Author: chogan@directresearch.com

Sound walls and parking garages, 3/17/2019

For decades, Vienna has required a 6′ masonry wall to separate commercial property from residential neighborhoods.  This page explains what that wall does — reduce the noise from the parking lot.  It also explains what it doesn’t do (or, really, what it isn’t needed to do) — reduce the noise from Maple Avenue.

This analysis ends with what I hope is an obvious conclusion.  Where MAC development replaces parking lots with (two-story) garages adjacent to residential areas, the old 6′ masonry wall doesn’t cut it any more.  Vienna needs to change the building code to require that those MAC garages be enclosed, not open-sided, when they are adjacent to residential areas. Otherwise, MAC strips away a decades-old noise protection that the Town has offered to its residential neighborhoods. Continue reading Sound walls and parking garages, 3/17/2019

Board of Architectural Review work session, 3/15/2019

My wife and I attended the 8-ish AM meeting of the Board of Architectural Review.  This was a dry run of a presentation on the MAC “visual guidelines” that will be given to Town Council at the “mega-meeting” scheduled for March 20.  It was, in large part, an explanation of how those guidelines were developed.

Having sat through that entire presentation and the discussion of comments afterwards, all I can say is, I wouldn’t change a thing. Continue reading Board of Architectural Review work session, 3/15/2019

Planning Commission work session 3/13/2019

I attended the 3/13/2019 Town of Vienna Planning Commission work session.  The purpose of this was to review proposed changes to the Maple Avenue Commercial (MAC) zoning law.  This page is a summary of the high points.  I will post my audio file of the meeting, with index, as soon as I have processed it to remove noise.

Briefly:  Five floors, cram ’em in, and pave it over.  And hurry up about it. That’s pretty much the gist of the proposed changes.  There was a rear-guard action by Commissioners Gelb and Kenney to slow that down.  But that’s definitely where the Planning Commission and Department of Planning and Zoning are headed.

Continue reading Planning Commission work session 3/13/2019

“Public” meetings and a Town that still just doesn’t get it, 3/13/2019, updated 3/14/2019

This evening, I went to Town Hall to attend and record the 5:30 PM meeting of the “Maple Avenue Commercial (MAC) Design Guidelines Working Group“.  I am fairly sure this constitutes an open public meeting, under the definitions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act. And it was, in fact, announced on the Town Calendar.

Continue reading “Public” meetings and a Town that still just doesn’t get it, 3/13/2019, updated 3/14/2019

Reston rethinks increased density. Vienna doesn’t. 3/13/2019

Just in case you may have missed it, there’s been quite a controversy going on in Reston over increased building density.  The County was on a roll to rewrite the zoning there to allow higher density (more persons and dwelling units per acre).  They got a lot of pushback from the citizens.  And now, that plan for increased density has been indefinitely deferred.

It’s not clear at this point whether that deferral will be the sort of sham that the Vienna MAC moratorium is shaping up to be.  But there is at least the possibility that they may genuinely try to rethink higher density in Reston.  (See this page for my talk with a Board of Supervisors candidate Parker Messick, whose main platform plank is opposition to excess development in the Hunter Mill district.)

You may wonder why I call the MAC moratorium a sham. Well, there are a lot of reasons.  Unlike my usual writing, I’m not even going to provide citations as to source (links) here.   If you’ve been reading my website, you’ll know that I have been pointing out these facts (with a handful of guesses) for some time.

Continue reading Reston rethinks increased density. Vienna doesn’t. 3/13/2019

Vienna public meetings on MAC zoning, week of 3/11/2019

This week there are three Town of Vienna public meetings regarding changes to Maple Avenue Commercial (MAC) zoning.

On Wednesday 3/13/2019 at 5:30 PM, the “Maple Avenue Commercial (MAC) Design Guidelines Working Group” will meet in Town Hall.  (I have no idea who they are, or what they do.)

The notice for this meeting — but no other materials or explanation — can be found at this URL:

https://www.viennava.gov/Calendar.aspx?EID=4905&month=3&year=2019&day=13&calType=0

On Wednesday 3/13/2019 at 7:00 PM, the Planning Commission will discuss proposed changes to MAC zoning, in Town Hall.

The materials for this meeting can be found at this URL:

https://vienna-va.legistar.com/DepartmentDetail.aspx?ID=35871&GUID=5F43A6E1-E522-486D-A271-B83ED29861B9
The Town should post an audio recording of this meeting within two days, which you should be able to find by looking under the Media column on this page:

https://vienna-va.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx

On Friday 3/15/2019 at 8:00 AM (note, AM), the Board of Architectural Review will have a work session discussion of the proposed MAC design guidelines.

The materials for this meeting can be found at this URL (although all you have is an agenda that says they will discuss the design guidelines).

hhttps://vienna-va.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=683425&GUID=D5684B63-B335-454D-B745-B121C7F99703&Options=info&Search=
The Town should post an audio recording of this meeting within two days of the meeting, which you should be able to find by looking under the Media column on this page:

https://vienna-va.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx

Separately, Tonight, the Town Council will meet at 8 PM (3/11/2019) to discuss the operating budget for the coming year.  If you have an interest in where the Town gets and spends its money, this is the place to start.  A video of this meeting should be posted by the Town within two days of this at  https://vienna-va.legistar.com/Calendar.aspx

The Town reserves the right to change or cancel meetings on short notice, so check the Town’s general calendar before you go, at this URL:  https://www.viennava.gov/Calendar.aspx?NID=1&FID=220

Capital Bikeshare, trip flow visualizations 3/11/2019

Links to a flow map of the entire Capital Bikeshare system added 3/14/2019.

Reston and Tysons Bikeshare Flows

The links below take you to maps showing the average daily flow of trips, for the Reston and Tysons Bikeshare network, for 2018.  I only show the 20 most-frequently-used origin-destination pairs, separately for Reston and Tysons, separately for each map. Continue reading Capital Bikeshare, trip flow visualizations 3/11/2019