Development near historic area of Lake Fairfax Park advanced by planning commission

(Updated at 4:15 p.m.) A redevelopment proposal for nearly 9-acre parcel of land near Lake Fairfax Park is headed for a vote before the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors this month.

The plan by SEM Fairfax Land Associates calls for eight single-family homes on a cul-de-sac off of Lake Fairfax Drive, along with the preservation of a log house that was built in the 1790s.

At a Fairfax County Board of Supervisors meeting on Sept. 26, Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn introduced a board matter to set a board date for the application.

“In addition to the aforementioned preservation of the Log House, these Applications will ensure that the currently unmaintained unnamed cemetery #44FX1397 is well maintained in perpetuity and most importantly, that the cemetery remains undisturbed,” Alcorn wrote in the board matter.

The application went before the Fairfax County Planning Commission on July 26 and Sept. 27, when the commission recommended it be approved.

Hunt Club Cluster residents in Reston pushed back against the redevelopment of the property, which includes a possible slave cemetery.

At the commission’s hearing, attorney John McGranahan said that the applicant made several changes to the proposal. The applicant relocated lot six — one of the most significant changes in response to residents’ concerns about the encroachment of the lot on the cemetery.

“It was a lot harder than changing the lines on the drawing,” McGranahan.

Other changes include adding landscaping along Lake Fairfax Drive, added a sign to identify the cemetery as the Johnson Farm Cemetery and increased open space.