Committee rejects application for house on lot subject to flooding

Preliminary grading had already started on this lot on Woodlark Drive.

In what could be seen as a major victory for the environment, the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance Exception Committee (ERC), agreed that a house should not be built on a vacant lot subject to flooding at 4104 Woodlark Drive in Annandale.

The committee was established by the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors to review applications for development activities within Resource Protection Areas (RPAs).

Inova development would worsen Gallows Road traffic

A Providence District task force considers major development proposals. 

Traffic is already horrible on Gallows Road and will become much worse if there’s a lot of new development on the Inova campus on the site of the former ExxonMobil headquarters.

That’s the consensus of members of the Merrifield Suburban Center Study Task Force who shared their thoughts at a Dec. 11 task force meeting.

Registration under way for expanded Medicaid program

The sign-up process for Virginia’s expanded Medicaid program is under way.

The program, which takes effect Jan. 1, 2019, provides access to low-cost health coverage to eligible adults age 19-64. To qualify, a single adult must earn no more than $16,754 a year, while a family of three would could have a household income up to $28,677.

Penny Gross is running for re-election

Penny Gross speaks to residents at the annual Mason District Holiday Town Gathering.

Mason Supervisor Penny Gross will run for re-election to the Board of Supervisors in 2019, she announced at her Holiday Town Gathering Dec. 10.

“I love my job. I really do. I consider Mason District my family,” Gross told the audience of several dozen people at the annual event at the Mason District Government Center.

Annandale house fire started in kitchen

Someone left a pan of cooking oil on a kitchen stove unattended, causing a fire that did an estimated $93,750 worth of damages.

The fire was in a house on the 3800 block of Ivydale Drive in the Sleepy Hollow Woods neighborhood in Annandale, the Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department reports. When firefighters from Fairfax and Arlington counties arrived at about 2:10 p.m. on Dec. 9, they saw smoke showing from the front of the one-story, single-family home.

Hedgehogs move closer to pet status

Mrs. Tiggy-Winkle

The Fairfax County Planning Commission approved a motion recommending a change in the zoning ordinance to allow hedgehogs, chinchillas, and hermit crabs to be considered “commonly accepted pets.”

That means those animals could be kept as pets without the need of a special permit. The Board of Supervisors will consider the zoning amendment Jan. 22.

Hedgehogs are actually prohibited as pets as they are classified as exotic animals. The other two are currently allowed but require a permit.

Sponsor a family for the holidays

Volunteers help with the Britepaths Holiday Program. [Britepaths]

Fairfax-based non-profit Britepaths is seeking help from community members, companies, and organizations to sponsor Fairfax County area families in need for the December holidays.

The deadline to sign up for the Holiday Program is Dec. 14. Sponsors provide a holiday meal and/or gifts for children under 18. People can also donate funds or gift cards from grocery stores, Target, or Walmart.