Firm News

Fairfax County Accepts Rezoning Application for Housing and Retail Around The Boro

Posted on by The Land Lawyers

The Tysons Reporter recently published an article on The Meridian Group’s mixed-use development, The Boro, and its plans for an expansion along Westpark Drive. Senior Land Use Planner Elizabeth Baker is representing the development team.

[EXCERPT]

Fairfax County recently accepted a rezoning application from Meridian that involves about 9.37 acres of land in the west quadrant of Westpark Drive and Greensboro Drive, the developer’s legal representative Elizabeth D. Baker told Tysons Reporter. Read More

Land Use Attorney Jonelle M. Cameron Named Shareholder

Posted on by The Land Lawyers

Walsh, Colucci, Lubeley & Walsh is pleased to announce that Jonelle M. Cameron has been named a Shareholder of the firm effective January 1, 2021.

Jonelle Cameron joined the firm in 2013 as a member of the firm’s land use and zoning practice group in the Prince William office. Her practice focuses on land use and zoning matters in Prince William County, City of Manassas, City of Manassas Park, Spotsylvania County, Stafford County, the Town of Haymarket, and the Town of Occoquan.

Jonelle has successfully represented national and regional developers, local businesses and religious institutions in need of rezoning, special use permits, comprehensive plan amendments, zoning verifications (non-conforming uses), appeals/variances, land use and easement agreements, and due diligence in regards to office, retail, industrial, mixed-use, and residential matters. Jonelle assists clients in all phases of the entitlement process. Before joining Walsh Colucci, Jonelle served as an extern at the District of Columbia Housing Authority where she worked on projects relating to real estate and contracts, procurement, issues pertaining to the disposition and acquisition of public housing properties, and drafting, negotiating and reviewing documents related to real estate development and finance transactions.

“It is a privilege to welcome Jonelle into this new role as a shareholder of the firm,” said Dave Bomgardner, shareholder at the firm. “Her land use and zoning experience in Prince William County and the surrounding districts will continue to benefit the firm and our clients in this expanded role. Jonelle’s successful past performance is an indicator of her promising future as a Shareholder.”

​“Jonelle is not only a skilled and accomplished attorney; she is highly respected in the community and the firm,” says land use attorney and shareholder John Foote. “She brings character, integrity, clarity, and thoughtfulness to every decision. Jonelle’s elevation to shareholder is well deserved and I look forward to working with her closely to better serve our clients and the communities in which we live.”  ​

Fairfax County Board Approves Interim Uses for Key Tysons Site

Posted on by Brigitte Flores

In 2014, the Dittmar Company received rezoning approval for its 5.3 acre property at the corner of Leesburg Pike and Westpark Drive in the heart of Tysons, within an easy walk to the Greensboro Metro Station. Site of the Best Western Westpark Hotel, the land was rezoned to the Planned Tysons Corner (PTC) District and approved for a new hotel and two residential towers with up to 1300 dwelling units, referred to as Westpark Plaza. Since the approval, the hotel was demolished and the site used for parking and staging associated with the construction of The Boro located immediately adjacent to the site, as well as commercial off-street parking for Metro users. Last month the Board of Supervisors approved new interim uses for the site in advance of its ultimate redevelopment.

The new uses include new vehicle storage and a reading-themed pop-up park. The interim park includes a lending library, book-themed art, outdoor seating, painted asphalt, alphabet stepping stones, a shade structure, and space for food trucks. Walsh Colucci senior planner, Elizabeth Baker, represented Dittmar on the application. LandDesign, landscape architects, designed the multi-generational pop-park to enliven the Westpark Drive frontage and become a new amenity for residents and workers in the area. This unique theme was chosen as it reflects the commitment of Dittmar to contribute to a new Tysons community library with future redevelopment, and offers a park unlike any other planned for Tysons. The Tysons Partnership, a public-private organization with the goal of advancing the evolution of Tysons into an urban center, also participated in the pop-up park planning.

