Sunset Cinema Returns with Alvin & Horton

The  Falls Church City Recreation & Parks Division  has announced the  5th annual “Sunset Cinema” outdoor film series.  The event kicks off this Friday, September 5, when Alvin and the Chipmunks take the stage at Cherry Hill Park.  Alvin is followed by Enchanted on Sept. 19 and then Horton Hears a Who on Sept. 26.

Bring your own bug spray and join for a night of family entertainment.  Movies start at 8pm (or dusk) and are canceled when it rains.

If you  missed them in the theater, here’s what Rotten Tomatoes has to say about Alvin (nawww), Enchanted (loved it), and Horton (pretty good).

Planning Commission to Consider Additional Exemptions for The Northgate

The Falls Church Planning Commission will conduct a work session on Tuesday, September 2, concerning The Northgate, a proposed mixed-use development at the corner of North Washington and East Jefferson Street, the site of Pearson’s Funeral Home.  The session, which will include discussion of the developer’s request for two waivers of the City Code, is scheduled for 7:45 pm in the Council Chamber of City Hall.

As proposed The Northgate would include ground level retail space, almost 15,000 square feet of office space, and 105 rental units – 95 apartments and ten townhouses. The building would be five stories at its southwest corner, four stories at the northwest corner, and three stories at the townhouses in the rear. The project provides for two levels of underground parking with 290 spaces. The Site Plan shows entrances/exits on both North Washington Street and East Jefferson Street.

The property was re-zoned to B-1 Business District and approved for a Special Exception for mixed use by the City Council on March 26, 2007. This is Hekemian and Company’s fourth submission of a Site Plan and subdivision for The Northgate.

The first requested waiver concerns the size of the buffer or spacing between the proposed development and the adjacent residential district. Falls Church requires 20 foot buffers between adjacent properties that are of different zoning districts. However, under Hekemian’s proposal the buffer at the back of the site varies from 29.9 feet to only 3.7 feet.

The second waiver concerns the location of the proposed entrance/exit on East Jefferson Street. Under Code such outlets are not allowed within 100 feet of an adjacent residential district. As proposed, the outlet is about 40 feet from the adjacent district.

The plan now incorporates, through a break in the median, a channelized left-turn bay on North Washington Street that would allow left turns into the site but restrict left-turn egress movements out of the site.

City Staff recommends that the Planning Commission consider preliminary and final approval of the City Plan and the two requested waivers.

Page-to-Stage

Do you like plays? Well if you do you’ll like this!

Page-to-Stage is a Free chance to taste Washington’s up-coming Theater. You get to watch plays and keep watching if you like them or go to another if you don’t. it’s going on Aug 30-Sep 1, 2:00 to11:00 each day. To learn more go to the Page-to-Stage website.

Summer, Summer and more Summer.

Try out our Summer Word-search  

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Soccer Qwizzle

There are 7 boys on a soccer team. Each boy has a different position, jersey number, and height. Find out each person’s height, position, and number:

* Justin is the goalie
* The right forward is #10
* The goalie is 6′ 4”
* Joe is 6′ 1”
* Ryan is right forward
* The person next to Ryan is #14
* The person who is 6′ 4” is #16
* #10 is 5′ 8”
* The left forward is #15
* Brad is right defense
* Brendan is #20
* Michael is 7′ 1”
* Miguel is #6
* Michael is left forward
* #42 is right defense
* Brad is 6′ 2”
* #6 is center defense
* #15 is 7′ 1”
* #20 is 6′ 7”
* Miguel is 5′ 10”
* #14 is 6′ 1”
* The person who is 6′ 7” is left defense
* Joe is center forward

Puzzle from http://www.mathsisfun.com/puzzles/soccer-problem.html

Attention Campers!

Where did you go? What did you do? Would you do it again? Tell us about your summer camp experiences so others can learn from them. If you really liked your camp, encourage more Falls Church kids to go. If you didn’t like it, tell us why and warn them. Leave your comments below or send me email with your camp reviews.

My kids, Adam and Zach, both spent 3 1/2 weeks at Timberlake in Vermont. The camp doesn’t allow any electronics and it rained a lot (so they were covered with mud much of the time.) Nonetheless, they both say they’d go back.

