Herndon Residents Petition for Standards for Metro Planning

A group of Herndon residents presented a petition to the Herndon Town Council on Tuesday, Dec. 13, requesting that minimum standards be set for the Metrorail study.

In November the consultants at Vanasse Hangen Brustlin, Inc. were alerted that there were flaws in the study after inconsistencies were pointed out by a town resident. VHB is currently working to fix the mistakes and bring new information back to the town, which will likely happen in January.

The petition asks the council to set standards for Herndon Parkway, to ensure it continues serving its purpose of moving traffic around the town, traffic congestion, and public parks and athletic fields, and is signed by 134 residents.

Doug Schuster, who is leading the petition, said, “We feel that the last plan that was passed by the Planning Commission and nearly passed by the Town Council was so out of touch with public sentiment and the character of the town that it is critical at this juncture to realign the whole planning process before we make the same mistake twice.”

He said many town residents have lost faith that the Town Council is listening to their concerns, and fear if the current quality of life can’t be maintained they may have to move out of Herndon.

“It’s time to recognize that the process if fundamentally flawed,” Schuster said. “There was no genuine engagement of residents and people realized that and grew tired of the process. We need clear, quantifiable, minimum standards.”

Tom Kellner said they are dealing with a similar situation at Mark Center in Alexandria. He said there is only one entrance in and one exit out and planners are just getting around to dealing with the transportation issues that impact the project. He said the council should consider the points made by the petition as they move forward.

Herndon resident Jeff Davidson said he hears a lot of talk about transparency when it comes to town projects but would like to see more. He suggested the town post signs alerting residents when any new plans are being discussed in a neighborhood, whether it’s the Metro project, or simply installing a sidewalk.

Barbara Glakas said the two biggest issues she hears are maintaining Herndon’s quaintness in the downtown area and controlling traffic. She said Herndon has many different types of neighborhoods that all compliment each other, and none are trying to harm the others.

Glakas said even if they do not redevelop the area surrounding the future Metro station they won’t be able to stop traffic from coming to Herndon. “We cannot put Herndon in a bubble,” she said. She said people shouldn’t refuse to move forward out of fear of change.

Councilman Jasbinder Singh made a motion to ask the town staff to study the petition and set standards for the three areas mentioned by the petition, which was seconded by Councilwoman Connie Hutchinson.

Singh said no one is against development but the council needs to maintain the quality of life of Herndon’s residents as much as possible.

Hutchinson said the three concerns on the petition are ones that the majority of residents have and believes the town could come up with some general standards for them. She said all three of the concerns should be studied.

Councilman Bill Tirrell said though he agrees the issues brought up need to be thought about and considered all through the planning process, he doesn’t believe it would be helpful to hand it to the town staff to do. He said the project will present the town with many opportunities, but one of the things they can’t do is tell people not to get in their cars. He said Herndon Parkway has already turned into a more normal roadway than originally envisioned with all the stop signs and traffic lights on it.

Councilwoman Grace Wolf said if they set specific standards, her fear would be that none of the developers would go above and beyond the set standards once reached. She said the town is nowhere near the end of the planning process and things will continue to change, but she isn’t in favor of setting standards.

Councilwoman Sheila Olem said the traffic in Herndon has increased without Metro’s presence in the area, and the town can’t stop that. She said she doesn’t want to see the town limit itself to second-rate office buildings that won’t attract larger companies.

Vice Mayor Lisa Merkel said she agrees with many of the points made. She said since coming across the error in the planning process public interest in the project is higher now and the consultants know people will be watching closely. She said people should also keep in mind that the plan is a comprehensive plan amendment and will be revisited every five years.

Singh’s motion to have the town staff begin work on standards for planning for Metro-area development failed by a vote of 3-4.