Given the number of large approvals in Tysons and the realities of market conditions, interim uses are becoming important elements in the transformation of Tysons. Accommodating these uses either with an original rezoning approval or as an amendment helps ensure productive uses now and into the future.

Courtesy of LandDesign

Image Source: LandDesign

Virginia Adopts Permanent Standard in Response to COVID-19

Posted on by Brigitte Flores

The Virginia Safety and Health Codes Board recently voted to approve a permanent safety and health standard (“Permanent Standard”) requiring employers to take steps to prevent workers from contracting the Coronavirus (COVID-19).  The Permanent Standard provides updates to the Temporary Emergency Standards that were adopted on July 15, 2020. The Permanent Standard became effective on January 27, 2021 and will remain in place at least until any state of emergency related to COVID-19 is lifted.

The Permanent Standard maintains many controls put in place to protect employees from workplace exposure, such as wearing face coverings, social distancing, hand hygiene procedures, frequent cleaning of high contact surfaces. The Permanent Standard also also maintains the various classifications of job related exposure risks: “very high”, “high”, “medium” or “lower”.  However, some revisions have gone into the various definitions within the standards, and the requirements of the controls.  For example, the Permanent Standard now requires employers with hazards or job-task risks classified as “very high,” “high,” or “medium” to implement certain ventilation controls to air-handling systems under the employer’s control. The requirements include increasing airflow supply to occupied spaces (provided it does not create a greater hazard), routinely clean and inspect filters, and generate “clean-to-less clean” air movements by reevaluating the positioning of supply and exhaust air diffusers and/or dampers.

The Permanent Standard contains several significant changes of which all employers should be aware including, among other things:

  • While “exposure” is still not a strictly defined term- the Permanent Standard makes it clear that “duration and frequency of exposure” considers how long and how often an employee is potentially exposed to COVID-19 disease under both acute and chronic situations.
  • Explaining face shields are not considered a face covering and can be worn only if a face covering cannot be worn due to a medical condition.
  • Scaling back the requirement to report all positive COVID-19 cases to the Virginia Department of Health. Instead, employers will be required only to report to the Virginia Department of Health “outbreaks” of two or more cases of their own employees at the workplace within a 14-day period.
  • Eliminating the test-based return-to-work requirement and changing the time-based return-to-work requirement from 10 days with three symptom-free days to 10 days with only one symptom-free day (consistent with CDC guidance).
  • Eliminating the requirement for employers to comply with respiratory standards when employees travel together in work vehicles due to shortages of N-95 and other respirators.

The Permanent Standard does not address COVID-19 vaccines, or whether employers can require their employees receive a COVID-19 vaccine.

Although the Permanent Standard is similar to the Temporary Standard, employers in Virginia should take the opportunity to review and revise their existing policies and procedures as necessary regarding COVID-19 to ensure compliance with the Permanent Standard.

Virginia employers that fail to comply with the Permanent Standard are subject to fines up to $12,726 for serious violations and $127,254 for willful violations.

Covered employers  have until March 26, 2021 to re-train employees on the Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response Plan required under §16 VAC 25‐220‐70 (for “very high”, “high” and “medium” exposure risk level employees). Covered employers will  still need to train employees on the standard itself under §16 VAC 25‐220‐80.E.

Any employer wanting assistance with reviewing the Permanent Standard and/or revising their Office Policies/Protocols and/or Infectious Disease Preparedness and Response Plans should contact shareholder Wendy Alexander at 703-680-4664 for assistance.

Senator Jeremy McPike Celebrates the Life of Peter Michael Dolan, Jr.

Posted on by Brigitte Flores

On February 11, 2021, the Virginia State Senate, at the behest of Sen. Jeremy McPike (Senate District 29), passed the following Resolution honoring our departed friend and brother, Peter M. Dolan. The Walsh Colucci family is grateful to the Senator, and indeed the entire Senate.

