With Area Plans Review (APR) nominations due this Friday, the West Fairfax County Citizens Association (WFCCA) Land-Use Committee has decided to submit seven of them. All are proposals for changes to the county's Comprehensive Plan.
* Centreville's Historic District: "We've been looking into carving out a plan for [preservation of] the Historic District," said WFCCA's Ted Troscianecki. Since the public can only have input into the Comprehensive Plan, every five years, noted WFCCA's Judy Heisinger, "I think we should feel impelled to do this."
Local architect Bill Robson has proposed a village green for seven, county-owned acres there to create a heart of the community. Therefore, he said at Tuesday night's WFCCA meeting, "It would be a good idea to include surrounding properties in [the APR nomination] so that their development would be compatible with the village green and Historic District."
He said the sidewalks should be brick, the commercial buildings should have a "period" architectural style, not modern, and the size and scale of the buildings should be smaller, like in an Old Town area. Robson said a zoning action would extend the Historic District, and he noted several features that should be identified as part of this district.
These elements include the Royal Oaks house foundation, the famous Royal Oak tree, four specific graves, the foundation of the Eagle Tavern and other items of real historical value and archaeological significance. The parcel containing Royal Oaks is on 4.4 acres, and the Leland Road connector is earmarked to go through it.
* Funeral chapel option: This nomination would provide an option to establish a funeral chapel where Old Centreville Road and Route 28 intersect near Upperridge Drive in Centreville. Al Francese of Little Rocky Run spoke against it, saying, "This is an odd-shaped land bay with constraints. It's about 2.5 acres, with only about one acre of usable space, so the Board of Supervisors recommends low-density uses there, such as small offices."
He said something generating more traffic could have a negative impact on his and other nearby communities. "If you recommend a funeral chapel there, it would preclude small-office use on this site," he explained. "And this is close to the residential uses, so there shouldn't be any waivers of landscaping allowed. I agree with the need for a funeral chapel, but this is a God-awful place to put one."
But WFCCA's Carol Hawn said adding an option for a funeral chapel wouldn't prevent others — such as a doctor or dentist wanting to open up a small office — from doing so on that site. It would just give another type of business a chance to set up shop here. And the rest of the committee agreed to go forward with this nomination.
* "Orphan" parcel: "There's an orphan parcel near the intersection of New Braddock and Route 28," said Troscianecki. "Office use is inappropriate there because of lack of access from New Braddock and Route 28."
So if a commercial building were to open up there, he said, its traffic would go through the residential communities of Winding Ridge and Heritage Forest. Therefore, the WFCCA recommends changing this site's proposed use from office to open space, with an option for residential use at 5-8 homes per acre.
* Marketplace at Centre Ridge Shopping Center: This nomination would add text to limit access to Centrewood Drive and Machen Road and to require any connections to be made through Multiplex Drive — the spine road that runs through the shopping center. Said Troscianecki: "This is to make sure that no more disruptions occur on Machen and Centrewood."
* Dark sky lighting: This nomination's goal is to protect areas generally zoned R-C (residential conservation) in the Upper Cub Run, Flat Lick and Stone Bridge planning areas so they'd have dark night-skies without intrusive and excessive light. Encouraged would be energy-efficient lighting that reduces sky glow and doesn't adversely impact wildlife or astronomical observations.
* Bull Run Post Office Road: "The idea is to promote less-intense uses and limit non-residential uses on this property," said Troscianecki. "This is because of the road's rural nature and substandard conditions north of Lee Highway."
* Pleasant Valley Road: It's been designated a scenic byway by the governor and the General Assembly from Route 29 to Blue Spring Drive. The intent of this application is to protect it from additional traffic volumes to maintain its scenic and historic character.