February 11 – 17, 2021
FA LLS CHUR C H, V I R G I NI A • WW W. FC NP. C OM • FR EE
FOU N D E D 1991 • V OL. X XX NO. 52
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Unanimous Vote Supports 10+% Affordable Housing
Council Backs Subsidized Housing at Whole Foods Site
BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
By a unanimous 7-0 vote Monday, the Falls Church City Council approved an historic measure ensuring that over 10 percent of all the 339 residential rental units to be built at the just-approved Broad and Washington large scale mixed use project will be offered at subsidized affordable rates. Never before in the City or the region has such a high percentage of total units in a major project been designated as available “affordably,” which is to say at rates affordable to individuals or households earning between 40 and 80 percent of the annual median income for the region. It marks the first concrete step to provide such housing in over a decade in Falls Church since the
defeat of a measure to build a multiple-unit affordable housing project failed to win a critical Council vote in 2011. Monday’s novel unanimous vote was capped with an “icing on the cake,” a move to add a single additional unit, at the initiative of Councilman Phil Duncan, to push the number of affordable units from 33 to 34, bringing them officially over 10 percent of the 339 total units planned for the project. Funding to cover the cost will come from the Insight Property developers of the overall project as part of their voluntary concessions offered in exchange for the Council’s approval of zoning and other modifications required to get the project OK’d. “Too many to name deserve a
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HANGMAN’S PLAQUE IS NO MORE. The plaque was quietly removed by City of Falls Church officials recently, stemming from complaints from last summer that it celebrated the killing of Union soldiers during the Civil War. (P����: N���-P����)
Ruiz-Bolanos Chosen as Interim Member of F.C. School Board BY NICHOLAS F. BENTON
FALLS CHURCH NEWS-PRESS
The Falls Church City Public School Board Tuesday night appointed Sonia Ruiz-Bolanos, a parent-activist with the system’s English for Speakers of Other Languages (ESOL) and the City-
wide Family Resource Center and board member of the Falls Church Education Foundation, by a 6-1 vote. The vote was one of a number of important issues the board dealt with Tuesday, including the status of classroom education as the Covid-19 pandemic continues to
rage, and some worrisome developments due to the resumption of indoor inter-school sports competitions. With her appointment, RuizBolanos fills a seat on the board vacated by the resignation of board member Lawrence Webb in January. She will serve in the position until
the end of 2021, pending the outcome of an election in November to fill the seat for a full four-year term. Ruiz-Bolanos was one of 11 Falls Church citizens who submitted a request to receive the appointment. No other person was publicly nominated Monday. Board member Phil Reitinger said he felt the most
important criteria “is a demonstrated record of commitment” to the system’s work, though he said it was “a very close question.” Board member Shawna Russell said that she felt appointing someone with a more contrarian point of view to the current board’s majority might prove valuable, and she voted no on the appointment of Ruiz-
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SEE STORY, PAGE 2
SEE STORY, PAGE 15
Virginia’s General Assembly is on the verge of passing a bill that allows middle and high schoolers to take an absence in order to stay civically involved, and Marshall High’s Matthew Savage is largely to thank for taking the Fairfax County policy statewide.
Sandwiched between retailers in the Falls Plaza Shopping Center is a little takeout spot, Tasty Dumpling, a Chinese, Asian and AsianFusion restaurant where customers can get delicious pork, shrimp, beef and chicken onedish meals to-go.
P����������� B������ C������ T���� �� W��� B������ Preservation Biscuit Company is hosting a pop-up event at Settle Down Easy Brewing Company in Falls Church on Saturday, Jan. 23 from noon – 2 p.m., while supplies last. The event will feature miniature versions of Preservation’s biscuits and more SEE BUSINESS NEWS, PAGE 19
INDEX
Editorial............................................... 6 Letters................................................. 6 Comment ................................ 7,12,13 News & Notes................................... 10 Crime Report .................................... 12 Calendar ........................................... 14 Classified Ads ................................... 16 Comics, Sudoku & Crossword ......... 17 Critter Corner.................................... 18 Business News ................................. 19