WHEREAS, Peter Michael Dolan, Jr., an accomplished attorney and beloved member of the Prince William County community, died on January 5, 2021; and

WHEREAS, Peter “Pete” Dolan graduated from Williston Northampton School in 1986 and Hamilton College in 1990 and worked briefly as a zoning administrator and land use planner early in his career; and

WHEREAS, Pete Dolan later earned his Juris Doctor degree from the University of Illinois at Chicago John Marshall Law School in 1996, serving as lead articles editor for the school’s law review and graduating cum laude; and

WHEREAS, Pete Dolan began his distinguished law career in Colorado and for the last 19 years had worked with Walsh, Colucci, Lubeley and Walsh, P.C., in Prince William County, where he was most recently a managing shareholder and leader of his firm’s land use and zoning practice group; Pete Dolan contributed greatly to the growth and development of Prince William County in recent years; and

WHEREAS, Pete Dolan’s extensive service in the community included roles as chairman of the Board of Directors for the Prince William County Chamber of Commerce and as member of the Board of Directors for the Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center, the Board of Directors of the Boys& Girls Club Prince William County, and the Prince William Design and Construction Standards Manual (DCSM)/Zoning Ordinance Advisory Committee; and

WHEREAS, Pete Dolan also gave generously of his time and talents as a guest lecturer at George Mason University, as a moderator at several industry events, and as a volunteer with myriad service and charitable organizations; and

WHEREAS, Pete Dolan will be fondly remembered and dearly missed by his loving wife of 26 years, Karen; his children, Katherine and Erin; his parents, Peter, Sr., and Carole; and numerous other family members and friends; now, therefore, be it

RESOLVED, That the Senate of Virginia hereby note with great sadness the loss of Peter Michael Dolan, Jr., an esteemed attorney from Manassas whose unwavering loyalty, integrity, and compassion for others was an inspiration to all who knew him; and, be it

RESOLVED FURTHER, That the Clerk of the Senate prepare a copy of this resolution for presentation to the family of Peter Michael Dolan, Jr., as an expression of the Senate of Virginia’s respect for his memory.

Stonebrook Rezoning Approved in Westfields

Posted on by Brigitte Flores

Image Source: Stanly Martin Companies

 

Originally set amidst a stream-laden landscape of rolling fields, and woodlands, creating an idyllic suburban environment, the 1,100-acre Westfields office park has largely built out in accordance with its original vision. Today, the heavily-landscaped corporate center is a job hub and a major economic driver for Fairfax County. Recent years, however, have witnessed the emergence of several challenges, including newer mixed-use office locations, and a lack of mix of uses, pedestrian connections, and community identity.

Sensing the need to diversify Westfields’ land uses and attract new investment to western Fairfax County, the Board of Supervisors in May 2019 adopted amendments to the comprehensive plan policies for Land Unit J of the Dulles Suburban Center. The amendments, which built upon an earlier 2016 Urban Land Institute study, permit retail and residential uses within Westfields to help keep it competitive as a jobs center relative to newer mixed-use centers and submarkets.

A major step in the furtherance of the new Land Unit J policies came on November 17, 2020, when the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved Stanley Martin Companies’ Stonebrook residential rezoning. The 12-acre Stonebrook site, located at the intersection of Westfields Boulevard and Newbrook Drive, is adjacent to the recently-completed retail offerings at Commonwealth Centre.

The rezoning approved 134 residential units, including 14 townhomes and 120 two-over-two (stacked townhomes). Though largely surrounded by single-use conventional suburban office and industrial buildings, Stonebrook will introduce an urban, pedestrian-friendly, walkability framework in proximity to retail and employment uses.

Housing affordability figured prominently into Stanley Martin’s overall approach. The project’s introduction of stacked townhomes to Westfields will provide a critical “missing middle” unit type that provides entry level homeownership choices. Stonebrook will also feature five affordable dwelling units and 11 workforce dwelling units (“WDUs”) that will be dispersed throughout the neighborhood and will be for-sale units—something Fairfax County has rarely seen since the 2007 inception of the WDU policy. Stanley Martin also agreed to lower its WDU income tiers, such that half of the WDUs will be provided at the 70 percent AMI tier, and half at the 80 percent AMI tier.

