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Depending on who had the microphone, last week’s public hearing on the proposed redevelopment of Metro’s West Falls Church station suggested it will either overwhelm local roads or avert “climate arson,” to use one speaker’s phrase.

As they did earlier in the planning process, supporters of the project seemed to have an edge over skeptics at the Fairfax County Planning Commission’s meeting on Wednesday (Feb. 8), arguing that the over 1-million-square-foot development would deliver needed housing and amenities, while making the transit station area more accessible and vibrant than the parking lots that it would replace.

“It is not pleasant to go through an enormous parking lot to get to Metro,” said Aaron Wilkowitz, a resident of the Mount Daniel neighborhood. “I would absolutely love it if we replace that parking lot with dog parks and with playgrounds and all sorts of wonderful things that my family can enjoy and that neighbors can enjoy.”

Developers EYA, Rushmark Properties, and Hoffman & Associates (FGCP-Metro LLC) are seeking to rezone the nearly 24-acre site to allow 810 multifamily residential units, 85 townhouses, a 110,000-square-foot office building and up to 10,000 square feet of retail.

The development would also bring about 2.1 acres of park space and transportation improvements — most notably, a 10-foot-wide shared-use trail on Haycock Road over I-66, as recommended by a community advisory group late last year.

Even the more critical speakers praised the inclusion of the Haycock Metrorail Connector Trail, but they worried about whether the developers will deliver. County planner Bryan Botello noted that the design needs to be approved by the county and state transportation departments.

Some residents questioned whether the grid of streets and 1,095 parking spaces sought at the site — 40% fewer than the 1,781 spaces required by the county — will support traffic, especially with development also coming to the adjacent Virginia Tech campus and in nearby Falls Church.

Ellison Heights-Mt. Daniel Civic Association president Adrianne Whyte warned that, if the parking and loading space is inadequate, “existing roads will become dysfunctional.”

“If this rezoning is approved, the development envisioned by all three parcels combined will dramatically change the stability of our neighborhood, increase the traffic on the roads within and around our neighborhood, and probably negatively impact the quality of life of the residents and other surrounding neighborhoods,” Whyte said.

Resident Cheryl Sim expressed skepticism that the future West Falls Station Blvd linking all three properties will mitigate traffic on Haycock, noting that the Falls Church and Virginia Tech developers have said the road will be closed “on occasion” for events.

A resident of the Pavillion Condominiums next to the site countered that he would welcome street closures if it means he no longer has to travel to Falls Church to find “vibrant community life.”

FGCP-Metro LLC will construct the project in phases, with much of the transportation infrastructure coming first to maintain access to the Metro station and bus stops — a condition of its agreement with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority.

That includes the on-site segment of West Falls Church Blvd and other planned internal streets. The developers will also be required to complete the Haycock trail before the county permits 40 residents.

“The impetus of this project is really to achieve WMATA’s twin aims of boosting ridership and upgrading its aging infrastructure, so we are providing a lot of infrastructure up front, about $30 million worth,” Walsh Colucci lawyer Andrew Painter said for the applicant.

Proponents argued that putting housing at transit stations alleviates traffic by giving residents direct access to transportation options other than cars, suggesting that, if anything, the development should be more dense than what’s proposed.

“People have to live somewhere,” said Joseph Schiarizzi, who chairs Falls Church’s Environmental Sustainability Council but spoke as an individual. “And they’re either going to drive through our neighborhoods, through Leesburg Pike and completely block it up, or they can live near where they work…Literally on top of a Metro, obviously that’s where the most possible people should live. It just makes sense, and to do anything else is really climate arson, I believe.”

While the planning commission deferred a decision to March 8, Dranesville District Commissioner John Ulfelder observed that the most enthusiastic about the project tended to be younger, including a mother who testified at 11:20 p.m. despite having “a 2 a.m. wake-up call waiting for me at home” in the form of a 4-month-old kid.

The woman said she and her husband moved into the Gates at Westfalls Condominiums so they could be in walking distance of Metro, which they both use for their work commutes.

“If we had it our way, we would never drive our cars, but that can be hard to do in this area, so we are very excited and grateful to have more options to walk to in the near future,” she said.

Rendering via EYA

Allowing teachers to present “intelligent design” in science class would jeopardize students’ educational futures and violate the Constitution.

Senior Staff Attorney, ACLU Program on Freedom of Religion and Belief

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All you need to know about the current condition of West Virginia’s public-education system is summed up in one recent headline: “West Virginia public schools are underfunded, understaffed and underperforming.” To take one marker, only 28 percent of students in the state are proficient in science. These are big problems that require expansive, thoughtful solutions. Lawmakers should be devoting all available time and resources to protecting public-school students’ educational futures. Instead, they’re working to pass a bill, SB 619, that would exacerbate these crises. If enacted, the bill would allow public schools to teach intelligent design — a form of creationism — as a “theory of how the universe and/or humanity came to exist.”

