Terms for Herndon Town Council members will remain unchanged after the council unanimously agreed to drop a proposal to increase the term from two to four years.

The council voted on Tuesday (Sept. 26) to remove consideration of the item from its legislative program for the Virginia General Assembly’s 2024 session. A similar effort came up almost a decade ago but was dropped by a previous council after lack of public support.

Changing term limits would require an amendment to the town charter and the state’s constitution. Councilmember Clark Hedrick described the proposal as “self-indulgent.”

“If people aren’t clamoring for four-year terms, I’m not sure we are the appropriate people to be necessarily asking for it,” Hedrick said.

But Councilmember Donielle Scherff emphasized that the current council would not be directly impacted by the change if it was approved. She noted that the council could look into two-year staggered terms so that it wouldn’t start from scratch every two years.

“I don’t know if that’s self indulgent,” Scherff said, stating that running for election every two years isn’t easy and requires staff to acclimate new council members every other year.

Councilmember Pradip Dhakal said the intention of the proposal was to provide more continuity.

“There’s nothing political about this. It’s all about bringing continuity to the government,” Dhakal said.

Mayor Sheila Olem emphasized that the council shouldn’t pass the proposal if it didn’t have significant support from the current council.

“You always need to make sure that this is something that you have someone to carry,” Olem said.

She said the public didn’t appear to support the proposal when it came up in 2014. It was discussed again last year.

Ultimately, Dhakal removed the pitch from the town’s legislative program.

As approved, the legislative program includes a push for the state to expand where localities are allowed to place photo speed monitoring devices. They’re currently allowed in school zones and work zones.

Fairfax County has cameras in place at eight sites under an ongoing pilot program.

The redevelopment of downtown Herndon — a long-delayed partnership between the Town of Herndon and Reston-based developer Comstock — continues to advance after more than a year-long pause.

At a Herndon Town Council meeting on Tuesday (Sept. 26), Town Manager Bill Ashton II said building permits for the project have gone to the fire marshal for approval.

The project will transform nearly 5 acres of land into a mixed-use community with 273 apartments and roughly 17,000 square feet of retail. A new arts center and a 726-space parking garage are also planned.

Staff have also sent comments and revisions back to Comstock after the developer submitted revised plans for the project. The revisions are not substantive updates, instead simply bringing the delayed project up to code.

Ashton II said Comstock’s representatives noted “there was nothing difficult in the comments.”

That process could take between two to four weeks, Ashton II said. Building permits would then receive approval.

In the interim, Comstock will send the project out for a contractor rebid in the next “couple of weeks,” Ashton II said. Town staff will then examine the project about two months after that process is underway.

The developer elected to pause the project in July 2022 due to “economic conditions.” The $101 million cost increased by $25 million as a result of rising expenses for materials, labor and workforce restrictions, FFXnow previously reported.

The pause can be in place for up to two years after it went into effect. That means the latest construction can begin is April 2024.

Herndon’s business community expressed overall levels of satisfaction with the town in a recent survey, but some say they want the town to focus more on expanding support for businesses.

Presented at a Herndon Town Council work session on Tuesday (Sept. 19), the results were gathered from a business survey by Priority Metrics Group (PMG), which included 155 respondents, the average of which has been in the town for 17 years.

At the work session, council members emphasized the need for the town to more actively support businesses and expand town events that draw customers — two themes of improvement from the survey.

“They want a more business-friendly government,” Councilmember Donielle Scherff said. “We’ve talked a bit about customer service-centric leadership and staff, and this just sort of buttresses into that.”

Most respondents say they chose Herndon because of its location.

“They like being here. There are amenities and attributes that are here that they like,” said John Barrett, owner of PMG.

Overall, sentiments about the town’s general business environment dipped only slightly since the last survey was conducted in 2018.

Business owners said they were drawn by the access to airports — which expanded last year with the opening of Metro’s Silver Line extension — as well as the overall quality of life and the image of the town. Top concerns included licensing, taxation, regulations, crime rates, traffic and the quality of new development.

Many business owners said they wanted to see more special events in the town — a move that Councilmember Cesar del Aguila said emphasizes the need for the council to focus extra attention on event development.

