Community presents complaints about Justice Park parking lot to school and park officials

The proposal for Justice Park. Click to enlarge.

Fairfax County Public Schools and Park Authority officials agreed
to consider community members’ objections to the proposal to carve out space
for a parking lot in Justice Park. However, they didn’t indicate that any
alternatives would be feasible.

At a virtual meeting on the project May 6 that drew well over 100
people, just about every local resident who commented opposed the loss of parkland.  

FCPS insists the parking lot is needed in Justice Park to
offset parking spaces that would be lost due to an addition planned for Justice
High School – and to accommodate projected enrollment growth.

Alternative parking

According to Jessica Gillis, special projects administrator
in the FCPS Office of Design and Construction Services, structured parking
would cost too much, and adding perpendicular parking along Peace Valley Lane
would not be feasible due to traffic, speed, and sightlines.

FCPS will look at structured parking, but “we can’t afford
it right now,” she said near the end of the meeting. She also agreed to look again at parking on Peace
Valley Lane and reducing the size of the addition, but “we’re on a tight
timeline and we’re behind schedule.” FCPS hopes to go out for bids this fall.

Related story: Residents demand answers on parking lot in Justice Park 

Several people suggested creative approaches to reduce reliance
on cars, such as encouraging students to ride bikes, promoting ridesharing, and
using vacant parking spaces at a nearby church.

Other residents urged FCPS to set an example on addressing the environment
and the climate crisis by encouraging alternatives to driving rather than
paving over green space for a parking lot.

FCPS officials acknowledged there hasn’t been a parking
study or an analysis of how many students live within walking distance.

A badly needed addition

The Justice High School project includes a three-story addition with classrooms
and labs and a one-story addition expanding the school cafeteria.

The school has over 2,300 students, far exceeding its capacity of 1,900. The addition would increase capacity to 2,500
to accommodate future growth.

The proposed parking lot at Justice Park would have 67 spaces
and would take up about an acre of parkland. An underground stormwater facility
would be installed underneath to handle outflow into Lake Barcroft. 

Justice High School currently has
329 parking spaces, and the addition would wipe out 81 spaces.

John McGranahan, a land use attorney representing FCPS, said
the zoning ordinance actually requires a school of that size to have 750
parking spaces, so FCPS will have to get a waiver for a parking reduction.

A rendering of the classroom addition.

The parking lot in Justice Park would require the basketball
court to be moved to the open play area. According to McGranahan, the plan
for relocating the court be adjusted to save as much open space as possible.

Several improvements would be considered for Justice Park,
said Stephanie Leedom, director of the Park Planning and Development Division
at the Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA). That includes  a new park pavilion by the outdoor classroom, a new walking
trail connected to Beachway Drive, and invasive plant management.

Next steps

“This is not a done deal,” McGranahan insisted.

“We’re here to get input in the planning process,” he said. “There’s
not a lot of discretion in terms of what can be approved. We’re here to reach a
solution that accommodates the needs of the park and the school and respects
the environment.”

McGranahan promised to provide written answers to all the
questions brought up at the May 6 meeting here. A recording of the meeting will be
posted online, along with a summary of the questions and answers organized by
topic.

FCPS will continue negotiations with FCPA, then develop an
agreement for the parking lot and park improvements, said Gillis. There
will be another community meeting sometime in June after that agreement is
finalized.

Lack of transparency

Several people complained that previous meetings about the
school addition didn’t include information about the parking lot at the park.

McGranahan disputed, insisting FCPS previously showed the
community the parking lot plans. “It’s not something we tried to hide or not
talk about.”

There were also complaints that adding a parking lot should
have required FCPA to amend the Justice Park Master Plan.

Leedom acknowledged the master plan won’t be amended, at least before FCPS
and FCPA reach an agreement on the parking lot.  

“We believe there is a process we need to go through in
order to reach an agreement. That involves public comment but because the agreement
with the schools continues to evolve, it’s unclear what that process looks like,”
Leedom said.

When the Ravenwood Park community wanted community gardens
in Justice Park, “we were told we needed a Master Plan amendment,” said Kathleen
Brown. “This is the most undemocratic process. There has been no meaningful community
involvement.”

Related story: Community members air concerns about plans to use Justice Park as a parking lot for Justice HS

“It’s also a huge equity issue,” Brown said, noting that
many area residents who don’t have yards rely on Justice Park for recreation
and that removing parkland goes against the county’s One Fairfax policy requiring equity. She called
for the creation of an “equity committee” made up of local residents who would sit in
on the FCPS/FCPA negotiations.

FCPS Acting Executive Director of the Fairfax County Park
Authority Sara Baldwin said there won’t be an equity committee but there will
be an opportunity for community feedback.

“There is huge opposition to the use of Justice Park for a parking
lot,” said Barbara Wolf, president of the Ravenwood Park Citizens Association. “You
said it’s not a done deal. But it sounds like it is. We haven’t heard other
alternatives.”

At the end of the meeting, Jeff Platenberg, FCPS assistant
superintendent for facilities and transportation services, promised to “be transparent
in responding to questions and feedback.” He said the meeting in June will have more details “on where
we go from here.”