West Virginia lawmakers know that it’s unconstitutional to teach creationism in public schools.

Teaching any form of creationism in public schools is unconstitutional. It undermines science education, and it is likely to embroil school districts in lengthy and costly litigation. In fact, that is exactly what happened in Dover, Pennsylvania, two decades ago. Despite clear case law that bars teaching creationism in public schools and prohibits other efforts to suppress or chip away at evolution education, the Dover Area School District incorporated into its biology lessons a disclaimer questioning the validity of evolution and promoting intelligent design as an alternative. The ACLU of Pennsylvania and Americans United for Separation of Church and State sued the school district on behalf of local families.

The school district tried to defend its policy by arguing that, unlike other forms of creationism, intelligent design is not a religious belief and is thus properly taught as a scientific alternative to evolution. But after a six-week trial during which extensive expert evidence about intelligent design was presented, Judge John E. Jones III — who was nominated to the bench by President George W. Bush — unequivocally rejected the district’s arguments. He concluded that intelligent design is merely “creationism re-labeled” and “is not science” because it “fails to meet the essential ground rules that limit science to testable, natural explanations.” And he ruled that incorporating intelligent design into public-school science classes violates the Establishment Clause of the First Amendment.

It undermines science education, and it is likely to embroil school districts in lengthy and costly litigation.

The massive loss in the case came with a massive bill: The district owed the plaintiffs $2,000,000 in attorneys’ fees, although the plaintiffs agreed to accept only half that amount in recognition of the district’s limited resources and the fact that the community had voted out the school board members who had insisted on pushing intelligent design.

West Virginia lawmakers know that it’s unconstitutional to teach creationism in public schools. They know that, just like in Pennsylvania, schools that take up the legislature’s invitation to do so will be sued and will face millions of dollars in costs and fees. They also know that attacking the integrity of science education will cause West Virginia students to fall even further behind, leaving them unprepared for advanced college coursework in scientific areas, and subsequently disadvantaging them in the competitive technical and scientific job sectors. And they know that employers with science- and tech-related businesses may hesitate to settle in West Virginia if they believe that its government does not value, and many of its residents do not possess, basic scientific knowledge.

Despite knowing all of this, lawmakers continue to press forward with SB 619. Maybe they believe it will score them political points with certain extreme religious groups and others seeking to inject religion into public schools. Any short-term political gain, however, will come at appalling long-term costs: the rights of families and faith communities, not government officials, to instill religious beliefs in their children; the educational and employment success of students; the solvency of public schools already struggling financially; and the economic and job prospects for the entire state of West Virginia.

Step outside your home on Virginia Avenue or James Court for a walk in Falls Church’s Winter Hill neighborhood, and you’ll find yourself spoiled for choice. A block to the northeast, you’ll hit Broaddale Village Shopping Center, where you can grab a Starbucks coffee or a bite at the top-rated Liberty Barbecue; another block or so will take you to the charming Mary Riley Styles Public Library and Cherry Hill Park, adjacent to one of the region’s best farmers markets on Saturdays. Head southeast instead, and just beyond neighborhood boundaries you’ll reach a Harris Teeter grocery store and the freshly renovated Big Chimneys Park, with playground equipment, green spaces and walking paths.

Just about seven miles west of the D.C. line, Falls Church City is Virginia’s smallest incorporated municipality at just over two square miles, and it’s the smallest county-equivalent entity in the nation. Winter Hill’s cozy condominiums and townhouses represent an affordable gateway to homeownership in this quaint and commuter-friendly “Little City,” and they offer easy walking access to nearly everything Falls Church has to offer. And residents say the community is growing closer and richer, thanks to new events and gathering opportunities.

The neighborhood dates to the 1940s, when the buildings that now make up the Winter Hill Condominium were constructed as war housing, according to a history compiled by the Winter Hill Council of Co-Owners. Built on land purchased from educator and suffragist Mattie Gundry, the development originally opened in 1947 as Tyler Gardens; the condominium portion opened under the Winter Hill name in 1973. Today, Winter Hill includes 200 condominiums, 194 townhouses and 80 subsidized apartments for eligible seniors and people with disabilities.

Though the townhouses and condominiums are represented by different homeowners’ associations, they share access to the neighborhood pool, located in the condominium behind James Court. Although neighbors say the pool has been underutilized in the past, it’s becoming a hub of social activity.

Katie Martin, a condominium resident, said that the idea to restart the social committee that had gone dormant earlier in the pandemic came about during pool visits with another neighbor while she was pregnant with her 1-year-old son.

