City Council Regular Meeting

Good evening. I would like to call the regular meeting of July 9th, 2024 to order. Welcome to everyone here in the chamber. I am grateful tonight for air conditioning. I hope those of who are watching from home also have air conditioning. I wish upon the world air conditioning. If you are able and so choose, please rise for a moment of silence followed by the Pledge of Allegiance. I pledge allegiance to the flag of the United States of America and to the republic for which it stands, one nation, under God, indivisible, with liberty and justice for all. And now we have the favorite part of my evening is to do proclamations and I am going to ask that V.V. Schofield Davis and Donovan Davis and all of the people who are with them

to celebrate Fragile X Day come down into the well while I read the proclamation. Yes, I have to do that first. Hang on. And while we're doing that, I'm going to ask if there is a motion to approve the remote participation by Councilmember Staley. In accordance with City Council adopted policy and as permitted by Virginia Code Section 2.2-3708.2, I move to approve Councilmember Staley's request properly submitted in writing prior to tonight's meeting for remote participation subject to compliance with the requirements outlined in the City Council adopted policy and applicable law in all or portions of the City Council meetings of July 9th, 2024. Second. All right. The motion has been made and seconded. A roll call vote.

Roll call vote. Councilmember Greenfield. Aye. Councilmember Ross. Aye. Councilmember Lim. Aye. Councilmember Bates. Aye. Motion passed unanimously. All right. So welcome Councilmember Staley. Thank you all very much. Appreciate it. All of you very fine people. Welcome. Welcome Donovan. Whereas, Fragile X Syndrome is the most common cause of inherited intellectual disability and the most common known genetic cause of autism or autism spectrum disorders, and whereas over 1.5 million Americans are carriers of a Fragile X mutation and thus have, or at risk for developing, a Fragile X associated disorder. And over 100,000 Americans have Fragile X Syndrome. And whereas Fragile X disorders are also associated with tremor,

ataxia syndrome causing tremors, balance deficiencies, and memory problems, ovarian insufficiency causing reduced fertility or infertility, menstrual deficiencies and early menopause, and neurophysiological conditions. And whereas Fragile X is a powerful research model for neuropsychiatric disorders such as autism, schizophrenia, pervasive developmental disorders, and similar conditions including Alzheimer's, Parkinson's, reproductive problems in women, and other genetically based medical conditions. And whereas although the genetic defect causing Fragile X has been discovered and is easily identified by DNA testing, Fragile X frequently goes undetected due to its rare nature and lack of awareness about the syndrome, even within the

medical community. And whereas raising awareness of Fragile X with the public and the medical community will help patients with the Fragile X gene make better informed medical decisions and help the those living with Fragile X syndrome to adapt into society and provide significant contributions toward better understanding autism and other Fragile X associated and other Fragile X associated conditions. Now therefore I, Catherine S. Reed, mayor of the city of Fairfax, do hereby proclaim July 22, 2024 as Fragile X day in the city of Fairfax. Raising awareness of Fragile X syndrome with society will assist families living with a disability to make better informed decisions about their health and life in general be more productive in society.

It will also bring awareness to those that may not be aware their family members even have the disability due to this awareness. Done on this 9th day of July. So I'm going to invite Vivi Shofield Davis to say a few words about Fragile X and also about the foundation. Thank you all for Mayor Reed for recognizing Fragile X day and proclaiming it this day. We are elated that you are making this day awareness and advocating for Donovan Angel Foundation. Donovan Angel Foundation. So it's not just Donovan Angel Foundation but with Donovan Angel Foundation. Donovan is our son. This is my husband. They are our supporters and we are just really elated that we can share this day here in the city of Fairfax and that you are bringing awareness to this day. So we want

everyone to recognize Fragile X day on this day from this day forward and thank you so much. Thank you for all you guys coming supporting us supporting this day and making families aware of Fragile X because there's so many families that is not aware of what Fragile X is. We didn't know anything about Fragile X. Genetic testing, early intervention is very, very important. So we want as with Donovan Angel Foundation, we want to make everyone aware of what Fragile X is and rare diseases. So our mission is to help kids and individuals with Fragile X syndrome through different therapies, speech, equine, occupational therapy, and music therapies that sometimes make things better for their lives with taking those therapies. So that's what our foundation

is based on and we also deal with people with intellectual disabilities because that falls under Fragile X. So we're just elated to be here and to bring awareness to Fragile X syndrome. Thank you so much, Mayor. Thank you. All right, we're going to get a photo. Thank you. All right, we're going to get some information there. And we have some of these short people in the front. Come on, short people. Come on, short people. Come on, short people. Yeah, right here, right there. Can you see everybody? Get everybody in. Everybody in. Is Donovan in there? Come hold it, Donovan. There you go. Come hold it, Donovan. One, two, three. One, two, three. Thank you so much. It's for you, Donovan. Thank you so much.

Thank you so much. All right, a smaller entourage. Kate Matys. And anyone you want to bring with you, Kate. You could have brought more people. Okay, but this is really very important. Kate Matys is the executive director of Northern Virginia Transportation Commission. And they are celebrating their 60th anniversary. And I can't begin to tell you, although I will tell you in the proclamation, how important this organization is to the Northern Virginia region and specifically to the city of Fairfax. So let me proclaim herewith. Whereas, Northern Virginia Transportation Commission, NVTC, created by the General Assembly of Virginia in 1964, will celebrate its 60th anniversary on September 5th, 2024.

And whereas, the NVTC began with an initial district of five jurisdictions, including the counties of Arlington and Fairfax, and the cities of Alexandria, Fairfax, and Falls Church, with 11 elected officials from those jurisdictions, and the chair of the State Highway Commission serving jointly as commissioners. NVTC membership has grown to include the county of Loudoun and now has 21 commissioners, including six members of the General Assembly of Virginia and a designee of the Virginia Secretary of Transportation. And whereas, NVTC district now has a population of approximately 2 million people in a territory covering 1,000 square miles, connected by a robust transit network providing residents with 1.5 million transit trips each week on Metro Rail,

Virginia Railway Express, VRE, local and express bus services, and paratransit services. And whereas, NVTC played a pivotal role in creating the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, WMATA, whereby the resulting interstate compact requires WMATA's Virginia board members to be appointed from among the NVTC's commissioners, who now provide additional oversight and reporting responsibilities directed by an update to state code in 2018. And whereas, NVTC consistently promotes transit innovations leading to improved efficiency, environmental stewardship, and customer service, including advanced fair payment systems, hybrid and zero emission bus technologies, improved bus speeds on local and interstate routes, bus stop improvements, and policy considerations for fair free transit.

And whereas, NVTC routinely leads regional planning efforts to provide coordinated emergency responses by Northern Virginia's transit systems to facilitate faster transit reactions and better communication with customers, police, fire departments, and other public safety personnel during emergencies and transit system shutdowns. And whereas, in 60 years of leadership in transit system development, expansion, funding, and research, each of the current and former board members and staff have played an integral role in building and operating the transit network required to sustain the regional economy. And whereas, NVTC has been and continues to be a trusted partner to the City of Fairfax, providing valuable leadership, expertise, and advocacy in the transit arena.

Now, therefore, I, Catherine S. Reed, Mayor of the City of Fairfax, do hereby proclaim, commend and commend the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission in the occasion of its 60th anniversary in the City of Fairfax, celebrating on reaching this landmark in the Commission's history and appreciation for the leadership of the Commission in promoting public transit and other sustainable commuting options in Northern Virginia to the benefit of the region and the entire Commonwealth of Virginia. So, I will turn the microphone over to Kate. All right. Thank you so much. And, indeed, it is absolutely, you're thinking back the 60 years that I have not seen all of it, but I do know that the City has been a part of NVTC during our entire history.

And we really are the regional body that brings the small cities, the larger cities, and our counties together to talk about how we can have a better public transit network. And so, the partnership that we have with the City, whether it is helping Q, finding funding in different places, talking about fare-free and making sure that we have a good, strong, reliable metro system is right at the core of NVTC. It is wonderful to see some previous commissioners here as well. And so, this is just absolutely fantastic. 60 years, there's been a lot. You know, for those who have been in the area for 60 years, this has changed a lot. But the fabric of the transportation network that we have here in Northern Virginia

is making it possible to have such an incredibly healthy environment and a great place to move around as somebody who's seen the city embrace public transit and all those great things, bike share and otherwise. I'm really proud to be here tonight to receive this proclamation. Well, thank you. And do you have something you want to say? So, I am your current commissioner, but for many years, Council Member Greenfield was the commissioner from Fairfax City. It's been five years since I've seen you. So, I served consecutively for 10 years. When I started, Wendy was my staffer. And we call them a staffer because they were the person who were the expert that made us all look good at NVTC. And so, we have come a long way as a region.

We've come a long way with what we've been able to do with NVTC and NVTA. But it doesn't happen without people like Kate and the fantastic staff that we have at NVTC and the wonderful staffs that we have in all the jurisdictions throughout Northern Virginia that make up NVTC. So, thank you. I appreciate that. And I can't tell you how great it is to see you. All right. We're going to have a photo. Stay here for the photo. Okay. Okay. Should we put the tall person in the middle? Should we put the tall person in the middle? I think we could look at him. Oh, obviously. Okay. Thank you so much. All right. Thank you. All right. Okay. We can move on to the adoption of the agenda. Is there a motion to approve the agenda?

I move to adopt the agenda as presented. Second. The motion has been made and seconded. A roll call vote. Council Member Greenfield? Aye. Council Member Ross? Aye. Council Member Lim? Aye. Council Member Bates? Aye. Council Member Staley? Aye. Motion passed unanimously. We'll go on to the initial general public comment. I had two speakers sign up prior to 5 o'clock p.m. today. Our first one is Anita Light, if you may come forward. Good evening, Mayor Reed and members of City Council. Again, my name is Anita Light, and I'm Chair of the Fairfax Village in the City Advisory Board. I'm joined tonight by Jason Skadron, without whom our village would not be as successful as it has been in the past two years.

I'm joined also by several members of our advisory board, and they are sitting in the audience tonight. I'm here to share information about our villages compiled in the annual report and provided to you yesterday by Melissa Shinaberry. In it are highlights from our last year's activities. In our strategic plan from 2023, we set a goal of an increase of 50 percent, both for our volunteers and for our membership. As of the printing of this report, we have accomplished that goal. We have 90 members and 46 volunteers who have provided transportation to medical appointments, the grocery store, the bank, and other places that members needed to go. We have shoveled snow. We have raked leaves. We have helped with minor household repairs, and we even helped install one of the rain barrels proposed by Fairfax City.

All total, we provided over 1,100 volunteer hours, and that's valued at over $37,000 for the City of Fairfax. This past year, we conducted another successful Home for Life Expo with over 200 participants, four speakers, 36 exhibitors. And this year, we were fortunate enough to have six sponsors, and all of our evaluations were very positive and encouraged us to do the expo again next year. Also new this past year was our Friday morning speaker series, and we covered topics such as learning how to navigate the technology in new cars, how to be safe in your own home, learning more about dementia, and how to be a successful solo ager. We also conducted our first volunteer appreciation event. It was an ice cream social at Blenheim, and I think all of our volunteers felt very much appreciated for the work that they've done on behalf of our members.

Our greatest accomplishment, however, is what our members get out of being a village member. In April, we conducted what will be an annual member evaluation. A preliminary review of that survey indicates that they are very satisfied with the program and believe the village will help them remain in their own home as they age. Looking forward, we have much to do to continue to be a viable entity that serves this community. For instance, from our work with a national research project supported by Village to Village Network, Rand Corporation, and Rutgers University, we're examining the types of research that is needed to demonstrate to decision makers a village's value to the community. On behalf of our advisory board, we'd like to express our deepest appreciation for the support this council has given to you all.

You've approved resources that allow us to continue to do this work, and many of you have participated in our events, and I think this lets our aging city residents know that Fairfax City cares about them, and that Fairfax City is a safe place to grow old. So, thank you very much, and if you have any questions, Jason, I'll be happy to answer them in a later time. Thank you. Thank you. All right, our next speaker is Monique LaFleur. Good evening. Thank you so much for allowing me to speak tonight. I came to speak to you about the George Schneider Trail again. Taxpayers are still having questions about their concerns regarding the George Schneider Trail project, and I want to say that public projects are not static.

The needs of the people are not static. The George Schneider Trail project is occurring now, not 10 years ago, not five years ago. So, blindly following decisions of previous public officials does not serve the current needs and values of taxpayers. This blind allegiance turns the George Schneider project into a vanity project, which is not an appropriate use of the city's resources. Voters in the city have, when given the opportunity, voted by large margins in favor of preserving clean air, clean water, and natural resources, such as large wooded areas. The increase in the amount of pavement, loss of old growth trees, and lack of meaningful improvement in transportation under the George Schneider Trail is inconsistent with voters' values.

It's also inconsistent with the city's public statements that the city is a tree city, a soil city, and a city that discourages excess pavement, as evidenced by attacks on residents and businesses based on the amount of runoff caused by pavement on their properties. I do not come here to continue to ask for fiscal environmental accountability by the city because it's so much fun, because it's not. But sadly, it feels necessary. Over a year ago, 2,500 individuals and organizations signed a petition asking for accountability regarding the George Schneider Trail project. Not all of those individuals and organizations are able to keep coming to speak to this council due to work and family obligations.

But they are, however, still waiting for explanations for modifications to the George Schneider Trail project. As a resident and a taxpayer, I would prefer that the city stop allocating so much manpower and time to pushing through the massive and unnecessary George Schneider Trail project and allocate more resources to addressing the increased crime in our city, especially in and around our businesses. Our police and our businesses need more support. As a voter and a taxpayer, I would prefer to see a realignment of priorities instead of a realignment of the George Schneider Trail. Thank you. That's all the speakers we had signed up, so we can go to the consent agenda. Is there a motion to approve the consent agenda?

I move adoption of a consent agenda for agenda item number 7A, consideration of the July 9th, 2024 regular meeting minutes. July 9. Agenda item number 7B, consideration of appointments to boarding commissions with following amendments. Appointing Jeffrey Bowles to the George Mason University Fairfax Campus Advisory Board for a two-year term extending through July 9th, 2026. Appointing Brenda Young to the Commission for Women starting July 15, 2024 for a three-year term extending through July 15, 2027. Agenda item number 7C, consideration to approve the Virginia Career Works Northern Region paren area number 11, close paren consortium agreement. I move to approve the consent agenda item number 7A through C and the motion accompanying the consent agenda items as printed.

Second. A motion has been made by Council Member Lim and seconded by Council Member Ross. Are there any items Council would like to pull for additional discussion? I just want to make, so agenda item 7A should be June 25th, regular meeting minutes, not July 9th. So let the record show that it is the meeting minutes from June 25th. With that correction, I will ask, is there any item that needs to be removed for discussion? Seeing none, a roll call vote. Council Member Staley? Aye. Council Member Bates? Aye. Council Member Lim? Aye. Council Member Ross? Aye. Council Member Greenfield? Aye. Motion passed unanimously. We'll go to public hearings. Our first one is a public hearing and council action on a request of Capital City Real Estate LLC applicant by Kozen O'Connor,

agent slash attorney for a zoning map amendment and pre-zoning from CR Commercial Retail to CU Commercial Urban ! Council Member Bates, Council Member Bates, and the City Code Section 110-6.5 for architecture and landscaping on the premises known as N29 Apartments in Perrence Willowood Phase 1 and as identified as 10306E. in Perrence Tax Map Parcels 47-4-04-02-02-02-02A. I'll recognize Albert Frederick, City Planner, to provide staff presentation. Calculation? Calculation? Calculation? Calculation? Calculation? Calculation? Calculation? Calculation? Calculation? Calculation? Calculation? Calculation? Thank you. Here we go. Good evening, everyone. This is a public hearing for N29 Apartments, also known as Willowood Phase 1. The applicant is Capital City Real Estate, LLC. The site is located at 10306 Eaton Place.

