Trail Waiver# 8945-WTL-001-1:
Rose Hill Manor
May Boulevard at Rose Hill

  
  Article Prepared By Robert Michie
Trails and Sidewalk Committee, Lee District
Last Reviewed: 1 June 2011
Revision 1		  
 

Summary:

Rose Hill Manor has filed a Subdivision Plan (8945-PL-002-1) to demolish existing structures, located at the intersection of May Boulevard and Silo Road in the Rose Hill area of Fairfax County. The existing structures comprise a child care and child development center. The Center will be replaced with a subdivision of twelve houses. The existing structures includes heavily remodeled farm buildings from the 1940's, including two prominent silos.

An approximately 400-foot section of frontage along May Boulevard has triggered the requirement for an 8-foot Type I trail. The County has asked that the trail be placed on the North edge of the property and run westwards towards the Greendale Golf Course. The trail will begin on May Boulevard, and terminate in a large wood significantly short of the Golf Course. Applicant's Request: waive the trail requirement because:

  1. The proposed location on the Countywide Trails map is unclear, and it appears to be near an existing County road, Tree Top Lane.

  2. The trail will terminate in an undeveloped, heavily wooded, steeply sloped area.

  3. A better location for the trail would be along Tree Top Lane, where an existing trail is nearby.

Map 1: Map of Subject Area. Property highlighted in color.

Discussion:

Map 1 shows the future location of Rose Hill Manor in yellow (it is labeled "Meadow View Swim Club"). The existing trail from Rose Hill Apartments to Kingstown is shown in red on the left side of the map. The green diagonal line in the center of the map represents the proposed trail along the Dominion Power easement. Note the location of Tree Top Lane just to the North of Rose Hill Manor.

The Rose Hill Manor subdivision will replace a Kinder-Care center that has been in operation since the mid-1980's. May Boulevard and its connecting streets to Rose Hill Drive are single-family residential, and do not generate a lot of traffic. The Kinder-Care facility itself is probably the major trip generator West of Rose Hill Drive. Approximately 400 feet of sidewalk will be added to May Boulevard as part of the new subdivision. There are no existing sidewalks in the area.

The Southeast Quadrant Trails Map does show an on-road passage to the north of the property along Tree Top Lane. The Trails Committee Future Trails map recommends an eight-foot wide asphalt trail adjacent to the property, but clearly within the Dominion Power easement which parallels the northern edge of the property. The applicant is wrong saying that the proposed location on the countywide trails map is "unclear."

There is already an existing eight-foot asphalt trail, which starts in the parking lot of Rose Hill Apartments and runs all the way into Kingstown. The existing trail also makes use of the same Dominion Power easement for much of its length.

Field inspection shows hooking into the existing trail will require less construction if work is started at the bottom of Tree Top Lane, as the applicant suggests. Redevelopment may have to wait because the 2011 Area IV Master Plan has notes about the difficulty of RH4 (Lehigh Community Planning Sector) soil conditions that could discourage redevelopment.

Another concern is that the Area IV Master Plan says that the Greendale Golf Course should develop golf-related activities during expansions. The trail along the Northern edge of Rose Hill Manor will stop considerably short of the Golf Course. FCPA will probably not support the proposed trail as it is not part of the golf-related mandate.

Field Check  30 May 2011

Photo 1: Existing structures at Rose Hill Manor. The owner will build a five-foot sidewalk along May Blvd. in front of the property. There is no other sidewalk in the vicinity.
Photo 2: Dominion Power easement next to Rose Hill Manor. Barely visible in the center of the picture is a power line pylon. To the left is Rose Hill Manor, and to the right are a series of backyards. The 2007 Trails Planning Map shows an eight foot trail within this easement. The County asked for a trail that goes no further than the Western edge of the property.
Photo 3: The same power pylon line (center of picture) about 250 feet from Photo 2. The roundabout in the foreground is the terminus of Tree Top Lane. About 200 feet down slope, the power line pylons cross an existing eight-foot wide trail that runs from Rose Hill Apartments to Kingstown.

 

Recommendation:

Approve the Waiver for the following reasons:

  1. Tree Top Lane is a better alternative for a trail alignment because it is already built and its length completely eclipses the trail segment asked for by the County. It is close enough to Rose Hill Manor and to the Dominion Power easement to fulfill the intent of the Future Trails recommendation.
  2. About 200 feet of construction will connect the Tree Top Lane segment to an existing trail network. The segment that the County asked for is also about 200 feet long, but would not connect to anything.
  3. It is unlikely that FCPA would wish a public trail to be routed inside the border area so close to active golf fairways.

 

  
 

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