The need for more and more youth soccer fields in western Fairfax County never ceases. And for the past several months, there's been much public and private wrangling about a proposal to locate some fields in Quinn Farm Park.
The Fairfax County Park Authority and professional soccer team D.C. United hoped to join together to build nine, lighted, rectangular fields there. If allowed to build its training facility on that site, too, D.C. United would help foot the bill for construction of seven soccer fields for local youth teams and two, premier rectangular fields for its own practices.
But in order for plans to go forward, the county zoning ordinance would have had to be amended to allow the Park Authority to form a partnership with a commercial entity. And many local residents — as well as civic and homeowners associations — had serious concerns about such an intense use of environmentally sensitive land in Centreville.
Now, things are changed and, if the soccer complex gets built someday, it will not be by a public/private venture. Instead, the Park Authority will have to go it alone. D.C. United is no longer seeking a special-exception permit to build a training facility in Quinn Farm Park, and the Park Authority has withdrawn its request to amend the zoning ordinance.
"We negotiated long and hard with [D.C. United], but we got to a point where we didn't have a lot in common to make this public/private partnership work," said Park Authority spokeswoman Judy Pedersen. "There were a whole host of issues [on which we didn't agree]." She declined to elaborate though, saying the Park Authority doesn't disclose issues — either current or past — under negotiation.
In spring 2000, the county purchased 169 acres at Old Lee and Braddock Roads in Centreville. The western half will remain oak/hickory forest, but the eastern half — the Quinn property — is pastureland that may be developed.
Quinn Farm Park is classified as a district park — for local residents' use — like Poplar Tree and Greenbriar parks. Although the training building is now out of the picture, the Park Authority intends to develop the nine, lighted soccer fields there, itself.
Its master plan for Quinn Farm Park also includes 450 parking spaces — 50 per field — plus two bleachers for each field. Also proposed are a fishing pond, playground and picnic area, as well as paved trails along Braddock, Pleasant Valley and Old Lee roads, plus a hiking trail encompassing the site.
There'll be easy access from Route 28. And the county transportation plan calls for the upgrading of Old Lee Road there, from two to four lanes, from Willard to Pleasant Valley Road. Old Lee will also be realigned with Braddock through the site, and a new entrance road will come off of Braddock.
The park will more than likely have extended hours of operation, which could mean daily use from 7:30 a.m.-11 p.m. An estimated 3,500 people are expected to flock there on a peak weekend day.
The master plan for Quinn Farm will go to the Park Authority board for approval on Jan. 29. Citizens who made official comments about the proposal at the July 9 public hearing, and since, will receive letters this week from the Park Authority advising them of the meeting and the recent changes.
The public may attend, but no further comments will be received. However, the plan may be accessed at the Park Authority's Web site, www.fairfaxcounty.gov/parks.
The Park Authority will present this revised plan to the West Fairfax County Citizens Association (WFCCA) Land-Use Committee by spring. It will then head to the county Planning Commission — which will have the final say on the project, since it no longer requires a zoning amendment or special exception. Its future will be determined, instead, on the basis of its compatibility on that site, with the surrounding area and with the Comprehensive Plan.
But even if the plan's approved, it may be years before it becomes a reality. That's because it comes with an estimated $16.5 million price tag and the Park Authority isn't exactly rolling in dough.
"As yet, the Park Authority has no identified source of funding," said Pedersen. "Generally, we move forward with a project [via] a bond issue. The next one would be in 2004 — with the approval of the [county] Board of Supervisors and the public."
"At this point, a 2004 park bond is in the CIP," acknowledged Supervisor Michael R. Frey (R-Sully ). "[This project] could be included, but whether it will be is the million-dollar question."
John Pitts, manager of the Park Authority's Project Management branch, said removing the D.C. United training facility from the proposal saves approximately $1.5 million. (Cost of the entire project was originally $18 million).
Still, he said, fields don't come cheaply: "It would cost an estimated $1 million [to build] each field, including lighting and irrigation." And that doesn't even include the price of all the road improvements. Pitts anticipates it will take nine months to a year to construct the whole shebang.
But before it can come to fruition, a whole slew of other problems — including traffic, lighting and environmental impact — must also be solved. "We will have 50 percent open space," said Pitts. "The main issue will be whether it will have any adverse impact on the water quality."
Sully Estates resident Frank Ojeda is also worried about it. He said he's learned that some 40,000 pounds of fertilizer will be needed for the nine fields. Said Ojeda: "Some of it could run off into the nearby Cub Run stream, which [eventually] leads into the Occoquan — the source of our drinking water."