A proposal to redevelop a mostly vacant office park in Chantilly with housing has cleared its first regulatory hurdle and could receive full approval by next month.
The Fairfax County Planning Commission recommended that the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approve a request last month to rezone the property between Poplar Tree Road and Newbrook Drive from medium industrial to a residential district.
However, the vote of support came with an addendum addressing concerns raised by residents about the development’s potential wildlife impacts, park access and construction noise.
“We believe the board would benefit from knowing what changes have been made subsequent to the public hearing… so board has the benefit of knowing what the concerns of commissioners were, as heard from the community,” at-large commissioner Phil Niedzielski-Eichner said during the July 24 public hearing.
The development proposed by Pulte Homes — which received near-unanimous approval from the planning commission with one abstention — would occupy a 22.43-acre property located four miles south of Dulles International Airport. The site currently houses several office buildings, more than half of which are vacant.
The development plan calls for a total of 313 homes, including 85 traditional townhouses, 132 stacked townhouse units and 96 multi-family units. The developer has agreed to provide 27 units as affordable housing, and 16 as workforce dwelling units at 80% of the area median income.
Additionally, the proposal features 10 acres of open space — exceeding the county’s 35% requirement –with gardens, parks, and trails linking to nearby Ellanor C. Lawrence Park.
However, the project didn’t come without concerns from nearby residents.
Several neighbors expressed concerns about the development’s potential impact on wildlife habitats, questioning whether it would be disruptive to animals such as deer, foxes and other mammals.
“I speak for the voiceless wildlife in the Ellanor C. Lawrence Park, we see beautiful deer coming onto our property during the night,” resident Praveen Alladi said during the hearing. “So, with this construction, I don’t know how their lives would be impacted because of our neighborhood’s proximity to the park.”
Some questioned the timing and specifics of a proposed crosswalk project along Poplar Tree Road connecting Ellanor C. Lawrence Park and the proposed development. Without a clearly designated trail, people might create their own paths through the woods, speakers said.
“People routinely cross jaywalk across Poplar Tree [Road] to get to that park or to get to that trail in the park and blaze their own trail and whatnot,” one speaker said. “So, I don’t know how building another 300 houses is going to cut down on the number of people who decide to both walk across that street and create their own trails through the woods.”
To address the concerns, the planning commission voted to recommend the rezoning and development plan on the condition that Pulte collaborates with county staff to revise the conditions, known as proffers, attached to the proposal before it reaches the Board of Supervisors.
Pulte’s representative Lynn Strobel, a land use attorney with Walsh Colucci Lubuley & Walsh, said she lacked specifics on addressing the wildlife issue but committed to developing a mitigation strategy with county staff.
She added that the placement of the crosswalk has been coordinated with the Fairfax County Park Authority, but its feasibility and design will be determined by a joint study with the Virginia Department of Transportation.
“I think I can resolve these issues promptly,” Strobel said.
The development’s potential to exacerbate traffic congestion on the already busy Poplar Tree Road emerged as another concern.
“Poplar Tree is a single lane each way,” resident Sridhar Kowdley said. “I’m not sure how that could accommodate additional traffic. It’s progressively getting worse.”
The Fairfax County Department of Transportation found the proposed development would generate 1,761 trips weekly, but it determined last year that no traffic study was required. Most traffic would enter the site via the main entrance on Newbrook Drive, according to Strobel.
Additionally, the county plans to widen Poplar Tree Road to four lanes in the future. Although the project has not yet been funded, the bridge recently constructed over Route 28 as part of the I-66 improvements was designed to accommodate the planned four-lane roadway, according to FCDOT staff.
“There is a plan afoot — I don’t know the timing of it — to make that a bigger road down the line,” Braddock District representative Mary Cortina said during the hearing.
The Board of Supervisors was originally slated to vote on the application on July 30, but the hearing has been rescheduled to Sept. 10 due to a staff error involving new public hearing advertisement rules passed by the Virginia General Assembly earlier this year.