“What I’m hearing here solidifies my personal belief that we’re on the right track,” del Aguila said, noting a need to focus on branding for the town. He said it was “painful” to hear that some business owners did not feel noticed by the local government.

So far, use of the Mason Enterprise Center — a business accelerator program from George Mason University that launched earlier this year — appears limited, according to the survey. A little over 80% of respondents said they had not heard about the center.

Most respondents — 77% of businesses — said the Metro Silver Line has had no impact or a neutral impact on their businesses.

PMG also recently completed a survey of town residents, who flagged traffic as a top concern.

Photo via Google Maps

Town of Herndon officials are exploring ways to expand the number and quality of cultural festivals in the town.

At a Herndon Town Council meeting on Sept. 5, council members considered the option of providing funding for community cultural festivals if applications meet specific qualifications.

“Often referred to in discussions with Town Council as ‘mini-festivals,’ the desire is to add to the town’s already robust community event opportunities, with focus placed on highlighting and celebrating the town’s culturally diverse community,” according to the policy statement.

In order to be eligible to town funds, the event must be held on public property, be free and open to all, and celebrate and reflect the cultural diverse of the Herndon community.

Funding requests are limited to $5,000 per event per fiscal year.

At the meeting, council members honed in on process improvements for the disbursement and approval process. Others struggled to reconcile how involved the town should be in cultural programming.

Council member Pradip Dhakal said that the town should consider being an active organizer, not just a passive donor for cultural events.

“Let’s own this a little bit,” Dhakal said.

Dhakal also said that some applicants may not have ironed out details of proposed events, especially if the town allows applications one year before the event takes place.

“A lot of organizations who are planning to host certain events may want to apply and at least get the funds approved so that we don’t run out of the funds,” Dhakal said.

Council member Keven LeBlanc also encouraged staff to hone in on the semantics of proposed requirements — including what qualifies as a public event and public property and what defines a cultural activity.

“Is a Herndon grad party culture?” said LeBlanc, adding Juneteeth events as another ambiguous example.

Others like council member Cesar del Aguila noted that the town should consider restructuring some events like Friday Night Live! and the weekly farmers market in downtown Herndon.

Mayor Sheila Olem also noted that pooling volunteers is challenging for festivals. Town manager Bill Ashton II emphasized that seeking overtime hours from staff or the police department is often challenging, especially if additional security is needed.

“We’re going to have a really hard conversation about this,” Ashton II said.

The funding mechanism is intended for to support events that happen in downtown, encourage nonprofits to host more cultural festivals and encourage events that celebrate the community’s cultural diversity.

The concept was first introduced as a council initiative in 2022. The fiscal year 2024 budget includes $70,000 in funds for cultural festivals.

The Town of Herndon is considering reductions in its parks and recreation fees in order to reduce financial barriers and encourage underserved youth and families to use the town’s facilities.

At a Herndon Town Council meeting on Sept. 5, the council discussed the proposal. If approved, the town would identify specific single and multi-family residents that could benefit from a reduced admission fee for the Herndon Community Center, which includes an indoor pool, gym, fitness room and racquetball courts.

Qualification would be determined by using several data sets that identify equity emphasis areas and historically disadvantaged communities. The town may also filter for areas below the median income, which is currently $117,741.

Town residents within these areas would receive discounts if they provide proof of address. Residents who provide proof of residency and documentation of need would also receive discounts. Non-residents living within the Herndon High School pyramid will also receive discounted non-resident rates with required documentation.

The town also wants to hire more staff — preferably bilingual staff — during peak hours.

“The department is seeking to hire (preferably bi-lingual) staff to maintain a presence within the center, develop a rapport with those using the facility, educate patrons on the availability and proper use of amenities, discourage unwelcome outside influences, and enforce expectations of behavior,” the Sept. 5 staff memo states.

Adults would pay $4 instead of $7 for daily passes and $40 instead of $63 for 10 visit passes. A 25 visit pass costs $90 instead of $140.

The idea came about after staff and the town manager met with Cornerstones, a local nonprofit organization that promotes self-sufficiency,  to create a reasonable and equitable fee schedule.

