Falls Church - Say no to Sunrise signs?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know where the ingress/egress will be? Will it be further down on Kirby? Because I don't think that area of Westmoreland can take it.

Probably where the current one is on Kirby.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:I really hate Sunrise. The company assumes all older people like tacky faux "Victorian" for a retirement community. That's not true. I oppose this development. It's zoned for single family residential, and allowing it to be built sets a bad precedent.

I thought it was zoned for a CHurch.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sunrise wants to build an assisted living facility on the land where the Surge church is located at Kirby and Westmoreland. Most of us in the vicinity are strongly opposed. The land is zoned for 3 residential homes per acre and this requires a special zoning exception. In my opinion, and in the opinion of many of my neighbors, the project is far too large for that 3.7 acre site and will exacerbate traffic issues at that intersection.

Another one? There's a huge one around Chesterbrook ES, a nursing home on Powhatan, and another big one up the street next to Longfellow MS. I know a student who got hit by a car turning left from the retirement home on Westmoreland. What's wrong with moving to FL or AZ?

Was the car coming from the Reitrement home or Longfellow's kiss and ride?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Does anyone know where the ingress/egress will be? Will it be further down on Kirby? Because I don't think that area of Westmoreland can take it.

Kirby can't handle it, either. If Foust permits this request for an zoning exception to go forward, he can forget about support of this part of Dranesville in the future. That ought to concern the local Democrats, as they depend on votes from this area.

I live in "this part" of Dransville and I am for it. I don't think you have the support you think.

[Anonymous]

Why are you for it? How does it benefit the community? This isn't some kind of community oriented institution. It's a for profit company charging 7k a month for assisted living and using our quiet community as part of its marketing pitch.

Why should my property values suffer because a for profit company wants a zoning variance?

This isn't about elderly people. Chesterbrook Residences is a not for profit assisted living facility a block away that serves both full pay and low income seniors. They are worried they won't fill their full pay beds if Sunrise builds on this site, which jeopardizes the mission of serving low-income seniors.

If you are concerned about this issue there's s meeting tonight at the McLean Community Center at 7:30 with the McLean Planning Commission.

Also to correct a PP, this would be a much larger structure than the church.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:I really hate Sunrise. The company assumes all older people like tacky faux "Victorian" for a retirement community. That's not true. I oppose this development. It's zoned for single family residential, and allowing it to be built sets a bad precedent.

I thought it was zoned for a CHurch.

No, it's zoned R-3, 3 houses per acre. The church was probably built under some sort of special exception. Essentially, they are building an apartment building sized property on a property zoned for about 6-9 homes and using the special exception process for health care facilities to try to get it built. Would an apartment building be appropriate for that location? If you are not familiar with that intersection, I urge you to come through it on a weeknight at about 6 and experience the congestion.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Sunrise wants to build an assisted living facility on the land where the Surge church is located at Kirby and Westmoreland. Most of us in the vicinity are strongly opposed. The land is zoned for 3 residential homes per acre and this requires a special zoning exception. In my opinion, and in the opinion of many of my neighbors, the project is far too large for that 3.7 acre site and will exacerbate traffic issues at that intersection.

Is "traffic" code for poors like "schools" is for minorites? Just so we are on the same page please.

Also where is the logic that putting people close in is what makes traffic worse. Putting people far away is what I would think makes traffic worse as the total number of people in cars that spend a larger chunk of their time in said traffic is what exacerbates traffic.

Stop being a hypocrite, you bought in a decent and convenient place and you have a problem with others trying to capitalize to allow others to enjoy the niceness and proximity. What is the niceness at capasity or you just failed sharing? Zoning changes and that is the most likely outcome for that parcel

Yes falls church has worse traffic than it did 70 years ago when the population was smaller but that is the price for density, a few NIMBYs shouldn't be allowed to stop progress.

It is zoned R-3 and should stay that way. Residents reasonably assumed the county would preserve the current zoning and not do special favors for Sunrise - a company with a troubled history, to put it mildly - simply because it hired a former member of the Board of Supervisors (the same guy who moved some parts of Reston and Vienna to far-away Langley HS when he was on the School Board in the 1990s) to represent them. If John Foust lets this happen on his watch, he can kiss good-bye to his support in that part of Dranesville.

I'm the PP and no, it's not code word for "poors" - this will be an expensive facility, this isn't a Medicaid nursing home. I don't think anyone is concerned about the actual residents. Traffic means traffic.

[Anonymous]

That corner is already a nightmare. The traffic is already backed up. Construction is going to be a mess and a risk for kids walking from school, but most of all I worry about the long term, and I would like to know: how many floors are we talking about? Is this some high rise above our single family houses? Where is the parking going to be? Because the police shoos away parents parking around the corner of Youngblood during pickup from the middle school; there is no parking in the neighborhood. Most importantly, if they re-zone and build a large building, can they then sell it a year later for some other purpose? What can it become?

[Anonymous]

There are so many baby boomers, and it sounds like Sunrise is preparing for the surge in the next 10 years by getting a jump on vacant land. There is a need for dementia care already.

[Anonymous]

Seriously has any of you gone to visit a Sunrise??? It will not generate traffic, that's ridiculous. Really there are so many worse things that could take that spot I don't see how this is such a big issue.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Seriously has any of you gone to visit a Sunrise??? It will not generate traffic, that's ridiculous. Really there are so many worse things that could take that spot I don't see how this is such a big issue.

The traffic at the ones in Arlington off Glebe and Wilson is a PITA. I can see why people who live near the McLean site in a more residential area don't want the land rezoned.

[Anonymous]

It will generate traffic. Even Sunrise acknowledged that the estimates of its hired consultant shows it would create 2.5 times more traffic than homes on that site. They argue it will be more spread throughout the day and be less at peak hours but they agree it will increase traffic. It's not the residents obviously. It's the staff, visitors, deliveries, repair people, etc.

There's a neighborhood whose entrance is directly across from where the entrance to Sunrise will be and access in and out of that community is already a problem. If you don't drive through the Kirby/Westmoreland intersection at peak hours you really do not know what s mess it is already.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:So, for one, the project is not any bigger than the church that is currently there.

Second, I am confused how a senior living community, not a high traffic institution, would create any more traffic than the church did?

There's also already a nursing home less than a mile down the street. There's NEVER any traffic coming in/out of there. The traffic is caused by four things: the Old Dominion intersection, the montessori school that refuses to hire someone to direct traffic, the parents who drop their kids off at Chesterbrook and have no regard for other cars, and the fact that there's only a stop sign and no light at the Chesterbrook intersection. I can't imagine how a senior living community that is further down the street would make things any worse than they already are (and it's AWFUL right now).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Give that Falls Churh City council only cares about tax income and NOT schools or traffic, like every other project, this one will be approved.

This is McLean, you idiot.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Give that Falls Churh City council only cares about tax income and NOT schools or traffic, like every other project, this one will be approved.

This is McLean, you idiot.

Indeed. It's the same McLean Citizens Association that is blockading any renovation at FCC's K-1 school. They're going to get what they ask for when Mt Daniel is sold to condo developers and the Sunrise site turns into a self storage facility. Opposition to development at all costs is destined to fail. And when they eventually ostracize their crotchety NIMBY a$$es from all reasonable civic constituencies, they're going to end up with a lot worse outcomes than if they'd just be civil and pragmatic. But then they'll die and leave their suburban detritus to the quiet majority that just sat by and let them run roughshod.