Fairfax County — From eight previous rezoning cases, $1,346,459.52 in proffered contributions to build baseball
diamonds in Springfield remained unused.
But the Fairfax County Park Authority and Board of Supervisors called up a new Virginia Code that allows for reallocation of funds where construction could go forward.
“I think this is the first time that we’ve used this new section of the Virginia Code,” said Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity.
Virginia Code 15.2-2303.2 “allows a locality to use any cash payments proffered for capital improvements for alternative improvements of the same category within the locality in the vicinity of the improvements for which the cash payments were originally made.”
The money originally intended to build baseball diamonds at Patriot Park at 12111 Braddock Road will now be reallocated to build baseball diamonds at Patriot Park North, west of Patriot Park, at the
intersection of Braddock Road and Willow Springs Road.
“This clearly makes a lot of sense and it has community approval,” said Herrity. “The proffers were for baseball fields and they are going to be used for baseball fields in the vicinity of where they were originally expected to be.”
The Park Authority predicts construction will start in 2019.
“The community’s got a severe shortage of 90-foot diamonds,” said Herrity. “It also clusters with a pair of 60-foot diamonds which makes for a great baseball facility.”
If the Board didn’t approve the Park Authority’s request, “the funds proffered to Patriot Park will remain unavailable to be used for other improvements at nearby Patriot Park North and will remain unutilized until VDOT and FCDOT transportation improvements, including road
alignments that will impact Patriot Park, are finalized,” according to planning and zoning documents.
Development on the original park plan was delayed indefinitely, said Suzianne Battista, of the Department of Planning and Zoning, because of uncertainty of VDOT and FCPT road improvements, including lack of an entrance to the planned baseball diamonds.