From the Board
After the mini-hurricane and recent snowstorm on the first day of Spring, I think like me, most of you would like to put the Winter weather behind us and embrace all the new things that Spring has to offer! There is a LOT going on in our Community, and your Board continues to work hard to make Island Creek one of the premier communities in our area.
We will soon start our Spring annual plantings, and before you know it, we will turn on our entry fountain
.
Our Spring Festival is scheduled for May 5, with a petting zoo, face painting, balloons, and other family activities (rain date is May 6). We have several great Social activities planned, which are covered separately in this newsletter. The pool will open around Memorial Day, and we are working hard to simplify the pool pass distribution process – stay tuned. We are getting new pool furniture this year, so enjoy and please provide the Onsite Manager feedback on how you like it. We are also working to get new furniture for our Clubhouse.
Safety in our neighborhoods and on our streets is always a concern. The Board is working directly with County legislators to address many of our concerns – cross walks, blind spots on county roads, and the backup on Beulah turning into our community. Please remember to adhere to posted speed limits and be considerate of pedestrians in crosswalks.
We are going to have new neighbors off of Thomas Grant Drive in the townhouse section. The Long Branch development site plan was recently approved by the County. Your Board, and in particular the Safelles, have taken great strides to advocate, represent and protect the interests of Island Creek. We do not have a date yet when construction will begin, but our best guess is within the next month or two. The builder must give us notice when this will occur and we will get the word out right away. Part of Thomas Grant will be marked as a temporary No Parking Zone to allow for deconstruction of the cul-de-sac, and again, we will notify residents in a timely manner.
Lastly, we continue to look for volunteers for the covenants, grounds and social committees to help ensure the vitality of Island Creek. If you are interested, please contact communitymanager@islandcreek.org.
Jay D. Aronowitz
Secretary
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Spring Community Yard Sale April 21st
The Spring Community Yard Sale will be held at the Island Creek clubhouse parking lot on Saturday, April 21st, from 8:00 am to 12 noon with a rain date of Sunday, April 22nd, from 12pm-4pm.
In order to reserve a space, send an email with “Garage Sale” in the subject line to Bernadette at
flowergirl70@cox.net
.
Please include your address and contact number.
Spaces are limited to Island Creek residents and assigned ahead of time on a first-come first-serve basis. If all the slots in the parking lot are filled, you will be assigned either to a sidewalk space or a space on the grassy area surrounding the clubhouse. Residents may also set up outside their homes to sell too!
The clubhouse parking lot will close at 5:00 pm on Friday, April 20th and any cars left in the lot will be towed. Residents may come early Saturday morning to set out their stuff before the yard sale begins at 8:00 am.
There will be a large banner at the community entrance the week of the sale and ads will be placed in the Washington Post and a listing posted on Craigslist.
Time to clean out your cupboards and closets of all your unused and unwanted items! That something old that you are about to throw out just might be someone else’s treasure.
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Spring Baby Boom: Let Wildlife Stay Wild
Springtime is here, and with the warming temperatures, we see a boom in baby wildlife. Animal Protection Police Officers receive many calls this time of year about young animals from residents who are trying to treat or raise wildlife that appear to be orphaned or abandoned.
While these actions are well-intended, it is important to realize that they may be unnecessary and can be detrimental to wildlife. Baby animals left alone are not necessarily orphaned or abandoned; many species of wildlife will hide their young for safety, leaving them alone for extended periods of time.
Common wildlife that are frequently found and “rescued” in Fairfax County include squirrels, red foxes, raccoons, rabbits, skunks, opossums, and songbirds. If you come across a baby animal and feel the need to intervene, we offer guidelines below to determine if the animal needs help. If an animal is displaying these signs, contact a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, veterinarian or our Animal Protection Police for further assistance and instruction.
Signs that an animal needs help include
- Shows signs of flies, worms or maggots, which look like grains of rice
- Was caught by a cat or dog
- Is bleeding or shows signs of trauma, such as swelling
- If the parents are known to be dead or separated and cannot be united
- Is very cold, thin or weak
- Is on the ground unable to move
- Is not fully furred or feathered
If you have questions about whether an animal needs help or to locate a licensed wildlife rehabilitator, you may contact the Virginia Wildlife Conflict Helpline toll-free at 1-855-571-9003. This helpline is available Monday through Friday from 8 am to 4:30 pm. Our Animal Protection Police can be reached through the Police non-emergency line at 703-691-2131.
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Island Creek Community Ladies Game Night - April 20th
The next Community Ladies Game Night is scheduled for Friday, April 20th. Light snacks and refreshments will be provided, but alcoholic beverages is bring-your-own to share. Also, please bring any games that you enjoy playing, we want to have fun!