The applicant submitted a formal application on June 20, 2022. The Board of Architectural Review recommended approval on February 7, 2024. The Planning Commission recommended approval on April 22, 2024. The plans under consideration for tonight's public hearing were submitted on June 21, 2024. The applicant is requesting a zoning map amendment from commercial retail to commercial urban with proffers while retaining the architectural control overlay district, a special use permit to allow an upper story mixed use building, special exceptions, and a major certificate of appropriateness for architecture and landscaping. The subject property is located in the North Vax Small Area Plan. The overall site of 4.49 acres is owned by Willowood Office, LLC. The applicant Capital City Real Estate, LLC, is also the contract purchaser of 2.96 acres of the overall 4.49 acre site.

So lot A, which is highlighted in black, is the subject property for this public hearing. And again, that lot 2A is 2.96 acres. Here's an area of photo showing the existing parking lot for the five-story office building at 10306 Eaton Place. And also some ground photos taken throughout the site. The subject property is located north of Fairfax Boulevard, east of Chambers Road, south of Shallow Street Park, west and south of Occitane Creek, and north of Eaton Place. The subject property is located in the activity center place type in the North Vax Small Area Plan with commercial retail as the current zoning. The proposed zoning is for commercial urban. The vision for the North Vax Small Area Plan ultimately prescribes a comprehensive approach to providing public open space and green space.

Also, as part of reimagining North Vax is redeveloping surface parking lots to green spaces and buildings with stormwater improvements. The linear park serves as a public open space and a connector of neighborhoods and green infrastructure for stormwater capture. The North Vax Small Area Plan is also a huge opportunity for transformation into a mixed-use activity center that centers and anchors around the surrounding communities. In the midterm of 15 years, the plan expects a sizable infusion of residential and retail uses that would help bolster North Vax and bring public benefits and amenities to the area to the area. A key idea of the North Vax vision is to bridge the divide between North Vax and the surrounding neighborhoods and connect with the Occitane Creek watershed.

Here's a closer look at the linear park north of Eaton Place. The linear park provides gathering spaces for recreation and events anchored by joining retail, office, and residential uses. It also provides a comprehensive look to open space and green space. Again, it's an opportunity to reimagine redeveloping parking lots to green spaces and buildings with stormwater improvements. The linear park would serve as a public open space connected to neighborhoods and green infrastructure for stormwater capture. So the site is captured here in the image on your screen. The linear park is highlighted in yellow. So the subject property is bordering right on the linear park as proposed in a small area plan.

The applicant proposes to develop a mixed-use building with up to 260 apartments and 5,000 square feet of ground floor retail and a 10-level parking garage with one level below grade with approximately 676 parking spaces and 8 surface parking spaces on 2.96 acres. The 10-level garage is attached to the rear of the building. The ground floor retail is approximately 5,000 square feet located at the corner of Eaton Place and the newly proposed street on the western edge of the site. The main entrance to the building has a large recess and is located on Eaton Place. The applicant proposes a first-floor amenity space that includes the lobby, leasing area, mail package center, fitness area, and lounge.

Interior to the building, the applicant has proposed a courtyard with pool units surrounding the pool area on three sides. The applicant has also proposed a small open space area near the proposed garage on the east side of the building. The general development plan shows two access points that will continue to be operational and will be improved with the proposed redevelopment activity. The applicant proposes to use existing curb cut on the southern edge of the site and plans to shift the existing curb cut on the northern edge to align with the University Drive extension. The proposed western edge is less than 30 feet in width. The width range is between 20 and 22 feet with 10-foot travel lanes that circulate around the building.

The applicant has proposed sidewalks along the frontage and around the entire site. There is also a mid-block crosswalk near the site that connects to the bus stops on both sides of Eaton Place. The applicant has proposed a stormwater management improvement system that is integrated into the streetscape and overall project design. The applicant has also provided a two-foot right-of-way dedication along Eaton Place as part of the requirement for the public facilities manual. The applicant is also proposing ingress and egress easements on all private streets, accessways, and adjacent streets. In terms of the building coverage and lot coverage, the applicant is meeting the requirement. It's below the maximum building coverage and also below the maximum lot coverage.

In terms of transportation, the applicant has provided a traffic study. Within this traffic study, the applicant demonstrates an estimated increase in AM peak hour trips, PM peak hour trips, and daily trips upon the development build-out. The site has access to the QBus system and the Gold Routes and Metro Bus. Route 1C is along Eaton Place. The applicant has provided transportation demand strategies to help mitigate traffic impacts. Again, the applicant has provided a dedication along Eaton Place. In terms of the public facilities manual requirement, the applicant is seeking a waiver to allow for streets to be designed below 30 feet. Again, the private street ranges between 20 and 22 feet in width.

The applicant has provided a structured parking within the proposed CU district, which would automatically require, would receive a 10% parking reduction. The overall parking for both the proposed mixed-use building and the existing off-site building requires 796 spaces. The applicant proposes 417 spaces on-site. The outside building would require 379 spaces. So, again, the total for the project is 710 spaces. And the applicant is seeking a reduction of 10%, which is roughly 86 spaces. So, staff has reviewed the parking reduction, submitted for their overall parking requirement. And the parking for the proposed rental apartments in 5,000 square feet would be met on-site within the proposed parking structure.

Again, the applicant has proposed a stormwater improvement system that is integrated into the streetscape and overall project design. The applicant has provided two areas for the stormwater capture. And staff has reviewed the stormwater management plan and finds no issues with the proposed stormwater management plan. In terms of special use permit, the applicant is proposing a special use permit to allow upper story residential mixed-use building in the commercial urban district. The applicant has proposed this application is subject to the requirements in the zoning ordinance in section 3.51D. And the applicant has provided that information within your packet and meets those requirements. This proposal is also subject to the affordable dwelling unit section of the ordinance with a minimum of 6% provided for the site.

The applicant has proposed 16 units. The number of special exceptions the applicant is requesting. The first one is to allow a reduction in the minimum square footage of 75% on the ground floor with non-resiluces in a mixed-use building. The small area plan recommends that retail be captured along the linear park. And the zoning ordinance states that 75% of the ground floor should be non-residential uses. That requirement is roughly 30,000 square feet. The applicant is proposing 5,000 square feet of non-residential uses on the ground floor. Density. The applicant has proposed a density of approximately 87.8 dwelling units per acre, which exceeds the zoning ordinance of 24 dwelling units per acre.

The small area plan, however, does not prescribe density. And it looks for an increase of residential units in the midterm of 15 years. So the applicant is requesting a special exception for density. But the building itself meets the overall small area plan in form and also in size. The applicant is seeking a special exception to exceed the height in the commercial urban district. The small area plan recommends a seven-story building. The zoning ordinance has a limitation of 60 feet and five stories. The applicant is proposing a parking garage that is 10 levels and approximately 87 feet. One level is below grade. The apartment building is approximately 81 feet at seven stories. So the applicant is seeking a special exception to height.

In terms of the mandatory build line for front and side yard property lines, the applicant is seeking relief from the mandatory build-to line along the front and also the side setbacks. A minimum of 10 feet, the applicant is requesting relief on both sides of the building, on the east side and on the west side. On the east side, the building ranges from 5 feet to 76 feet from the property line. On the west side, it ranges from 44 feet to 70 feet. So the applicant is seeking a special exception to the setback requirements and also the mandatory build-to line. So the image before you shows the site with sidewalks around the entire building. The applicant has provided pedestrian connectivity around the building.

The applicant is looking for a special exception in terms of sidewalks on both sides of an arterial collector or a local street. In this location in yellow is along the western edge of the site. The applicant is looking for the special exception to not construct the sidewalk on the western side. And finally, the applicant is looking for a special exception for vehicular cross-access. The applicant has provided a proffer for an easement for future access for pedestrian and vehicular access along the western edge with connectivity to the adjacent parcel to the west. The applicant has provided a 10-year canopy. During the process of this application, the canopy requirement for commercial urban became effective and it's a 10% requirement.

The applicant has provided a 6.1% and also is seeking a contribution of $21,860 for the reduction for the 10%. So the 3.9% is a contribution that the applicant is seeking in order to make up for the 10% requirement. So in your packet, the numbers are slightly different based on the Planning Commission review and also the staff report. So the previous plan that was reviewed by Planning Commission showed existing tree canopy of 20,148 square feet with a proposed canopy of 6,475 feet that would equal that 6.1%. I would like to draw your attention to the update for the plans that are being reviewed tonight. The plans presented here show that the existing tree canopy coverage is 18,257 square feet and the proposed number has slightly increased at 7,950 square feet which still equates to 6.1%.

So I just wanted to bring that to your attention to show that there's a slight discrepancy in the staff report and the change between Planning Commission and City Council. The applicant is seeking a special exception to meet the overall 10% tree canopy requirement. And so staff believes that the applicant has met that requirement with the proffer that's provided and also the proposed tree canopy coverage. In terms of proffers, the applicant has contributed to Parks and Recreation. Again, again, the in lieu of tree canopy coverage, a contribution for schools has been provided. The applicant has proposed TDM strategies which is in your packet. And also, again, the public ingress and egress easement for all private streets, accessways, and adjacent sidewalks has been provided as well.

The Board of Architectural Review has recommended approval of the proposed architecture and landscaping on April 22nd. The Board reviewed, I'm sorry, that was February 7th. The Board reviewed the plans and recommended approval of the request. Just here's a couple of images showing a facade. This is a facade looking on the west side of the building along Eden Place and the new proposed private street. here's an image looking at the southern facade along Eaton Place and the final image looking at the east side and also the southern side along Eaton Place and adjacent to the existing five-story office building here's elevations of the proposal so looking at the southern elevation to the top left of the screen

the western elevation and also you will see the east elevations to the top right and on the bottom right Planning Commission recommended approval of the rezoning on April 20 April 22nd staff recommends approval of the of the rezoning staff recommends approval of special use permit with conditions approval of the special exceptions with conditions and approval of the major certificate of appropriateness with conditions and I'll stand by for any questions you may have okay now we'll open the public hearing Ms. Shinneberry has this public hearing been properly advertised yes it has does the applicant have a presentation they would like to share well we're getting that ready good evening council Evan Pritchard with Cozen O'Connor

joined by Chris love with capital city real estate he insisted that he do the heavy lifting tonight and so I'll drive the presentation from over here but very excited to be here and this has been quite the quite the journey and we're very proud to have staff support and all the the input they've they've provided for the project so very happy to be here tonight good evening Mary read members of council my name is Chris love with capital city real estate want to thank mr. Albert and staff for their support and guidance over the last three years as we've gotten to where we are today to start I do want to introduce team members we have myself and Brian Jacob from capital city real estate John Helms is our civil engineer with IMeg Megan Ross tonight with Hickok Cole

Megan's our architect Mike Rokoski with wells he's our transportation and traffic engineer and then Evan Pritchard our council with Cozen O'Connor so just a brief overview this next slide here I think this is important because it highlights all that's going on in this super block off Eaton Place so tonight we're talking about phase one which is a parking lot it is owned by Willowwood one and two which are the two office buildings you could go there we go the two office buildings that directly front Eaton Place phase two we will be here soon to talk about that in more detail but I want to point out that the two buildings to the north and that parking structure that abuts the woods those are under separate

ownership so we are required to maintain access to that parking structure and that drove a lot of the design and you know what we were trying to accomplish here existing conditions so we're currently 89.8 percent impervious with the parking lot and you know I want to point out that the technology there the stormwater technology in particular you know design really dates the late 70s and early 80s key project elements so mr. Albert touched on some of the thoughts and threads of the North fact small area plan one is the concept of a balanced mixed-use activity center and so when we looked at the site you know we noticed we were sandwiched between a 90,000 square foot office building to our west and then 500,000 square feet of

office to our east and then to the south there's a 65,000 foot retail center so really the one use the one activity that was missing here was residential in terms of kick-starting key elements of the small area plan we touched on the street and block plan the linear park streetscape but another one is just the 1,400 units that you know there's the idea to have 1,400 units by 2035 to date only 170 have been approved and they're all in North Facts West sustainable elements we'll touch on that in more detail later I do want to point we will enhance the tree and plant palette and diversify that and then finally connectivity you know our bike room we do not directly abut the George Schneider trail but our bike room is fixated

towards the back of the project so if and when adjacent projects their properties redevelop our residents be able to get in their bikes and bike onto the trail and then finally you know we're right on the queue bus line as well so our residents will be able to make use of that in terms of project overview 260 apartments we have a courtyard that's roughly a third of an acre with a pool for our residents 5,000 square feet of retail and I do want to point out that roughly a third of the space will be open space or third of the site project milestones I want to point out we did have a meeting for the Mosby Woods Citizens Association in May of 2023 and we met with Cobbdale in early May of 2023 this shows where we are on the small area in the small area plan so

our site is outlined in red and then I do want to touch briefly on retail so you know that it shows here that that red is the edge of our property along the linear park and that is called out to be retail so we go to the next slide we had initially proposed 1980 square feet and that was really driven by feedback we'd received from third-party consultant neighboring retail property owners to retail brokers we spoke with and we got a lot of feedback from the community from the council and from staff that a larger retail components appropriate so we have increased it now so we're at 5,000 feet of retail we've been working with Chris Bruno and his team at economic development and trying to start in earnest a

leasing effort and having them help us find a tenant and we do intend to engage a broker before the end of the summer to start marketing the space linear park so I do just want to touch on you know that this shows our property overlaid on to the small area plan again our design was really driven by the need to maintain access to that parking garage to the north so you know we put the access road and streetscape on our western edge there and this shows a little more detail you know the portion that's on our property and you know we feel that it is a start to what is envisioned there in terms of sustainability I mean I think just taking 2.97 acres of surface parking and replacing that with lower impact uses is a

good start provision of housing in and amongst all these commercial and retail uses we will have a cycling center for our tenants EV chargers will have eight and then we will have the infrastructure in place to add up to 20% of the parking spaces to have that at a later date and again we touched on proximity to Q bus and Metro as well and our transportation demand management program density and height and I know we touched on that during the staff presentation go through the renderings please Evan to streetscape improvements please yeah so this shows a little greater detail there's some precedent imagery at the bottom so the one to the left that is the University Drive extension onto our property so we will have retail cafe style seating there stormwater management

feature as well as plantings and then our little pocket park that's adjacent to the garage that abuts the office building so that'll be something where you know creates connectivity with the office use as well as our residents and then just want to touch on tree canopy and in tree cover so currently the the property line has moved a bit as part of the subdivision that we went through to get to where we are tonight there are currently 46 trees on site we will be replacing with 50 trees 26 of these are canopy which means they have a certain width and crown dimension the 20 canopy trees we do not replace we're going to make a monetary contribution I do want to point out that roughly 13 of the trees on site are not in great condition currently

so you know we feel this will be an improvement and also note we're going to have 10 distinct species so there was a study this urban forestry in the city did in 2015 that highlighted roughly 50 percent or more of the trees in the city and public areas are either dogwoods or maples so we're going to have 10 distinct species across the site which we feel via added benefit to the community and finally our sight line here we at our Mosby woods community meeting as well as our planning Commission hearing we had a question raised from Shiloh Street you know what could a resident see of our parking structure and so this shows that they they'd see effectively see over it they wouldn't be looking directly at it

that's all I have so thank you thank you I will ask the clerk to call speakers forward I had somebody sign up prior to the meeting our first speaker is Douglas Stewart 10822 Maple Street and I'm speaking tonight for Fairfax City citizens for smarter growth we are a group of city residents that promote mixed-use walkable communities with a diverse range of housing options and the main way we do that is we try to meet with people who are proposing development and try to shape those developments to match our priorities recognizing that developments going to happen it should happen and we want to have an opportunity to help shape it so we have met with capital city real estate a couple times during this during this process and we really had to

