Category: MAC zoning

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

Bioretention, 3/7/2019

A colleague asked about the “bioretention area” in the 380 Maple West proposal (Maple and Wade Hampton, 40 condos).  I had to learn about this topic nearly ten years ago, for a construction project at the church I was attending.  On this page, I’ll try to put that learning to use, and explain what that bioretention area is, what key role it plays here, and what the potential drawbacks are. Continue reading Bioretention, 3/7/2019

2019-03-04 Town Council/Planning Commission work session, audio and index

The Town Council and Planning Commission held a joint work session on 3/4/2019 to discuss three items:  two MAC projects (380 Maple West and the Sunrise assisted living facility), and to discuss restrictions on private meetings between property developers and elected or appointed Town officials. Continue reading 2019-03-04 Town Council/Planning Commission work session, audio and index

Some trivia from the Town Council/Planning Commission meeting, 3/5/2019

On 3/4/2019, the Town Council and Planning Commission had a joint meeting to discuss 380 Maple West (40 condos at Maple and Wade Hampton), and the proposed Sunrise assisted living (85 rooms, more than 100 beds?, Maple and Center).  They also discussed placing limits on private (non-public) meetings between elected and appointed Town officials and developers.

There’s a lot to talk about here, and I hope to do so, but in this post, I’m going to talk about a seeming trivial thing.  Because the one thing that sticks in my mind, from all of last night’s meeting, is the extent to which the Town just seems to make up the zoning rules as it goes along.

The example here is the difference between abutting properties and adjacent properties.  These terms, as used in real estate, are well-defined.  Properties abut if they literally touch.  Properties are adjacent if they are near one another, and no other piece of private property comes between them.  So you and your next-door neighbor on the same side of the street have abutting property; you and your directly-across-the-street neighbor have adjacent property. Continue reading Some trivia from the Town Council/Planning Commission meeting, 3/5/2019

Somebody is confused about the Town’s traffic study, 3-4-2019

Maybe I’m confused.  Maybe Town Council is confused.  Either way, one of us has to be wrong about this.

The Vienna Town Council has made much out of a “traffic study” that Town staff commissioned.  But it sure sounds to me as if none of them has actually read the scope of work for the study they voted to fund. (here, as a .pdf.)

I wrote a page almost two months ago, where I analyzed the description of the proposed traffic study.  (Read it, in blue, halfway down this page.) My opinion then was that it would be useless from the standpoint of assessing the long-run impact of MAC on traffic.  Instead, the point of the study appeared to be to speed up development by helping the Town to develop a standard transportation “proffer” that it would expect all MAC developers to pay. Continue reading Somebody is confused about the Town’s traffic study, 3-4-2019

Pedestrian-friendly? 3/4/2019

(This map was generated by walkscore.com.  You can check out the walkability of your neighborhood by visiting their website and typing in your address.)

Town government has repeatedly said that MAC will make Maple Avenue more “pedestrian-friendly”.  But that’s … questionable, at best.  And in some key cases, I am almost sure that MAC-redeveloped property will make Maple less safe for pedestrians. Continue reading Pedestrian-friendly? 3/4/2019

If the community says No, No, No, then we’ll have to start all over, 3/4/2019

This page explains a critical step coming up in the development of MAC zoning.  Turns out, the Town is going to ask the citizens what they think about MAC, and then act on that.  Which sounds pretty good, until you realize that the way they are proposing to do that is … confused, to be as polite as I can about it.

Read on and decide for yourself.  This shouldn’t take more than five minutes. Continue reading If the community says No, No, No, then we’ll have to start all over, 3/4/2019

2019-02-27 Planning Commission work session, comments part 1

It’s hard to know where to start, but let me begin with the low-hanging fruit.

Seriously, we pay them to do this?  Part 1

Arguably, the single nuttiest thing to come out of this meeting was beautiful set of poster boards, developed by Planning and Zoning, the purpose of which is to convince you that MAC development on Maple is just as warm, cozy, and human-scale as the development on Church Street. Continue reading 2019-02-27 Planning Commission work session, comments part 1