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Plans for a modern, seven-bay fire station in Tysons moved closer to approval Feb. 5, when the Fairfax County Planning Commission unanimously backed zoning changes for the project.

The proposed Fire Station 29 would occupy a 4.05-acre site in the 8300 block of Jones Branch Drive. It would share the property with the existing Tysons West*Park transit station, just east of Spring Hill Road and south of the Dulles Access Road.

The commission recommended that the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approve the zoning package. Members discussed stormwater management, internal roads and other site details but raised no major objections to the fire station.

Providence District Commissioner Jeremy Hancock called the proposal “a well-designed project, well-coordinated” and said it reflects Tysons’ urban-design standards.

The current three-bay Fire Station 29 at 1560 Spring Hill Road will continue operating until the replacement opens.

Assistant Fire Chief John Walser said the existing station is outdated, lacks adequate living space for its workforce and cannot be expanded.

Voters last November approved a $126 million county public-safety bond referendum by more than a two-to-one margin. The package allocated $25 million for the Tysons fire station while other projects were deferred.

The proposed development would have a floor-area ratio of 0.13, below the site’s permitted maximum of 0.2. Plans also include rooftop solar panels, two bioretention facilities, an infiltration vault and pervious pavement.

Commissioners’ main reservation involved a separate proposed road connection through the property that could provide access to the Dulles Access Road. Several members said a direct route could benefit emergency crews but worried that opening it to the public might disrupt traffic within the site.

“I don’t see how this makes any sense,” Braddock District Commissioner Mary Cortina said.

Commission Chair Phil Niedzielski-Eichner agreed that the connector appeared out of place. County staff emphasized that the road is a separate project and is not directly tied to construction of the fire station.

Niedzielski-Eichner also asked whether the county could transition to electric fire and rescue vehicles. Walser said the vehicles remain too expensive for county use and that the technology needs more time to mature.