Zoning board approves temple on Gallows Road
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| The house has been transformed into a Buddhist temple. |
The Fairfax County Board of Zoning Appeals on July 8 approved a special
permit from Van Duc Tu allowing a place of worship in a residential property at
5728 Gallows Road, Annandale.
The property is used as a nonprofit meditation facility
focusing on the teachings of Buddhism. Two monks live there.
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| Inside the temple [Van Duc Tu] |
The BZA approved several development conditions in response
to concerns about parking and other issues. Neighbors had complained in 2018
that the property was being used as a temple without a permit.
One development condition limits the maximum number of
worshipers permitted on site at any one time to 25. Any events that would
attract more people would be held at a different location.
The zoning board requires the entrance on Gallows Road to be blocked off and
landscaped, so the only way to access the property would be from Trammell Road.
There would be 16 paved parking spaces, 10 of them near the Gallows
Road/Trammel Road intersection and six along Trammell on the other side of the
property.
Related story: Zoning board defers decision on Gallows Road
The applicant is required to appoint a parking coordinator
during the busiest times, on Sundays and the last Saturday of the month.
Other development conditions call for Van Duc Tu to install
a six-foot high fence along Trammell Road, install landscape screening, remove
a storage shed, and keep an outdoor bathroom locked.
The BZA dropped a previously proposed development condition
limiting the hours of operation. That provision was deleted to make the
facility consistent with nearby churches, which do not have limitations on
operating hours.
It's amazing how Fairfax County allows people to ignore the Zoning Ordinance and that these people are never penalized for doing so.
So we have a precedent that allows anyone to turn a SFH into temple, regardless of zoning. Absurd.
Same in our neighborhood. These temples build against code and zoning and then hide behind religion and Fairfax's fear of discrimination.
The county has become just do it and then keep appealing and it will be granted. This monk house is insane and has been an issue. Similar to the duplex that was built on Summit (hideous) and they couldn't get that through so they build it and call it an accessory dwelling. Nothing causes ill will in a neighborhood more than these antics.
The County BoS must have COVID of their brains. Really, that house on Summit looks like a small motel and this Temple will turn into the monstrosity on Columbia Pike, a temple with statues, flags and parked vehicles all over the place. I say to anyone interested in building this crap, build it next door to Penny Gross or any of the other idiotic supervisors.
Here is a hypothetical question, if I wanted to build a Nazi temple in Fairfax, I could?
You had me all the way to the Nazi reference.
Not sure what good does it do – to compare anything to the damn Nazis or to even bring it into the conversation.
Anon 2:47PM, I was just trying to emphasize the absurdity to the extreme, because Fairfax County doesn't get it. The BoS has their heads up their butts.
I can think of at least 4 Buddhist temples in Mason all in single family dwellings. What's going on? There is an abundance of vacant commercial and office space for places of worship.
Half of the comments on this are about zoning aka legal or not legal. This is legal. If you don't like the laws of our county, go protest to change the laws or vote the leaders out. America is a free country, you don't like the neighborhood. Feel free to move somewhere else.
But if you live in a neighborhood you expect it to be a neighborhood – what is it actually zoned for, not a business area, not a multi-use district, etc. It is well established that the County doesn't enforce its own rules, particularly in certain districts. The BOS would not be so keen if it was in their back yard, but since it is in someone else's sure. It is well established that you can break code and it will be allowed.
I thought mixed use space was the rage these days? Don't know why the backlash over this Buddhist temple. It's a place of meditation (and quiet!) and community. THey aren't going to bother anyone. It's not an eyesore, just b/c it's not a SFH it's not all weirdly designed with tons of logos. Open your mind and your heart rather than your rage.
This Temple is not legal. It was built and holding services BEFORE it received a Special Permit from the County. According to the Zoning Ordinance, one needs to have Public Hearings and receive the Special Permit FIRST. Also, this isn't the only group to behave this way. It is common knowledge that if you ignore the Zoning Ordinance, build first and ask permission second, you will receive a Special Permit because the structure is already built. That's not the way the system is supposed to work.
Also, even though the Temple is a place of meditation, there is a tremendous amount of cars and extra traffic that the area was not built to accommodate. This is one of the reasons that building structures such as these in residential areas is problematic.
“Holding on to anger is like grasping a hot coal with the intent of throwing it at someone else; you are the one who gets burned.”
Buddha
This is about the most quiet a development as we could hope for. To those complaining…I wonder if you'd raise this much of a stink for a christian church…
Of course they wouldn’t!
I was thinking the same thing. "A Buddhist temple, oh by heavens will someone please think of the children!"
This house (temple) is directly across Gallows Road from Friendship Methodist Church. My aunt and uncle and their family lived there for more than 30 years. I am distressed by the loss of the trees, but cannot object to a house of worship across from another house of worship.
WRONG. It's about people and corporations trying constantly to build whatever they want in residential neighborhoods regardless of the EXISTING codes or laws. Year after year, it doesn't matter–size, capacity, purpose, the resale value of local properties, amenities and their side effects, impact on the environment, community character, traffic flow or density, parking, or schools.
Corporations know the laws and couch their plans–if they announce them at all–in language that belies their actual intent and impact. Others simply buy up a plot or pre-existing home and turn it into anything but a private single-family residence. Those of us living near by get a shrug and a "what can you do at this late point?"
This is not a case of NIMBY, unless you realize that your new "neighbor" not only doesn't give a crap about you but also doesn't care about local laws and regulations, and has at the very exhibited deceit and underhandedness before they even know your name. In fact,they probably have no intention of learning your name. To top it all off, there's another facility (with another purpose) being built literally down the street at this very moment. Did they go through the proper channels? I'll give you one guess.
–kda
Why did they have to destroy the old growth trees? Is that a Buddhist thing? I thought Buddhism was about being in harmony with nature, not destroying it. Maybe they didn't want the inconvenience of raking leaves, but really, what else do monks do with the free time? Seems a little short-sighted and selfish, no consideration of the property values of the surrounding neighborhood.
What about the monstrosity on Backlick Rd? Talk about looking like a motel. I'll bet permits were sought after the fact.