The founder and principal of Danforth Homes, a home builder headquartered in Arlington, is exploring the feasibility of building four townhouses on a vacant lot in Great Falls. The proposal has sparked worries that such a project could be the thin edge of the wedge for additional townhouse development in the community.
The property is a 1.07-acre parcel at 1011 Seneca Road, located opposite the entrance to Great Falls Woods, and is identified as Seneca Gate Lot 8-B. The property’s present mailing address is 1002 Sherman Court. Utilities available to the lot include not only gas, but also water and sewer, a rare combination in Great Falls.
A letter from the would-be developer, Bruce Leinberger, was sent to the neighbors who live near the property. It described how Leinberger, a former Great Falls resident, has a purchase contract for the vacant lot, which is presently zoned for one single-family home (R-1). He also said he wants to explore the notion of building four age-restricted (55+) townhomes on the site.
At Leinberger’s invitation, an estimated 60 people (over three hours) appeared at the site on Saturday morning, June 18, to hear more about the proposal and voice their concerns with the plan. Predictably, there was no enthusiasm for the idea among the group, and a number of residents were especially vocal with their unhappiness. Above the general din, Leinberger described how, in his experience, it is difficult for people to continue to live in Great Falls as they age, because of the size and cost of new residences. He said that he wants to address these factors by constructing houses that have elevators and not much yard.
The land is not a historic site per se, nor located within a historic overlay district. However, the acreage contains a Fairfax County-recognized “cultural feature,” an African American family cemetery known as the Ford-Ellis-Simms Cemetery, sometimes also referred to as the Simms Family Cemetery. Sales promotion materials from earlier attempts to sell the vacant lot have included language that implies that ownership of the parcel would carry some responsibility for improved access to the cemetery and other maintenance obligations, but whether this is a legal requirement cannot be determined at this time.
The Land Use and Zoning Committee (LUZ) of Great Falls Citizens Association has reported that in order to build a townhouse cluster in a residential R-1 District where the parcel is located, county policies would require a rezoning of the parcel. A rezoning application would entail a detailed review and analysis by staff and public hearings before the Fairfax County Planning Commission and the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors. The rezoning of land can only be approved by that board. Moreover, the County’s Comprehensive Plan promotes the preservation of the community’s low-density environment. There are currently no townhouses in Great Falls.
The GFCA LUZ chair has described this case as presenting a unique and significant zoning issue for GFCA and the community because of the age-restriction aspect. The chair noted that zoning regulations are exceedingly complex as applied to this type of proposal, and the precise nature of the project remains in question because formal development plans have not yet been submitted.
The property was originally owned by Joseph Ford and his daughter Lettie Ford Ellis from 1878 until 1928, when George Ellis bought the land from Lettie Ellis. The cemetery portion, which is not visible from the street because of the existing trees surrounding the fence that encloses the graveyard, contains approximately 10 to 12 grave depressions and one of the nine stone markers clearly reads John Lambert 1891-1955. Research indicates that several Ellis family members are presumed buried there: Pery Ellis, Allis Ellis, Solomon Ellis, Lettie Ford Ellis, and Eliza Ellis.
Historic cemeteries are some of Fairfax County’s most important and unique cultural resources. They are reminders of settlement patterns, demographic trends, historic events, public health trends, religious beliefs and societal norms.