Update 4/21/2024
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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. The Coalition publishes updates as necessary. To unsubscribe from our email list or manage your subscription, link on the links at the top of this page.
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Franconia Governmental Center
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The first community meeting held by Supervisor Lusk to discuss the future of the Franconia Governmental Center site was held Saturday, April 13. See below for a review of this meeting by Rose Hill Coalition LLC founder, Sharada Gilkey.
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A second community feedback meeting is scheduled for Monday, April 22, at John Lewis High School (6540 Franconia Road) from 6-8 pm. Supervisor Lusk will hold a summary presentation on Monday, May 6.
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In his April 18, 2024, newsletter, Lusk wrote, “This past Saturday was the first community conversation regarding the future of the Franconia Governmental Center site. I was excited to see over 150 people in attendance. An online opportunity to provide input has been created... FAQs regarding health and safety, infrastructure, the redevelopment process, and more have been uploaded to the community conversation webpage...”
Several groups have or are forming to debate the redevelopment of the center's site. A group of approximately 45 residents has emerged from among the members of the Franconia District Land Use Committee* to contest the construction of the proposed high-density housing. They support a new public review process to consider alternative uses for the three-acre site.
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*The Franconia Land Use Committee is an advisory body to Supervisor Lusk that represents local civic and homeowners’ association. They make recommendations on land use matters as determined by Supervisor Lusk. You also may contact your representative(s) to the committee via your neighborhood association or Supervisor Lusk’s office.
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As of last week, another group has formed under the name, Franconia Coalition. They have also posted a petition on their website at https://franconiacoalition.org/call-to-action. According to founder Joy Waller, the coalition aims to represent Franconia District civic and homeowners’ associations.
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Also weighing in is YIMBY of NOVA which supports high-density housing throughout Fairfax County and is well organized nationally. Note that representatives often live outside the districts being affected by rezoning. Most recently, they were the driving force behind the rezoning of single family homes to muti-family developments in Arlington. (At a meeting of the Brookland-Bush Hill Civic Association in 2023, at which Supervisor Lusk was the guest speaker, a YIMBY representative (from Huntington in Alexandria) expressed support of the redevelopment of the Rose Hill Plaza shopping center into a 400-unit, six-story apartment complex. She was also the only resident in the meeting that Supervisor Lusk called on by name.)
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REVIEW (and commentary)
Community Meeting on Redevelopment of the Franconia Govt Center Site
Interest in the future of the Franconia Governmental Center site was on full display at the April 13, community meeting organized by District Supervisor Rodney Lusk. The meeting was run by professional mediators and staff from the Fairfax Housing Authority. The 150-plus residents attending were divided into discussion groups of 5-7 plus a mediator who oversaw each table and took notes.
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Of course, the primary focus of attendees was to discuss future uses of the site and address the prior lack of community input sought by Supervisor Lusk when he first initiated and moved forward with turning over the property to the Fairfax Redevelopment and Housing Authority. (The Housing Authority would then lease the site at cost to a private developer to build high-density affordable* housing. The developer, Fairfax Corner Properties LLC, was the only company solicited by the FHA to submit a development proposal and is the same group of investors that built and managed the new affordable housing complex at the Fairfax County headquarters site in Fairfax, referred to as the Residences at Government Center.)
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The event was organized into two rounds of “questions”, the first set relating directly to the Franconia Governmental Center site and the second set to Franconia District as a whole. Because we were in the John Lewis High School cafeteria, it was very loud and difficult to discern what people were saying at my table. In contrast, the organizers and Supervisor Lusk used a microphone that fed through the cafeteria’s speakers.
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I can only speak to my table which was mediated by Anna Shapiro, deputy director for real estate finance and development of our Redevelopment and Housing Authority. (In a recent episode of The County Conversation podcast, Shapiro provided insights into the work her team is doing to address affordable housing needs in the County.) Also seated with me were two residents (a woman in her 20s and a middle-aged gentleman), Daniel Lieberman (representing the Franconia Volunteer Fire Department), Tammy Denerak Kaufax (recent chair of the Fairfax County School Board), and a school board member from another district.
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The views expressed at my table included three opposed to and two in favor of the proposed plan to redevelop the site for high-density “affordable” housing. Those in favor were clearly concerned about the availability of affordable housing. Those against had specific concerns.
