Historic Overlay District Considered For River Farm

FORT HUNT, VA — With River Farm listed on the real estate market, Fairfax County will consider a Historic Overlay District for the historic property. A virtual community meeting is planned on Tuesday on the potential Historic Overlay District.

In fall 2020, Mount Vernon District Supervisor Dan Storck presented a board matter to create a Historic Overlay District after local residents learned that the American Horticultural Society planned to put River Farm up for sale. The Board of Supervisors directed the county's Department of Planning and Development to look into an expedited Historic Overlay District for River Farm and other potential options to protect the property. The board also authorized consideration of a comprehensive plan amendment to create a Historic Overlay District.

The March 2 virtual community meeting from 6:30 p.m. to 8:30 p.m. will present preliminary findings from county staff on the potential Historic Overlay District. That includes a potential boundary for the district, preliminary determinations for contributing and non-contributing properties of the district, draft design guidelines, and draft comprehensive plan amendment language and draft zoning ordinance amendment language.

Public hearings are planned on the proposed comprehensive plan amendment, zoning ordinance amendment and zoning map change. The Planning Commission will hold a public hearing at 7:30 p.m. on March 17, and the Board of Supervisors will have a hearing at 2:30 p.m. on April 13.
River Farm is a 27-acre property that was the northernmost of George Washington's five farms and the headquarters of the American Horticultural Society since 1973. The society had purchased the property in 1973 with funds from board member and philanthropist Enid Annenberg Haupt.

Although the society maintains that keeping River Farm accessible to the public was not a condition of the purchase, it has kept River Farm open to the public under normal operating hours. The grounds of River Farm have been closed to the public since Nov. 9, 2020 due to the COVID-19 pandemic.

River Farm was officially listed in November, and the American Horticultural Society began taking offers in early January. One of the offers came from a joint partnership between the Northern Virginia Conservation Trust and NOVA Parks. NVCT has been running the Save River Farm campaign amid concerns that AHS could sell to a buyer that would not preserve the historic property. The campaign has been raising funds for land acquisition to ensure River Farm remains a landmark open to the public.

However, Alexandria Living Magazine reported Monday that the American Horticultural Society rejected the offer from NVCT and NOVA Parks.

According to a previous statement from the American Horticultural Society, "the ideal buyer will be a nonprofit, organization, or individual dedicated to preserving and maintaining the property’s historic integrity."