two chief concerns about the project first of all we think it's a great idea a surface parking lot creating housing there and creating more pedestrian friendly environment to us is is almost a no-brainer and it fits well with the Northfax small area plan our main concerns were about the vision of the on the University Drive on the western side this what's proposed originally was was really far we thought from that vision wasn't enough pedestrian space we didn't see enough green space and it's it's improved pretty substantially with more landscaping at the corner and landscape buffers and landscape buffers between the the sidewalk and the building but there's going to be more work that will need to be done on the west side if that property redevelops because the small area plan called for 15 feet of a landscape strip I mean a linear park is a linear park and what we have now is not really through the applicant's fault there's constrained space but it's not really a linear park so that vision is going to have to be

realized and filled out when we do you know the development of the west and the city will have to probably maybe take some responsibility for that street maybe turn it into a public street in order to to help shape that vision and make it happen otherwise it's just a good plan without implementation so we hope that happens but what what's what's here is is really obviously an improvement of what's there now and really an improvement of what was originally proposed and it will be a a nice street that people want to walk on the the second thing related to that is just the amount of retail space on the ground floor as you know there originally there wasn't much and now there's a little more but we'd like to see opportunities in the future if there's more you know retail demand from all these new residents there can we build out more retail going further north on that west side of the road or in the corner of

of uneaten place so those were two major issues but we in general this this application is a really good step forward thank you thank you thank you i have no other speakers who signed up if there's anyone in the room that'd like to speak on this item please come forward okay i will close the public hearing council are there any questions of staff or the applicant council member bates thank you just um clarification on the tree canopy based on communication with staff uh so we're they're going to be um planting uh 79 150 square feet of new canopy on the subdivided site plus uh 1260 on the adjacent site um and then retaining 5616 on the uh you know on the site itself and so there would only be a decrease in total of

of 3431 square feet um on the entire site and uh and then the monetary contribution is equivalent to 5000 square feet so it you know given that um it's uh you know possibly an increase if that is all going to be going toward planting new trees so um uh you know staff feel free to make any further clarifications um but uh thank you for sending that information i think it's really really important to acknowledge that um this uh project is uh overall um gonna at least you know be equivalent to the tree canopy that's there now but it's gonna be i think a major improvement for a stormwater management um and uh and overall um you know we're having a lot of major apartment development that's gonna be adjacent to the bus

uh and also to multi-trop and also to multi-modal infrastructure and uh is gonna be able to achieve a very small impact on land consumption per unit um go ahead i was just simply gonna say that i uh that you captured a summary of um the improvements the proposed tree canopy uh improvements and um there should be a an increase in improvement from current conditions to what's um um based based on the information they provided it's um based on the information they provided it's um based on the information they provided it's um so yeah i would agree with you that it's gonna be an improvement it's gonna be an improvement it's gonna be an improvement it's gonna be an improvement it's gonna be an improvement it's gonna be an improvement it's gonna be an improvement it's gonna be an improvement it's gonna be an improvement it's gonna be an improvement it's gonna be an improvement it's gonna be an improvement it's gonna be an improvement it's gonna be an improvement it's gonna be an improvement it's gonna be an improvement it's gonna be an improvement it's gonna be an improvement it's gonna be an improvement it's gonna be an improvement it's gonna be an improvement it's gonna be an improvement it's gonna be an improvement it's gonna be an improvement it's gonna be an improvement it's gonna be an improvement it's gonna be an improvement it's gonna be an improvement it's gonna be an improvement it's gonna be an improvement it's gonna be

after speaking with both the applicant and our economic development staff, I'm confident that what's proposed is worthy compromise on that. And plus the 16 units proposed to be part of the county's affordable housing program is certainly, I think, a significant contribution to, you know, below median income household housing affordability as well. Thank you. All right. Council Member Ross. Yes. Thank you, Mayor, and thank you to staff. On to the developer for their presentations, I did have two particular questions I'd like to ask the developer that came up in the presentation. And first of all, you mentioned there was, maybe somebody could come forward if they answer these. You mentioned that there had been discussions

with both the Mosby Woods neighborhood and Cobdale. Was there any particular feedback, any particular concerns that you heard, and how did you address those? Sure. So as it relates to Mosby Woods, we did have the concern about the visibility of the parking structure from a shallow park area. So we did do the line of sight diagram and, you know, feel that that addresses, you wouldn't be staring directly at the garage. There was also concern about overflow parking into their neighborhood. Overflow parking. Oh, correct. So that our residents would park there. You know, we actually did go back in the woods and look, and we don't feel that that's really likely just given the nature of the woods back there.

And it's quite a distance. It's almost 800 feet. So that was the concern there. I think it relates to our meeting with the Cobdale Citizens Association. We met with the president. Her question was really just around schools. And so we did speak with the superintendent earlier this year. And, you know, what we've proffered is a contribution that would cover the cost of building a new classroom. Estimate is 28 students would be generated by our project. Great, great. And I want to compliment you on the contributions you've made in both to Parks and Recreation and the schools and the other things you've made here. I think those are positive steps toward helping this become an important part of the community.

And I wanted to express my appreciation for that. Thank you. The other comment I wanted to focus in on, we've had some discussions about the linear park. And to me, that is a vital, vital part of what eventually occurs in Norfax. It's going to provide a real opportunity for some green space for connecting people and providing an outdoor amenity that's, I think, very important to the area. And your wording is what I would refer to as sufficiently vague in your presentation. And I understand why. It says uncertainty when neighboring parcels will be redeveloped but will contribute to the linear park concept. I just want to acknowledge again and underscore will contribute. So if you could talk a little bit about what you might be able to do to help make that linear park concept a reality.

Sure. So I think if you do look at the small area plan, it does show a road. Do we still have our presentation? Do we still have our presentation? Do we still have our presentation? Do we still have our presentation? Do we still have our presentation? it's so you know given our constraints with the neighbor to the north and maintaining access to that parking structure we have had to put the entire road on the property that will be developing so that does limit the ability to shift the building more over a little bit so we have put the road on the property we did have a greater streetscape at right at the University Drive where it crosses Eaton Place that we feel does you know for now for this

interim condition kind of kick-start the feel of the linear park and then we've also proffered that the road can become a public road at a later date yeah sorry well I appreciate that commitment to say helping see this as a reality I think that's very important given as I said the the the significance of what that will be to the North Fax area and thank you two other points I wanted to make is thank you for your work on the retail space I think that's a really important addition I think we've got to look at that in the context of the larger area so I think this will be from what I understand adequate in terms of your expected need that will be the new housing coming in and that sort of thing and we you are

directly adjacent to a major retail location and other places in the area so I'm I'm fine with that as an amenity and then finally I think you mentioned there will be or maybe it was one of the speakers talking about that you are making efforts to have seating areas and air out on the outside and I think that will contribute to street life and getting people out once the temperature cools a little bit but it will and as we as this moves forward I think it's really important again to have those amenities that encourage pedestrian walkability and a sense of being outdoors and seeing people and that sort of thing so thank you thank you again for your presentation and I'm looking forward to supporting this thank

you Mark thank you okay other questions councilmember Bates yeah actually to that point just for the record and again staff feel free to jump in but on the plans I'm seeing at least for most of that the length of that Western edge there there is 20 feet between the building and the roadway which is what the small area plan recommends so and then you have the entire roadway provided by the applicant so to my mind I think that they are definitely at least meeting the their recommended contribution to that linear park and street on that side so in terms of a small area plan the small area plan showed the the linear park on the adjacent property and so yes I think it's really a step in the right direction in terms of them

providing the road on their site so and there's also there's a change in grade so and that's another kind of obstacle or hurdle that they they were able to to move forward with you know by providing the road on their side and then providing access easements so I think they're making a step towards the right direction in terms of providing for the vision of a small area plan yeah thank you for that okay councilmember Staley are you out there I am mayor and no questions thank you okay any other questions councilmember Greenfield thank you mayor mr. Frederick talk a little bit about the transportation demand management strategies that you've identified in your staff report as a proper current conditions right now anywhere two o'clock to three o'clock in the afternoon traffic

backs up three-quarters the way down western eaten so from 123 down past this project a little bit to the lower entrance to the Willowwood office complex so how are we going to add 260 cars to eaten and not make that worse give me one second while I look for the proffers okay here we go so the applicant has provided TDM program that includes encouraging the residents to ride bikes they've also provided ride sharing bicycle road maps it's also on the transit line or up on the bus line the applicant is looking at providing incentives also with a paid transit card for one resident of each unit there's offering carpool program also parking management program and also pedestrians and bicycle amenities they've provided on site they've met the requirement in terms of the number of bicycle amenities and spaces on the site in terms of parking or the traffic demand I believe

Kurt McCullough is here the traffic engineer he may be able to speak more exactly on how the traffic impacts would occur with this project and you know you mentioned that you know there's a lot of potential backing up along eating but I they provided some some TDM's in order to mitigate that but in terms of the traffic impacts that Kurt McCullough may be able to to address some of those issues Kurt's here their application though is presented tonight is asking for reduction in parking correct they are meeting they're meeting the parking for the for the proposed residential units and the retail what they're asking for the reduction is for the off-site for the adjacent office space so there is there's some shared parking that would go on to the

between the two sites and they're looking for reduction in order to meet the the off-site for the adjacent office space so there is there's some shared parking that would go on between the two sites and they're looking for reduction in order to meet the the the in order to satisfy the parking for the existing office space so but in terms of the in order to satisfy the parking for the existing office buildings. But in terms of the project itself, what's being proposed tonight, they meet that parking for residential and the 5,000 square feet of retail. But if we're saying that we are keeping people off the street, right, then why do we need so much parking? That's not a fair question of you to answer.

I'll listen to what Mr. McCullough has to say. Yes. This traffic impact study was based on the existing configuration. When the project was initially scoped, the configuration of Cambridge and Eden was different. At that time, we had a different lane configuration there. VDOT had their plans for the new signal. Last June, that all changed. We spoke with the applicant. They updated their traffic impact study to what is out there now. Yes, the additional traffic will cause a little bit of, you know, different additional traffic and backup there. We could possibly do some traffic signal time shifting, which is what they're showing that will lessen that impact. But in reality, we have additional intersection improvements that are planned at the intersection of Trainbridge and Eden that are not shown

because those are currently in the design process. So we do expect the traffic out there to get better with that new project likely before this can be built. And so does that include phase two? Yes. But that phase two is not included in their study because that is currently in design. It was when we were discussing with them. So what you're telling me, and Mr. Summers, I'm looking for you to concur in that, that we have evaluated all planned development, either what we're considering tonight or future planned development along Eden, and the improvements at Eden in 123 will be able to handle those additional cars. Is that what you're telling me? That is planned as accurately as they can at this point.

So with the information they have now, what's proposed, they're planning for that, all that. So what residents see today with the cars backed up on Eden in current conditions, you're telling me when we're done with Eden in 123 that that will not be worse. It will be better. Yes. Yes, I am confident with this 123 in Eden project that you will see improvements. Okay. All right. Thank you, Mayor. Other questions or comments? Council Member Bates. I just want to add that with a project like this, again, it's right on the bus route. It's adjacent to multimodal infrastructure. And if there is demand for this amount of housing in the area, with all the new construction that we're seeing, especially further out where land is more plentiful,

these people are going to be moving into the area. So to me it's a question of do we want them to be moving into development like this, that is right across the street from a grocery store and is near potential employment centers and, again, near, you know, non-car transportation options, or do we want them potentially moving further out and being on the road longer, you know, hypothetically, and possibly contributing more to traffic, consuming more land as we see more construction further out? Thank you. Mayor, just a procedural question. Did I miss that there's a motion on the floor and we're speaking to the motion and debating the motion? Because I was pretty sure where we were in the process was asking questions of staff.

We're asking questions of staff and the applicant and there we have not looked for any motions yet in a series of motions. There will be a series of motions. Thank you. Okay. Any other comments or questions? I will just say I concur with what Council Member Bates had to say about multimodal transportation. And how about that George Schneider Trail and the I-66 Trail and the proximity of that housing to both of those? So do I have a motion? This is a series of motions. There are a series of motions for this item. Is there a motion for the rezoning? Council Mayor. Council Member Lim. Based on the public convenience, welfare, and good zoning practice with respect to rezoning application Z-22-00583,

which has been filed for the land known as N29 Apartments, Willowwood Phase 1, and more particularly described as and identified as 10306 Eden Place, paren text map 57-4-02-02-002A, close paren. I move that the City Council approve the zoning application Z-22-0058, to rezone the subject property from CR Commercial Retail to CU Commercial Urban, while retaining the architectural control overlay district, and approval of the general development plan with the proffers, which has been prepared and submitted by the applicant. Second. A motion has been made by Council Member Lim and seconded by Council Member Ross. Is there any discussion on this motion? Seeing none, a roll call vote. Council Member Greenfield.

No. Council Member Ross. Aye. Council Member Lim. Aye. Council Member Bates. Aye. Council Member Staley. Aye. Motion passed 4-1. Okay. Is there a motion for the special use permit? Council Member Lim. Yes, Mayor. I move that the City Council approve the request of Capital City Real Estate, LLC, for a special use permit pursuant to City Code Section 3.3, paren, allowed uses, close paren, for an upper story residential, mixed use in CU Commercial Urban District, in the architectural control overlay district on the premises known as N29 apartment, paren Willowwood phase one, close paren, and more particularly described as, and identified as, 10306, Eden Place, paren, tax map, 57-4-02-02-02-A, close paren, with the following conditions.

One, development shall be in conformance with the general development plan and proffers. Second. Second. Second. A motion has been made by Council Member Lim and seconded by Council Member Ross. Is there any discussion on the motion? Seeing none, a roll call vote. Council Member Staley. Aye. Council Member Bates. Aye. Council Member Lim. Aye. Council Member Ross. Aye. Council Member Greenfield. Nay. Motion passed forward is one. Is there a motion for the special exception, Council Member Lim? I move that the City Council adopt the attached resolution to approve the request of Capital City Real Estate LLC for special exception to allow a reduction to the minimum square foot area of 75% on the ground floor

with a non-residential use in a mixed-use building per section 3.5.1.D, paren, upper-story residential mixed-uses, close paren, special exception pursuant to City Code section 110.6.7 from the requirement to allow the building height to exceed 5 stories slash 60 feet per section 3.6.2, paren, non-residential districts, close paren, a special exception pursuant to City Code section 110.6.7 to allow the density to exceed the maximum density of 24 units per acre in the CU commercial urban district per section 3.6.2, paren, non-residential districts, close paren, a special exception pursuant to City Code section 110-6.7 to allow modifications of the 50% mandatory build-to-line and maximum front yard and side yard requirements per section 3.6.2, paren, non-residential districts, close paren,

and a special exception pursuant to City Code section 110-6.7 to eliminate the construction of sidewalks on both sides of all streets per section 4.4.4.4 and to allow the site to reduce the tree canopy requirement in CU commercial urban per section 4.5.6 and to modify the requirement for the inter-parcel vehicle vehicle vehicle access requirement for section 4.3.3, paren, cross access, close paren, on the premises known as N29 apartments, with the forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast forecast

A motion's been made by Council Member Lim and seconded by Council Member Ross. Is there any discussion on the motion? Seeing none, a roll call vote. Council Member Greenfield? No. Council Member Ross? Aye. Council Member Lim? Aye. Council Member Bates? Aye. Council Member Staley? Aye. Motion passed four to one. Is there a motion for the Certificate of Appropriateness, Council Member Lim? Aye. I move that the City Council approve the request of Capital City Real Estate LLC for a Certificate of Appropriateness in accordance with Section 110-6.5.6.B of the City Code. On the premises known as N29 Apartments, Paren Willowwood Phase 1, close paren, and more particularly described as and identified as 10306 Eden Place, Tax Map 57-4-02-02-002A with the following reasons.

