July 17, 2002
<bt>One of Herndon’s two major development issues passed, while the other was deferred to yet another public hearing at the meeting of the Town Council last week.
The Fortnightly Boulevard development project passed by a vote of 5-2. The development site covers about seven acres between Center and Grace Streets. The application calls for a majority of residential development, with a small percentage of commercial area as well.
Two condominium buildings are slated to be erected, with 32 units in each one. There will also be 44 townhouses of 24-foot width and 38 townhouses of a 22-foot width. An additional five condominiums will be available in another building that will also have commercial development.
“I am going to be delighted to see this project,” said Town Council member Michael O’Reilly. “It will add a lot of vibrancy to downtown.” Fellow Councilman Harlon Reece agreed, adding that it would put a number of people within walking distance of the downtown area.
CONCERN WAS expressed by some council members and residents that the parking at the proposed site is inadequate.
“This is Herndon, not Washington D.C. Would you buy a home in this community if you were going to have to park a few blocks away and walk?” said Betty Hatfield, a Herndon resident.
Fellow resident Dave Kirby agreed and worried about what this could dictate for the future of Herndon development.
“It is important not to set a precedent of inadequate parking,” he said.
The Fortnightly project plans to add 480 parking spaces, and developer Carr Homes will donate $115,000 to Herndon’s Public Shared Parking Program, which is enough for 35 additional spaces. There will be a variety of spaces, ranging from parking on the new streets to be developed to two-vehicle garage parking that will exist for each townhouse.
Council member Connie Hutchison found this to be insufficient.
“I do not think we have enough parking,” she said. “I am a strong supporter of bringing people downtown but not just for the sake of bringing people downtown.”
Town staff believed that there was enough parking at the site.
“[The parking] is consistent with the comprehensive sector plan in place for this property,” said Town of Herndon director of community development, Henry Bibber.
The development project will now move on to its next stage, which is the drawing up of a site plan and a public hearing on it.
“We are starting right now, and are hoping to start development on this project in the next nine to 12 months,” said Tara Craven, the land acquisition manager at Carr Homes.
MEANWHILE, the rezoning application for Bennett Street was deferred again by a 5-2 vote. It will return to the council on Aug. 13.
D. Horton, the applicant and developer, proposed nine homes to be built on the site, commonly known as the Fox property. This is a decrease from an initial request of 11, and also from a plan for 10 homes that was unveiled on July 2. The plan shown last week also featured changes in how the homes were placed on their respective lots, giving them greater distance from the Old Dranesville Hunt Club community that is behind it.
Herndon residents and council members said that they hope to see a revised plan of eight homes when the plan is heard again.
“I really think that the area needs one less house,” said Vice Mayor Carol Bruce.
Mayor Richard Thoesen said that he did not believe that the concern over this rezoning stemmed from NIMBY (Not in My Backyard), but instead was an issue with timing.
“We are talking about quality of life here,” said Thoesen.
The public hearing on the Bennett Street rezoning will be Aug. 13 at 7:30 p.m.