Planning staff rejects apartment building on Little River Turnpike

Fairfax County planning staff are recommending that an apartment building proposed for Little River Turnpike in Annandale between Randolph Drive and Columbia Road not be added to the Comprehensive Plan Work Program.

Planning staff also recommend that another Site-Specific Plan Amendment (SSPA) not go forward. That proposal called for converting an office building at 5300 Shawnee Road in Lincolnia to multifamily housing with up to 50 units.

The Planning Commission is holding a workshop on the 11 remaining SSPA nominations in Mason District on May 22 at the Fairfax County Government Center.

The proposed five-story, 186-unit apartment building on Little River Turnpike would have been adjacent to the single-family homes in the Willow Run neighborhood.

Residents strongly opposed the project at a community meeting on April 21. They complained that it was incompatible with the neighborhood and would lead to more traffic congestion and overflow parking on side streets. The Planning Commission rejected a similar Plan Amendment for that site in 2023.

Related story: Neighbors object to high-density projects proposed for Annandale

A White Paper on the 2025 Site-Specific Plan Amendment Nomination Screening doesn’t specifically address the two projects rejected in Mason District. But it does state that the eight nominations across the county not recommended for the work program have “clear and significant policy issues, all of which relate to land use compatibility and/or environmental protection.”

The White Paper also prioritizes each remaining nomination as Tier 1, Tier 2, or Tier 3.

Reviews of Tier 1 projects could begin in late summer as either an individual SSPA or in the context of a combined review of a planning area.

Planning staff identified the following SSPA nominations in Mason District as Tier 1.

• A residential development with up to 600 multifamily units on the Sears site at 6211 Leesburg Pike, Seven Corners.
• A multi-building expansion and office-to-residential conversion at a property currently occupied by two office buildings at 7616 Little River Turnpike in Annandale.
• A multi-building residential development with up to 1,309 units on the Food Star property at 5521 Leesburg Pike, Bailey’s Crossroads.
• A mixed-use development with up to 665 multifamily units, 20,000 square feet of retail, and a hotel or senior housing on the site of a shopping center anchored by New Grand Mart at 6261 Little River Turnpike in Lincolnia.

Tier 2 nominations would be studied individually with the review beginning before a rezoning request and after discussions with the applicable supervisor.

These nominations in Mason District were labeled Tier 2:  

• An additional 101-unit residential building at the Jefferson Apartments at 6166 Leesburg Pike in Seven Corners.
• A 36-unit townhouse project on a wooded lot on Edsall Road next to Bren Mar Park.
• A Sheetz gas station and convenience store on the site of two office buildings at 5505 and 5515 Cherokee Ave. in Lincolnia.
• The replacement of two office buildings at 6800 and 6850 Versar Center in Springfield with a facility for vehicle sales, rentals, and storage.

Reviews of nominations in the Tier 3 category would be deferred. One nomination proposed in Mason District was designated Tier 3. That project calls for up to 131 additional multifamily housing units at Strawbridge Square at 5100 Lincoln Ave., Lincolnia.

The White Paper outlines the criteria used by staff to justify recommending a nomination for the Comprehensive Plan Amendment Work Program:

• Does the nomination address emerging community interests or changes in circumstances? Examples include the need for affordable housing and the shrinking office market.
• Does the nomination align with the Comprehensive Plan’s Concept for Future Development, an Area Plan, or the Policy Plan?
• Does the nomination align with the goals of the county’s Strategic Plan, One Fairfax Policy, Community-wide Housing Strategic Plan, Economic Success Plan, and policies adopted by the Board of Supervisors?
• Does the nomination constitute a logical planning area?
• Are staff and fiscal resources available to complete the study?

During the Planning Commission Workshop on May 22, planning staff and the nominator will give presentations on each nomination. After that, there will be a question-and-answer session with the commissioners and public testimony. The commissioners will then vote on a draft Comprehensive Plan Work Program to be submitted to the Board of Supervisors.

To get on the speakers’ list for the workshop, members of the public need to register by 1 p.m. on May 22. Sign up online or call 703-324-2865.  

People appearing on their own behalf or on behalf of a business can speak for four minutes. Speakers serving as the authorized representative of an HOA or community association or a professional, academic, or religious institute get seven minutes. Anyone who didn’t register in advance gets three minutes.

Video testimony must be submitted by 9 a.m. on May 21. Written testimony can be sent to [email protected].