Ask the Supervisor: The Future of Salona Park

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.  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.