Planning Commission endorses Justice HS expansion with limited parking
The Fairfax County Planning Commission on July 20 endorsed a rezoning application to permit the construction of a badly needed addition at Justice High School. The Board of Supervisors will consider the proposal on Aug. 2.
The major issue for the project is the need to reduce the county’s parking requirement in order to fit the three-story addition on the school’s existing parking lot.
Parking challenges
Zoning rules call for 740 parking spaces for the school’s projected capacity of 2,500 students after the addition is completed.
The rezoning application submitted by FCPS would increase the number of parking spaces from the current level of 329 to 340.
Current enrollment is 2,182, while the school’s current capacity is 1,994.
Related story: Land use committee supports parking plan at Justice HS
During a public hearing last week, members of the Planning Commission struggled with the idea of providing insufficient parking for students and staff but agreed that expanding the school is essential to address overcrowding and update the labs and other facilities.
There is no extra land on the property available for parking, and many of the residential streets in the neighborhood require parking permits. Because the proposed addition would increase density on the site, FCPS is requesting the zoning be increased from R-3 to R-8.
A working group on parking
The Planning Commission on July 20 added a proffer calling for FCPS to set up a working group, including students, to look into alternatives to parking, such as ride shares, and survey students and staff on how they get to school.
About 400 free Metrobus passes were given to Justice students. FCPS will determine how many students use the bus passes to get to school.
Commissioner Julie Strandlie said she would work with FCPS to ensure equitable community outreach early in the process for new projects.
That didn’t happen with the Justice High School project, which led to a lack of transparency and insufficient notification to the community, as FCPS at first tried to use land at Justice Park for school parking. When that concept was dropped in the face of widespread community opposition, the project fell about two years behind schedule.
At the June 13 hearing, FCPS’s attorney John McGranahan said construction will start next summer, and the project is expected to be completed in summer 2025.
The project also includes an expansion of the cafeteria and other improvements. Three stormwater facilities would be constructed under the parking lot. The school was built in 1959 and doesn’t have any stormwater controls at all.
New proffers
Several proffers added to the proposal call for FCPS to:
• add solar panels on the roof,
• install a new sidewalk on the north side of Peace Valley Lane,
• implement several measures aimed at improving traffic circulation during drop-off and pickup times,
• provide at least seven parking spaces for electric vehicle charging, and
• pursue off-site parking alternatives.
McGranahan said FCPS will ask VDOT to designate parking on Peace Valley Lane for students. Currently, 76 Justice students have parking permits.
Related story: Community members air concerns about plans to use Justice Park as a parking lot for Justice HS
Just four members of the public spoke at the hearing.
Ravenwood Park resident Mark Doehnert spoke in favor of the rezoning application, noting the community and parents support the addition and 750 parking spaces would be excessive.
Justice High School PTSA President Kim Lanoue urged FCPS to revise the renovation plan to ensure there is enough parking for students. Justice parent Jenna White suggested FCPS and the Park Authority come back to the table and compromise on the use of parkland for parking.
Mason District resident Ann Bennett, the land use chair for the Sierra Club’s Great Falls Group, spoke about “the incredible lack of community outreach” on the Justice Park issue and said the county should never allow parkland to be used for another entity’s parking.
Both Bennett and Whitney Redding, a member of the board at Friends of Holmes Run, support the rezoning application with reduced parking.
It took many FOIA requests to learn that FCPS planned to take parkland administratively, using the 2232 process, without community engagement, Redding said. “It was a long and difficult road that led us here. Public hearings and transparency are important.”
It’s a crappy park used mostly by gang members. Let the school use it for a much needed parking lot.
This was the right decision by the Planning Commission as it will allow the much needed addition to Justice High School to proceed without turning the very limited green space of Justice Park into a parking lot. As the article above accurately reports, the initial process of planning for the Justice High School expansion project was not transparent and therefore the plan was deeply flawed. Hundreds of residents have now raised their voices and will continue to be vigilant to assure a better path forward for all stakeholders. My thanks go out to those who provided important written and in-person testimony before the FCP Commission.
Most students don’t need to drive to school. Only those with after school jobs should get parking passes, with few exceptions. If students are getting Metro passes, does the school not use school buses? Not a problem if city buses are available, just curious. Can we also encourage bike riding if safe & have secure bike storage available for students and staff?