get the community's ideas for alternate uses despite extensive discussions of alternatives during the April 13 and 22 community meetings.
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If you would like to provide additional feedback, you may email Supervisor Lusk at Franconia@fairfaxcounty.gov. For contact information for the Fairfax County Chairman and other supervisors, go to Sample Emails.
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Stay In Touch!
Updates are only sent to residents in the Rose Hill Planning District. Emails are kept confidential and not shared. You can request to be removed from the list at any time.
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Copyright 2024 Rose Hill Coalition LLC
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