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One of the alternate ideas for the site is to build a new firehouse and training complex for the Franconia Volunteer Fire Department (FVFD). This proposal appears to be rapidly gaining popularity. Note that the FVFD was previously located at the current Franconia Government center’s site. In the 1960s, the County and the FVFD “swapped” locations. Exactly how the FVFD would again acquire the site has not yet been established as this is still a young idea. However, the FVFD has expressed an urgent need to replace their current facility as the costs to maintain it are excessive, exceeding its value, and do not address current needs of our rapidly growing community.
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Other alternatives facilities for the site center around on community-oriented services and recreation, such as a community center, a park, athletic and art facilities, etc. (Currently, residents have nowhere to meet and congregate in groups of more than ~30 that is, ironically, affordable. Although schools have space, residents cannot access them unless they purchase liability insurance which runs $500-600 per year. Few civic or homeowner associations have a budget to support such a large expense.)
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Fact: Adding more housing, affordable or otherwise, requires significant investment in supporting infrastructure: schools, transportation, utilities, and fire and safety. Thousands of housing units have already been approved and more are in the pipeline for Franconia District. Yet to date there are no future plans and zero dollars budgeted by Fairfax County to address these supporting infrastructure systems.
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Opinion: Obviously, there are many issues to be resolved. However, these should not be either/or solutions without compromise. They can be resolved with civil discussion and debate. So, yes, share your view and remember to also listen to other views, because otherwise you won’t get the full picture of the problem or find the best solution.
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*The term “affordable housing” in Fairfax County has many definitions and variables for qualifications. We will attempt to address this in a future Coalition Update.
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Is That Legal?
If you are confused about the various official documents that determine land use in Fairfax County, you are not alone. You may also be surprised to know that the County is not legally bound to some of these key documents.
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Per the Fairfax Department of (land use) Planning and Development, the Fairfax County Strategic Plan and Comprehensive Plan supplement each other as guides for planning and policy decisions. However, they are not legal documents though they are integral to most land use decisions.
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In contrast, zoning ordinances (aka laws) passed by the County Board of Supervisors are legal documents. And like most jurisdictions, the BOS has sole discretion on establishing all zoning laws within the County. That includes the laws and all the many exceptions to those laws.*
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So, the land use process starts with the Strategic Plan and the Comprehensive Plan, both guiding documents, and ends with a zoning law/ordinance (or exception to the zoning law). The steps from one to the other can be long and complicated or simple and fast, depending on the project. In other words, unpredictable and determined on a case by case basis by the Department of Planning and Development staff and the Board of Supervisors.
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This is why the Rose Hill Coalition LLC exists. Our goal is to keep residents informed because the road to knowledge on land use in Fairfax County is a slippery slope!
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*The County publishes weekly submitted and "approved" applications for zoning exceptions. These requests for exceptions run the gamut from fence height for a single family home to changing the zoning for an entire property from commercial to residential or “mixed use”. The summary of applications for exceptions is published every Sunday online (https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/planning-development/zoning/application-status) and by email. To subscribe, go to:
https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/mailinglist > Building and Land Development > Comprehensive Plan Announcements. Note that there are no explanations for each email list, but you can easily sign up and later unsubscribe.
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Public Hearings
Where does the above land use approval process leave the public and what role do you play?
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Public opinions are solicited (per state law) via “Public Hearings” through all stages of the land use process, including the development of Strategic and Comprehensive Plans and review of applications for exceptions to the zoning laws. These hearings are held first by the Planning Commission (which makes recommendations to the BOS) and then by the Board of Supervisors for a final decision (aka vote). Public hearings are “official” forums that allow the public to express their opinion on the application* (aka nomination) being considered. Those public opinions may sway the Board of Supervisors but have no legal standing.
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Of course, public opinion often makes a difference. Our local representatives are well aware that they are elected every x-number of years, but they also must walk-the-line between often competing interests, i.e., economic investment dollars versus votes, and what they consider to be in the “best interests” of the County. State and national considerations also play a significant role. (Saying it’s “Just politics” both dismisses the vast complexity of governing and alludes to the average person’s need to focus on surviving day to day. Just think about the convening processes to get a loaf of bread to your kitchen table--from international agreements to possibly a second work shift at the other end.)
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*Each application (aka nomination) is assigned a “nomination” number (aka Application ID) and you can search by that number.
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In The News
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Realty Company Buys Cluster of Warehouses in Franconia
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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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