As part of the proposal, the town would also increase the hourly light fee from $4 to $5 per hour for the lit fields at Bready Park.

(Updated at 2:10 p.m.) The Town of Herndon is once again exploring ways to reinvigorating the town’s rebranding efforts.

At an Aug. 2 meeting, Herndon Town Council member Cesar del Aguila said a rebranding of the town is necessary because the current branding is overdue, confusing and not aligned with the council’s desired outcomes.

He hopes to find ways to unify the perceived value of town amenities and reduce silos between small festivals, the historical district, the farmers market, places of worship, walking trails, bike paths, Metro, sports and community events.

The Town of Herndon’s tagline — “It’s on” — is part of its current branding. Discussions have been underway since last year, when town staff explored rebranding the town as a next-generation small town.

“I’m not sure what’s on. That’s a tagline that’s still out there,” del Aguila said.

Town Manager Bill Ashton II said the town is working on a five-year strategic plan that will incorporate a branding and visioning effort.

Del Aguila said rebranding is necessary in order to maintain and grow the town’s competitive advantage.

“It’s imperative that we acknowledge that we’re in a competitive region for revenue, for dollars, for investment,” he said. “And if we don’t grab that, some other municipalities will beat us to it.”

He pitched coordinating more discussions and a possible timeline at the council’s next strategic initiatives meeting.

Councilmember Pradip Dhakal said the town must first determine if the rebranding effort is a priority and a “high-value item.”

The Town of Herndon is exploring ways to offer more translation and interpretation services for Spanish-speaking residents.

Town staff are considering two contracts of up to $10,000 for one year to hire an interpreter who will be present at all town council public hearings and a translator for translating town publications, like the newsletter, flyers and other materials specific to the Spanish-speaking community, according to town spokesperson Anne Curtis.

The idea was discussed at a Herndon Town Council meeting on Aug. 2 in response to the town’s public engagement on the issue and its communications platforms.

Curtis said the town will evaluate the effectiveness of the services and determine future funding in fiscal year 2025, which will start on July 1, 2024.

Feedback from focus groups, particularly those for whom Spanish is a primary language, found that translation and interpretation services are needed to make town information more accessible to others.

“This is the area that we want to and need to focus on,” Curtis said, noting that the town has already begun posting flyers in laundromats, clinics and other areas.

Councilmembers Keven LeBlanc and Pradip Dhakal said the town could also explore using artificial intelligence for translation services.

“There are other tools that are pretty good at translation,” LeBlanc said.

Dhakal said he was pleasantly surprised by how accurately a derivative of the popular AI-tool ChatGPT translated content in his language.

Curtis noted that Google Translate has stopped servicing governments — with the exception of schools.

The costs would likely be covered by contingency funds, according to town manager Bill Ashton II.

Ashton II said the town could learn from how larger jurisdictions like Fairfax County are using AI for translation services.

Most jurisdictions comparable in size to the Town of Herndon do not offer dedicated translation services, Ashton II said.

The Town of Vienna has no formal policy for translation and interpreter services. Falls Church City and the Town of Leesburg offers ad hoc translation services. The City of Manassas hired a full-time individual for translation and interpretation services in fiscal year 2022.

More than 70 employees in the town are fluent in a language other than English, and the Herndon Police Department has a language advance pay-step for sworn officers. Human resources staff are working on a language premium policy for non-sworn town staff.

The effort comes after the town completed a major redesign of its website earlier this summer.

The vision for developing 25 parcels with 22 owners near the Herndon Metro Station is officially coalescing.

Consultant Skidmore, Owings, Merrill laid out a vision for the Transit Related Growth (TRG) area at a joint Herndon Town Council and planning commission meeting on June 20.

The current draft proposal decreases commercial square footage from what’s currently allowed to a range of 600,000 to 900,000 square feet for the nearly 94-acre area. Between 2,578 and 3,350 residential units are proposed.

Planning is still underway, but the consultant is exploring three models.

The first proposes neighborhood clusters with density sprinkled throughout the TRG and connected by a “walkable corridor” and open spaces. The scenario would largely focus on residential development.