“We’ve had a lot of fun relaunching events that people used to enjoy every year, like our pool party and Halloween parade,” said Martin, who moved to the neighborhood in 2019. “And we’re also having fun dreaming up new events.”

Martin now edits the neighborhood newsletter, the Broadside, and she organized a caroling party in December, with hot chocolate at the finish. It happened to coincide with a favorite Falls Church tradition: Santa Claus’s ride through town on a decked-out and clanging city firetruck.

“That was pretty cool,” said Jarryd Stewart, who moved into his Winter Hill condo in 2017 and now serves on the homeowners’ association board. Martin and Stewart, who share a day-care provider, are part of what seems to be a recent wave of young families discovering the neighborhood, joining a still-substantial population of original owners who have lived there since the 1970s.

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Stewart said he loves the neighborhood’s convenience to shops and restaurants, but also its inefficiencies: its sprawl and green spaces.

“You don’t really see that nowadays,” he said. “People build vertically, and they try to cram as much as they can into one small area. But when they designed this, they weren’t thinking about that. It makes it enjoyable, almost like its own little town.”

Tori McKinney, CEO of Rock Star Realty Group, lives in Falls Church outside Winter Hill, but she purchased a condo in the neighborhood for a family member in 2017. She commonly sees young families moving into the neighborhood and departing in search of more space as they grow, but she has also noticed a trend of condo residents seeking to upgrade to a townhouse to remain in Winter Hill.

“It’s honestly one of the most desirable areas of the city for the location and the instant sense of community,” she said.

Although detached homes in Falls Church City sell for north of $700,000, Winter Hill’s offerings tend to be more affordable. Of the 10 condos and seven townhouses sold in 2022, the highest sale price was $806,500 for a three-bedroom, three-bath townhouse, and the lowest was $438,000 for a two-bedroom, 1½-bath condo. Two homes are on the market, both under contract: a three-bedroom, three-bath townhouse listed for $690,900, and a three-bedroom, 1½-bath condo for $515,000, McKinney said. One single-bedroom Winter Hill unit was rented last year, for $1,725 per month.

McKinney, who also produces the annual Tinner Hill Music Festival in Falls Church, shares her love of music with Walt and Stephanie Lamore, who live in one of the handful of basement units in the townhouses.

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Stephanie Lamore said favorite walkable haunts Clare and Don’s Beach Shack and the State Theatre, which both regularly feature live outdoor music, became invaluable when indoor dining and activities were on hiatus.

“We had things that you could go and do and still feel safe,” she said.

Even during the worst of pandemic isolation, neighbors at Winter Hill found ways to make memories, said James Thompson, a townhouse resident since 2013 and president of the board of the Winter Hill Community Association.

“You’d drive by some of our cul-de-sacs, and you’d see a group just sitting out there on their lawn chairs with the kids running around on a Friday night, just enjoying the time together,” he said.

As the father of four young children with a job in Washington, Thompson said he also loves the neighborhood’s peace and calm.

“I can walk out on a Sunday morning onto our deck, and, for being in a busy area, it’s pretty silent out there,” he said. “So it’s nice to be able to be close to the hustle and bustle, but be able to get away at the same time.”

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Boundaries: Winter Hill is mostly diamond-shaped, bounded by West Broad Street to the northeast; Harris Teeter and Big Chimneys Park to the southeast; Rollins Street to the southwest; and Chanel Terrace to the northwest.

Transportation: Metrobus’s 28A Leesburg Pike line has multiple stops along Broad Street; the 2A Washington Boulevard-Dunn Loring bus stops about four blocks south of Winter Hill, at South Washington Street and East Annandale Road. The nearest Metro station, East Falls Church, is 1.5 miles east.

Schools: Jessie Thackrey Preschool (ages 2-5); Mount Daniel Elementary (Grades K-2); Oak Street Elementary (Grades 3-5); Mary Ellen Henderson Middle; and Meridian High.

FALLS CHURCH, VA — The next exhibit at the Falls Church Arts gallery will be a photography show featuring 37 photographers.

"Texture, A Photography Show," will open with an artists reception on Saturday, March 4 and remain open during gallery hours through April 16. Images range from country and city scenes to natural landscapes and geographical formations.

For the exhibit, participating photographers were invited to explore how visual or tactile surface characteristics can be boosted or downplayed through light and angle manipulation, according to Falls Church Arts. Texture could be real or implied.

The juror who selected submissions for the exhibit is Ronald Beverly, a fine arts photographer and professor at Montgomery College's Department of Media Arts and Technology. His photographs have been displayed at the MGM National Harbor Heritage Collection, American Jazz Museum in Kansas City, Missouri and the PH21 Gallery in Budapest, Hungary.