Paren, as may be amended by City Council, close paren. Number one, the proposed development shall be in general conformance with the plans and renderings received by staff in January 2024 and recommended for approval by the Board of Architectural Review as of February 7, 2024. Number two, the applicant shall secure all required zoning approvals and permits prior to construction. Number three, landscaping is subject to change per urban forester comments at site plan approval stage. Second. A motion has been made by Council Member Lim and seconded by Council Member Ross. Is there any discussion on the motion? Seeing none, a roll call vote. Council Member Staley? Aye. Council Member Bates? Aye.

Council Member Lim? Aye. Council Member Ross? Aye. Council Member Greenfield? Nay. Motion passed four to one. We could go on to our second public hearing, which is a public hearing on the Chambridge Road in Parence Tappacove Court to Warwick Avenue. Sidewalk and bus stop improvement projects. I'll recognize Wendy Sanford, Transportation Director, to provide a staff presentation. Pour一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些一些

Good evening, Mayor, members of the City Council. Tonight we are having our public hearing on the Chambers Road pedestrian and bus stop improvement project from Tabakove to Warwick Avenue. There is no council action. I apologize. No, I'll start over. Good evening, Mayor, members of the City Council. Tonight we are having our public hearing on the Chambers Road sidewalk and bus stop improvement project from Tabakove to Warwick Avenue. There is no council action required tonight. Tonight is a public hearing, which is an opportunity for the public and the City Council to learn more about this project at the intermediate design prior to us finalizing the plans. Just for the benefit of the public, the plans are out in the hall.

There is also comment sheets that have been provided. This is an opportunity for the public to comment either in person and the public comment period will be open until July 21st. This evening we will give a brief presentation about the project. We did update the City Council back in January. We then had an open house and now we've been working on developing the plans. We've had property owner meetings and we're now here at that 60% design plan. With me this evening is Nick Suse from Timmins and he is our consultant on this project. So tonight we will just recap that information that we presented at the work session in January, discuss the progress since then. There have been a number of changes to the plans based on the feedback that we heard both from the open house that we held and from our individual property owner meetings that we have had since then.

We'll review that updated design information, review the schedule, and then we will host that public hearing. Just to recap this project, this project was included in our multimodal plan back in 2017. It is shown here on the screen in a red box that this project was to add the sidewalk in this location. This was then adopted into the comprehensive plan. It's really important to mention that this is the last significant piece of sidewalk that is missing on Chambridge Road. So this is really the, we're getting to the end here and this is, we have made significant progress adding sidewalks and completing that network. And this is truly the last major link on Chambridge Road. This project was included in our two-year program in 2019.

We subsequently applied for and received smart scale funding in FY20. That funding has now come online and we are in that design process. At this point, I will pass it over to Mr. Soucy to present the information about the design. Thank you and good evening. So again, as Ms. Sanford noted, in January we presented a preliminary design. And so I'll quickly go through the first few slides here just covering the major design features of the project. And then we'll again talk about some of the things that have changed since then. So what you see here in the picture is just an existing image towards the southern end of the project of what is out there today. As Ms. Sanford noted, there is no sidewalk, generally no sidewalk along this western side of Chambridge Road in this segment.

And this project will provide great improvement to what you see there. So the first of the primary elements here is the sidewalk itself. So it's roughly 1,850 linear feet of sidewalk improvement. The sidewalk ranges from five to six feet wide and has a grass buffer strip between it and the curb and gutter that will be installed. The image that we showed previously, there's also areas of this corridor where there is an existing shoulder and roadside ditch, old drainage pipes. All of that will be replaced with new curb and gutter to match the curb and gutter recently installed and existing along the east side of the corridor. In addition, with pedestrian and multimodal mobility through here being a primary focus of the project,

we'll improve pedestrian crossings at four side streets as well as two existing pedestrian crossings of Chambridge Road. We'll provide more information on that in terms of the enhancements that we make. But generally speaking, accessible ramp, ramp improvements, crosswalk marking signs, things of that nature. The bus stops are also another key component of this project. There are two existing bus stops today, which frankly are not much more than a sign along the side of the road. So the minimum amenities that go along with the city and Q standards for these stops include dedicated boarding, waiting areas, benches, trash cans, and lighting that would be provided along the corridor. Also of note, and as we mentioned previously, there will be some retaining walls, two retaining walls proposed with this project and still are at this point.

These walls are highlighted in the two locations in the red boxes there. Really, the goal of these walls is to minimize the amount of property impact that we have on the back side or private side of the right-of-way line and keep our corridor as close to the right-of-way as possible. Speaking of property acquisitions, we've identified there's work along 13 properties along the western side of the corridor there. Seven of those properties will require an acquisition of some kind, whether that's easement or an actual fee right-of-way acquisition. The average acquisition, as we discussed before, roughly 2,500 square feet per parcel. So it's really just those first few feet, you know, averaging about 12 feet into some of these properties.

There are several properties that have right-of-way wide enough for this project already dedicated, and there would be no acquisition on those. Coincidentally or accordingly with those property acquisitions, many of these properties have landscaping that's been planted along the corridor. Some in right-of-way, some out of right-of-way. So there will be a similar loss, just as there is to property boundaries. There will be a loss or a take or an impact to the existing landscaping along the corridor. Any landscaping that is lost or taken as a part of the project on the private side of the right-of-way line would be compensated for and dealt with through the right-of-way negotiation process as is required.

Regarding, so now to kind of take a step back, that is the high-level overview of the design elements that were or are a part of the project. As Ms. Sanford said, in January, we were down the hall for a work session, and then on the 17th of January, we had an open house outside in the atrium. Had a little over 20 people attend, and we've received a variety of comments, both in person that day via email and as well as via the engaged Fairfax site. In total, about 20 comments that have been received. And then since then, in March and into April, we sent out notification letters to property owners, the impacted property owners along the corridor, and offered to meet with them. I'll touch more on that in a bit.

And then since that time, again, we've been working to incorporate some design changes ahead of tonight, and we'll discuss those further. So to discuss specifically the seven properties that are impacted and that we anticipate to require an acquisition from, the city sent out letters to those seven properties offering to meet in person or however the property owner would choose to discuss the impacts to their property specifically. Five of those owners took the city up on that request or that offer, and meetings were conducted with them, and some of the feedback from those property owners has been incorporated into what we've changed here. It's worth noting there are two properties of the seven that did not respond, but a series of four communications have been sent to those property owners,

one via certified mail, one being that offer to meet in person, and then two other notices of the two public meetings, both tonight and January. So to summarize the feedback that we've received at this point, generally there is a theme of positive support for the project. There are certainly some specific areas of concern in terms of locations, specific property impacts in defined and limited locations. Generally, some of the common themes across the comments were the existing speed and safety concerns, loss of that landscaping that I mentioned earlier, property acquisition limits and boundaries, pedestrian safety and crossing safety in particular across Chambridge Road, and then the right turn lane at Providence Way.

That's actually a recent comment that has come up since the comment period for this meeting actually opened, and so we've been actively working on addressing that, and we'll talk a bit more about that later. What I do want to call your attention to in this image on the right there, two of the things, the items that are listed on the left, but improving the pedestrian crossings at, there's one that's at Tabakove there in particular that was of concern, and then we heard specifically about the property that you see there in the image on the west side of Chambridge Road, and one of the concerns being the impact to that northeast corner of the property or the far right in the image there. To just kind of discuss that for briefly here, there's an adjacent just to the north,

and you see on the far right of that image, recent residential development which dedicated right-of-way and constructed a sidewalk along that stretch of Chambridge. So with that in place, our goal was to reuse as much of that sidewalk as possible, and so our original plan was really to connect to the end of that sidewalk, but that would have required putting our proposed sidewalk across the corner of this property that's shown in the image there. So as we move to the next slide, our current plan has shifted that transition about 20 feet north so that the sidewalk stays entirely within existing right-of-way. There will still be the need for some easements for grading and things of that nature to tie everything in in that area,

but the sidewalk would remain in the right-of-way and then transition back to that, what is now an existing sidewalk, north of the property. The existing ditch line that is there and pipes, drainage pipes, that are between that newly built sidewalk and the edge of the road would be filled in completely. It would be a level grass strip between the sidewalk and the new curb and gutter that would be installed along the road as well. And then at Tabba Cove, the crosswalk across Chambridge Road, certainly have heard some good feedback about concern for that crossing. And so, you know, working through that, we've looked at that further and have confirmed that the flashing beacons, or RRFB as they're known,

similar to the flashing lights that are up at the Cedar Avenue crossing, are warranted and are now going to be or are now proposed at this crossing as well. So there would be new pavement markings, new signs, new flashing beacons at this location. The other feedback was in regard to the retaining walls, specifically concern over what type of materials, locations, heights, things of that nature. Luckily, since January, the project on the east side of the road, which is what you see in the image at the bottom left there, has been completed. And that's really a good guide for the general aesthetic that would be proposed and provided with this project for the retaining walls on the west side. We'll look slightly different just because it's a slightly different wall type that's required

to limit the impacts to these properties on the west. But the general aesthetic of that natural stacked stone look, railing, and then some landscaping provided behind the retaining wall would be consistent on the west side. Also heard some concern over access to in and out of the property owner driveways that are along the west side. And meeting with each of those property owners discussed adjustments that can be made and have been made to the plan to ensure that those property owners are able to continue to use their driveways in and out of their properties as they do today. I mentioned earlier some recent feedback about the excess pavement that's being used today really as a right turn lane there at Providence Way.

Originally in the design, as you see in the image there on the right, the excess pavement was proposed to be removed in its entirety and repurposed for the construction of the new curb and gutter, sidewalk, buffer strip, bus stop facilities, and the right turn lane or what functions as a right turn lane would not have remained because the right turn lane warrants are not met purely based on a traffic volume standpoint. However, based on the public feedback, discussions with city staff, and the desire to have a location for the bus to actually pull out of traffic when it stops southbound due to the proximity to Fairfax Boulevard, staff is planning to provide a right turn lane, a newly constructed right turn lane at that location where you see the X there.

We will still, there's 22 feet of pavement, excess pavement there today, so we will still repurpose a good amount of that. We only need 12 feet for a lane. We don't need 22. So we'll repurpose what's left of that area to provide the same ADA compliant sidewalk, bus stop improvements, and again provide a spot for the bus to pull out of traffic as well as a right turn opportunity or lane for the folks to Providence Way. So looking ahead a bit here to the construction phase, we just wanted to make sure that there was some awareness of potential traffic impacts during this project. Again, we're a couple years out from that being the case, but so that we get it out there early. Consideration is being given to the need for a potential road closure of Chambridge Road,

whether that's a full road closure or just closure of the southbound travel lane. Based on the type of construction that needs to take place, the grade differential between some of the adjacent properties on the west and the proposed road, we see the potential for cost savings, overall time savings of the project, and getting things done quicker and getting out of the way, as opposed to just being able to work a few hours during the day. And so this is one option that will be considered further, and certainly more updates will be available as we get closer to the construction phase. So to start kind of wrapping up some of the project details here, project budget. Again, as Ms. Sanford mentioned at the beginning of the presentation,

this project is funded entirely with VDOT smart scale funds, which means no city dollars directly spent on the project. We can see the different values associated with the different phases of construction. As I mentioned before, we do have a good amount or seven properties to acquire easement or right away from. And so we do have a budget associated with that. And then our construction budget of $5.7 million for a total of the 9.25 allocated. Okay. And so as we mentioned earlier, the public hearing is this evening, and this is an opportunity for the project team to present the project, which we have done, and receive comments. There will be an official public hearing transcript of this that we will provide to VDOT.

All comments can be recorded from this evening, and also those that we receive on our Engage page. All of those will be recorded into the public hearing transcript. There's a QR code for anyone who is watching that will take you directly to the Engage page. And as I mentioned, everything is also available this evening. The notification of the public hearing, it was placed in the newspaper. We also had A-frame signs in the project area notifying the public of the meeting tonight. We also sent the letter to 135 households. We looked at a certain radius from the project area and sent that letter out, as well as to the Civic Association. And there have also been numerous social media posts about this evening's meeting.

In terms of next steps, we will compile the comments and address any outstanding issues prior to finalizing the plans. As I mentioned, this comment period is open until July 21st. We will provide responses to those comments and note any additional changes over and above what has been presented this evening, and those will be posted on the project website. So right now, we are at that public involvement 60% stage. We will move into right-of-way acquisition in the fall, and that will take us approximately nine months to get through, and then we're looking at construction beginning in spring of 2026. So that concludes our presentation. We'd be happy to take any questions. All right. Are there any questions of staff?

Council Member Bates. Thank you. Just one question. Can you remind me how wide the sidewalk is going to be? Is it six feet? Yes. Thank you. There might be some places where it's five. It varies. It's five to six feet. When it's in front of the retaining wall, it's wider at six feet. Generally speaking, it's five feet. Okay. Thank you. Council Member Ross. Not a question. Thank you, first of all, for a very effective presentation on this. I just want to add compliments for the work that was done on the east side. I know that's not part of this project, but I remember that from my first, almost my first week on council, approving that process to get it going, and it looks absolutely excellent.

It's a beautiful addition to the area. It's safe walking, and it was done in a very high-quality fashion. So I want to compliment the staff and the work that was done on this. Thank you, Mayor. Thank you. Nice that we could do that for you, Council Member Ross. Any other questions? Council Member Staley, are you out there? I am. No questions. Appreciate the presentation. Okay. Council Member Bates. Yeah, I'd just like to second Council Member Ross' comments. You know, my family, we were all really thrilled to see the Roberts Road sidewalk when that was constructed. That was an extremely treacherous walk up Roberts Road before that was put in. And I've walked up Shane Bridge Road a few times here and there before these projects came into being,

and that was, I'd say, getting close to that level of treachery for residents. And, yeah, I'm sure that a lot of the residents who live along there feel even more strongly about it. So this is exactly really what we're here for, you know, as a city council, to support and sign off on projects like this and to make sure that we're providing for the safety and well-being of our residents. Thank you. All right, then. I will open the public hearing. Ms. Shinneberry, has this public hearing been advertised? Yes, it has. And we have two people who have signed up prior to the start of the meeting. I will call the first speaker, Peter Klosky. Good evening, Bayer Reed, everyone here online. My name is Peter Klosky.

I live on Providence Way. This project, when completed, will be highly useful to myself, my wife, my daughter, who is a person with a disability, and everyone in Fairfax. After reviewing the plans at the open house, reviewing the plans online, discussing the project with city officials and neighbors, I'm 110% in support of this project as proposed. I have some further comments on maintenance. Again, it's all kudos to the city. I'm here simply with a vote of support. I've recently retired and have every intention of remaining here. I'm very happy with Fairfax City services. The services are important to maintaining sidewalk rights of way. I'm not exaggerating when I mention that the consequences of poor sidewalk maintenance go as far as injury and death.

Some of which I've encountered firsthand. The two hazards I've encountered are falls from tripping on uneven panels and sidewalk users forced into the roadway where drivers strike them. Council member Bates comment, the word treacherous definitely applies to this walk. When I walk from Fairfax Boulevard to my home now, I'm walking in that riprap, dodging the traffic. It's extremely treacherous. That's why I'm here, and I think this is a great project. Shrubs, dumpsters, cars, whatever, need to be kept off the sidewalk. We need to maintain the right-of-way when this project is completed. The Department of Public Works in Fairfax City responds promptly to maintenance requests. They trim and trash when needed to get the job done.

