All things being equal, David Suzuki would rather see a park near his home. "I for one would much rather see this developed as a park of any nature than to see more houses," he said.
Suzuki was one of more than 50 people who came to the first meeting in the planning process for a site on Lawyers Road. The 13.7-acre wooded site is located slightly more than a mile south of Hunter Mill Road, opposite Carrhill Road. It is currently owned by the Fairfax County School Board which is leasing it to the Fairfax County Park Authority. The lease expires in 2018.
The aim of the May 17 meeting at Flint Hill Elementary School was to hear residents' comments on what sort of things they might like to see at the proposed park. "We do not have preconceived notions about this," said Kirk Holley, manager of the authority’s park planning branch.
However, during a presentation to nearby residents, the project manager for this park, Irish Grandfield, cited the park authority needs assessment. This assessment, completed in 2002, identified what type of services are needed in which parts of the county. Grandfield specifically pointed out that within 2 miles of the park site, a need exists for between four and five rectangular fields (soccer or lacrosse) and two youth baseball fields.
Grandfield later noted that the county has other needs, specifically trails, reservable picnic areas and skateboard parks.
Grandfield also raised the possibility of connecting an existing trail which runs along Lawyers Road to the Washington & Old Dominion Trail.
Others besides Suzuki liked the idea of having recreation facilities near their home. "We need fields. We need basketball courts, we need tennis courts, we need a playground," said Susan Propp. "I would love to own a home that bordered a park."
OTHERS AT the meeting were not as supportive. Many residents cited the traffic impact in the area. They said that Lawyers Road is already congested and that a park would likely add cars to the road. Some questioned if people leaving the park would be able to see oncoming traffic. "I can’t even imagine driving there," said Rebecca Samawicz.
Grandfield pointed out that the only reasonable access to the property is from Lawyers Road. Any possible uses such as a park, school or residential development (the area is zoned for one house per acre) would face similar issues, he said.
Leaving the land undeveloped is not likely, said Bill Bouie, the Hunter Mill representative on the Park Authority Board. "I don’t necessarily think that’s an option," he said.
Potential noise was also a concern. "Right now, I live right across the street from that and it’s nice and quiet and peaceful, but put fields in there and there’s noise," said Ray Vincent.
Grandfield said that noise complaints from residents bordering parks are rare.
Another resident asked that the park authority ensure that adequate parking is available and that the fields not be lighted. Grandfield said that the ultimate use of the park will drive the amount of parking on the site. He did not rule out lighting playing fields which may be built, but said it might be negotiable. "We’re subject to talking about that," he said.
GRANDFIELD EXPLAINED that the park authority has conducted a study of the site. The authority has concluded that the land contains no significant environmental or cultural factors that are worth preserving. "It’s got a fairly low habitat value," he said. "There was nothing unique on this site in terms of cultural resources."
The park authority's planning department is currently developing different possible plans for the park. Three different plans will be presented at a community meeting, tentatively scheduled for July 12.
Grandfield and his team will take the comments from the May 17 meeting and likely incorporate some of them into a draft version of a park master plan. That plan will be available for comment for 30 days before a public hearing before the Park Authority Board, which Grandfield currently anticipates in late fall.
The Park Authority Board will then have to adopt a master plan. That plan will then go to the Fairfax County Planning Commission for another public hearing. After it is approved by the Planning Commission, the park authority will need to find funding for the park.
Grandfield said several times that the project currently does not have funding. He said the most likely sources of funding would be the next park bond, scheduled for 2008, or a major proffer from a developer.