Given the site’s highly-visible and prominent location, Stanley Martin placed great emphasis on the project’s overall design. In an attempt to ensure greater opportunities for visual connections to open space, for example, the layout seeks to celebrate the site’s natural and visual elements by enhancing the RPA, preserving mature canopy trees, and preserving bottomland forest species.

To foster a pedestrian-friendly environment, the project will feature new urbanist-inspired high-quality urban architecture with the rear-loaded garages that will not be visible from public streets. A series of sidewalks will be constructed to connect residents and visitors across the site and to all open space areas. Given Westfield’s historic emphasis on parks and open spaces, the new community will feature a series of multiuse amenities and open spaces for both residents and visitors. This includes a publicly-accessible terraced park adjacent to Westfields Boulevard, pocket parks, interior courtyards, a bicycle service station, a watering station for pedestrians and pets, upgrades to existing trails, and more.

Substantial vegetation and landscaping will be provided along the adjacent pond, and a series of landscaped visual corridors will be created to draw residents and visitors into the site. As a result, Stonebrook will provide more than double the amount of required urban recreational space, nearly double the amount of required open space, 48 percent more tree cover, and will exceed the County’s tree canopy and tree preservation requirements. The project will include more than 75,000 square feet of new plantings, including 50,000 square feet of RPA reforestation.

A key concern with the application was how Stanley Martin would address issues of noise associated with aircraft overflights approaching Dulles International Airport. The property is located within the Board-adopted mapped DNL 60 to 65 dBA noise contours, and Stanley Martin proffered several enforceable noise mitigation and construction commitments that exceed building code requirements, zoning regulations, and similar obligations made in other Westfields applications. This includes designing homes to address peak episodic noise associated with aircraft overflights, post-development interior noise testing, disclosure requirements to initial and subsequent purchasers, marketing materials depicting the noise contour lines, and avigation easements for all homes.

The result of these efforts is a unique project and layout that fulfills the established comprehensive plan vision for Westfields in terms of land use and density, economic development, and hosing attainability. Stonebrook will respond to the increased need for for-sale, urban style housing in the Westfields area and complement the ongoing retail and residential uses at Commonwealth Centre. It will also respond to the increasing preference for residential opportunities in the vicinity of nearby employment uses, and contribute to Westfields’ overall economic vitality.

Image Source: Land Design Consultants

Image Source: Land Design Consultants

 

Image Source: Stanly Martin Companies

Image Source: Stanly Martin Companies

Stafford County Board of Supervisors Approves Burns Corner

Posted on by Brigitte Flores

On December 15, 2020, the Stafford County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved a commercial development known as Burns Corner which is located on the east side of the new Courthouse Road interchange at the I-95 Exit 140. The approval included a rezoning to B-2, Urban Commercial to permit approximately 780,600 square feet of commercial uses which permits general retail, grocery store, medical office, a pharmacy, and a hotel. In addition, the Board approved two conditional use permits. The first conditional use permit allows for 5 drive-through restaurants and the second conditional use permit allows for the construction of a Sheetz with a drive-through. The land use team included Jonelle Cameron with Bryan Guidash assisting with deed approval associated with site plan approvals.

Image Source: The Engineering Groupe, Inc.

Image Source: SKA Studio

Image Source: SKA Studio

In Memoriam: Pete Dolan

Posted on by The Land Lawyers

On January 5, Walsh, Colucci, Lubeley & Walsh, P.C. lost a beloved member of its family, Peter M. Dolan, managing shareholder of the Prince William office, and leader of the Prince William Land Use & Zoning practice group.

Pete was first and foremost a loving husband to his wife Karen and a loving father to his two daughters Katherine and Erin. He was a kind, upbeat, and tremendously giving person who cared for his colleagues, many of whom are proud to call him a mentor.