When my darling wife, bless her heart, tripped on a one-inch uneven sidewalk and fell, the city was quick to place a temporary asphalt evening-up patch. Just today, they poured concrete on Providence Way, fixing that to sidewalk. Previously, the Department of Public Works has tackled even more difficult heaving from roots. The Department of Public Works shows architecture and engineering skills. In closing, the project will present challenges for you, its implementers. And I have every faith will enjoy and sustain an excellent result. Thank you for letting me speak. All right, our next speaker is Zach Stafford. Is it possible to pull up slide number 14? I can do it. Wonderful. I'm a visual guy, so it'll be helpful.

Thank you. Good evening. My name is Zach Stafford. I am a lifelong resident of Fairfax City. I was born and raised in Fairfax off of Cleveland. And my parents own 3746 Chambridge Road, which was where I was raised for much of my life. And that is one of the properties effective that is going to require acquisition of property. This slide is actually the one that has been recently amended to show the impact on my parents' property. That property also houses the Stafford House bed and breakfast. The Stafford House is a bed and breakfast, just two rooms. It's my mom who runs it. She used to run the bailiwick inn as their head breakfast chef. The concerns I have about the property impact and the concerns my parents share, and just so I can be clear, I am a licensed attorney here in Virginia.

I practice here in Fairfax City. I represent my parents in their capacity as property owners and as business owners here in Fairfax during the impact on this property for them. And so the concerns I have is that you've developed properties both to the south and to the north of their property. And as a part of those property developments that you'd required sidewalks to be installed, and now this new plan is attempting to utilize those sidewalks that have previously been installed. And it's created what looks like an EKG of a sidewalk going up and down and up and down in order to connect to existing sidewalks and to avoid utility pull that's there also on the property. The simplest solution is a straight line is that there's no reason because right now just north of their property in front of the newly developed property there is still a giant ditch.

It's a drainage ditch, and that's where all the water flows in from the property that was developed north of them. And so that's the only ditch along 123. If the goal here, at least in some part, is to try to beautify Fairfax City, this is one of the grand entrances to Fairfax City, is continuing to keep that drainage ditch doesn't make any sense at all. And the only reason to do so is to utilize that sidewalk that was installed north of the property. I think the simplest solution is just to have one straight line of a sidewalk. That would also minimize impact on my parents' property. So as you can see, and I appreciate the comments that were made by the developer who indicated that they, I think, anticipated my parents' concerns.

And so they, you know, they agreed to cut off some of that existing sidewalk. However, it's still going to require, as you can see with that blue line, it's still going to require infiltration onto the property as an easement in order to develop that land for a sidewalk. And right there on that northeast corner is a, like, I want to say 50 or 60-year-old magnolia tree. That's an irreplaceable tree. It's part of the staple of that property. It's one of the things that's been painted and we've restored and kept to its full existence. It will cut down portions of that tree. It might damage it to the point of having to be removed. So I think there's a simpler solution. It's just a straight line sidewalk.

It would require demolishing existing sidewalks on the north and the south side of the property and taking care of that drainage ditch and also relocating a utility pole. Thank you. Is there anybody else in the room that would like to speak on this agenda item? You may come forward. Thank you. Hello, council members. Thank you for allowing me to speak. My name is Stephanie Deptula. I live at 3902 Railroad Avenue. I am here today to talk about the sidewalk proposal along Tabla Cove to Warwick Avenue. I am against the portion of the sidewalk that connects Warwick Avenue to Providence Way. There is a historic home along that portion that was built in 1860 along with two other historic homes built in 1920.

By adding the sidewalk along this side, it will ruin the streetscape of this charming portion of the city of Fairfax. There are not that many preserved historic properties left in the city, yet this is such a historic neighborhood dating all the way back to the early 1800s. By changing this area, you will be destroying the integrity of these properties and disrupting 100-year-old trees and a stone wall and the streetscape along the road. I believe that the city should revisit the idea of destroying character and charm that is present along this portion of Chain Bridge Road. Again, you will be taking down an old stone wall entrance and trees and it will change the whole look of Chain Bridge Road as you enter into historic downtown.

Just like I hadn't considered the Stafford House, but again, that also is a historic property that creates an entrance into the historic city of Fairfax that by taking down these trees and removing the fence and making these alterations, it's really going to impact the whole look and feel of what makes the city of Fairfax so unique. There's already a sidewalk on the opposite side of the road. So by not adding this portion, it will not negatively affect pedestrian traffic. A newly improved crosswalk has been constructed, making it easy to get to the already existing sidewalk without destroying these existing properties. I love walkability. I love walkability. I support walkability. I have three little kids. I'm always walking around Chamberlain Road and Cedar Avenue.

But again, I don't think we should destroy the history and charm of the city of Fairfax by adding this small portion of a sidewalk. I think there's probably a way we could either implement another crosswalk so that we don't destroy that stone wall that was probably built in 1860. I'm not sure. The photos shown by the staff don't show the streetscape along these three properties. It basically just shows weeds. So I wish there was a picture showing the stone wall with the lions that I'm referring to along with there's a white fence that's really beautiful. So thank you again. Is there anybody else in the room that would like to speak on this agenda item? Okay, we can move forward. So there's no action for this item?

Yes, I will now close the public hearing. Okay. Our next public hearing is a public hearing council action on amendments to zoning ordinance provisions for erosion and sediment control, storm drainage facilities and Chesapeake Bay preservation. Satoshi Ito, Public Works Programs Manager will provide the staff presentation. Good evening, mayor and council. This agenda item is a follow up to a work session that we had on zoning ordinance revisions on June 11th. So the current zoning ordinance includes separate sections for stormwater management, erosion and sediment control and Chesapeake Bay. And these sections were last updated in 2016. The state code was recently revised and became effective on July 1.

And DEQ has directed localities to implement revised ordinances that are compatible. We used the model ordinance from DEQ to develop the revisions. And we presented these revisions to planning commission on June 10th and city council on June 11th. No revisions were made to the revised ordinance following those work sessions. And so the ordinance before you this evening is the same one that was presented at the work session. Yesterday evening, planning commission voted to recommend approval of revisions. The city's municipal stormwater permit requires that we operate in erosion and sediment control and stormwater management program. And we do that through plan review, construction inspections, and post-construction maintenance activities.

In addition to that, the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act requires that we manage a resource protection area, which is a 100-foot buffer from each bank of a stream. The Chesapeake Bay sections of the zoning ordinance are also revised to be compliant with the new state code. And the primary changes are requirements to consider climate change and sea level rise, as well as protection of mature trees in development proposals. The city's responsibility is to administrate these programs, while DEQ's role is to ensure that localities programs meet state and federal standards, and to assist localities in implementing their programs. One of DEQ's goals with the new ordinance or new code was consolidation of erosion and sediment control and stormwater management sections,

because these sections have similar requirements and processes. The revised zoning ordinance also consolidates these sections. There are numerous administrative changes within the revisions. We revised references in the zoning ordinance to the new sections of state code and the updated design standards that they reference. Definitions are referenced in the zoning ordinance rather than included as a copy. And to follow with consolidation, the city's Virginia Stormwater Management Program is now referred to as Virginia Erosion and Stormwater Management Program, or VESMP. As I mentioned before, one of the new requirements under the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act is to consider climate change and sea level rise

for any disturbance or development within the resource protection area. That assessment requires considering impacts over a 30-year period and to mitigate them. DEQ has provided references to climate change forecast data that can be used for this assessment. And because this only applies to development within the RPA, which is already restricted, we do not anticipate that this will impact many projects. However, we will need to consider this in the Fairfax Circle Small Area Plan, as well as future stream restoration, flood mitigation, and outfall restoration projects, which will have impacts to the resource protection area. The Chesapeake Bay Ordinance also includes requirements for protection of mature trees in the resource protection area, allowing for their removal only when necessary.

There are also requirements to mitigate removal and restore the buffer area and its functionality. The revisions also clarify that tree removal permits and their associated performance standards are separate and still apply to projects exempted from the Chesapeake Bay Ordinance. The revised ordinance also supports the Tree Preservation and Planting Guide, and this is a set of design and development standards to meet tree conservation requirements, and it is currently under development by the Urban Forester. Current status is that the Virginia Department of Forestry's review of the City's tree-related ordinance is underway, and more information will come from the Urban Forester once that audit is complete.

Along with the revised state code, DEQ has consolidated several design specifications and manuals into the new Stormwater Handbook, which became effective on July 1. That handbook includes two new stormwater management features that engineers can use to meet stormwater quality requirements. One is regenerative stormwater conveyance, which are like small-scale stream restoration projects. The other are tree plantings. They are creditable with some limitations. The requirements are that the credited trees cannot be ones that replace trees that have been removed, and they also cannot be trees that meet any other state or local requirements, such as canopy coverage. One of the key changes is in how water quality standards are calculated.

This is done through the Virginia runoff reduction method and a spreadsheet that DEQ developed. Stormwater pollutants from developed properties are measured in terms of phosphorus, and one change is that the maximum allowable phosphorus discharge has been reduced. However, the calculation of pollutants that are discharged from different types of land cover have also changed. The net result is more consistent water quality requirements across different types and sizes of development. One other change is land cover. In the prior version of the Virginia runoff reduction method, there were three types of land cover, impervious, managed turf, and forested. The new version adds a fourth, mixed open space, which is between turf and a forest.

Because of these new standards, there will be a one-year transition period where either version may be used. However, a developer that would like to use one of the new BMPs or one of the new stormwater management facilities or mixed open space land cover will need to use the new calculation sheets. We do expect that the number of stormwater management facilities in the city will continue to increase with new development. We currently have approximately 400 privately owned and maintained stormwater management facilities. We also anticipate that reducing runoff as opposed to treating created runoff has been and will continue to be a more effective compliance approach. The construction general permit is issued by DEQ through the city for all developments that are one acre and larger.

The new permit became effective on July 1st and all active permits for projects within the city have been reviewed, renewed by DEQ. The new permit does include a requirement to monitor turbidity when dewatering a site, which is monitoring the amount of sediment in water that is pumped out of a site. So site operators will need to measure the runoff and ensure that it is sufficiently filtered to stay under turbidity limits, and they will need to maintain records of having tested that runoff. The city's responsibility is to ensure that the operator is conducting those tests and maintaining those records. This requirement applies to all watersheds that have a sediment related pollutant limitation.

Since all watersheds in the city have a sediment related pollutant limitation or TMDL, this requirement will apply to all developments one acre and larger anywhere in the city. Inspectors have been relaying this requirement, this new requirement to site operators that are currently working in the city and will continue to do so as new developments come online. So this is just a summary of the process. We had work sessions with Planning Commission and City Council on June 10th and 11th. We had the public hearing with Planning Commission yesterday evening, and they recommended approval of the revisions. And this evening, we're presenting the revised ordinance for City Council's consideration. If adopted, the revised ordinance would become effective immediately after.

That concludes the presentation. I'm happy to answer any questions that you may have. Are there any questions of staff at this time? Okay. I will open the public hearing. Ms. Shinneberry, has this public hearing been advertised? Yes, it has. We had nobody sign up prior to the meeting to speak. If there's anybody in the room that would like to speak on this item, please come forward. Okay. I will close the public hearing. Is there a motion? Council Member Lin? I move the City Council enact an ordinance amending Chapter 110, zoning to amend portions of articles and sections contained therein, pertaining to storm drainage facilities, erosion and sediment control, and Chesapeake Bay preservation.

Second. A motion has been made by Council Member Lim and seconded by Council Member Ross. Is there any discussion on the motion? Seeing none, a roll call vote. Council Member Greenfield? Aye. Council Member Ross? Aye. Council Member Lim? Aye. Council Member Bates? Aye. Council Member Staley? Aye. Motion passed unanimously. We'll go on to the second general public comment. No one has signed up to speak during this portion. If there's anyone in the room that would like to speak under this item, please come forward. Okay. It's getting to that hour of the evening. I think we will now, I will now recess the regular meeting to go into a work session. We will stay in this room for the work session.

Our first item is a discussion on potential zoning text amendments regarding urban agriculture. Staff presentation presented by Eric Foreman, City Planner. Thank you very much. Good evening. Tonight's agenda item is a work session. First agenda item is to share the presentation. It's a good place to start. There we go. Okay. Okay. It's always something. So this is a work session to discuss potential zoning text amendments pertaining to urban agriculture. We had a general discussion about the use of urban agriculture here last month. Council directed staff to draft zoning amendments in order to permit urban agriculture in our commercial zones. The draft amendments we're discussing tonight would create a new commercial use within the zoning ordinance,

and that would permit urban agriculture in commercial areas. Really, the overall goal is to provide greater flexibility within the ordinance for permitting a type of use that currently is not permitted. So the reason that we're talking about this new use within the context of the zoning ordinance is that when new uses come up, they sometimes need to be expressly permitted in the zoning ordinance for them to be allowed. Now we'll review just what this use is momentarily, but as we discussed at last month's meeting, this topic originated with the city's economic development office. Economic development staff has talked with some companies in this field that may be interested in locating in Fairfax City.

Economic development has taken part in some discussions on this topic, as it says here, with the Northern Virginia Soil and Water Conservation District. And Chris Bruno from the Economic Development Office is with us today in the audience, and Mr. Bruno and I would both be happy to answer any questions you all might have. So as I mentioned, we had a work session here to discuss this use with City Council last month, and just last night, Planning Commission held a work session to discuss these draft amendments, the same amendments that you all have before you right now. Planning Commission was supportive of these amendments. The Commission did have a few comments and a few questions, and I'll mention the more significant comments as I get to them,

as I get to the relevant sections in tonight's presentation. Now, this use of urban agriculture really does warrant a little bit of an explanation because it's not necessarily intuitive what this means, and especially for folks who might not have watched last month's work session. Urban agriculture, as we're discussing it here, is basically the process of growing agricultural products in an indoor environment. And being indoors means that it's in a controlled environment, and among other things, that means fewer negative externalities than traditional agriculture. And what that means is that it's something that could be well suited to commercial areas, to office areas, to retail areas, and so on.

Now, if you're like most people and grew up thinking that plants need soil to grow, then a little bit of explanation might be helpful. There are actually many different types of indoor agriculture. These go by several different names. The illustration here at the bottom is one of the more common. This one is called hydroponics. Hydroponics involves cultivating plants in a nutrient solution, rather than in a nutrient solution, rather than in soil. Sometimes in indoor environments, this is done with grow lamps to replace sunlight. So you see a very simple diagram of this process down here on the lower right. This is obviously oversimplified. And it's also a small scale example, but this can be done on a larger commercial scale as well.

And that's really what we're talking about. You see plants growing in a commercial setting here at the top right. But really the reason for showing these images is just to give the overall idea of what this use can be in a commercial context. Now, this is a relatively new type of use overall. It's something that's not directly defined in our zoning ordinance. As of now, these types of firms would likely be categorized as plant nurseries and greenhouses, which is an existing use. You see the definition here. But this is a relatively intense type of use. And as such, it's permitted only in industrial zones, also by SUP in some residential zones. But the big takeaway is this is not permitted in commercial zones and commercial districts in the city.

Now, other jurisdictions are in a similar position when they consider urban agriculture. Existing zoning ordinances usually need to be amended in some way to allow for this. Now, as we talked about last month, there are a few local jurisdictions that have modified their zoning ordinances regarding urban agriculture. The three jurisdictions that you see here have done that. They've used different approaches sometimes. Often that's dictated just by the structure of their own ordinance. But these examples and other examples nationwide tend to have some similarities. For example, there's usually a definition included. There's usually some general use standards. These use standards are important for limiting potential negative externalities of a specific use.

