Fairfax City Council Delays Discussion Of A Plan That Would Remove 380 Trees For A Trail

FAIRFAX CITY, VA — Fairfax City Council voted at its Sept. 14 meeting to remove two items from that evening's agenda. While one project addressed the city's plan to add a sidewalk along Oak Street, the other was for the construction of the John Mason Trail.

In recent weeks, local environmentalists and city residents have come out in opposition of the proposed trail plan, which, if adopted, would mean clearing 380 trees around the periphery of the tank farm off of Pickett Road and near the existing Daniels Run Trail. The surface of the proposed trail that seeks to link Pickett Road with Main Street would be covered with boardwalks, permeable asphalt and stonedust, according to the city's plan.

Both the Oak Street sidewalk and John Mason Trail plans are part of the city's Two-Year Transportation Program and would rely on state funding to pay for a portion of their construction. If the council endorses the sidewalk project, the city would apply to the Virginia Department of Transportation for $1.6 million in revenue sharing funding. For the trail project, the city would apply to the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority for 70 percent funding, which would amount to $6.8 million.

Related: 380 Trees Would Be Cleared For New Fairfax Bike Trail

City staff was prepared to present its final reports to the council during last Tuesday's work session. However, at the beginning of the meeting, Councilmember Joseph Harmon made a motion to remove the two items for that night's agenda. Councilmember Sang Yi seconded the motion and the council voted 4-2 to approve it.

"I didn't feel that we had really completed our outreach in the way we should have to the community," Harmon said, in an interview with Patch. "Even though it was a work session item and not a public hearing, I didn't feel that we had adequately informed the public about what these two projects were about. I just think it made sense to pull them from the schedule at this point and, obviously, enough councilmembers agreed with me."

Harmon also noted that Tuesday night's meeting was the first the council had following its August recess.

"This was a first meeting back and I felt these were big and important projects and we needed to do some discussion with the community," he said.

Despite the fact the trail project had been removed from the agenda, several city residents took advantage of the public comment section of the meeting to voice their opposition to the plan either in person or by phone.

"Daniels Run, to us in the community, is a sacred place," said Diane Burnham, a resident of Old Lee Hills, who spoke at the meeting. "It's a buffer between us and the tank farm. And the thought of an asphalt path coming through and destroying trees, when there are plenty of roads going from Main Street to Old Lee Highway ... seems unnecessary to be removing trees to do this in a time of global warming and climate change."

Removing the trail project from the agenda raised a couple of questions. First, the council had scheduled a public hearing on the proposal for its Sept. 28 meeting. Second, the city had an Oct. 1 deadline to file for the NVTA funding.

Matthew Kaiser, a city spokesman, confirmed on Monday that the John Mason Trail project was not on the draft agenda for the council's Sept. 28 meeting, neither as work session presentation nor a public hearing.

"The John Mason Trail is scheduled to be discussed during a city council work session on Oct. 5," he said. "Although the funding application deadline is Oct. 1, a resolution of support can be submitted through Dec. 3., if council decides to move forward with the project."

A public hearing on the trail project has not yet been scheduled, according to Kaiser.

"Endorsement of the Oak Street sidewalk project funding submission will be on the Sept. 28 agenda," he said. "This application for funding does not require a public hearing."