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Politics & Government

Town Holds Neighborhood Meeting to Hear Residents Metrorail Concerns

Residents gathered for discussion regarding the Herndon Metrorail Study

Town officials addressed the concerns of residents of the neighborhoods surrounding the Herndon Metrorail Station Area Study, as well as some possible solutions, at a meeting Wednesday night.

Senior Planner Kay Robertson presented the room full of residents with a clearer understanding of options for the Metrorail that is projected to make its way to Herndon by 2016. Among the options discussed were , both of which have similar features, but different levels of design and density.

"The town already had an idea of what it wanted out of Metrorail service. The vision for 2027 that was prepared by the Town Council about three years ago, was that Herndon residences and businesses are connected to the rest of the world by transit-oriented development" said Robertson.

Robertson said traffic studies in the town of Herndon have influenced the different area plan options, which was a main concern for residents at the meeting. She said Floor Area Ratio, or "the relationship of the floor area of a building with respect to the land area that it is related to" was an important term to understand.

"Higher FAR's provide greater incentive for re-development. Like Tysons Corner to some extent, Herndon is an area that already has development and with the Metrorail coming in there's going to be re-development," said Robertson. She said this means that rather than building from the ground up, the existing buildings in the Herndon Metrorail Study Area will present challenges for the construction of the Metrorail.

Once the floor was opened to questions, the biggest concerns were the cost of the project, the amount of or possible lack of green space and how the project will impact traffic. The biggest complaint from residents was that there would be no north-side access to parking for the future Herndon-Monroe station.

Upcoming meetings on Metro include a meeting with commercial property owners located in the study area at 8 a.m. Dec. 1 at ArtSpace, and a Neighborhood Metro Meeting at 7 p.m. later that same day with the Planning Commission in the Mary Ingram Council Chambers, 765 Lynn St.

The Planning Commission will be holding its next regular Public Hearing, which will cover the Herndon Metrorail study, at 7 p.m. on Dec. 6, also at the Mary Ingram Council Chambers.

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