News

The Town of Vienna is ready to turn over a new leaf in its commitment to tree plantings and preservation.

In the hopes of reversing a significant decline in canopy coverage over the past decade, staff proposed a tree conservation ordinance to the Vienna Town Council last week that would require developers to preserve existing trees when possible.


Countywide

As Northern Virginia continues to cement its position as a global base for data centers, Fairfax County leaders say the time has come to reevaluate the impact of the facilities and, potentially, set some boundaries for the future.

At its meeting this morning (Tuesday), the Board of Supervisors directed county staff to research environmental issues linked to data centers and what’s being done to address them. Staff will also develop guidelines for site locations and the process for approving them.


News

Some stability has been restored to Sugarland Run.

The Town of Herndon has nearly completed a project to restore roughly 1,200 linear feet of natural stream and stabilize stream banks of Sugarland Run South from the Washington & Old Dominion Trail crossing to the pedestrian bridge crossing, according to town manager Bill Ashton II.


News

The price tag affixed to dredging Lake Accotink has led some on the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to say it might be time to pull the plug on restoration plans.

The Fairfax County park is popular, with over 250,000 visitors each year, but in a presentation to the board’s environmental committee yesterday (Tuesday), staff said the cost of the much-needed dredging project would be astronomical.


Around Town

With Earth Day just around the corner, the Town of Vienna is preparing for its annual celebration of all things environmentally friendly and sustainable.

Sponsored by the town’s Conservation and Sustainability Commission, the Green Expo is held on the fourth Thursday of every April. As such, this year’s event will take place at the Vienna Community Center (120 Cherry Street) from 7-9 p.m. this Thursday (April 20).


News

About 20 acres of eastern hemlock trees rooted to the Bull Run River banks in Clifton will be formally recognized tomorrow (Tuesday) as likely the oldest trees in Fairfax County.

Believed to be at least 250 years old, the trees in Hemlock Overlook Regional Park are the first stand in the county and only the second in Northern Virginia to join the Old Growth Forest Network, a national nonprofit that aims to identify and protect the oldest known forests in every county in the U.S.


News

Fairfax County staff have pared down the draft of Reston’s proposed comprehensive plan from 180 pages to 133.

At a Fairfax County Planning Commission workshop on March 30, staff walked through their amendments to the proposed plan, a process that kicked off more than two years ago with a community-driven task force initiated by Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn.


Countywide

Fairfax County wants your food scraps and yard waste.

The county will officially launch its new compost outpost at the I-66 Transfer Station (4618 West Ox Road) with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 11 a.m. tomorrow (Wednesday).


News

(Updated at 11:55 a.m.) A group of McLean residents opposed to the extension of the I-495 toll lanes past their neighborhoods have turned to the courts in a bid to halt the project, now in its second year of construction.

The Northern Virginia (NOVA) Citizens Association filed a lawsuit with the U.S. District Court in Alexandria on Thursday (March 16) alleging that major revisions to the project design violated federal law, resulting in “significant on-going environmental harms” to residents.


News

A stormwater retention project in Vienna that officials say will help contain runoff and slow down traffic is set to get another infusion of Fairfax County funds.

The county’s Board of Supervisors authorized staff last week to provide an additional $54,000 for the Town of Vienna’s Tapawingo and Kingsley road urban bioretention project. The vote took place without discussion at the board’s Feb. 21 meeting.


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