Planning Commission Rejects Affordable Housing Site Plan

On Monday, December 1, the Falls Church Planning Commission by a vote of 6-1 rejected the site plan and subdivision for the proposed affordable housing project at City Center, also known as the City Center South Apartments (CCSA).    

Commissioners cited inadequate parking space as their primary reason for the rejection.  The site plan allows for 239 spaces.  However, under a strict application of the current zoning code, 418 spaces should be provided, leaving a shortfall of 179.  Attention was drawn to a recent memorandum by Falls Church Zoning Administrator John Boyle in which he wrote ”It is difficult to imagine how such a parking plan [as proposed] can function.”

Advocates of the proposal explained that the project would use what they termed as ”shared parking.”   However the commissioners were not persuaded.  Commissioner Melissa Teates expressed concerns that businesses in the immediate area that already are under parking pressure likely would suffer if the project went forward. 

Objections were not limited solely to the parking issue.  Commission Chair Maureen Budetti stated that the current plan placed too much on one site and that she felt the City staff recommendations for approval were “lukewarm.”

Commissioner Christine Sanders noted that her objections were ”about basic health and safety” as she cited concerns about increased traffic.  Ms. Sanders also pointed out that the CCSA site plan is closely tied to the Center Center development. which she referred to as in a state of flux, and that she was unsure if the proposed affordable units were still in keeping with the scale of the adjacent project.   

The Commissions’ rejection of the site plan threatens Virginia’s financial contribution to the project as  the application deadline for state funding occurs in early 2009, leaving insufficient time to develop an alternative plan and have it approved. 

The Commission also rejected by a vote of 5-2 City staff recommendations to commit Falls Church to long-term financing for the project and to grant a real estate tax exemption to the CCSA for the purpose of affordable housing. 

Commissioners John Lawrence, Suzanne Fauber, Ruth Rodgers, Budetti, Sanders, and Teates voted to turn down the CCSA site plan and the related application to combine the three lots on the site into two.  Former City Council member Lindy Hockenberry cast the sole vote in favor.  Ms. Hockenberry  was joined by Ms. Teates in casting the only votes in support of the staff recommendations on tax exemptions and financing.

Design of City Center South Changing

Atlantic Realty, the developer of City Center South, is planning changes in the project’s design due to rising construction costs. Sara Fitzgerald, speaking in behalf of the League of Women Voters (LWV), raised concerns about the changes at the November 24 session of the Falls Church City Council.

According to Ms. Fitzgerald the new plan is significantly different from the one approved as a special exception. She stated her understanding is that under such circumstances the process is re-opened and the proposal re-evaluated under the guidance of the special exception ordinance. She urged that to insure a proper review of the design revisions the Council, the Planning Commission, and other involved parties hold open meetings with ample public notice and that revised site plans be made available at the library and on the City website.

In response City Manager Wyatt Shields acknowledged that he had recently noted Atlantic Realty’s intentions when speaking to the League and the Village Preservation and Improvement Society. He stated that the building intended for the current Bowl America site could be lowered by two floors in certain places and that the setbacks on both the Gibson and Maple Street sides of the building may be changed.

Mr Shields further stated that Atlantic Realty also has discussed reducing the size of the City Center’s active adult building and that the company was still in the process of recruiting a hotel chain for the site. He maintained that by and large the planned use of the buildings remains within the concept as approved by the Council and that the changes were essentially aesthetic.

Mayor Gardner declined to open this topic to debate. She stated that it would be discussed publicly at the Council’s Economic Development Committee meeting on November 25 and at a Council work session on December 4.

Councilman Maller suggested that a closed meeting also be held on this issue as it may present what he termed a negotiating situation which would be inappropriate to discuss in public. He stated that advice may be required from the city manager, city attorney, and other staff to determine how to respond to Atlantic’s potential changes.

City Council to Vote on Falls Church Housing Corporation’s City Center South Proposal August 11th

The Falls Church City Council will vote on a proposal for affordable housing to be built by a partnership of the Falls Church Housing Corporation (FCHC) and developer Atlantic Realty Monday night August 11 at 7:30pm in Council Chambers at City Hall.

 The hearing can be viewed live on television on the following channels on cable: RCN Cable Channel (2), Cox Cable Channel (12), and Verizon Cable Channel (35).

This is the wording of the request that will be voted on by the Council Monday, August 11:
“The applicant is requesting a Comprehensive Plan Amendment and two Special Exceptions to allow the redevelopment of the two existing office buildings at 350 and 370 South Washington Street as a new mixed-use project consisting of a 174 unit, seven-story affordable residential apartment building with ground floor non-profit – office/service/program/amenity/common space.”

