Ask the Supervisor: The Future of Salona Park
Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust answers questions submitted by Patch readers.
Question: What was the public consensus of the Salona Park public meeting?
Answer: Salona Park was created when the Fairfax County Park Authority entered into an agreement with the landowners to place over 40 acres of land into a conservation easement. The conservation easement is intended to preserve the land from development and to create a park which would integrate the cultural, natural and historic nature of the property with opportunities for active and passive recreation.
In November 2010, the Park Authority presented a draft Master Plan for Salona Park to the community. During the meeting and in the subsequent comment period, the Park Authority received numerous suggestions and proposals for how the park could be used and developed. Residents requested more community input into the park planning process. The Dranesville Representative on the Park Authority Board and I created the Salona Task Force to provide that opportunity for community input.
The Task Force has been meeting for over one year during which time it has hosted land use presentations from a wide spectrum of stakeholders. On October 4, 2012, the task force conducted a public meeting to present the variety of land use concepts which it has considered and to solicit community feedback to the presentations. Hundreds of people attended the meeting. They heard presentations, visited exhibits of various land use options and completed a survey.
The Task Force conducted the public meeting and has not yet submitted a report the level of consensus that may have been reached. The citizen comments are one part of the overall review by the Task Force as to how Salona could be used. The Task Force will present a report with recommendations for Salona Park to the Fairfax County Park Authority. Park Authority staff will then develop a proposed Master Plan for the park, which will be presented to the community for comment.
Do you have a question for Supervisor Foust? You can submit it below in the comments section or contact his office directly via email, dranesville@fairfaxcounty.gov, or by phone, 703-356-0551.
Juan Aguilar
6:54 am on Tuesday, January 8, 2013
After the December 11th meeting with the Supervisor, did the task force come up with a date by which it would present its report? What is taking so long?
I hope that the next time the Supervisor decides to short circuit the Park Authority's planning process, he exercises a little more oversight and better defines timelines and expectations so that community projects and taxpayer funds aren't indefinitely held hostage to special interests.
Citizen E
8:25 am on Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Has it occurred to you, sir, that you yourself represent one of those special interests?
Juan Aguilar
12:01 pm on Tuesday, January 8, 2013
My interests aren't that special, but they do neatly correspond with those proposed two years ago by the County, which are supported by thousands of McLean residents, are not holding up this process in favor of giving the DuVals a huge payday.
As a solution, I propose that the easement should be voided, the DuVals repay the money they've received, and that the Park Authority use those funds to concentrate its efforts on the renewal of Langley Fork as a premier recreation destination. Then we'll see for how long the owners hold on to the Salona property in its current state.
In any case, I think that it is reasonable to ask why this task force has taken as long as it has and ask why the Supervisor did not exercise more oversight in making sure that there was a reasonable schedule and a concretely defined work product deliverable.
Dave Webster
6:46 pm on Tuesday, January 8, 2013
I hardly think a Fairfax County taxpayer who wants to know what we got for our $16,000,000 payoff to the DuVals represents a "special interest." It's not like Mr. Aguilar is in charge of some PAC seeking special treatment.
Concerned Citizen
9:56 am on Tuesday, January 8, 2013
The County will pay $16,000,000 for the Salona easement. There are more than 1,000,000 residents of Fairfax County and there are only about 40,000 residents of McLean. Depending on how you wish to look at this, either $16 per Fairfax resident or $400 per McLean resident went into the pockets of the landowners. The County has now spent more money as a result of the protracted discussions surrounding uses that were agreed to BEFORE the money was paid. The removal of the property from the tax rolls has further exacerbated this cost to us all.
The residents of McLean and Fairfax County have paid a steep price to preserve the front yard of the people who own the property. This could have been achieved without the expense to us all. Imagine how many teacher salaries could be paid with that money. Imagine how many services for the elderly or challenged could have been funded with that money. But since the money is spent we need to get some utility from the expenditure and continuing to let the “fox watch the hen house” is not the way to accomplish that.
Dave Webster
10:27 am on Tuesday, January 8, 2013
I too am troubled by the preservation of the DuVal's front yard. During the Presidential election I noticed an oversized President Obama sign in Salona Park. I wrote to the Fairfax County Democratic Party to complain about a sign being placed in a public park and this is the response I got: "In response to your email, the sign that you referenced, and that has been vandalized two nights in a row, was placed on private property with the permission of the landowner. The property is neither owned nor controlled by the Fairfax County Park Authority. The landowners granted a conservation easement to the Park Authority, but remain the owners of the property. There is as of yet, no Park Authority operation of any sort at the property." What does Mr. Foust know about all this? Is he deliberately placating the DuVals because they are a prominent Democratic family? Please note the DuVals have also contributed approximately $5,000 to Mr. Foust's campaigns. It's time to tell the DuVals that the taxpayers want to use the property they paid $16,000,000 for.
A. Jones
7:36 pm on Tuesday, January 8, 2013
Wow! Do you think it would have been a better idea to sell the land to developers for 150 million, and have it turned into an Evan's Farm Inn nightmare? Mr. Webster by the tone of your postings, it sounds like if you were the owner of the Salona property, you would have sold it to the highest bidder without a blink of an eye. What's the rush? Let the county and the citizens take their own sweet time to decide what to do or not do with this historic and last open land space in McLean.
Dave Webster
8:22 pm on Tuesday, January 8, 2013
What do you mean "what's the rush"? It's not like the DuVals just got their $16,000,000 check last week. The conservation easement was entered into in 2005. I am attaching to this article minutes of a meeting from 2 years ago on what to do with the property. Dan and Karen DuVal could have sold the property to developers, it is true. However, they would have lost the pleasant view from their home. So they did the next best thing. They got Fairfax County to fork over $16,000,000 and still protected their view. Didn't you read the quote from the email about the DuVals treating the propery as if it is still completely privately owned?
Be that as it may, I am certainly not an expert on this matter. So you tell me. Are a number of citizens getting put off by the length of time it is taking to finalize this process or not?
A. Jones
10:26 am on Wednesday, January 9, 2013
As a matter of fact, no, the majority of citizens are not getting put off by the length of time. If you took a poll in the 22101 area code and asked every paying taxpayer if there is an urgent need to decide on what to do with the land, I am confident a majority would say no. What you have here is a situation where certain groups have particular interests on what they want the land used for and they are a vocal minority. Last by not least, if you cannot recognize that the Duval's decision to sell the land to the county was not a generous act that will benefit the citizens of McLean for generations to come, then my dear friend you have lost sight of the big picture. Go up to Evan's Farm Inn and take a walk around and imagine what that area could have meant to the citizens of the county if it had not been sold to developers. And remember that the Duval's could have sold the property for at least 150 million. Do the math. 150 minus 16 equals 134 million. That's a very generous gift to the county and our citizens.
Dave Webster
12:06 pm on Wednesday, January 9, 2013
Well, I am certainly willing to admit I am wrong if the facts are as you say. The majority of McLean residents are not unhappy with the length of time it is taking to finalize the plans for Salona Park and the DuVal's interest in granting the conservation easement was solely for the benefit of the community.