Planning 20 Parks: Inside Tysons or Out?
Vienna and McLean affected by 30-year vision for Tysons; more debate Feb. 23.
When creating a new city, county planners target a precise number of parks.
Let Horses Play Piano, Too
Horse Riding Lessons Allowed
Great Falls resident Kim Karanik navigated a three-and-a-half-year obstacle course to make riding activities and equestrian lessons more accessible and available to county children.
Brewery Changes on Tap
Planning drafts zoning amendment.
There is increasing interest in Fairfax County in opening breweries for craft beer that might also serve beer and food.
Nine, Not 10, Houses Approved for Hills Nursery in Great Falls
The Gulick Group, Inc. originally requested to rezone and develop 11 acres of forested land at the north end of the former Hills Nursery site into 10 homes.
Great Falls: Horses Need No Cajoling to Stay on Land
About 58 acres of scenic vista just north of the Great Falls Village Center will be preserved for the next eight years at 9809 Arnon Chapel Road. “It represents one of the last large intact portions of former farmland that once characterized the area and is home to a well-loved horse boarding and riding facility, Stone Ridge Farm,” said Dranesville District Planning Commissioner John Ulfelder.
Great Falls: Christmas Trees Cut Only for Taxes
Dranesville Planning Commissioner John Ulfelder described the enjoyment a 22.13-acre contiguous parcel of land at 910 Utterback Store Road gives Great Falls.
Great Falls: Planning One More Deferral
Planning Commission will give Lexington Estates and Great Falls another month to get involved.
Historic Night for Great Falls Grange
Eleven Great Falls organizations to present vision for community use of Grange to Supervisor John Foust in September.
Eleven Great Falls organizations reconvened last Wednesday night, Aug. 17, 2016, to solidify their vision that would bring the Great Falls Grange back to life, in line with efforts of local farmers who built the community gathering place in 1929.
One Step To ‘One Fairfax’
Agreeing on a policy to create opportunity for all.
Jeff McKay didn’t mince words when discussing racial, social and economic inequity in Fairfax County.
Great Falls: Make Land Use More Accessible
Board pledges to develop recommendations for the involvement of citizens in the land-use process.
The Board of Supervisors gave final approval for 19 homes to be developed on Brooks Farm, along Springvale Road and Forest Lake Drive.
Great Falls: Time to Get Involved
Great Falls Citizens Association encourages members to get involved in its stormwater management task force, especially as it pertains to land use cases.
Dranesville Planning Commissioner John Ulfelder announced last Thursday that a decision on The Gulick’s Group application to develop 11 acres of undeveloped, forested land would be deferred until September.
Great Falls: Community Encouraged to Get Involved in Land Use Cases
Citizens association calls for members to give feedback to Planning Commission and Board of Supervisors on three land use cases.
Great Falls: Undisturbed Forest, Detailed Negotiation
Eric Knudsen, Great Falls Citizens Association, advocate for the protection of the environment.
Great Falls: Delays Pave Path for Approval
After months of revisions, tweaks, negotiations, proffer and planning changes, commission approves 19 houses on Brooks Farm.
McLean and Great Falls: Thank You, 2016 Graduates
Langley High School seniors matriculate at DAR Constitution Hall on Monday, June 20.
Stretching from Great Falls to La Jolla
Delivering yoga class close to home on Great Falls Green.
Victoria Weseley’s mother lives in La Jolla, California.
Great Falls: Final Chance for Brooks Farm?
Planning Commission defers Brooks Farm decision one more time; Supervisor Foust expects no more delays.
Great Falls: Barn Dance Goes Out with a Bang and Optimism
Annual event benefited the Optimist Club youth fund.
The seven horses that live on Linda Thompson’s White Pines Farm property on Walker Road have shared their barn with the Great Falls Optimist Club for about once a year for the past 10 years.
Honoring on Memorial Day in Great Falls
Community gathers at Great Falls Freedom Memorial to honor local fallen.
