SHARE:  

1.2.25

Dear Neighbor,

Happy New Year! I wish you and your family a joyful, happy, and healthy 2025, and look forward to working with you to continue our progress in Fairfax County.


Due to the holiday schedule, the January edition of the Braddock Beacon will be published next Friday, January 10.




General Assembly Hearing

This Saturday, January 4, members of the Fairfax County Delegation to the General Assembly will host their Annual Fairfax County Delegation Public Hearing at 9:00 a.m. in the Board Auditorium of the Government Center (12000 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax) regarding the upcoming 2025 session.


You can find more information on the County's website.




Plastic Bag Fee = 3 Million Fewer Plastic Bags = Cleaner Fairfax

hq720 image

In 2021, I introduced a Board Matter with Chairman McKay and Supervisor Storck to consider the implementation of a 5¢ fee on disposable plastic bags with the goal of reducing the amount of plastic pollution in our local environment. Later that year, the Board adopted an ordinance and the fee went into effect on January 1, 2022.


The measure faced opposition from President Trump's former EPA Administrator and Springfield Supervisor Pat Herrity, who claimed that the measure would not reduce plastic pollution. But two years later, the facts are in. We now know that the plastic bag fee successfully reduces waste and supports our sustainability efforts.


Since 2022, 3.6 million fewer plastic bags have been used by consumers in the county. Because plastic bags are difficult to secure, and regularly blow away from trash cans, solid waste trucks, and transfer stations, fewer plastic bags used means fewer plastic bags that end up in our parks, trees, and streams.

816NB93WTqL image

According to a report from Clean Fairfax, the average count of single-use shopping bags observed at each monitoring site pre-fee was 5.16 bags, compared to an average of 2.72 bags in the post-fee era. Overall, Clean Fairfax has observed a 47.27% decrease in littered single-use plastic bags following the bag ordinance adoption in Fairfax County.


Revenue from the plastic bag fee is used to support waste reduction and community clean-up efforts, including Operation Stream Shield, a county program that employs people experiencing homelessness to clean up local streams.


Read more about the plastic bag fee:

Yours in service,

Supervisor James R. Walkinshaw

Please share this newsletter with your friends and neighbors. If this email was forwarded to you, consider subscribing to receive Braddock District news and updates.

Continue reading below for more information on:

  • Update on Lake Accotink Dam Assessment
  • Christmas Tree Recycling
  • Community Advisory Committee Engagement Meeting
  • Submit Your CCFP Feedback
  • LLI January Forum
  • SSPA Process Launching Soon
  • Submit Comments on the Royal Lake Trail Project

Update on Lake Accotink

Dam Assessment

The Fairfax County Park Authority began an assessment of the Lake Accotink dam earlier this fall to evaluate its structural integrity and identify any potential maintenance and/or repair needs. The assessment of the earthen portion of the dam has been completed.


The removal of the debris from the sluice gate is underway now.



Once the debris has been removed, the lake can be lowered so divers can inspect the concrete portion of the dam. If the work must be delayed because of weather conditions, the divers will not be able to return to the site until mid-February due to previous obligations during the month of January. 

Christmas Tree Recycling

Articles_Christmas_Tree%20Recycling image

Natural Christmas trees will be collected for recycling for County customers from January 6-17, 2025. Lights, decorations, and stands must be removed to ensure collection.


Any resident can drop off their tree at the I-66 Transfer Station or I-95 Landfill Complex beginning January 6.


If you are a County collection customer, schedule a Brush Special Pickup to have the natural Christmas tree removed after January 17.


There is a fee to recycle your tree at the disposal centers. For questions, email DPWESSWMPTrashCS@fairfaxcounty.gov or call (703) 802-3322.

Community Advisory Committee Engagement Meeting

The West Springfield District Community Advisory Committee (CAC) will host a Community Engagement Meeting on Tuesday, January 7, at 7:00 p.m.


These meetings offer the community a chance to dialogue and communicate more effectively with officers of the Fairfax County Police Department. The meeting will be held in person at the West Springfield District Station (6140 Rolling Road, Springfield).


Sign up for the West Springfield CAC newsletter by emailing wscacmailbox@gmail.com. CAC meetings are generally held on the first Tuesday of the month at 7:00 p.m., and all ages are welcome to attend. If you have any questions, contact MPO Tony Capizzi at (703) 277-2363.