"This year’s theme, Texture, brings to the forefront the unseen and engages the viewer in ways that only photography can provide," said Beverly in a statement. "The photographers in this exhibit help illustrate how looking at everyday things constantly challenges our visual responses and expands our curiosity of how to interpret the world around us."

Find out what's happening in Falls Churchwith free, real-time updates from Patch.

The Juror’s Choice Award selected by Beverly will be presented at the March 4 reception. A People’s Choice Award will be announced on March 26 based on votes from gallery visitors.

Participating artists include Joanne Burke, Mari Calai, Sara Caporaletti, Kathleen Conklin, Manuela Costescu, Morgan Danner, Amanda Dempsey, Stuart Diekmeyer, Joe Ditchett, Willa Friedman, Caitlin Garvey, Christy Gavitt, Larry Golfer, James Hengst, Susan Hillson, Daniel Horowitz, Chris Kagy, Kim Keller, David Kepley, Stephanie Lamore, Leslie Landerkin, Carol May, Suzanne McIntire, George McLennan, Tony Neville, Leslie Nicholls, Jane Podesta, Margaret Raymond, William Rollins, Susan Sanders, Janet Sifers, Cathy Summers, Shannon Turkewitz, John Valenti, Shaun van Steyn, Liz Vance and Andrew Wohl.

At the March 4 reception, participating artists will be present to answer questions about their process or inspiration. The reception is free and open to the public.

Art may be purchased at the gallery or online at www.fallschurcharts.org. The Falls Church Arts gallery is located at 700-B West Broad St., Falls Church, VA. Hours are 11 a.m. to 6 p.m. Tuesday to Friday and 11 a.m. to 4 p.m. Saturday to Sunday. Masks are optional, but visitors are asked to delay their visit if they are feeling sick.

(Updated at 2:40 p.m.) The Ballston and East Falls Church Metro stations are among those set to be impacted by a multi-week closure starting in June.

WMATA recently announced that it is planning to shut down a significant portion of the Orange Line during the summer for “system maintenance and modernization.”

Two Arlington stations — Ballston and East Falls Church — will be impacted by the infrastructure projects. The current plan is that only trains going east, towards Virginia Square and D.C., will be available at the Ballston station from June 3 to June 26, while the East Falls Church station will be shuttered during that time period.

The rest of the Orange Line, from West Falls Church through the end of the line at Vienna, will be closed for a longer period of time, from June 3 to July 17.

Elsewhere, there will be ten days of single-tracking from Stadium-Armory to Cheverly stations on the Orange Line and a complete 44-day shutdown from July 22 to Sept. 4 on the Green Line from Fort Totten to Greenbelt.

The reason for the shutdown, WMATA said, is to move forward on “five major projects to improve rail service reliability and modernize rail systems and facilities for customers.”

Those include completing a station roofing project on the Orange Line, replacing 30 miles of four-decade-old and failure-prone steel rails, installing fiber optic cables, modernizing information displays in the downtown stations, and elevator and escalator work at the Dupont station.

“Metro has used the lower ridership months in the summer to advance large maintenance and infrastructure projects with significant customer impacts,” the announcement notes. “By working closely with local jurisdictions, providing extensive free shuttle bus operations, and deploying comprehensive communications and outreach activities, Metro places significant effort to minimize the disruption to customers and the region.”

As for what the “free shuttle bus operations” could mean, county officials told ARLnow that hasn’t been figured out quite yet.

“WMATA will be scheduling coordination meetings with local jurisdictions to develop shuttle plans,” Arlington Dept. of Environmental Services spokeswoman Claudia Pors told ARLnow via email. “As of yet, we haven’t heard from WMATA on their timeline. I don’t expect it to be dissimilar from other temporary station shutdowns.”

Locals have dealt with similar shutdowns. In September, Metro shuttered much of the Yellow Line for bridge and tunnel repairs as well as continuing work on the new Potomac Yard station. The Yellow Line shutdown is expected to continue at least through May, with free shuttles provided for impacted riders.

When Metro instituted similar construction-related shutdowns in both 2020 and 2018, the agency also provided free shuttle bus service.

A major portion of the latest work will be focused on “replacing 40-year-old steel rail that has become significantly more susceptible to rail breaks than rail in any other part of the system.” Metro says that it has been tracking rail breaks and determined the stretch of track between Ballston and Vienna “to be a top priority” for replacement.

The Ballston Metro station averages about 3,500 daily entries on weekdays, which is more than the Clarendon, Courthouse, and Virginia Square stations but below Rosslyn, Crystal City, Pentagon City, and the Pentagon. East Falls Church averages about 1,600 entries.