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A Dunn Loring church has withdrawn its property from Fairfax County’s latest land-use review after nearby residents raised concerns about a potential redevelopment featuring up to 150 homes.
Trustees of Vine Church, a United Methodist-affiliated congregation at 2501 Gallows Road, had nominated the church’s 4.2-acre site for the county’s site-specific plan amendment process. The program allows members of the public to propose changes to Fairfax County’s comprehensive plan.
The concept called for a two-story worship space and child-care center alongside as many as 150 residential units in three- and four-story buildings.
The property is currently in the R-3 zoning district, which permits residential development at up to four homes per acre. Approval of a plan amendment would not have authorized construction, but it could have allowed church leaders to pursue rezoning for mixed-use development.
Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik said the trustees stepped back because of concerns from residents around the property.
“I appreciate that the church has worked with the community,” Palchik said during the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors meeting Tuesday, March 4.
She said church leaders would hold more community meetings and receive additional assistance from county agencies.
The withdrawal removed the church property from roughly 50 sites presented to the board for possible staff review.
Fairfax County received 53 nominations between January and Feb. 13. Four were found ineligible because the properties were already covered by planning studies or had been approved for changes within the previous two years.
The ineligible proposals included a freestanding child-care center at 2000 Association Drive in Reston; housing proposed for an office park on Federal Systems Park Drive in Springfield; additional residential, independent-living and commercial space at the Food Star site in Mason District; and multifamily housing intended to replace the IMP office building in Mount Vernon District.
A mixed-use plan amendment for the Food Star property was approved in 2023. A similar 2023 proposal involving the IMP Building was combined with a study of 8800 Richmond Highway, which has been deferred indefinitely since 2018.
The Board of Supervisors ultimately accepted 43 nominations for screening. The next stage will include public meetings and hearings examining whether comprehensive plan amendments are justified. A final list is expected to be approved in June.
Many nominations seek substantial changes from the development currently allowed on their properties, potentially prompting opposition from surrounding neighborhoods. Sully District Supervisor Kathy Smith emphasized that residents will have ample opportunity to participate during the coming months.
Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn said the proposals “kind of run the gamut.” Some may offer viable development opportunities, he said, while others resemble ideas considered and rejected in the past.
One returning proposal seeks to redevelop Reston National Golf Course after a similar effort stalled during the county’s 2022 review. Alcorn has pledged not to permit development there while residents remain opposed, but the latest nomination will proceed to screening.
“I look forward to community engagement,” Alcorn said.
Mason, Hunter Mill and Providence districts each accounted for at least a dozen proposed sites. The county’s other districts had between one and four nominations apiece.