The second option considers two centers of density at the Metro station and Sunset Business Park with a balance of residential and office development. Herndon Parkway would be the primary transportation conduit, and the scenario would have the lowest level of road connectivity.

The final scenario pitches density centered at the Metro station and the highest office-to-residential development ratio. The highest road connectivity is also proposed in this scenario.

In a memo, Ahmed Zaki, a lead planner with the town, said staff is concerned that a reduction in non-residential development would be “detrimental to a balanced real estate tax base” and may not provide enough options for residents of the TRG, the Herndon Transit Oriented Core (HTOC) and nearby neighborhoods.

Staff also expressed concern that there may not be enough business opportunities, including for retail that serves neighborhood.

The project kicked off in April 2022 with a fact-finding and feedback phase. Since then, the consultant has held several community engagement meetings to develop a conceptual plan that will guide future redevelopment.

Since the work session, the team has been developing a formal conceptual plan for the future TRG. It will include buffers for abutting neighborhoods and take into consideration disparate development timelines due to different owners in the area.

At the June meeting, council members emphasized the need to differentiate the TRG from the HTOC.

Council member Pradip Dhakal said there should be more retail space allotted to truly create a neighborhood and community instead of focusing on residential development.

“The retail space is relatively lower,” he said.

Others called for guidance on ways to incorporate more affordable housing into the mix.

The consultant is currently incorporating feedback and comments to form a preferred framework that is ready for review, according to a statement from the town.

“Staff has been tracking their progress, and once they have the draft concept completed, it will go back to the council and commission for review and comment,” the statement to FFXnow reads.

Additional growth in the Town of Herndon is prompting town officials to consider adding additional capacity to its sewer system.

At a Herndon Town Council work session on Tuesday (July 11), Public Works Director Tammy Chastain told the council that the town is working with Fairfax County to install a new sewer pump station. The project would take roughly two years to design and three years to construct.

Additional development and growth — particularly in the Herndon Transit-Oriented Core and the Transit Related Growth areas — is expected to place more strain on public utilities overall, Chastain said. The town is in the midst of planning ways to accommodate that growth, she said.

“We need to look at our utilities,” Chastain said.

The town is considering two sites for the pump station. So far, officials are favoring a site opposite Marjorie Lane and Herndon Parkway that preserves an undeveloped area and does not require any easements. The location is also further away from historic structures and a swim club, Chastain said.

The area will flow into the Sugarland Run sewer lane.

Chastain said the pump station is needed because the capacity of the regional Potomac Interceptor is maxed out.

The county will share the cost and capacity of the project. The timing of the project is dependent on development, Chastain said.

(Updated at 2:45 p.m.) The future of two structures built on Elden Street around 1888 is now in limbo.

The longstanding Adams-Green Funeral Home is appealing the Town of Herndon’s decision to deny an application to demolish two homes on 725 Elden Street. The Herndon Town Council will consider the appeal at a work session tonight (Tuesday) at 7 p.m.

At an April 19 Historic District Review Board meeting, commissioners voted unanimously to deny the application on the grounds that both structures contribute to the historic character of the area and qualify as national and state landmarks on the National Register of Historic Places and the Virginia Landmarks Register.

The board also noted that both structures are connected with “historically significant” members of the community.

“The demolition of the 725 Elden Historic Structures could adversely affect the historic district as a whole and particularly adversely effect important view sheds of the historic district and the townscapes of Herndon,” the April 19 resolution denying the application said.

But the funeral home argues that the board failed to follow the requirements of the town’s zoning ordinance and take into a consideration a structural engineer’s report.

“The HDRB failed to consider the long-standing business of the funeral home location at the present site which is a fixture in the historic district and which needs to have additional space to continue to operate its business at the current site,” the appeal says.

The funeral home first filed the application to demolish the two buildings in 2020. The filing was completed in January after town staff asked the applicant to file a site plan showing how it would stabilize the property after demolition.

An engineering analysis by Goughnour Engineering found that the “dilapidated” building is “not a candidate for renovation or reuse.”

Both buildings are located in the Herndon Historic District. They were built in the late 1800s by Charles Reed, a prominent member of the community at the time. His family also started the first funeral business in the town.