These are things that could negatively affect neighboring areas. And another important element here is listing the types of zoning districts where this use would be allowed. Now, at last month's work session, we took a general look at urban agriculture. And like it says here, Council has directed staff to proceed with these amendments to permit urban agriculture in commercial zones. And that's the reason that we're here tonight. So the best way to accomplish that within our zoning ordinance is to add urban agriculture as a use within the zoning ordinance. And this doesn't require getting into a great amount of detail about the specifics of agriculture or about directing the details or operations of a specific use.

Really, instead, just general types of terms. And it's similar to what we see in other ordinances that have enabled this use. In the draft we're discussing tonight, this includes four elements, and you see them here. A definition, a listing in the ordinance's principal use table, a few commercial use standards, and a minimum parking ratio. So we'll take a look at each of these elements. And, of course, everything that we're discussing tonight is in your packets as well that you have before you. So the first element here is a definition. Definitions are found in Article 9 of the ordinance. And this is obviously important because it describes just what this use is. And, like I'd mentioned, we want to avoid getting too detailed in the definition regarding specific operational items.

So instead, this is fairly general, and it's really in two parts. The first part, which is shown in black here, is a description of the use. And this reads that urban agriculture, and as it would pertain in our ordinance, would be an establishment for the cultivation, retail sales, and distribution of agricultural products where such activity takes place within a fully enclosed structure or on the rooftop of a structure. Now, the second part of the definition is shown here in blue. And this simply sets out some examples of urban agriculture methods. The reason for this is really just to let someone reading the zoning ordinance know what kinds of activities this is describing. The examples here are hydroponics, aeroponics, vertical farming.

These are all common methods or common terms within the industry. It wouldn't be limited just to these, but this serves as guidance and explanation. On to the principal use table. This is the table. In the ordinance, this table is two pages long. This lists what uses are allowed in which zoning districts. Now, since urban agriculture would be a new use, it would have a new entry, a separate entry here in the principal use table. Again, since this use would likely have really few negative externalities, it's reasonable to make this a widespread permitted use. And in this table, the P indicates a use that is permitted by right within certain zoning districts. In this draft, we have urban agriculture listed really identically to retail, identically to general retail uses.

And that is it's permitted in the CR zone. CR is the biggest of the commercial zones. It's permitted as well in the CG and in the CU zones. And it's also permitted in the industrial zones. So again, this is identical to what a retail, where a retail store would be. So as I mentioned, zoning ordinances that allow for urban agriculture tend to have certain standards that are associated with that use. And again, this is a way, and particularly for by right uses, it's a way to ensure that that use is as compatible as possible with neighboring properties or with neighboring uses. There's four standards in this draft. You can see them here on the screen, ensuring that this is done in an enclosed building, a limitation on animals, standards for controlling odors, and ensuring that urban agriculture that's in commercial areas has some kind of a retail presence.

This is the full text of those standards. Since there's just four here, I'll go over these and explain the rationale. I know it will take a few minutes, but I think it would be helpful for understanding. The first one here says that all growing and production activities shall be conducted wholly within a fully enclosed building or on the rooftop of a structure. I know that's repetitive because it mentions it in the definition as well. We found that most urban agriculture zoning amendments, zoning ordinances tend to have a standard like this, even in this case where similar wording is in the definition. It's just an important point to reiterate that production activity needs to take place indoors.

Now, the second here involves the keeping of animals. This is an interesting topic in urban agriculture. It's an area where zoning ordinances really tend to be all over the place with this use. Just in our regional examples and the three examples that we had talked about, they range from a hard no on any animals, including insects, to a permissiveness in some cases, to a maybe. The draft language here permits animals as accessory to the urban agriculture use, accessory to the cultivation use. So what that means is if there are insects or worms or in the case of aquaponics, for instance, aquaponics is the cultivation of fish and of plants in an integrated system together, that that would be allowed.

But it seems that the actual raising of animals as a principal use may be more involved in the growing of plants. And this draft limits the principal use of urban agriculture to cultivation rather than to animal husbandry. Now, this was discussed a little bit at last month's work session. There was some discussion, for example, about whether to permit aquaculture. Aquaculture is the raising of fish. So fish farms as a principal use. Planning commission discussed this last night as well. Planning commission was comfortable with the language in this draft. The commissioners thought that the raising of fish in particular could bring up issues like water consumption, excess water consumption, disposal of waste products, things that really suggest a more intensive use than what is contemplated generally by indoor urban agriculture.

So this was one of the items that planning commission spent some time discussing last night. Number three here, waste and odors. These tend to be negative effects of any agricultural process. This use standard stipulates that operations, urban agriculture operations, need to control odors that are discernible off-site. This language here, number three, is identical language to a use standard that's currently in our ordinance for animal care facilities, kennels, veterinary clinics, and so on. Animal care facilities is another use that's subject to potential off-site odor problems. And it's something that has been effective for that use. So it's the same language that's used here. And finally, the last standard in this draft reads that in commercial districts for facilities, being urban agriculture, located on the ground floor of a building,

that 25% of the building frontage that's associated with that use must be dedicated to retail purposes. Now, this is also something that's not uncommon for urban agriculture in commercial areas. Both Arlington County and Fairfax County have some sort of retail requirement in their ordinance that's similar to this. It's a way to ensure that there's a benefit to the public realm from this type of business in a commercial area, rather than having something that is just purely cultivation that's in an area that would ordinarily be a retail use that would contribute to the public realm. It gives us the retail feel that we would really look for in a commercial area. This would not apply to industrial areas, which is why it starts off saying in commercial districts, would also not apply to upper storey uses.

So if one of these facilities would go, let's say, into the third floor of an office building, and these are appropriate in some cases for office environments, there would not be a retail requirement. So this is just for uses that are on the ground floor in a commercial area. And we have the last element in this draft amendment package. That's a minimum parking ratio. All uses in the zoning ordinance have a parking ratio. In this case, what's proposed is one space per 300 square feet of floor area. So like it says here, that's less than the general retail ratio. General retail is one to 200. The one to 300 ratio is equal to the office, to the general office ratio. And what that means is that this use, urban agriculture, would be suitable for conforming sites both in retail and in office settings.

So just about any commercial area. And there's not a whole lot of sites that are under parked, you know, since the zoning ordinance rewrite that this is something that could go into any commercial area just about without triggering a special exception for parking. Planning Commission last night wanted to ensure that parking ratio used here would be suitably flexible for various iterations of urban agriculture. So for example, specifically really wanted to ensure that the ratio wouldn't be too high for businesses that might not have a retail component, that they might not have a lot of visitation or employment. And again, the reason that we have this one to 300 ratio is really to help ensure the suitability for most commercial sites.

So even if a non-retail urban agriculture facility were to locate, let's say, in an office building, it wouldn't trigger a special exception due to the parking requirement. Let's see. So the Planning Commissioners did have a few comments and questions. These last two, animals and parking, I think we've talked about already. I'll spend a little bit of time on these first two bullet points here. One question last night involved how wastewater would be treated from these kinds of facilities. And the reason the Planning Commissioners were interested in this is just because of the nutrients or potential chemicals or other biological substances that's in the water that's used in a process, for example, like hydroponics.

Now, that's not a zoning issue. But we followed up today with Public Works and with Code Administration to kind of figure this out. My understanding is that those departments would work with an urban agriculture firm to ensure that the city's wastewater discharge guidelines and city's wastewater limits are followed. Those departments can't really provide detailed information without knowing just what kind of substances would be involved. But the takeaway is that staff would ensure that city code and the city already does have limits on discharge that city code is followed in this regard. So that was a concern of the Planning Commission. Another topic of discussion last night regarded the cultivation of cannabis products.

So as the draft is written right now, there's no regulation on the type of agricultural products that could be cultivated under this use. That could potentially include marijuana and that would be assuming that there would be state legality to do so at some point in the future. A few Planning Commissioners expressed unease about marijuana cultivation under this urban agriculture use. Now, cannabis or any other product really could, just from a purely zoning perspective, could be excluded from this use. There's a few ways to do that. There was not necessarily consensus about this from Planning Commission. But I think the Commission was curious to see city councils take on this matter prior to any public hearings.

So these last two topics, animals and parking, I think we had talked about. There's one other thing I should mention as well, just to follow up from our June meeting. There was some discussion at our June work session about shipping containers, whether the zoning ordinance allows things such as shipping containers to be used as commercial buildings. I know this isn't specific to urban agriculture, but we did follow up on that with our zoning administrator. Now, shipping containers are not expressly prohibited from commercial properties in the zoning ordinance. So they can be allowed from a zoning perspective. At the same time, it's important to keep in mind that any shipping container that's used as a building, first of all, would have to meet building code.

But also, if it's used as a main building, it would need Board of Architectural Review guidance or consideration, just like any other structure. It would be treated as any other building would be treated. A BAR review ensures that the design is well integrated into the site. So a shipping container is something that could probably be done well and could probably be done not well. And it's not so much a zoning consideration as it really is a visual consideration, a Board of Architectural Review consideration. But generally, on the subject of shipping containers, and again, I'm just mentioning it because this came up in June, it is something that could, in theory, be used as a commercial structure right now.

So, as far as next steps, being a work session, we're really at the beginning of the process. We're anxious to hear feedback on these topics or on anything else. The process can move forward if City Council wishes to do so. As I mentioned, Planning Commission last night was generally supportive of this idea. The Commission indicated an interest in potentially formally initiating a zoning amendment on this topic, which is something the Planning Commission can do. And that could occur as soon as the Commission's next meeting, which would be later this month. If that does occur, actual public hearings on this series of amendments would take place following the August recess. So that is the draft as we have it.

So I'd be happy to take any questions you all might have. All right. What questions do we have on urban agriculture, the ordinance? Council Member Bates. Thank you. Thank you. As far as the question of marijuana, I recall seeing a marijuana dispensary, you know, Fairfax Boulevard and Chambridge Road. But I believe that's only allowed to dispense for medical use. And is that buy right in that zone? That is buy right in that zone because there is no detail on cannabis sales, whether medical or not. It's something that's not mentioned in the zoning ordinance. So it is allowed as general retail. Right. Yeah. Well, I don't see the, from my perspective, I don't see the need for any additional, you know, restrictions on that in regards to cultivation either, especially with the standards in place for odor and waste management.

Again, other questions, comments? On urban, Council Member Staley, are you there? I am there. I appreciate the presentation. i look forward to hear my colleagues comments but i'm very comfortable with what was presented all right councilmember greenfield thank you mayor could we go back for a second to the um possibility of of growing fish you know in a retail area and specifically concerns about waste and things like that we currently allow uh and the one that that comes to mind is that furfect circle scout on the circle we allow um an animal hospital on the first floor of that building in a retail space um generates waste generates in fact probably generates a different type of waste that you've got to deal with differently right so why couldn't we we allow

for that in certain areas uh so so are you talking about uh the aqua aquaculture growing fish it was a concern from the planning commissioners i think bait the the two aspects that they brought up was both uh water usage and waste my understanding and talking with public works today about waste in general is that that there could potentially be you know there are standards that would have to be met you know they can't say right now whether any specific firm like this would meet those standards because they don't have experience in it there are ways to eliminate waste uh such as from fish or from animals that don't involve flushing it down the drain and uh there there are cases at which is my

understanding and anyone here who's more familiar with this is welcome to speak up uh my my understanding is that public works and code administration monitor those types of uses and have some kind of a plan in those types of uses for waste discharge that would not use uh the sewer system so i i for one would like to see us i appreciate my colleagues on the planning commission and their feedback but i'd like us to come back and explore whether this is something that we could consider thank you mayor any other questions or comments i think i would just where cannabis is concerned growing it is different from selling it or retailing it we have restrictions in the commonwealth of virginia like beyond hello and then we turned that facility some of us on the council toured beyond hello and

you have to have a prescription in order to purchase it so it's a dispensary it's not for retail recreational use but as far as cultivating and growing it it could only really be sold under the the laws of virginia and retail use so it seems to me that simply cultivating it for sale to people who are licensed wherever they are to sell it would be different i just i think that i don't want us to kind of buy cross retailing a substance with growing it and then selling it to people who can legally retail it so it's just another agricultural product but i'm sure people have feelings about it i'm don't doubt that people have a lot of feelings about it but it's an agricultural project product and if there's restrictions

around it's retailing then that is a separate issue from simply cultivating it all right uh council member lim okay go uh council member staley and then council member lim uh apologies my screen was a little hard to see but someone was raising their hand i just had a quick question for mr forman i forgot to ask and that is would this zoning ordinance allow urban agriculture to be done for instance at one of our schools if they so choose uh right right now this is limited to commercial zones uh now that as far as i know all of our schools are in residential zones in residential zones community gardens are permitted uh you know that that is just an extension of gardening commercial gardening which is which means

being run by a company uh would not be permitted in residential zones uh this this was something the the planning commission talked about this as well we're interested in potential future use of large residential properties such as schools it it's something that could be added in in the future to uh you know once there's a firm idea of commercial use on a residential site such as that but right now as the draft is the draft is just for commercial areas for commercial use of agriculture i appreciate that clarification council member lim yeah yeah for me um as far as um cannabis product even though currently our law doesn't allow retail sales it could one day um so i don't want us to um not limit it and then be caught later

having a zoning that allows it already you know if we don't um keep up with the zoning if we don't change it as soon as the virginia allows it you know what i mean so we can't do it um am i making sense yeah yes and and this came up a little bit at the planning commission no one was quite sure whether commercial cultivation of marijuana is permitted right now in virginia i don't think so i i looked it up today it appears to me it is not permitted right right now uh that's what the planning commission was thinking too but like like you mentioned they're thinking more uh proactively into the future it if it would be permitted someday uh it is it better to get out ahead of it so that that's the issue that they

you know were interested in getting feedback i i feel the same way especially if we're gonna require 25 percent of the building to be the frontage like retail right if they cultivated it the they would be selling it retail within their location so i wouldn't want that so i would want to prevent that now when we're writing the zoning change thank you um so the question came up about schools what about um churches and the only reason i bring up churches is because they have a lot of land you know there's a lot of faith communities that have a lot of land if they decided that they wanted to engage in urban agriculture would they be permitted to do that if that church is in a commercial zone they would now keep

in mind that commercial that urban agriculture is indoors so it it it is something that would require you know constructing a building it if that church would be in a commercial zone uh then it would be permitted in a residential zone it would not be permitted and and it it it's it's just the commercial use of a residential zone just just like retail just like offices and and so on that makes sense any anything else from anybody okay well thank you very much this has been illuminating and uh sparked a lot of conversation so that's wonderful our last work session items discussion on the recommendations from the homelessness task force the staff presentation will be presented by laszlo palco city manager

um Councilmember Staley. Councilmember Staley, can you see that? The slide? Yes, I can. Thank you. Perfect. Okay. Good evening, Mayor Reed and members of City Council. On June 25th, you received a presentation from our Deputy City Manager Valmory Turner on the results and the report of the Homelessness Task Force, which worked for over a year diligently to come up with the report that was shared with you all, along with recommended priorities for how to proceed. Staff now is looking for guidance about next steps. There was a lot of hard work put into that report from residents, from volunteers, and from staff as well. Our Deputy City Manager Valmory, Melanie, Leslie, and other departments that contributed to

that effort. A lot of good work was put into that and we don't want it just to kind of disappear now. We want to continue to bring this back up and talk about next steps. And that's the goal for this evening, is to first talk about having City Council adopt priorities, whether it's from the Homelessness Task Force priorities, from the report that they have, other ideas that you may have, but City staff is looking for guidance from City Council about how you would like us to proceed on this important issue. And that's what we want to talk about tonight. One of those recommendations from the Homelessness Task Force that we believe is a good idea is establishing an advisory board to continue to guide

staff, continue to guide City Council, provide support and guide us as we talk about implementations, reviewing priorities, goals, and reporting back to City Council as well, providing that expertise that we continue to need, and to institutionalize this program as well going forward. As part of institutionalizing this program, there were funds set aside for Homelessness Task Force implementation in FY25. There was also the agreement to fund a housing position. The goal or recommendation tonight is to go ahead and move forward on hiring that position quicker to help us proceed with all the planning, policy evaluation, program implementation, evaluation of priorities that are needed from a staffing perspective.