Community Yard Sale - April 21
Community Shred Day - April 28
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Ideas are welcome!
If you have an idea for improvement to your newsletter, your Board of Directors would love to hear from you! Please send ideas to
communitymanager@islandcreek.org
.
Classifieds Ads
Island Creek maintains a list of service providers for our community. If you are interested in advertising, please email
communitymanager@islandcreek.org
.
You can check out the current classifieds on the community website
here
.
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Hayfield Secondary Present "The Wedding Singer"
April 26-28,
May 3-5
Hayfield Secondary will be performing ‘The Wedding Singer’ April 26-28 and May 3-5. Tickets can be purchased at
www.HayfieldDrama.com
.
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The Rose Hill Players Present ”Pirates of the Curry Bean” May 11-12
Join the Rose Hill Elementary School’s Rose Hill Players for Pirates of the Curry Bean.
Performances will be held at Thomas A. Edison High School (5801 Franconia Rd., Alexandria) on Friday, May 11th, at 7pm, and Saturday, May 12th, at 1pm and 7pm. Tickets will be available at the door ($7 for adults, $5 for children, $1 for children at matinee). Concessions will be available for sale.
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Archaeologists find remains of two historic ships at Robinson Landing site
Archaeologists excavate a historic ship at the former Robinson Terminal South site. Two historic ships have been found at the site recently, following last year's discovery of a ship at the Hotel Indigo site (Photo Credit: City of Alexandria)
Archaeologists under contract with Robinson Landing developer EYA have found the remains of two historic ships, the city announced in a news release Monday.
Preliminary evaluation estimates the ships are from the late 1700s or early 1800s, which matches the period of the ship found at the site of Hotel Indigo in late 2015.
“The discovery of three historic ships in a two-block area is absolutely incredible,” Eleanor Breen, acting city archaeologist, said in the release. “There have been very few ships from this era excavated in Virginia or nationwide.”
The city will lead an analysis to determine the next steps. The artifacts aren’t open to public view and aren’t visible from the street.
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Community Shred Day April 28th!
Please join us for a free shredding party hosted by Pat Holland (Embrace Home Loans) and Ania Cress (Keller Williams Reality) on Saturday, April 28th,
9am-11:00am, in the Island Creek pool parking Lot.
Island Creek also invites our Landsdowne and Hawthorne neighbors to join us!
Coffee, donuts and bagels will be served. Come on out and meet your neighbors while you safely dispose of your documents.
You benefit -- the environment benefits, too!
Patriot Shredding (
www.patriotshredding.com
) will be onsite to offer professional, hands-free, high end shredding of any and all document destruction needs. This process is fully automated, turning your documents into confetti and protecting you from ID theft by shredding all documents you no longer need. Start cleaning your file cabinets now. This is a totally free event. You provide the “stuff” … we provide the shredding!
Acceptable materials for shredding:
- paper (staples and paper clips are OK), CD’s, floppy discs.
Not acceptable:
- binders, hard drives, garbage, cardboard boxes, etc.
Two of our long time residents Patrick Holland (Embrace Home Loans) and former resident, Ania Cress (Keller Williams Realty) generously offered to sponsor this hugely popular event. Thank you Pat and Ania!
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Embark Richmond Highway Plan Approved
Following two years of intense effort, on March 20 the Board of Supervisors approved a sweeping
new land-use plan
that supports walking, biking and a bus rapid transit system on Richmond Highway.
Called Embark Richmond Highway, the update to the 7.5-mile corridor’s land-use plan is the first step needed to build a future bus rapid transit, or BRT, system. The future bus rapid transit system will run primarily in the median from the Huntington Metro Station to Fort Belvoir. Eventually it will extend to the county border at the Occoquan River. Buses are expected to run every six to 10 minutes between the nine BRT stations planned along the corridor.
The revised land-use plan also supports two future Metro stations along the highway, extending the rail system’s Yellow Line to Hybla Valley.
Residential Development and Park Space
Overall, the plan calls for concentrating more mixed-use development, especially residential, within a half mile around the nine BRT stations. It also imagines new ways to get around, providing continuous walking and bike paths along the corridor in addition to the bus system.
While the total amount of new development isn’t significantly more than the previous land-use plan, the new plan calls for more residential development. In total, it foresees a maximum of 18,000 housing units and 8.5 million square feet in nonresidential development.
New, interconnected park spaces are also planned along the corridor. The parks will be strategically located at each of the BRT stations and distributed throughout the station areas, providing places for people to enjoy the outdoors and learn more about the area’s history.
The plan also features two new, innovative concepts for open space called livability and ecological spines. These spines are continuous park spaces that are integrated with streets and buildings.
