Falls Church News-Press 8-17-2017

August 17 – 23, 2017

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FOU N D ED 1991 • VOL. XXVI I NO. 26

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In response to the City of Charlottesville’s decision Tuesday to remove the statue of Robert E. Lee from Emancipation Park, Virginia gubernatorial candidates Democrat Ralph Northam and Republican Ed Gillespie released statements. SEE NEWS BRIEFS, PAGE 9

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The City of Falls Church Police Department has recently received complaints about phone call scams relating to kidnappings, unpaid bills or taxes, and missed court appearances.

Mayor’s Interview Pt. 2 Touts F.C.’s Unique Identity: ‘We’re No Tysons’ Instead, ‘A Small But P ������ D �� Great Community To Be Sought Out’

BY MATT DELANEY

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS

1,500 square feet, and a common house on Railroad Avenue, a barely paved road on the extreme northwestern part of the Little City, hugging the W&OD trail off Fowler Street. An accidental basement fire in an existing home on Railroad Avenue last weekend inflamed the protests of many who showed up, despite the fact that the fire demonstrated there was already sufficient access to the location for the

Last week, the News-Press published the first of its two-part “State of the City” conversation with Falls Church Mayor David Tarter in which he discussed the City Council’s passage of the most expensive infrastructure plan in City history, including the building of a new George Mason High School, renovation and expansion of the library, City Hall and parts of Mary Ellen Henderson Middle School. In the second part of the conversation published this week, Tarter talks more about Falls Church’s development projects, what his legacy will be as mayor and the greatest challenges the City faces going forward. News-Press: Can you provide an update on the Founder’s Row project and the Broad and Washington St. mixed use development? Tarter: Founder’s Row is having some difficulty getting a hotel, as you recall that was a part of the deal — that the developers were going to provide a hotel and a movie theater — and they’re having difficulty with a hotel. They’ll come back and let us know that. They’re considering revising their proposal to come back with age-restricted housing and that remains to be seen whether that’s going to be acceptable to Council as a whole. Some folks, I think, feel that “You struck a deal, the hotel is what you said you’re going to provide and that’s what you’ve got to live with.” We’re still in discussions with them, so I think they’re re-analyzing what they can’t do and can do there so I’m hopeful the project will go

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SEE NEWS BRIEFS, PAGE 9

P��� K������: W��� ��� P�������� �� U�-A������� For Donald Trump’s refusal to condemn the murderous white supremacists in Charlottesville finally confirms what has become increasingly obvious: The current president of the United States isn’t a real American. SEE PAGE 16

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Voting for 2017 Best of Falls Church finalists is heading into the homestretch, with polls deciding readers’ Little City favorites closing Monday. Winners will be featured in a special “Best Of” edition of the News-Press on Aug. 31. SEE PAGES 12–13

INDEX Editorial.................6 Letters...............6, 8 News & Notes10–11 Comment ....... 14–16 Business News ...17

Calendar .......18–19 Classified Ads .....20 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword ..........21 Critter Corner......22

IT WAS OFFICIAL team photo time for the coming school year for the Falls Church School Board following its meeting last week. The school system’s communications director John Wesley Brett herded the cats and made them sit still long enough for the photo shoot, and that included the next Superintendent Peter Noonan. (P����: N���-P����)

F.C. Council Delays Railroad Cottage Plan, OKs Rezoning of N. Maple Ave. BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON

FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS

Two measures with the potential to introduce a new residential housing model to the City of Falls Church came before the F.C. City Council Monday. One involving a colony of smaller, age-restricted cottages on 1.25 acres on Railroad Avenue, while expected to be approved, was delayed pending formal receipt of an agreement from the regional Park Authority that will allow for a widening

of the street to better ensure fire and other vehicles will have full access. The other, a zoning modification to permit the construction of a second single family dwelling on a N. Maple Street property, was approved by a 3-1 vote. The lengthy meeting heard strong protests from neighbors to the site of the Railroad Avenue cottages project, which cleared the Planning Commission with only a single dissenting vote last month. It calls for the construction of 10 free-standing units, each about