Planning Commission Votes to Recommend Herndon Metrorail Area Plan

The Herndon Planning Commission voted to recommend approval of the Herndon Metrorail Station Area Plan to the Town Council on Monday night.

Kay Robertson, senior planner for the Town of Herndon, said the area is comprised of about 110 acres. It will have a density of 4.5FAR that gradually decreases to 0.7FAR as it gets closer to existing residential neighborhoods.

Floor area ratio, or FAR refers to the square footage of the building in relation to the lot, and is a measure of how dense a piece of land may be. For example an FAR of 1.0 would mean the square footage of the building would be the same amount as the square footage of the lot of land it sits on.

Kevin East, chairman of the Planning Commission, said he wanted to stress to the public that if the town does nothing all they will get is a sidewalk. He said that means there will be no parking, no kiss-and-ride, no pull-off areas for buses, no lighting and no covered walkway.

He said the first concern of the town and the Planning Commission was for the safety of the community. They were concerned that without some sort of passenger drop-off and pick-up areas people would attempt to stop on Herndon Parkway to drop people off, creating a dangerous situation.

Local resident Michael Loftus said he’s concerned about there being enough housing for the numbers of employees the redevelopment will bring to the town.  

East said the town recognizes the need for housing, especially affordable housing, and it is something that the town recognized in the comprehensive plan in 2008, but it hasn’t been addressed since.

Robertson said there is a plan to add housing, but the town hasn’t addressed the disparity between the amount of new housing and number of new jobs that could come to the town.

Shane Murphy, a real estate attorney with Cooley LLP, which represents some of the landowners in the study area, said the town has been very inclusive of the community and landowners in the process.

He said the concern some of them have is not with the floor area ratio, but the building height limit. He said 15 stories for the properties that will surround the Worldgate Drive extension. He said with the amount of land being taken for the roadway, they may need 20 or more stories to reach an appropriate FAR.

Murphy encouraged the town to stick with the consultant’s idea for the promenade area off the Metro landing. He said it is very close to what the landowners envision. He also suggested deferring the preliminary engineering on the Worldgate Drive extension until it is needed. 

Planning Commissioner Robert Burk made a motion to approve the plan, which was seconded by Commissioner Melissa Jonas. Burk said he feels what they’ve come up with is “a very good plan.”

Commissioner Paul LeReche said he still wants to make sure the area is appealing to bicyclists and pedestrians. He said he’d like to see more separation between the bikes, pedestrians and cars.

Commissioner Bernadette Bettard said she wants to ensure that the development enhances the design and aesthetics of the area. Her point was added to the plan as one of the goals.

Jonas said she sees the coming of metro as a good opportunity for the town that could bring positive things to the community. She said she wanted to ensure that green spaces and civic spaces aren’t forgotten or lost in the shuffle as the plan moves forward.

East commended the town staff for their work on getting the town to this point in its planning process so swiftly. He said the work has been excellent, and was not consultant or developer driven. He said the consultants did exactly what the town asked for and he’s proud of the plan.

The Planning Commission passed the Herndon Metrorail Station Area Plan unanimously.