Livability spines act as alternative main streets to Richmond Highway, creating destinations for shopping, recreation and gathering outdoors. These spines integrate local streets with pedestrian and bike paths, linear parks, plazas, retail and restaurants.
Ecological spines highlight the streams that were diverted into channels or underground tunnels before modern environmental regulations. Many of these currently hidden streams will be “daylighted,” incorporating them into the street design. These spines could offer boardwalks, seating, gathering areas, trails, fitness equipment and other recreation spaces, as well as help make connections to existing residential neighborhoods.
Community Business Centers
The Richmond Highway corridor is home to six community business centers, areas planned for future development. The plan concentrates most of the future growth into four of these centers: Penn Daw, Beacon/Groveton, Hybla Valley/Gum Springs and Woodlawn. The densest development will be focused in Beacon/Groveton and Hybla Valley, the locations for the two future Metro stations.
Today, the four centers are dominated by suburban retail and strip malls. Under the plan, they would be transformed into places with distinct characters and identities:
- Penn Daw: Encompassing the crossroads where North and South Kings Highways meet Richmond Highway, this center is conceived as a transit gateway due to its proximity to the Huntington Metro Station. It is planned for 2,910 housing units, 2,663 jobs and 915,000 square feet in nonresidential development. Buildings will reach up to 15 stories along the highway closest to the BRT station. This center will feature a livability spine on the east side of the highway.
- Beacon/Groveton: It is the urban town center and focal point of the entire corridor. Beacon/Groveton is planned for approximately 1.3 million square feet in nonresidential development, 4,200 housing units and 3,560 jobs. With a Metro station, the plan allows for an additional 1.8 million square feet in nonresidential development. Because it is a town center, Beacon/Groveton is planned to have the tallest buildings along the corridor, reaching up to 22 stories closest to the BRT station. These buildings will take advantage of the potential views to Old Town Alexandria and Washington D.C. On the west side of the Richmond Highway, a central civic plaza will connect to the BRT station, and this plaza is intended to host large community events like festivals, farmers markets and outdoor performances. The plaza also will link to a livability spine.
- Hybla Valley/Gum Springs: This center contains ecological resources, including streams that connect to Huntley Meadows Park and a rich historical legacy, including the Gum Springs community. At more than 1.25 miles long, it’s also the longest center in the corridor and it is planned for three BRT stations and a future Metro station. The center will feature three ecological spines. Two will incorporate local roads and the third will not, designed primarily as a waterway and walking and biking path located between residential uses. In total, Hybla Valley/Gum Springs is planned for 2.4 million square feet of nonresidential development, 3,400 dwelling units and 6,460 jobs. With the construction of a Metro station, the plan permits an additional 910,000 square feet in nonresidential development.
- Woodlawn: Because it located near major historic sites, including Mount Vernon, Washington’s Grist Mill, Woodlawn and Pope-Leighey House, this center is reimagined as a mixed-use neighborhood and tourist hub. A central feature is a network of shared walking and biking paths that lead from this center to the area’s historic attractions. To support tourism, the plans envisions a hotel with conference center to be located near the BRT station and the center’s livability spine. The plan calls for a maximum of 786,000 square feet in nonresidential development, 1,020 housing units and 2,281 jobs.
How We Got Here
The county began its efforts to update this plan in May 2015, following the Board of Supervisors’ authorization to look at land uses within half a mile of proposed BRT stations. The planning efforts were aided by a 13-member advisory group and six major community meetings and numerous neighborhood meetings over two years to help gather public feedback.
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Fairfax County Budget News:
FY 2019 Budget
How to Provide Input and Stay Informed
The Board of Supervisors values your input on the
proposed FY 2019 budget
. Here are several ways for you to provide your ideas and suggestions, and to stay informed during the
budget process
.
1. Town Hall Meetings in March
The
Board of Supervisors
will hold a series of town hall meetings in their districts to get input from residents. Mark your calendar to attend the meeting in your district!
2. Public Hearings are April 10-12
April 10, 3 p.m. (effective tax rate) 4 p.m. (budget)
April 11, 1 p.m.
April 12, 1 p.m.
3. Send An Email
Email
your feedback and comments to our county budget staff no later than mid-April. Individual responses are not possible due to the high volume, but most answers can be found
here
during the budget process.
4. Stay Informed
Get county budget updates via texts or email, by subscribing to
Fairfax Alerts
.
Read
NewsCenter
for budget-related news. (search budget)
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Host a Foreign Exchange Student!
For more information contact local coordinator and Island Creek resident, Yin Mei Hueskes, at
hueskes@starpower.net
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