It's on to the county Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) next month for Sant Nirankari Mission. It got a thumbs-up Tuesday night from the West Fairfax County Citizens Association (WFCCA) Land-Use Committee.
The congregation currently meets in a local Methodist church and now wants to build a 15,000-square-foot place of worship on a 4.1-acre site at 4501 Pleasant Valley Road. The parcel is currently vacant, and the applicant needs a special permit from the county to build there.
Land planners Lori Greenlief and Jane Kelsey presented details Tuesday, plus changes made to the proposal since they appeared before the WFCCA in December.
They said county staff was concerned about the seat-to-parking ratio planned, so they reduced the number of seats from 376 to 350 and added more parking for 121 spaces total. And they obtained the required 50-percent, undisturbed open space.
"The building was moved five feet forward to increase the buffer in the back, and more planting was added to the front," said Greenlief. "There'll be hardwoods and scrub cedar trees. The building will be done in neutral materials, with a shingle roof; and the site slopes, so part of the building will be seen as two-story, and part, as one-story."
JAY LYNCH, who lives nearby, was concerned about the stormwater-retention pond and asked what county entity will approve it. "We see that pond basin as another spot for standing water and mosquitoes," he said. "So we'd prefer they get a waiver [for the pond] and pipe it out."
At-large Planning Commissioner Jim Hart advised him to send his comments to the Department of Planning and Zoning. However, Kelsey noted that, without the pond, the mission won't meet its 50-percent, open-space requirement.
"That's the reason we're contemplating reducing the parking somewhat, keeping the seats to a lower level for phase one and adding more seats and parking in phase two — when they get to 200 members," she explained. "Now, there are 100 or less parishioners."
The WFCCA then approved the special permit, subject to: The seat and parking reductions, the parking-lot lighting conforming to the new county standards, maximized use of landscaping in the front; a waiver of the retention-pond requirement; and the use of masonry materials, such as brick, in the building's construction.