An application filed last week with the Fairfax County Planning Commission by River Bend Golf and Country Club seeking to increase membership from 600 members to 1,028 members has been deferred until the March 9 meeting, pending further discussion.
“There are no building or site modifications proposed with this request,” said Aaron Shriber, who presented the zoning ordinance request to the Commission last week.
“Currently, River Bend is governed by a special permit in an area zoned to be low-density residential,” Shriber said. “One of the development conditions was a special permit restricting the amount of members the club could have, so when they decided they wanted to increase their membership, they needed this special permit to allow that.”
The 1,028 figure was selected based on the number of parking spots available, Shriber said.
Lynne Strobel, an attorney with Walsh Colucci, spoke on behalf of the Country Club at the Planning Commission last week.
“The application was filed, essentially, to remove the membership cap on the Club,” she said. While no great expansion of members is expected, the Club has found that it operates under restrictions not faced by other similar country clubs in Fairfax County.
“We’re just trying to make ourselves consistent,” Strobel said.
The Club operates under a special exception with the county based on its location, which restricted the number of members the Club could have. River Bend is trying to focus on bringing in more activities and services for its “senior and junior members, to establish programs for them,” she said. “Our senior programs may not play as often but want to maintain their membership, so River Bend is trying to incorporate more services for them.”