Category: MAC zoning

More than 50 people attended last night’s Planning Commission meeting regarding 380 Maple Avenue West.  Twenty-five spoke.  Of those, just two people approved of the project.

The Planning Commission “held open” the public meeting, meaning, if you have not spoken up yet, you will have an opportunity to do so next month.  Next month, the Planning Commission should vote on this project and forward its recommendation to the Town Council.

Go to this Google Drive link to find my audio recording of the meeting, along with an Excel spreadsheet that serves as the “index” to the audio, showing what was said at what time.  The audio is a bit rough in spots due to the crowd noise.

In brief:  The builder offered a second option of a somewhat smaller building, with less parking, and one less condo unit.  He agreed to enclose the back wall of the garage (facing the residential area) as a noise-control measure.  He will put a masonry wall on the back lot line or not, at the Town’s option.  And he would not commit to burying the power lines as part of this until he sees the cost of that from Dominion Energy.

My review of the meeting follows.

Jump to:

• Initial discussion by Planning Commission.
• Public comments
• Commission response to public comments
• A few concluding thoughts.

---

Continue reading Post #213: The 3/27/2019 Planning Commission meeting on 380 Maple West, edited to correct a significant mistake.

On Wednesday 3/27/2019 at 8:00 PM in Town Hall, the Planning Commission will have a public hearing to discuss 380 Maple West (40 condos plus retail at the intersection of Maple and Wade Hampton).

PUBLIC COMMENT IS INVITED.    You may speak for up to three minutes regarding the 380 Maple West proposal.

Continue reading Post #212: Planning Commission meeting TONIGHT 3/27/2019, on 380 Maple West

I attended last week’s joint work session of the Town Council, Planning Commission, and Board of Architectural Review.  But I only caught the first few hours of it, and left around 11:45.  As it turns out, the last half hour or so was probably the best part.  I downloaded the Town’s audio, and here’s a minute-by-minute summary of what happened in the last half hour of that meeting. Continue reading Post #207: The last half hour of the 3/20/2019 joint work session

Edited to correct a significant error 3/23/2019.  The front face of the building is nearly as tall as it will get (except for the largest tower, still to be built).  They still need to add another 7′ to the front corners of the building.

---

I hate to keep re-using that title.  I used that phrase here, and here.

But today, as I was driving into town from Oakton, I noticed a  big HVAC unit installed on top of the Chick-fil-A car wash — in plain sight.  This was as I was driving down the hill from Emanuel Lutheran church.

I didn’t understand that, because a) I thought those walls were as tall as they were going to get, and b) I doubt they would have made a mistake like that.  So one of those two things must be wrong.  Either the walls are going to get taller, or we will be treated to the sight of their HVAC every time we come into town. Continue reading Post #206: Chick-fil-A-car-wash: You still ain’t seen nothing yet, again.

My audio recording and Excel “index” to the audio recording are located at this location on Google Drive.  I left the meeting at 11:30 PM, so I do not have the last 45 minutes here.  You would have to check the Town’s recording for that, which should be posted on this page no later than 3/22/2019, under “Media”.

Depending on your browser, an audio player to play that recording will (or will not) pop up if you click here.

And the Excel spreadsheet that is the “index” will (or will not) pop up if you click here.