The Herndon Town Council rezoned several areas this year to make the town more Metro-friendly ahead of the Silver Line’s Phase II. Photo by Reena Singh.
In the past year, Herndon made sure to make small steps to make the future brighter and easier to plan.
Between rezoning downtown for future revitalization and creating more inclusiveness in the community by giving a voice to minority groups, the town is paving its way into the next 20 years.
“I think the rezoning of our downtown is huge,” said Mayor Lisa Merkel. “It’s my number one priority for 2015 is to get downtown off of paper and into reality.”
Included in the rezoning are more spaces for residents and visitors to park in the downtown area and single family residences allowed within a portion of the business district zoning.
Council member Grace Wolf also agreed that the rezoning the town council has done for downtown is an integral part of the future of Herndon.
A big part of creating a revitalized downtown includes walkability. This year, the lights were put along the Washington and Old Dominion Trail that runs through the town.
“For me, I think the best thing to happen was the lighting of the trail,” said council member Steven Mitchell.
He said he was proud that Herndon was the first community in nearly 50 miles the trail covers to light a section of the path. More than two miles of the trail are within Herndon’s town limits, running past several businesses, including the Green Lizard, a popular bicycle and coffee shop that opened more than a year ago.
Merkel said creating more walkability will make the transition with the new Metro station easier.
“We need to get more people out of their cars and onto the trails,” said Merkel.
More homes are also being created with the groundbreaking of Vinehaven in the downtown area, preparing for the growth of residents that will come ahead of the new Metro station’s opening.
The latest news is the changes in the town charter voted on by town council earlier this month, however.
“In the end, we decided to make it easier and more accessible for people to vote for mayor and town council,” said Merkel.
Although four year staggered terms were on the proposal, Council member Grace Wolf amended it to only propose November elections rather than in May, stating the May elections were “suppressive” to minority voters.
“I simply will not be a party to voter suppression,” she said.
According to Town Attorney Richard Kaufman, the proposal will go into effect next July if the state General Assembly approves the proposal. Since there will be no election in May, the next town election will be held November 2016.
Many residents who agreed with November elections said it would allow for more minority groups - who are likely the ones working multiple jobs to support their family - to be able to get to the polls on time.
The voices against the proposal altogether, including several council members, stated the decision should be a referendum by the voters, not by the council.