A couple years ago, property-owner Jagdish Berry hoped to build a child-care center on the 2.37 acres he owns along Route 28, just north of Centreville Elementary.
But after local residents objected vehemently to the idea — and the traffic it would generate — he withdrew his proposal. He returned last week to the West Fairfax County Citizens Association (WFCCA) Land-Use Committee with plans for something else.
This time, Berry wants to build five, single-family homes on a court. They'd be near Compton Village, section 3, and the houses would be identical to the ones in that community.
But he needs the county's blessing to proceed since he's seeking to rezone his land from its currently approved one home per acre to three homes per acre. His attorney, Steve Fox, explained to the WFCCA last Tuesday, Feb. 19, that — with just five homes proposed — it actually works out to just 2.1 homes per acre.
Berry also owns two other lots on the property, but he doesn't plan to build on them. Instead, they would be kept in a public-conservation easement.
Fox said county staff is concerned about noise from Route 28 disturbing the homeowners, so he said Berry will address that problem. Said Fox: "We'll have to do a study and, perhaps, do some berming and solid-type fencing on top of the berm."
He also noted that staff wants the development's main street to be pushed back a bit and some of the lots reconfigured. He hopes to return to the WFCCA in April with an update, after receiving a completed county staff report. The proposal is scheduled to go before the county Planning Commission on May 9.
Since it would be such a small neighborhood, WFCCA member Jim Hart recommended that the five homes be absorbed into the Compton Village Homeowners Association, if possible. And he also asked about trail connections.
Fox replied that he and Berry would meet with the Compton Village Homeowners Association. He also said there's a pedestrian connection between the court on which these homes would be built and the existing trail along Route 28.