Mason District to gain two new areas
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The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved a redistricting plan Dec. 7 that transfers one precinct and part of another from the Providence District to Mason District.
Mason District will gain the Fort Buffalo precinct in Seven Corners and a portion of the Woodburn precinct inside the beltway.
The section of the Woodburn Precinct (#717) to be transferred to the Mason District is bordered by Gallows Road, Arlington Boulevard, Holmes Run, and Annandale Road.
It includes the Holmes Run Acres neighborhood, Woodburn Elementary School, and Fairview Park. The section of the Woodburn Precinct that contains the Inova Fairfax Hospital complex would remain in Providence. The polling place is Woodburn Elementary.
Moving the Fort Buffalo Precinct (#703) means all of Seven Corners would be in the Mason District. It is adjacent to the City of Falls Church and is bordered by the Seven Corners interchange, Arlington Boulevard, Summerfield Road, Chestnut Avenue, Tripps Run where it meets Lee Highway, and Hillwood Avenue.
Fort Buffalo includes the New Grand Mart, the James Lee Community Center (the polling place), the Lookout 6400 office towers, the Loren apartments, Hampton Inn & Suites, and the Avalon Falls Church apartments.
The new redistricting plan achieves a population disparity (between the largest and smallest district) of 4.58 percent, which is far below the required 10 percent. Mason remains the smallest district.
Redistricting is required to take place every 10 years following the latest Census data. A citizen-led Redistricting Advisory Committee met over the past few months to consider various plans, including dozens of maps submitted
by residents, for redrawing the district boundaries.
Related story: Community members express concerns on redistricting
The magisterial district map approved by the board moves just seven of the county’s 247 precincts.
In addition to the changes affecting Mason District, Penderbrook Precinct moves from Providence to Springfield, Irving moves from Springfield to Braddock, West Springfield moves from Springfield to Lee, Compton moves from Sully to Springfield, and Saratoga moves from Mount Vernon to Springfield.
According to a statement by Braddock Supervisor James Walkinshaw, the map is consistent with state and federal law, preserves existing “communities of interest” (including towns and historic neighborhoods), protects the rights of racial and language minorities, and is minimally disruptive.
The map approved by the supervisors will be submitted to the Virginia attorney general for certification. Once the review is completed, district changes will go into effect immediately.
In November, the BoS extended the charter of the Redistricting Advisory Committee to consider possible changes in the names of magisterial districts. The committee will report back to the board by March 2022. There have already been discussions in the Lee District about a new name.
Updated 12/8/21, 6 p.m.: A previous version of this post incorrectly stated that Falls Church High School and the Providence Rec Center are moving to Mason District as part of the Fort Buffalo Precinct. They are already in Mason in the Walnut Hill Precinct.
7 responses to “Mason District to gain two new areas”
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Another area that will either NOT be kept up in terms of appearance or if they have a little money or are ethnic, they will get everything. Try fixing up the area that borders Alexandria City where the overpass (between the old Landmark Mall and Landmark Plaza) was allowed to virtually decay. Penny Gross is nothing more than a talker (politician) that plays favorites and panders to ethnic people that have standards that are lower than many that live in this area and thus, Penny has to do NOTHING.
your statement "ethnic people that have standards that are lower than many that live in this area" is racist and ignorant
Wow! Redistricting has a LOT more power than I thought. I suppose Supervisor Gross will drive through the new precincts and spread some pixie dust to make sure it decays faster than when it was located in Providence. But seriously – Lincolnia: overpass is either Federal or State, not Mason. The entire area has been rezoned to allow for faster development (thank you, Supervisor Gross), unless of course you would prefer that the Supervisor should buy the land personally and develop it herself? Take up any questions about decay with the actual landowners, folks who are waiting to redevelop their properties. Or VDOT. Or the Feds. (And, by the way, most of that mess is within Alexandria city limits. Their city hall is in Old Town – take your concerns to them.)
Everything you said is demonstrably true. Get woke, go broke.
This is actually good for Mason, which remains quite compact. And it is probably better for Falls Church HS to have Ricardy Anderson rather than Karl Frisch as the main School Board member looking out after FCHS. Some of the other changes aren't so sensible – the West Springfield community in particular was not treated well with these changes, which split that community among the revised Braddock, Lee, and Springfield Districts.
The article was corrected to state that Falls Church High School is already in Mason District.
I only recently learned that Fort Buffalo wasn’t part of the Mason District, so having it become so seems logical.