Pete’s contributions to the firm since joining on December 31, 2001, and his contributions to the Prince William community, are immeasurable. Pete formerly served as a member of the Board of Directors for the Sentara Northern Virginia Medical Center, as Chairman of the Board of Directors for the Prince William Chamber of Commerce, as a member of the Board of Directors for the Prince William County Boys & Girls Club, and as a member of the Prince William DCSM/Zoning Ordinance Advisory Committee. Pete also dedicated his time to various charitable and religious organizations and as a guest lecturer for George Mason University graduate programs and a moderator for commercial real estate industry events led by NAIOP Northern Virginia and Bisnow.

Pete was formerly a land use planner, zoning administrator and municipal attorney before he called Prince William County his home. As a brilliant land use attorney with the firm, he led the entitlement effort for some of the most significant developments in Prince William County, including Virginia Gateway, Shops at Stonewall, and Potomac Shores, literally leaving his mark on the landscape of his community.

Pete leaves behind a legacy as a trusted colleague, a genuine leader, a loyal friend, and an example of unyielding integrity.

Pete will be deeply missed as both a colleague and a friend, and his passing is an immense loss to all who knew him. Our thoughts and prayers extend especially to Pete’s family during this difficult time.

The family welcomes all to a memorial celebration of Pete’s life which will be scheduled at a later date. In lieu of flowers, the family suggests memorial contributions to the LUNGevity Foundation and the Crohn’s & Colitis Foundation.

 

To read the obituary please visit the Mountcastle Turch Funeral Home website here.

 

Herndon Town Council Approves Quadrangle’s Four-Building Mixed-Use Project

Posted on by Brigitte Flores

Image Source: LandDesign

On November 17, 2020, the Quadrangle Development Corporation, with the expert assistance from Senior Land Use Planner Elizabeth Baker and Land Use Planer Bernard Suchicital, received unanimous approval from the Herndon Town Council to build a mixed-use development of up to 1.5 million square feet (1.25 FAR) at Fairbrook Park in the southeast part of the Town.

The developer acquired the 28-acre site at the intersection of Herndon Parkway and Fairbrook Drive in 1984. It built one office building on the site, a two-story structure totaling 80K SF. The site has long been approved for three additional office buildings and a hotel, but the developer sought to change the plans to increase the gross floor area and add residential and retail to the mix. Given its size, and its location adjacent to the Dulles Toll Road and within a half-mile walk from the future Herndon Metro Station, the site is well suited to creating a mixed-use community. The introduction of residential and retail uses are viewed as important elements that will enhance the opportunities for office development. The Herndon Town Council approved the new plans under the Landmark Business Alternate Overlay regulations. The Council approved four buildings with a land use mix of 60% residential/daycare/retail, and 40% office:

  • 19-story office building totaling 360,000 square feet
  • 10-story office building totaling 240,000 square feet
  • Eight-story residential building totaling 410,000 square feet
  • Eight-story residential building totaling 470,000 square feet, and up to 10,000 square feet of ground floor retail use and 10,000 square feet of daycare use

The office buildings were approved with a height of up to 275 feet, creating a prominent architectural feature along the Toll Road. Residential buildings can range in height from 65 to 105 feet, and feature large exterior courtyards to complement the interior residential amenity areas.

This application allows for the future extension of Fairbrook Drive, connecting it from Herndon Parkway to Spring Street at the Fairfax County Parkway ramp intersection. Quadrangle will be dedicating the land and constructing Fairbrook Drive across its property and making a monetary contribution to the Town for the off-site extension of the road. The staff report noted that while the Fairbrook Drive extension is necessary to mitigate the increased traffic from this development at full build-out, only approximately 37% of peak hour traffic on the extension would be associated with the Fairbrook development The remaining traffic is generated from sources elsewhere in Town and nearby expected growth.

Elizabeth worked closely with the Quadrangle development team and Town staff to gain approval of two additional concurrent applications for the site. The first request allows for an encroachment into the Resource Protection Area, and the other allows for development in the floodplain.

Quadrangle’s development team included DCS Design architects, VIKA civil engineers, LandDesign landscape architects, Wells + Associates transportation consultants, and Wetland Studies and Solutions, Inc. environmental specialists.

 

Image Source: LandDesign

Image Source: DCS Design