And then finally, we want to talk about next steps. How do we proceed? So the goal tonight really is more discussion to evaluate what we have right now and talk about next steps and hear your guidance about those next steps. So I synthesized the top 10 priority recommendations that the Homelessness Task Force has. You can see the different categories that they had with legal and policy, which really focus on working with the city attorney and city staff with understanding all the laws of the city, other laws perhaps in other jurisdictions, best practices, and what we can do as a city. That includes looking at the encampment ordinance. I know that's been a discussion about what's currently permitted right now,

what the city council would like to see permitted as well. That's one of the priorities here is to tackle that issue head on and come up with city council guidance on what you all would want to see as well. Administrative goals include, like we said, establishing that advisory board to really continue to help institutionalize this and guide city staff and city council and residents going forward. Adding staffing resources as well to help us with implementation and planning. And then going to the categories of services and support, involving partners, the faith community, CSB, others, nonprofits, to help us with the comprehensive approach to homelessness, including mental health services as well.

And then the Fairfax Circle focus strategy, which was also discussed last night by the planning commission when they were looking at the Fairfax Circle small area plan as well. The concern about being able to proceed with development without getting a better control of the security situation there. And we hear that from businesses and residents in that area as well. Shelter and housing, this is a huge one. As we talk with the LAM Center and others, when they ask the question, where do people go, right, if they're not allowed to camp, we don't have an answer right now. And we have to figure something out. And there's no shelter in our region. I think that's something we have to work with the county

to get addressed, to give people options for where to go, to be safe and to be sheltered as well. And then lastly, data and research. Really understand what's happening. What do the statistics look like? What's the data? What's the background for this issue in our city? I went ahead just as kind of a planning exercise, just from hearing from different sources. There's kind of two themes that I felt needed to be added to these priorities. One of them is I've been engaging with the LAM Center. They want to do additional data analysis, have more intake services where they do a better job of identifying who's coming to the LAM Center, what's their story, what brought them there, what were the issues that led to them

to becoming unhoused, so we can better plan for services and be a little bit more predictive in our analysis. That's good and fine at the LAM Center, but there are people that we're going to have to do outreach to outside of the community. So I believe kind of having an outreach team in the future was going to be critical for us to get a better control of the data. So you can see those two points there, along with the last one that kind of mirrors what the LAM Center is going to be doing, asking some additional questions about where people are coming from, how did they become unhoused, just getting a larger breadth of understanding of what's happening in our city, who are residents who are becoming unhoused,

who are people coming from outside who are unhoused, what support do we need from the county, from the state, can we handle this ourselves, or what partnerships do we need to continue to do that. The other is for adding staffing, there was no mention of, at least from the summary, of security programs. I think that's going to be critical, just engaging with law enforcement and the business community. Again, if there's concerns about security in parks and the Fairfax Circle area, speaking with law enforcement, there's certainly a recommendation to add additional resources because we don't want to pull officers who are on normal patrol duty covering the entire city as we search capacity to reestablish security in some of these areas.

So there's going to have to be some additional security funding as well for resources as well, and that's why I added that. So you can see my highlighted recommendations are in red, but again, we're looking for you all to adopt your own priorities. So really the questions are going forward is, you know, what kind of priorities do you want to adopt? There was a lot of great work from the Homelessness Task Force. There's a lot of good ideas in that comprehensive report, but now we need guidance from you about how to proceed, and we don't want their great work to go in vain. We want to continue this program and continue discussing this issue going forward. So what is it the council wants to do?

Do you want to adopt 10 priorities? Do you want to adopt their top 10 priorities? Do we need more? Do we need less? Do we want to amend any of this? The goal for tonight is to begin that discussion, and we know it's going to take some time for you all to think through this, to ask us any follow-up questions, any additional analysis that you may need, and you'll see in the next steps as well, the possibility for additional town halls if needed as well. So one of the key priorities that we do want to move quicker forward, at least is establishing an advisory board to keep the institution going forward to continue to evaluate this program. So the goal would be to establish a board to continue to advise city staff,

continue to advise you all, engage with residents, bring some expertise on these issues for discussion, to talk about implementation steps as well, to review that with city staff. And because this is such a complex issue, really a holistic approach is needed. We can't just look at affordable housing, which is one of the key items that are needed, but there's also mental health issues and substance abuse issues as well. So we're calling this advisory board, this is a staff input housing in healthy communities to kind of reflect this reality. And you can see kind of the makeup of the board, thanks to the deputy city manager who put in the big work and kind of coming up with a big chunk of this list,

and also our mayor who we engaged with who had good understanding of kind of what are the institutions in this region that can really help us out with resources, with expertise as we develop this board. We really want you all to provide your input on what should this board be, what should the members be. This is, you know, our recommendation as a good starting point, but of course we understand that that's something you all need to discuss and see what membership you need, you know, residents and other experts as well. And then staff representation, having our future housing program manager to be the staffing lead, but recognizing that this is going to be holistic, so other members of staff across all city departments

are going to have a role to play here along with the housing program. First, it's just the housing program coordinator would be the lead staffing person for this committee or for this advisory board. So with that, as discussed previously in the FY25, there was approval of funding about $53,000 to help with the Homelessness Task Force implementation program. My recommendation is that we utilize that funding to hire the housing program coordinator sooner than what was previously planned in the budget. It's scheduled for hiring in January 1st. We want to move quicker on having this program established and guiding city staff with some expertise on housing, so we'd like to take that funding and start with the hiring as soon as possible,

ideally around September to get the ball rolling on this program. Again, the housing program coordinator would advise city staff, advise you all, advise residents, advise any advisory board, provide their expertise, but also be kind of that program to help with implementing programs that we establish in conjunction and coordination with all the different departments that we have in the city, because this is really a holistic approach across every city department, which has a role to play in this issue. So really for next steps, to start off with, there was a town hall before the Homelessness Task Force completed their project. There were many residents showed up. There was great participation, but there was some issues in terms of the structure.

I think a lot of residents were frustrated that they weren't able to engage in dialogue or voice their opinion. There was a lot of written comments, so I wanted to bring back the idea, do you want us to do another town hall before you settle on priorities, adopting your own priorities, to go over what those written comments were that we received with the public, solicit any additional input, provide additional context to residents as well, before we come back and finalize any priorities. I leave that all to you all, but I know that was a discussion that we were having with different council members who were attending that event and from what we heard from residents that evening as well. Adopting your priorities, how you want to approach that,

voting to establish a board, discussing the makeup of the board, whether you want to establish a board. Our recommendation is that we do proceed with establishing a board so we can continue this process going forward, and it doesn't just die with the Homelessness Task Force with all their hard work that they put into this. And authorizing the city manager to hire the housing program coordinator prior to January 1st, 2025, and I apologize. I think on the first slide it said 2024, but I meant 2025, like what it says on this slide. So with that, I'm here to answer any questions you all may have. Okay. Questions from the dais? Okay. Council Member Ross. I'll start with one. Thank you for, first of all, for having this item on discussion tonight

and bringing back some ideas for us to continue the dialogue. And I think it's, as you pointed out, absolutely essential. I'm just curious why the number 17 and where did that come from? And I guess there should be some context to why that number. I'm a little concerned about the size. I want it to be, or I would envision a group that would be a robust enough group, but small enough that they can move very quickly, because I think that we all recognize that time is important in this process. So I was curious where the number of 17 came up, and why not 10, why not 12, why not 25? We just kept thinking of the people who had to be on the board. It doesn't have to be 17. A way we can get around this is to have a smaller board of voting members, right,

to kind of provide the advice, but for them to invite, as maybe non-voting members, other experts in the community to continue to provide guidance. That's a way to do it as well. But we wanted to put this on a sheet of paper for you all to see the different range of expertise that we believe are needed to be successful in this program. I guess I would initially at least suggest that a smaller board might be appropriate, and I think that ought to be something that ought to be thought about. It doesn't mean other expertise, as you pointed out, can't be involved. But I think either a steering committee or a smaller group that can make decisions quickly and bring them to the council as needed or to the community as needed would, to me at least initially, be more productive.

Thank you, Mayor. Okay. I'm going to take that one up just to talk about the number 17. The Homelessness Task Force was 15 with three support staff members. You do an odd number so that you don't have a deadlock, right? So you have an odd number. So the thing about 15, which was what the number was, the Homelessness Task Force, and the two that ended up getting added that we had not really thought of before is somebody from George Mason University, and we are thinking of the College of Public Health, and somebody from the Fairfax City Public School System, a counselor in one of our schools who works with families. And so to me, it's not the size. It is the resources and the expertise, because some of the people on this list bring something very specific,

but they also bring resources. Like when we talk about having somebody from the faith community, we have a lot of faith communities in the city, but one of our faith communities is also building affordable housing on their parking lot. So to me, when you start to think about who needs to be sitting around the table, who has experience, expertise, and also access to resources, like we're asking faith communities to work with us on things like, can people park in your parking lot overnight? So to me, 15 is kind of a standard on the boards that I have sat on. 15 is kind of a standard number for board members. And sometimes you have vacancies because you can't, as we were just discussing. Tonight when we were interviewing for boards and commissions,

sometimes you have vacancies. So it's not always going to be 17 because there might be vacancies. But I think really it is about the expertise that we're trying to assemble based on the year-long work we did to say we're trying to solve these problems, who in the community can help us. So it was a very thoughtful list about who do we engage around the table. You know, Wesley Housing is working with Lamb Center. You know, they develop affordable housing projects. They also run them. So having somebody from an organization like that would be helpful to us because we don't have on staff some of this expertise. And these people are also bringing resources because they're already working with us in the city.

So that's my explanation of why they're 17 and why we specifically said these are the seats. This is the expertise, the resources that we need to discuss how to implement. And I really do see this as being a matter of assembling people to help us implement the things we say are the priorities, or at least to explore them because maybe not everything we thought of is going to be a winner of an idea. And that's why we, you know, prioritize 38 down to 10 that we thought are the things we should address most quickly. But, again, when you get people around the table who are already building affordable housing or who are already working in the community with permanent supportive housing for people with mental illness and things like that,

then you find out whether what we think we're doing or what we've prioritized is really kind of the most feasible course of action because you've assembled these folks around the table. I think those – I appreciate those points, and I think those are certainly valid. I don't have any great thoughts on what the number should be. I'm wondering – but, again, I think one of the basic parts of this is to move things forward, and you've got to find that right balance between what's the right number and how efficiently can that group work. And I'm not there yet. I just – I'd be anxious to hear from my other colleagues on what they think the number is and perhaps, you know, other staff comments that may be thoughtful on this.

Thank you. Any other questions? Council Member Staley, are you out there somewhere? I am. Thank you. Any comments? Just a quick comment regarding the housing coordinator. I think that's a very logical position. I guess from my perspective, I viewed the funding we set aside during the budget cycle as things that you could do immediately based on what the task force identified. And I think hiring someone you can do through the normal appropriations process, in particular the Q1 review, and taking time to ramp up and finding the FTE space, I think we can look at holistically. So I don't view those as two things that need to be tied together necessarily, and I would certainly be more interested in things we could do in the short term.

I've certainly had residents talk to me about, you know, the park monitors that we have at Draper and Stafford, maybe increasing the amount of time they provide. I've certainly had residents talk about when the bike teams will be ready. And so I think I look at that funding we set aside as something that you could move forward faster on things already in hand. And I certainly would be open to talking about the position being advertised and maybe funded through the Q1 appropriations process. So just some quick feedback on the slide questions you shared. Okay. Thank you for that. Council Member Lim. Thank you, Mayor. As far as all the four bullet items for next steps, adopt city council priorities.

I think we should adopt all 10 priorities, but, you know, we should have a timeline. Some of them can be done immediately, whereas some of them will take longer. So adopt all 10, but set definite timeline goals and objectives. And as far as having a town hall to review the comments again, I don't know if that would be necessary. I think it's better to establish the board first, and then maybe they need to be participating in a town hall for them to get a fresh look on what the residents have to say, residents as well as the business owners. And as far as having 17 board members, I don't see a problem with it. Although, you know, we're going to be off in the month of August, and we're going to have to kind of, you know, advertise during the month of August

and start looking to place people on this board. It may take a little longer to find 17. So what Mr. Parko said earlier about maybe having, like, a voting member. You know, I think the voting member should be definitely residents and city business owners. So maybe have those members, you know, be a priority to select those members first, and then select the experts on the other, like the real estate agents and, I don't know, can't think of all the experts, but maybe find those later, find those individuals later to fill the 17 members as complete board. And as far as, you know, hiring a housing program coordinator, I mean, I have no problem hiring them before January 2025. But, you know, even though we want to hire somebody right away, it may not work out that we're going to find somebody before September 1.

So I think that we should start advertising and start looking, definitely. And then, you know, if that happens to be December 2024, it happens to be 2025, you know, whatever happens. But definitely start advertising. You're right. It does take some time to be able to recruit someone. I think that's it. Thank you. Council Member Ross, you had other thoughts? Yes, I did. Thank you. There we go. First of all, I think that moving ahead with the housing coordinator makes sense. And I also agree with my colleague's suggestion that we look at that as a funding out of the concept he proposed. We have a small amount of money for the homeless program. And I think we need to generate some ideas on how that could be used on a project level rather than hiring someone.

And I'd be very supportive of doing both. I think what we need to have coming back in the fall is how, where that money could be used effectively. And I've been having some discussions with neighbors and with residents and also with some city staff and others and trying to think through, are there some things we could do right away? I share literally the frustration you mentioned at the open house we had. And I think there was a missed opportunity for hearing and allowing people to talk about what they were concerned about. I think people welcome the opportunity to come together and provide feedback to the homeless task force. But I think we need to do a little bit more in the way of hearing from our residents.

And it strikes me that we have several areas in the city, and particularly around the Fairfax Circle area, which are sort of the major areas that are being impacted by homelessness. We visually see people out on the streets and in the areas. We hear neighbors that are concerned. We have in those areas neighborhood associations. And I think we should take the time between now and early fall to reach out to the homeowners associations in those neighborhoods. And offer them the opportunity to gather and hear feedback from them. Rather than perhaps a citywide meeting, it might be more effective if we did neighborhood meetings in the particular areas that have really had some impacts. I think, one, to reassure them that we're listening to them.

We want to come back to them with some actions that will be helpful. And, again, that's why we have some money in the budget to start to do some implementation. And I think that would be a logical source for us to hear some feedback from those neighborhoods that are especially effective. And I'm going back a long time in my history. But then again, I go back a long time in my history in this community. We used to have neighborhood watch programs. I participated in at least two neighborhoods where I lived. They were added and implemented because people felt concerned about crime in their neighborhoods or the potential for crime. Quite frankly, we didn't see – there may have been some – and it was done in collaboration with police and coordination and communication.

Maybe we need to think along the lines of another neighborhood watch program in some of those neighborhoods. To put some eyes on the street, eyes out there in the neighborhoods. And maybe that would be something the neighborhoods would like to see. I don't know. I think that's why it's important that we – before we jump to any conclusions on how we use this money, that we get some feedback from those neighborhoods affected. We know there's a need for continued outreach to the homeless community. And there are ways that they can be assisted to get services. That doesn't always work. We know that from what we've heard and read. But we seem to fall into several categories here. And I think we've got to find the right sort of balance between additional security.

