Between Loisdale Estates and a public storage business on Loisdale Road is a parcel of land owned by the Hunter family known informally as "the Hunter Tract." That property, once used for dumping construction debris, is under consideration as the home for a park expansion and ball fields.
At a Monday, May 3, meeting at the Franconia District Station, neighbors of the property on Loisdale Road came out to support the park plan.
"The Loisdale community came out in force," said Supervisor Dana Kauffman (D-Lee).
A Fairfax County park bond referendum covering other park amenities including land acquisition, will be on the ballot next November.
"This would be within the scope of the proposed bond, " Kauffman added.
Judy Pederson, a park spokesperson, said that although land acquisition at Loisdale Park is one option for the bond referendum, it is too early to tell whether this will be pursued by park officials.
"In this case, it's way too early to lock into anything," Pederson said.
The Loisdale meeting was one of nine meetings called by the Park Authority around the county to encourage citizen participation in the bond process.
"It's an opportunity for the public to tell us what they want," Pederson said.
At this point, the bond will be $50 million, Pederson said. For now, the bond money has not been targeted for specific land acquisition, fields, recreation centers or renovations. The next steps include finalizing the breakdown of the bond and prioritizing projects. The Park Authority will also conduct a needs assessment.
"Loisdale is certainly going to be in that first group," Pederson said.
MICHAEL CHRISTESSON lives in Hunter Estates next to the park, and he runs his business, Foundation for Advanced Communications & Environmental Technologies (FACET), from his home. Although the name doesn't give it away, Christesson's business is in land development, and he knows all about the 100-acre Hunter Tract.
"That landfill is full of concrete, steel. Stuff that will never decompose," Christesson said.
The material in the landfill is from the renovation of Washington, D.C., through the years. Christesson doesn't think the county can afford the land, though.
"I think it's great that people would like the county to buy the park, but they can't afford it," Christesson said.
Kauffman feels that there will be enough money for a parcel next to the existing Loisdale Park in the November 2004 bond, though, and maybe the whole Hunter Tract.
"If we can get the whole piece, that's great," he said.
According to language in the Fairfax County Comprehensive Plan, 2003 Edition, "Development of industrial uses up to .35 FAR (Floor Area Ratio) may be appropriate after sufficient documentation is provided to verify that the landfill site is suitable and safe for building. If found not to be suitable and safe for building, this site should be planned for private recreation use. The landfill site is identified for possible acquisition for public recreational use." FAR is used to measure development density.
Christesson is also developing an 8-acre parcel in the middle of Loisdale Estates with 15 houses, and he owns a 2.73-acre parcel on Loisdale Road, where he plans to build an office park. The office park will be located between Loisdale Road and Loisdale Park. The houses will be a step above the current ramblers in Loisdale Estates, but not extravagant.
"They'll be nice little two-story houses. They'll be a cut above the rest of the neighborhood to raise the property values," Christesson said.
For the 2.73-acre office park, Christesson has other plans for an office building, with spaces for child care, state and county police, and other proffer possibilities. Since this would take too long to go through the county approval process, he's sticking with the office park. That is already on the comprehensive plan.
"The townhouses would be sold, so there will be no residual income," Christesson said. "I'm just kind of going with the flow."