Specifically, the applicant has filed applications requesting:

• Comprehensive Plan Future Land Use Map Amendment from “Business” to “Mixed Use”
• Special Exception for Mixed Use (Residential use in a Business District)
• Special Exception for Height (80 feet rather than 75 feet max. allowed in B-2)”

In addition, the Council will consider an accompanying zoning code change:
Zoning Code Text Amendment (Exemption allowed from special Exception Primary criteria related to net new commercial square footage and revenue.) The City staff estimates a 25-space parking deficit for the project. According to the City memorandum, the applicant proposes to remediate the parking deficit by an off-site parking agreement. Specifically, the affordable housing project’s Wednesday evening peak deficit would be ameliorated by a shared parking agreement with the new office building on 360 S. Washington Street, which would have available parking on evenings and weekends.

The proposal regarding 360 S. Washington Street has not yet been officially reviewed by the Planning Commission or City Council. A memorandum of understanding, between the City, FCHC, and the owner of the 360 S. Washington property, Educational Options is also being voted on. The proposal entails tearing down the existing building and constructing a 4-story above-ground parking garage and a 3-story office building that would house the offices of Educational Options.

Issues raised by the Planning Commission and some members of City Council concerning the City Center South proposal include the following:

• lack of consultation with independent affordable housing experts
• concentration of a stand alone affordable housing development in an already affordable area of the City
• removal of senior citizens from easily accessed homes to a high rise amidst dense traffic and business mix
• possible conversion of the Winter Hill Apartments to first-time affordable homebuyers condominiums
• lack of adequate parking for the number of residents and office workers
• special exceptions to the Zoning code for mixed use, height, and a text amendment

A City memorandum notes that the development cost for the project has increased from $37 million to $46 million since November 2007. The City is being asked to use the $2 million CIP fund that is to be used for affordable housing in the City and is also requesting that the optional $4.2 million proffer set in place by Atlantic Realty in the City Center project be used to fund the FCHC’s City Center South project, as opposed to including 36 units in the approved City Center project.

The City’s cost for the project including direct (i.e. debt service on the bond and uncollected real estate tax revenue) and indirect costs (i.e. schools and services costs) will be $1 million plus per year during the loan period, which has yet to be determined. Financial projections for the loan period have been based on a 15 year schedule. The figure will escalate every year. Additionally, the indirect costs to the City may continue throughout the life of the building, not just during the life of the loan.

The memo goes on to note, “It is anticipated that the development and operating budget will further change once binding construction bids are received. FCHC has formally committed, in April 2008, to bear the costs of future changes if beyond the request to the City for the $2M CIP [capital improvement] funding and the real estate tax abatement.”

-Sally Brett

Adding On But Not Expanding

A last-minute proposal for the Falls Church Housing Corporation’s (FCHC) City Center South Apartments (CCSA) project, designed to address parking problems with proposed multi-family housing building on Maple Street and offices on South Washington, was added to the City Council Work Session this week.

As currently proposed, the underground parking and limited surface parking for the 7-story building on Maple St. does not meet City code. Should the parking garage be built at the site of the 360 S. Washington Street building, as proposed in the new scheme, the number of parking spaces will not increase because the underground parking garage will not be built.

The City plans to purchase the 360 S. Washington Street Building from its current owner, Educational Options, for $2 million dollars and then transfer ownership to Falls Church Housing Corporation. There was some confusion as to who would own the building, FCHC, the City, or Educational Options. The financial agreements and details are still being negotiated.

Final reading and public hearing on the FCHC City Center South Apartments proposal is scheduled for Monday, August 11th. The original scope of the project included two buildings located at 350 and 370 S. Washington Street and the Winter Hill Apartments.

The apartments, currently occupied by mostly elderly Section 8 residents, is to be used as collateral for FCHC to build the 7-story building on Maple. FCHC has proposed converting the apartments to first time, affordable homebuyer condos. Whether these would continue being affordable housing is at question. There is no guarantee and no agreements in place in the current proposal.

The buildings at 350 and 370 South Washington Street, and now a third building at 360 South Washington Street, are to be torn down. The new proposal is to build a 4-story above ground parking structure with a 3-story office building on the 360 S. Washington site.

Two of the four stories of parking would be claimed by Educational Options, which would also occupy the 3-story office building. The remaining two stories would be shared with the residents of the proposed 174 units of multi-family affordable housing on Maple St. Current residents of the Winter Hill apartments are being given the first right of refusal to relocate to this proposed seven-story building; as planned, the housing has two elevators.Residents of the Winter Hill/Cherry Hill community, which consists of townhomes and condos, have met twice with the FCHC to review the proposed City Center South Apartments plans. They are opposed to the lack of information regarding the conversion of the existing units. Elderly residents have expressed concerns at being moved from individual street-level units to units in a seven-story multi-family complex with two elevators.

Sally Brett

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