United States Air Force veteran Paul Quinn “didn’t intend to show this much emotion” during the Memorial Day Celebration Ceremony at the Great Falls Freedom Memorial.
Great Falls: Sewage Hauled Elsewhere
Great Falls septic receiving site to close down on June 27; no alternative planned at this time.
Raw septic will no longer be hauled to Great Falls’ Colvin Run Septic Sewage Receiving Plant. The site will close down on June 27.
Meals Tax? Ballot Possibility
Board of Supervisors potentially set to approve meals tax ballot question on June 7.
A majority of The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voiced support last week for including a Meals Tax Referendum as part of the 2016 General Election.
Great Falls: Cutting Through Brooks Farm
GFCA raises new issue surrounding controversial redevelopment proposal; says community never had chance to respond.
Great Falls Citizens Association wants Supervisor John W. Foust to address concerns on Brooks Farm development.
Great Falls: Historical Allure, or Relic of the Past?
30 days for commitment to take control of the Grange for community use.
The legacy of past farmers of Great Falls awaits. And have awaited.
Great Falls: Brooks Farm, Busy Week?
The Fairfax County Planning Commission is scheduled to reconvene on Wednesday, May 18, to make a recommendation to the Board of Supervisors on the development of Brooks Farm.
County Budget Approved
Bulova calls the budget a “booster shot.”
When the Board of Supervisors approved the budget on Tuesday, April 26, they increased taxes by about $300 for the average homeowner and increased funding for schools by 5 percent.
Great Falls: What's Coming?
In the pipeline for Great Falls …
Several times a year, the Connection will map coming land use issues; to let us know about projects we’re missing, email kmoore@connectionnewspapers.com
Great Falls: Women Juggle Work, Families, Education
Great Falls Friends and Neighbors committed to assisting working women pursuing higher education.
George Mason’s Libby Dissauer understands students who juggle raising a family while pursuing an education, who have to decide whether to pay rent, buy food, get gas or pay tuition.
Great Falls: Eyesore Improves, Bank Coming
Construction on TD Bank scheduled for Fall; opening of two-lane drive-thru bank anticipated for February.
The community called the site of the old Exxon Station, with environmental cleanup underway, an “eyesore.”
Great Falls and McLean: Challenge of Infill Development
McLean, Great Falls may face new hurdles with passage of law restricting proffers.
Great Falls was called Forestville until 1953, said Bill Canis, vice president of the Great Falls Citizens Association.
Four-Cent Tax Rate Increase, with Side of Vitriol
Reconsideration hours later gives same result; board will consider putting meals tax to referendum in November.
Tuesday morning, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors voted for a four-cent tax rate increase, advertising a tax rate of $1.13 per $100 of assessed value.
Great Falls: Awaiting Brooks Farm Decision
Planning Commission scheduled to make recommendation to Board of Supervisors at this Thursday’s hearing.
Great Falls awaits the Planning Commission’s decision on the potential rezoning of Brooks Farm off Springvale Road.
McLean and Great Falls: Supreme Court Inspires Case Day at Langley
Justice Antonin Scalia remembered at Langley during Case Day, which he helped originate.
United States Supreme Court Justice Antonin “Nino” Scalia helped former Langley teacher James Catlette develop Case Day into an annual academic gift to each Langley graduating class.
County Budget Presented, About $300 More per Household
County Executive: Revenue growth is insufficient to fund all priorities. Schools still $68 million short.
County Executive Ed Long recommended a four-cent increase to the real estate tax rate.
Great Falls: Could Bond Referendum Save Marmota Farm?
Price tag is clear and visible on old dairy farm; negotiations underway to turn property into 11-house subdivision.
Betty Nalls Swartz rolls the windows down when she drives along Old Georgetown Pike by the Grange, Old Schoolhouse and Lift Me Up therapeutic riding program. Marmota Farm, 22.78 acres and once a dairy farm, “still smells like a farm,” she said.
