Errors in Herndon's Metrorail Station Area Plan Send it Back to Planning Commission

Herndon’s Metrorail Station Area Plan will be going back to the Planning Commission after a town resident with a discerning eye found errors in the traffic study.

The person who found the errors realized there were key differences from earlier versions of the plan and the most recent plans and brought them to the attention of the town.

Herndon’s Director of Community Development, Lisa Gilleran, said this does not mean that all the previous work done is invalid. She said much of what has been done already is fine, but the traffic study will impact the floor area ratio needed to spur redevelopment, and the financial analysis.

The most recent plan listed the maximum floor area ratio for the land area between Herndon Parkway and the Dulles Toll Road at 4.5. A floor area ratio of 4.5 means the building constructed on the land can be 4.5 times the size of the square footage of the land unit it sits on.

Consultants from Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. will head back to fix the study and the Planning Commission will discuss it in its November and December meetings, but will likely not pass it back to the Town Council until February, Gilleran said.

Tom Keller, a Herndon resident, said the town should make sure people can still drive 35 miles per hour on Herndon Parkway through the area and no one should have to wait more than two minutes at a stoplight. He said he’d also like to see plenty of open space with parkland dedicated to the area by the town or the state.

Herndon resident Pat Voltmer said her property backs to the area where the “proposed over-dense development is planned.” She said the plan does not fit with Herndon’s small town feel and will be detrimental to surrounding neighborhoods.

Voltmer said everyone she has spoken to has desire for access to a Metro station, but not increased traffic and 15-story buildings. She said the development proposed offers nothing positive for current Herndon residents and it will separate residents from the Metro station.

Herndon resident Tim Holder said the planning commission recommended the comprehensive plan change and thinks the town is on the right track. He said the town should approve the plan, after the issues with it are corrected. He said the redevelopment plan will benefit the greater good.

Dennis Baughan, of Herndon, said he has been disappointed that all of the options the town has looked at had large high-rise buildings, rather than a station like Vienna’s. He said he would like the town to look at plans alternative to high rises.

Councilman Bill Tirrell said the plan needs to go back to fix the flaws in the study and he is glad no one tried to shuffle the blame on anyone else. He said he’s thankful to the town’s residents for taking notice of the problem and bringing it to the town’s attention.

Tirrell said in coming years the town will face a $22 million bill to pay for Chesapeake Bay mandates that is above and beyond what the town has in its budget. He said if the town doesn’t increase its tax base then current residents have to foot the bill. Redevelopment could ease the $22 million burden. 

Councilwoman Connie Hutchinson said the traffic has always been a roadblock to her in the Metrorail station project and she is glad they’ll have more time to look at it. She said the Herndon Parkway, as one resident said, should continue to move traffic around the town efficiently.

Councilman Jasbinder Singh said both he and Hutchinson were very concerned about some of the numbers they were seeing in the study. He said he is still concerned with the financial analysis and believes there may be issues there as well. Lastly, he said if all the information related to the study, such as market conditions and financial feasibility could change in the future what are they planning for.

Vice Mayor Lisa Merkel said this plan could impact Herndon more than anything else in the next 50 years. She said she is grateful that the error has been detected and they can work to get it right. 

Mayor Steve DeBenedittis said the setback is an opportunity to look at a different mix of uses for the plan. The latest version of the plan had residential and office uses between 40-50 percent, with a smaller percentage set aside for retail. He said perhaps they could consider lowering the residential portion to about 20 percent, which will cost the town less overall. 

The Herndon Town Council voted to send the comprehensive plan amendment back to the Planning Commission.