Heather Lynch from Fairfax County Planning and Development Division has sent us back the revised plans for the park based upon our survey feedback we gave to her last month. Though they are an improvement, they are far from the wishes of our community based upon the survey responses.
It appears that the county is ignoring our major concerns and efforts to have this park reflect the wishes and needs of our Glen Forest community. Heather Lynch has made clear that the county has finalized plans and will begin construction, despite having major unresolved issues and opposition from our community. She states that Penny Gross and the Park Board are in agreement. It is confusing why the county is not considering our feedback despite us being the most impacted. The original public hearing for the park was ten years ago (Dec. 2010); the community has changed significantly and the park design should reflect this. In addition, the county is not interested in holding a new hearing. We have not heard why the county is refusing to hold a new hearing when there is so much opposition to the plans (and our property taxes have doubled).
We will be taking this matter to Penny Gross' office, to ensure that she is aware of the community's concerns regarding the plans. We will continue to update you regarding the park as things progress.