Virginia Cigarette Tax Remains Lowest in Nation
Opportunity for increase in cigarette tax blows up in smoke.
Dale Stein and the McLean Citizens Association couldn’t even raise a match before legislators in Richmond extinguished a possible increase in the cigarette tax for Fairfax County.
Snowzilla Summit Ahead
Board names Fairfax County Animal Shelter for Michael Frey.
“What a difference a week makes,” said County Chairman Sharon Bulova (D), in case anybody had moved on from the 29.3 inches of measured snow at Dulles Airport during the recent blizzard.
Proffers in Danger?
Richmond caught the attention of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors this week specifically with House Bill 770 (Gilbert) and Senate B 549 (Obenshain), bills Sharon Bulova says will place “significant restrictions” on development, specifically citing “unreasonable proffers.”
Snowzilla Summit Ahead
Board names Fairfax County Animal Shelter for Michael Frey.
“What a difference a week makes,” said County Chairman Sharon Bulova (D), in case anybody had moved on from the 29.3 inches of measured snow at Dulles Airport during last week’s blizzard.
Brooks Farm: Decision Awaits in Great Falls
Planning Commission scheduled to make recommendation on proposal for 20 homes this week.
Twenty one hours and 37 minutes after he started his day on Thursday, Jan. 21, Great Falls Citizens Association president Eric Knudsen told the county’s Planning Commission the importance of Great Falls to the entire county and to the Chesapeake Watershed.
Great Falls: What's Coming?
In the pipeline for Great Falls ...
Several times a year, the Connection will map coming land use issues; to let us know about projects we’re missing, email kmoore@connectionnewspapers.com.
McLean and Great Falls: Delegates, Senators Meet Constituents
McLean delegates and senators discuss guns, foster care, nursing, student debt, Judge Jane Roush and more.
Alexandra Reed Lajoux advocates for youth in foster care without a home, “sans domicile fix, as the French say.”
Calls to Widen American Legion Bridge
Each weekday, nearly 300,000 vehicles cross the American Legion Bridge, and each day traffic backs up into McLean, Great Falls and beyond.
Residents List Priorities for General Assembly
Residents tell legislators of priorities ahead of the 60-day session of the General Assembly.
Barbara Quesada, parent of a Franklin Sherman Elementary School student, reminded the General Assembly delegation from Fairfax that Nova Firearms opened its new store right next to the McLean elementary school.
What’s Happening in 2016 in Great Falls?
A preview of the issues, events that will mark the new year.
Fairfax County Planning Commission staff published its report to recommend approval of the rezoning of Brooks Farm on New Year’s Eve.
Great Falls 2015: Year in Review
Vision for the Grange, Foust and Murphy re-elected, Exxon cleanup and more.
Vision for the Grange, Foust and Murphy re-elected, Exxon cleanup and more.
McLean/Great Falls: Our Military Kids, Responding to the Need
McLean based organization helps thousands across the country, especially at Christmas.
McLean’s Linda Davidson co-founded Our Military Kids with 11 grants in 2004. “When I started, it was a volunteer program offering to support families in Virginia, Maryland and Washington, D.C.,” she said.
Bless Brittany’s Tree in Great Falls
GFCA Legacy White Oak Tree planting project widens its canopy of interest.
Brittany Geserick-Beschen’s love for white oaks has deep roots.
County Limits Dog Tethering
“Man’s best friend deserves legal protection,” said Peggy Marshall, who adopted her best friend, Bianca.
Environmental Quality of Life
Advisory Council issues 512-page vision for county environmental policy.
Flooding will rise in concern in Fairfax County as a result of climate change, warned Stella Koch, chairperson of the county’s Environmental Quality Advisory Council.
Share of McLean Continues to Meet Challenges by Those in Need in McLean and Great Falls and Pimmit Hills
Share of McLean raises $50,000 this holiday season to give clothing, toys and gift cards to approximately 250 families in need in McLean, Great Falls and Pimmit Hills. Families are invited to a holiday celebration in December.