And I think that is happening. I've heard from the police department about the establishment of an officer in Fairfax Circle. Apparently, the bike patrols will be starting sometime this fall. And I've heard that there's a lot of interest from the police in being involved with that. So that's a really positive sign. And I'm also hearing that the business community is feeling a little more secure, a little more pleased to hear that we're adding more response and more activity down in the Fairfax Circle area. So I think those are positive things. And I think we need to talk about those. We need to reach out to the communities that are most directly affected and see if there's some things that we could begin to move on very quickly.

And those are just my thoughts for where we need to go between now and early fall. Thank you, Mayor. So we're in an election year and the homeowners associations are doing all kinds of candidate things. So I fully expect that we will hear, because of the gatherings around candidates, what is on the minds of homeowners associations around the city. And I think that will be a very public thing. And I think a lot of residents will come out to talk to potential candidates and to talk about these things, too. But establishing this board by vote at the next meeting on July the 23rd helps us to start to set something up over the month of August to advertise that these positions are available and we're going to be interviewing and setting up the board.

Because this board needs to be independent of whoever is sitting on the dais, in my opinion. They're here to advise the people who will be elected and who will be serving in 2025. And we already know that half of this dais will not be there. So setting up this advisory board, getting subject matter expertise around to look at practical, real world, feasible, affordable, effective solutions. The whole point of this is that they need to advise whoever's sitting here on January 1st. And so that's why I think that we need to move without delay to decide if we're going to set up this board. And then while we are on recess to advertise these openings so that we can start. And it will take a long time to interview people.

I'm not saying it's not going to take a long time to interview people. But we have to set up a really strong foundation of people who can help the city most effectively. And again, it's a collaboration between the people on the dais, the people on city staff, and people who are out there who are subject matter experts to come together to figure out. Because at the end of the day, what we're looking for are the best solutions. The best solutions for everyone involved. We need to be solution focused. And so this is kind of my motivation for putting, and again, if we are going to do this by resolution at the next meeting, if you want to adopt council priorities with a timeline, then that's what we need to be thinking about.

Establishing the board. And I like the idea of the housing program coordinator or housing policy person, but I don't want to decimate the only money we have until FY26 because then we've got nothing. And so I, to me, that is a cost that is too dear to just decimate the small amount of money we have. But I do support the fact that we should hire somebody more quickly than January. I just will have to look at JC Martinez to like, I don't know, do magic or something. Magic money. Go shake the money tree in the back of the city hall. And the only other thing I would add to this is that I think, you know, in our quest to be as responsive as possible to the community, we also don't want to move so quickly that we don't get it right either.

And so there's been some back and forth about the amount of notification days for people in encampments. And, you know, it had been four days and then it got moved to 24 hours and there was some confusion about the policy. And so, you know, moving quickly doesn't always give you the best result if there is confusion or if the end result is that you've solved one problem and you've created another one. Because there is no place for people to go. We don't have a shelter. And so simply moving people from one location to the other. And I would remind people that just because people are unhoused does not mean that they're unemployed. There are people who are trying to work who don't have a home. And so when you decide that we're going to basically take their stuff and check it with 24 hours notice, you know, we're not helping them to be successful.

We're not helping the city in solving a problem. And so when we move quickly to do these things, I'm not sure that we're really solving the problem in the way that we intend or for long term results or the best long term results for businesses and residents and people who are unhoused and the people who are trying to provide them services. So that's my only thing about talking about doing things quickly or moving fast. I don't want to move so fast that we are not being effective. And so I think if we're going to do something from the dais at the next meeting, we need as a dais to be very thoughtful about what it is we're asking for. And I would like to ask that we vote to establish this board.

And I think adopting the city council priorities would be excellent. And if a timeline makes sense to say, you know, getting a homeless shelter for Area 4 is not something we're going to be able to do by December. Right. But there are other things on there that we probably could do sooner than that. And so maybe we should set up priorities for what things we want to work on to try to do more effectively. So out of these next steps, I mean, those are the two that I'm looking at, the council priorities and establishing the board. I do want to hire a program coordinator, but I don't know how we pay for it. I don't know how without decimating the budget to zero. And as far as the town hall, I do think if you stand up a board, these are the people who need to go out there because they need to understand and talk to.

If people want to discuss things with someone who has knowledge of services or housing or safety, then those are the people who need to be in the room with them. So I think that is something that could be delayed until we have stood up and started to fill up this board to be a standing advisory council. And again, we have to look at the fact that our elected officials will change in a matter of months. And this this body needs to take up the work of the homelessness task force and it needs to move forward regardless of who's sitting here in January. That's that's that's my perspective. Yes. Council member Staley is raising his hand. I just want to let you know. Oh, Staley. Yes. Council member Staley.

Thank you, Mayor. I guess to put a fine point on it, I would be comfortable adopting the board on the 23rd. I don't know that I would be comfortable really thinking through all the actions of the homelessness task force into a prioritize a whole other set of them. I think you did an excellent job of talking about how this current body has a limited time span on it. And so if there's a few items you want to focus on in the next six months as we're a body, I'd be open to that discussion. I think the value of the 38 recommendations and the 10 priorities is it lives on for the board or the next council to take on. So I would be comfortable moving forward adopting the some formation of the board.

And again, if I understand your thinking correctly, it's a resolution of the body. And so if we had to alter it at any point in time, the body could then make it all the ocean. So I think, you know, moving forward makes a lot of sense. Thank you for that. Any other feedback comments? Yes. Council member Ross. I I've sort of baited back this and forth and back and forth in my mind. And I still think there would be value. In staff outreach to the neighborhoods that are most directly affected. We do have and I agree. I agree with the process for getting a board established and looking at that. I think that's very important. But we are in an election year. A board is going to be created hopefully this fall.

But the likelihood of them being able to make some decisions and come back to us with recommendations is going to be probably delayed until we have a new council and whoever is sitting up at the dais. They're going to need time to get organized. They're going to need time to get established. They're going to need to have some time to develop that sense of trust among themselves. And that's why I come back to the fact that we do have some money in the budget this year to begin to do some things that would be responsive to the community. And I think a failure to do that would be sort of sad because I think we there are some things we could we could do that would would help address some of the concerns that are out there.

And 50,000 is not a lot of money in the big world of government and even in our city. But it could do some things to help get things started and help address individual or not individual but people's concerns out there. School's going to start August 19th. That's a little over a month away. Kids are going to be walking to school. They're going to be walking on the bus stops. Are there things we could they're going to be using their power? They're going to be using their power the public parks playgrounds trails. Are there places that we're hearing where people are frightened. And I think we have an obligation to listen to those. And then. To consider actions that would help with that. And I think it would be.

Welcomed by the community, especially in those areas where the most impacted. I'm not expecting a staff outreach to those neighborhoods to come back with all the answers. But at least let's start the dialogue. Show that we care about what's going on. And do you have some thoughts on how we might still ultimately is our decision about what to use the 50,000 for. But if we could add some. Some. Resources to help partner to develop some safety protocols or some establishment so that people feel more comfortable going in the parks playgrounds. Walking to school taking the bus. Helping with that visibility. Then let's let's seriously consider that. Thank you mayor. Council member Lim. Thank you mayor.

You know when the when the homelessness task force was established. We had three listening sessions. One in Fairfax circle and one in the downtown the library. And I forget what the other one was. But anyway we had three three listening sessions where the residents and business owners came in and talk to us about their issues and the problems and the hard times that they were having. So I I don't want the new board to to be established and then make new set of priorities. The priorities is already been established. So if we come up with the board members they need to be addressing the priorities that's already been made by the homelessness task force. And hopefully if the council members are not ready to adopt the city council priorities at least establish the board first and then maybe we can pass the city council priorities.

September when we come back. Thank you. I think that makes sense. It seems like we're coming to sort of a consensus about establishing the board at the next meeting and after the break looking at the priorities and then coming forward with an idea of what kind of public what outreach would look like. Because when you say staff should use to do outreach it was the homelessness task force with staff support that did the outreach. So absent sort of this group of people staff. I don't know how they would manage that because we have limited staff to do that. So that would be the other reason to try to get this board set up because they they would have to provide that sort of labor intensive outreach to.

Since we don't have a homelessness task force that is done. So and then as far as the hiring the housing person I think we're all behind it. We just don't see how we're going to fund it. Sure. Can I just make one comment? Sure. It seems like and correct me if I'm wrong. It seems like you want a little bit of what's called participatory budgeting where we have this $50,000 and perhaps having participatory budgeting in areas that there are concerns right to develop kind of quick impact projects that can make some impact right now to move this in a positive direction. Is that correct? I think what I'm suggesting is that we have the money available and are there some immediate needs that we need to address.

And yes we do need to move ahead with the formation of the task force. I agree with that. I don't disagree. I think we also need to be prepared to provide that task force with our agreement on the policies and the recommend or the priorities. We've heard from the task force. They've given us some good recommendations. I'm glad they came down to prioritizing it because I think that's really important. And we ought to do both pretty much at the same time. Establish the task force and provide them with a framework for what we want them to focus on. But in addition to that I'm suggesting that between now and the time we come back asking the staff for how those funds could be used. Not for hiring a housing coordinator.

I think that's important and I think we can I'm confident in JC's magic and the fact that we often have positions that lapse or some fluidity with that to come back and look at how we can accelerate that process without dipping into the 53,000 or 54,000 that we have for implementation of projects. And I'd like to hear back. And I'd like to hear back. I'm only one of counsel so I think it would be up to others to support this. But give us some feedback in the fall. What could we do? Could we add cameras to some locations? Could we add some increased security in certain areas? Could we provide additional information for how people can feel secure as school starts as a fall activity start, especially in those areas that are that are most directly impacted?

So it sounds like the consensus is next meeting bring back the board for a vote, bring back in September the priorities for a vote, and then make some recommendations. And maybe that needs to be clarified because I've heard that Councilmember Ross and Staley bring back some recommendations for some immediate impact projects with the 50,000 versus everything. I think no one agrees with hiring the homeless person or the housing person with the $50,000. They want to do some other initiatives. Do you all agree with bringing back some recommendations in the fall for some quick impact projects with that $50,000? Maybe not all of it, but using some of it in the fall to show some progress? I think we, yes, I think we should consider, because it can all be considered.

And I do think that the public is anxious for us not to lose momentum on this. And this is the problem with having concluded something in June, having an August recess, setting up an advisory board, is that people are like, so what are you doing in the interim? Like, what are you doing? I understand the public wants us to do something. So I think we should consider all the things that can be considered. But we have got to set up something that is far more thoughtful, that is for the long term, that brings in policy experts, subject matter experts, and people who can bring resources to solve the long term issues that are creating unhoused folks in our city. So, yeah. Mayor, just to clarify my comments, I'm not suggesting that the use of $50,000 is going to be the fix.

Yeah. It's an immediate way to show that we're addressing some of the issues we're hearing. But clearly, it's a long term issue we're going to have to deal with. Absolutely. And that's going to require funding, it's going to require resources, and it's going to require commitment from this dais to continue that after this one's done with their terms. Absolutely. To Councilmember Lim's and the Mayor's point, I think putting in some timelines and kind of what short term, medium term, and long term with the priorities, is that something you all agree we should do? Yes, but I think Councilmember Greenfield has. Okay. Thank you, Mayor. Comments? Two items. One, as part of the budget adoption process, you've got an authorized staffing plan.

If you've got vacancies within that staffing plan, I'd encourage you to look at are those needed? And if the answer is no, then take one of those positions and use it for the housing program coordinator. When I agreed to add money to the budget for recommendations, it wasn't to eat up that $53,000 for hiring someone. I would also encourage you, we can put something out on the street right now that says we are accepting applications, and then you can make a decision whether you actually hire or not. And so you've got, as the city manager, you have that ability. I support that type of position, but that's within the existing budget that we already have and the existing staffing plan that's already been approved as part of the operating budget for this fiscal year.

Second item, just when they come back to us at the next meeting, it would be helpful. We have two different categories here. We say we want five city residents, then we say down below three city residents. So is it five, is it three, or is it eight? Yeah. And so, you know, having that subset I think is going to be very important, and then we can go out and begin to add some of the other people. Sure. So if you can, you don't need to clarify it tonight, but if we can get that for the 23rd, that would be helpful. Thank you, Mayor. All right. Looks like we're closing in on a consensus to do something at the next meeting. Does everyone feel confident that we have a plan? Okay. Sufficiently comfortable.

Sufficiently comfortable that we have a plan. All right. That said, I will now reconvene the regular meeting, and we will start with the manager report out. I'll stay here for that. So the only thing I want to report is to give a heads up to residents and to you all that we're hoping on July 23rd, the meeting, that we're bringing back the acquisition of a property for the new, for the fire station replacement of fire station three. We're not ready to announce what that property is, but please just stay tuned in to what's going to be in the packet to get information. We don't want this to be a surprise to anyone. That's why we're bringing that up right now to give people a heads up that this is coming.

And that's funded in the CIP, so it's been discussed before, but I just want to give residents a heads up that this is coming. Council Member Bates. Anything to add? Thank you. No comments. Okay. Council Member Lim. No comments, Mayor. Thank you. Council Member Ross. Council Member Ross. I am going to shock everybody again and say I do have some comments tonight. So a couple things I wanted to mention. First of all, I want to thank the folks from Village and the City that provided their annual report comments and their comments tonight. I serve as your rep to that group, and I want to say I am totally impressed with the work that's done for that program, for those in our community retaining.

And we have a member of the committee here tonight, Jennifer Rose Beckwith from the Chamber of Commerce who has ably served on that group. The programs that have been put on have been highly important to the seniors in this community and those about to become seniors. And the volunteer efforts really are important in strengthening and helping our community even stronger, become even a stronger community. I want to compliment our city police. We've had a number of incidents recently, but even before that there have been times when there have been incidents that concern people because they see police cars, they see police activity. They don't know what's going on. And they've been, I think, very effective at putting out communication.

And I think they need to continue to do that. We need to support that in a way that leaves that up to them because they're the professionals and they have to make sure they do it the right way. But I have been very pleased. I know when I came on council almost four years ago, over four years ago, I asked for information just so that we could be aware if there's an incident going on. And I think they've been very responsive to that. And they've got a lot of things on their minds and a lot of things that need to be done. But I think they have been very helpful in terms of getting the word out to the community, word out to us. And I want to compliment them on that. Finally, we had an amazing Independence Day celebration in this community.

If you think for a moment, and I was obviously in the parade along with my grandson, which was very exciting for, I hope, for him and certainly for me. But at night at the high school, the number of people that were there for the celebration was in the thousands. I don't know what the number was in terms of estimate. People were celebrating. They were having a good time. And everyone came out of that in a safe situation. That doesn't always happen. And it happens because we have amazing police, amazing volunteers, amazing city staff from public works to parks and recreation to Q bus, just about everybody else. So I know we always respect and appreciate our city staff, but I think they deserve special credit for the work they did.

They were there day long working very hard. And I just want to remind us how grateful we are for our city staff. And again, I don't want to pick on Miss Beckwith up there, but she was also the master of ceremonies at the evening event. And she did a phenomenal job. And it's great to have that partnership with folks like that that come in and volunteer. Thank you. Thank you, Mayor. All right. Thank you. Council member Greenfield. Okay. Council member Staley. Thank you, Mayor. Just a quick reminder to everybody that the City of Fairfax Band Annual Children's Concert is this coming Thursday the 18th. Hope to see you all there and getting some ice cream. Thank you, Mayor. All right. So I am now going to conclude this meeting and we are going to convene a closed meeting.

So I move that the City Council convene a closed meeting under Section 2.2-3711.A1 of the Code of Virginia to discuss personnel matters. All council members in favor of the motions, please signify by voting aye. Aye. Any voting nay? Okay. The City Council retired into a closed meeting at 10.30 p.m. Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour Pour

Thank you.