[Thanks to Rob for the camp pictures.]

Police Dept. Hosts Meeting on Bullying and School Violence

The Falls Church Police Department held a series of community meetings during August focused on bullying. The meetings, titled “Teen Truth: An Inside Look at Bullying and School Violence,” took place at City Hall and were led by Officer Wilson. Each meeting started with a video presentation that provided participants with an overview of the issue, some statistics related to school violence and a list of factors that lead to youth violence. Read more

City Council Approves Falls Church Housing Corporation’s City Center South Apartments Proposal

The Falls Church City Council has approved a series of actions to allow construction of a new affordable housing complex at 350, 360 and 370 South Washington Street. The 174-unit, seven-story residential apartment with ground floor non-profit office space, was proposed by the Falls Church Housing Corporation (FCHC), Homestretch, Inc. and developer Atlantic Realty.

The Council meeting lasted until 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday, August 11, partially due to a large number of residents who spoke on either side of the issue. Issues raised by speakers included an estimated $1 million annual cost to taxpayers, an anticipated 25-space parking deficit, movement of senior citizens from existing housing to the new high-rise project, the impact of converting Winter Hill Apartments to condominiums, and whether a late-in-the-process Memorandum of Understanding between the City, FCHC and 360 S. Washington owner Educational Options, is legally binding on the proponents,

At times action on the Council dais took on a harsh tone, with Council Member Daniel Sze twice voting “Hell no” on motions by Council Members David Snyder and Nader Baroukh.

A number of votes occurred, most on a 5-2 split, with Mayor Robin Gardner, Vice Mayor Hal Lippman and Council Members Dan Maller, Sze, and Lawrence Webb voting in the affirmative and Baroukh and Snyder opposing. On the fundamental vote of changing the use of land from “business” to “mixed use, Snyder voted with the majority “in order to show support for affordable housing” even as he voiced objections to several aspects of the project.

Proponents of the project still must secure funding from a variety of sources and conduct further negotiations with the City on details of the project.

Roll call votes:

Motion by Snyder to delay consideration of the project until September 22 in order to obtain additional information: Failed 2-5 (Yes-Baroukh, Snyder; No-Gardner, Lippman, Maller, Sze, Webb)

Motion by Baroukh to delay consideration of the part of the project pertaining to 360 South Washington Street until September 22 to allow city staff to evaluate the project in the normal manner under the special exception process. [The property at 360 South Washington was added to consideration of the project on July 23. Baroukh stated that the 360 South Washington property did not go through the same examination process as the properties at 350 and 370 South Washington.] Failed 2-5 (Yes-Baroukh, Snyder; No-Gardner, Lippman, Maller, Sze, Webb.)

Motion by Lippman to approve a Resolution to Amend the Comprehensive Plan of the City to change the designation of 1.2 acres of land located at 350 and 370 South Washington Street from “Business” to “Mixed Use” on the City’s Future Land Use Map. Passed 6-1 (Yes-Gardner, Lippman, Maller, Snyder, Sze, Webb; No-Baroukh.

Motion by Lippman to approve an Ordinance to Amend Chapter 38 of the Official Zoning Code of the City by amending Section 38-4 (f), Special Exception; 4 (a.) Primary Criteria. Passed 5-2 (Yes-Gardner, Lippman, Maller, Sze, Webb; No-Baroukh, Snyder.)

Motion by Lippman to approve a Resolution to Grant Special Exceptions(s) for Residential Development within Mixed Use Projects and for a Residential Height Bonus under Section 38-4 (f) in a B-2, Central Business district on 1.2 acres of land located at 350 and 370 South Washington Street. Passed 5-2 (Yes-Gardner, Lippman, Maller, Sze, Webb; No-Baroukh, Snyder.)

Motion by Sze to approve a Resolution, The City Center Housing, LLC, Memorandum Of Understanding To Be Entered Into By The City Of Falls Church, The Falls Church Housing Corporation, CC South, LLC, Ed Options, Inc., And Thomas E. Sawner, owner of the 360 S. Washington property. Passed 5-1-1 (Yes-Gardner, Lippman, Maller, Sze, Webb; No-Baroukh, Abstain-Snyder.)

 

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