A New Year – A New Planning Commission

The Falls Church Planning Commission will hold its first meeting of the year on Monday, January 5.   Three of the seven commissioners are new appointees, selected by the City Council on December 30.  

Michael Kearney, Robert Meeks, and Russell Wodiska have replaced previous chair Maureen Budetti and commissioners Christine Sanders and Suzanne Fauber.  Incumbent commissioner Ruth Rodgers, who applied for another term, was re-elected by the Council. 

The Commission’s first order of business will be to select a new chair and vice-chair.  The Commission may also revisit its December 1 vote against the site plan for the City Center South Apartments (CCSA).   Former City Council member Lindy Hockenberry cast the sole vote in favor of the plan.  However, if another vote is taken and the three new commissioners join her, the site plan would be approved.

Members of the City Council have openly criticized the December 1 veto, arguing that the Commission over-stepped its authority.  In a December 3 post on the Blueweeds blog, Mayor Robin Gardner concurred, stating “The Council already said the project was good and the City needed it – the Commission is supposed to figure out a way to make it work.” 

As for the Commission’s proper role in the coming year, Councilman Dan Sze, chair of the Appointments Committee, referenced three critical areas in his remarks last Tuesday evening:

- - Helping, through economic development, Falls Church make the transition from its semi-rural suburban past to an urban village.

- – Participating in the revision of the City’s outdated zoning code.

- – Maintaining stewardship of the City’s Comprehensive Plan and Capital Improvements Plan.

These functions, which clearly are inter-related, may prove to be exceptionally difficult in the current economic environment.

Councilman Dan Maller, posting on Blueweeds on December 31, advocated  “selecting more business-oriented people who have demonstrated commitment to our community.”   In his view “they will give us a Planning Commission that more fully represents who we are and where we want to go.”

Mr. Maller also noted he found it remarkable that not a single member of the general public chose to attend the Appointments Committee meeting during which applicants were interviewed.  However, there was no notice of the meeting on the City calendar or in the calendar published in the December 11 edition of the Falls Church News-Press. 

Capsule biographies of the new commissioners.

Michael Kearney is employed by JBG properties, described at its website as “an active investor, owner and developer in the Washington metropolitan area’s real estate market.”  Mr. Kearney is married to Susan Kearney, vice chair of the Falls Church School Board.

Robert Meeks is a principal in a commercial real estate firm with offices in Tyson’s Corner and Chicago.  He is the chairman of the City’s Recreation and Parks Board.

Russell Wodiska is president of Capitol Structures, a consulting, marketing, and professional services firm which specializes in helping contractors succeed in government contract set-aside programs.  Mr. Wodiska is married to school board member Joan Wodiska.