Fairfax County meeting outlines Madison Homes’ plan to add option for 3–4 DU/acre on Gallows Road; residents press stormwater and traffic concerns

Leah Neibauer, the main planner for the plan amendment review, told a virtual Fairfax County community meeting that a site‑specific plan amendment (SSPA) nomination for parcels along Gallows Road seeks an option to increase planned density from 1–2 dwelling units per acre to 3–4 DU/acre. The nominator, Madison Homes, is proposing about 32 single‑family detached homes on roughly 8.1 acres and has added parcels to consolidate the assemblage after earlier proposals on the site were withdrawn or rejected.

The proposed amendment is intended as an optional change to the Fairfax County comprehensive plan that would allow future rezoning to a PDH‑4 pattern; staff said the amendment is in the impact‑analysis phase and that a staff report will be prepared for later public hearings before the planning commission and the Board of Supervisors. Kathy Taylor of the law firm Walsh Colucci, who said she represents the nominator, described the concept as a lower‑density alternative to earlier, higher‑density proposals and said it is “meant to serve what we believe is an appropriate transition” between the denser townhome neighborhood to the west and detached homes to the south and east.

Transportation and pedestrian connections were a major topic. Ashley Denner, the transportation planner supporting the Gallows Road study, described a recommended corridor design that includes two coordinated traffic signals (one at Gallows and Hemlock, another at Gallows and Aston), an envisioned four‑lane section in the study segment, 8‑foot landscape buffers, and a 10‑foot multiuse trail to improve walking and biking access to nearby Woodburn Elementary School. Staff cautioned that signal installation requires separate VDOT approval, a signal justification report and available funding; Ashley said that process and funding can take years and sometimes up to a decade, and asked residents to use the Gallows Road Study contacts for updates.

Stormwater management and downstream flooding were the most persistent concerns from neighbors. The nominator’s civil engineer, Dave McElhaney of Urban Engineering, described an underground detention system and storm‑sewer improvements intended to control runoff that is currently unmanaged. McElhaney said the design would “keep all that underground” and tie into the existing Raintree storm sewer, reconstruct a problematic storm inlet, and rely on gravity rather than pumps. He told the meeting the detention system is being sized to overdetain runoff and that the proposed BMPs are intended to provide water‑quality improvements and to control the 1‑, 2‑, 10‑ and 100‑year storm events for the areas of flow treated by the new facilities.

Residents also pressed the math on lot sizes and overall density after the nomination expanded from an earlier submittal. Robert Berry and others argued that roads, sidewalks and amenity areas reduce net lot area and questioned whether 32 homes would fit on the site at the claimed density; planning staff (Clara Johnson) explained that planned DU/acre comparisons follow county conventions for density calculations. Russ Rosenberger of Madison Homes said the average finished lot size is expected to be about 6,500–7,000 square feet and that the balance of land would consist of streets and common open space maintained by a homeowners association.

Questions about parking, maintenance and long‑term responsibilities were answered with a combination of staff and applicant commitments: the applicant said each unit is proposed to include a two‑car garage and two driveway spaces, the underground stormwater facility will require routine maintenance, and maintenance obligations would be secured by HOA agreements and rezoning proffers.

Several residents asked whether an emergency‑access connection shown in one illustrative layout could instead be a full access point. County staff said the plan amendment can show an emergency‑access option but that converting it to a full four‑way public intersection would require additional study and VDOT approval at rezoning; staff described possible physical measures (bollards or curb design) to prevent routine cut‑through traffic while retaining emergency access.

Next steps: staff will continue impact analysis, coordinate with FCDOT/VDOT on transportation questions raised by the Gallows Road study, draft a staff report, and publish materials for upcoming planning commission and Board of Supervisors hearings later this summer. Staff posted contact information and said a recording of the meeting and slides will be posted on the Fairfax County website.

At the meeting close, neighbors remained focused on two practical questions: when VDOT signal decisions and funding might happen, and whether the proposed stormwater measures will, in practice, reduce the flooding experienced by adjacent Raintree residents. County staff and the applicant said those technical questions will be refined during engineering review and the rezoning review process.