Submit Your CCFP Feedback

356807726_645207160976116_1091208709941734904_n image

The Fairfax County Department of Neighborhood and Community Services invites you to provide feedback on the category setting process for the Consolidated Community Funding Pool (CCFP). Your input will help to identify targeted community needs.


The CCFP is a competitive funding process for human services programs developed and administered by nonprofits and community-based organizations. The funding allocated to organizations through the CCFP serves as an investment and catalyst for strengthening the human services network of programs available for Fairfax County residents. To learn more about the process, visit the Consolidated Community Funding Pool's website.


The CCFP is overseen by the Consolidated Community Funding Advisory Committee (CCFAC)), a citizen group established by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and charged with the responsibility to advise the Board of Supervisors on the development and implementation of the federally required consolidation plan, as well as recommend CCFP funding categories based on community and staff assessments of the human services and community development needs within the county. CCFAC advises all aspects of the CCFP policy, needs targeting, and proposal evaluation criteria planning and development. Members of the CCFAC are appointed by the County Executive and represent various public and private citizen advisory or administrative boards, councils, and committees within the county.

 

Survey results will inform members of the CCFAC of needs in the community as they prepare for the next Consolidated Community Funding Pool cycle. Fill out the survey, there is a translation feature within the survey for community members to review in many languages.

LLI January Forum

LLINOVA-Banner-Dec-2021 image

Join the Lifetime Learning Institute (LLI) of Northern Virginia Community College (NOVA) for their virtual January Forum on January 8, from 10:00 - 11:30 a.m. on Zoom. The social gathering starts at 9:30 a.m.


The January speaker is David Tucker from the Chesapeake Bay Foundation will discuss efforts to protect the bay and revive wildlife. 


Visit LLI's website for information on registering or email Janice Viola at admin@llinova.org with questions.

SSPA Process Launching Soon

SSPA%20graphic%20NC%20lead image

Fairfax County’s next round of the Site Specific Plan Amendment (SSPA) process will officially kick off on January 13.


SSPA is the County’s process for giving the public a way to propose a land use change, known as a “nomination,” in the Comprehensive Plan for a single site or collection of sites.


The Comprehensive Plan guides the County's land use and development decisions and sets forth the community’s future vision. The nomination period will run from January 13 - February 13, and nominations will be accepted online through PLUS, the County’s Planning and Land Use System. Read more about the SSPA on the County's website.

Submit Comments on the Royal

Lake Trail Project

Royal%20Lake_043015_0024_1 image

The Fairfax County Park Authority (FCPA) is nearing the completion of the design and permitting process for several trail improvements at Royal Lake in the Braddock District. As part of the process, the Park Authority has posted the environmental documentation for a Categorical Exclusion under the National Environmental Policy Act, which is required to initiate the project. The documentation is available on the Royal Lake Trail Project webpage for public review, and comments will be accepted until January 27, 2025.


FCPA has worked closely with the Royal Lake community to develop the project scope and acquire the necessary funding to initiate five trail improvement projects surrounding Royal Lake, including:

  • Royal Lake Bridge Replacement: Replacement of the pedestrian bridge over Rabbit Branch on the north side of Royal Lake.
  • Royal Lake to Commonwealth Boulevard Trail: Construction of a new stream valley trail connecting an existing asphalt trail north of Lakeside Park to Commonwealth Boulevard.
  • Richardson Court to Lakeside Park Trail: Repaving the park entrance trail from Richardson Drive to the soccer and baseball fields at Lakeside Park.
  • Royal Lake Dam to Lakepointe Drive Trail: Paving of the natural surface trail linking the asphalt trail on top of the dam to the Royal Lake Loop Trail.
  • Lakeside Park Shade Structure: Installation of a fabric shade structure and updated picnic equipment near the playground. This segment of the project is currently underway and is funded separately through local funds (not federally funded).

 

Comments can be submitted online or mailed to:

Fairfax County Park Authority

ATTN: Elizabeth Iannetta, Park Development Division

12055 Government Center Parkway

Suite 421

Fairfax, VA 22035


For more information about this project please call (703) 324-8725, email royal-lake@publicinput.com, or visit FCPA's website.


Friends of Royal Lake had requested a set of trail improvements back in 2019. Supervisor Walkinshaw asked then-Speaker Eileen Filler-Corn in 2021 to prioritize these in the upcoming budget. This resulted in a budget amendment providing $1,000,000 to Fairfax County for trail system connections at Lake Royal Park. 

Follow me on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram, and YouTube

Facebook  Twitter  Instagram  Youtube