On Wednesday, June 30^th, the Fairfax County Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA), by a 6-0 margin, voted to approve a Special Permit for Stonecrest Home Arts, Inc. The application sought permission for the construction of a residential building at 815 Walker Road, which is immediately south of Great Falls Village. The planned building would be home for up to 12 unrelated women over 18 years of age living in intentional kinship. The proposed 14,500 sq. ft. (including the lower level) colonial-style home has been deemed a “convent, monastery, seminary or nunnery” by the Department of Planning and Development, Zoning Evaluation Division, as this designation was considered to be the closest existing description to the nature of the facility.

The Special Permit Application contained 35 Development Conditions, spelling out the requirements which must be adhered to in order to gain approval to proceed, as well as maintain the Special Permit. A few of these were clarified or strengthened, and the updates were delineated at the hearing by Sunny Yang, Staff Coordinator, Applications Acceptance Section, Zoning Evaluation Division, Department of Planning & Development:

• Condition number one was revised to define the affiliation character of the application organization;
• Condition number two was revised with language specifying that no additional principal or accessory uses will be permitted without a special permit amendment;
• Condition number five was revised to restrict those who can reside at the facility to associates and numeraries of Opus Dei and Stonecrest Home Arts, Inc.;
• Condition number six was revised to restrict residents to female only and set restrictions on the period of occupancy for residents to no less than 60 days;
• Condition number seven was revised to restrict conference retreats, meetings, classes, or other similar events, open to the public on the application property.
• Condition number 21 was revised to restrict signage to one freestanding sign, no more than 20 square feet in size and six feet in height. Also, no changeable copy or electronic display sign is permitted.
• Condition number 27 requires that applicant is required to trim the vegetation surrounding the property’s entrance, to ensure a safe site line.

Several concerns had been expressed in meetings between Addicott Hills, the HOA for the adjacent neighborhood on Thunderhill Court, representatives of Stonecrest, and the Land Use and Zoning Committee, Great Falls Citizens Association (GFCA). These included:

• Whether (i) a group home of 10 to 12 unrelated individuals is in keeping with the more rural low-density character of Great Falls and, (ii) the exception, if approved, would it establish a precedent for other group homes in Great Falls. Per the Fairfax County Comprehensive Plan, infill development in the Hickory Community Planning Sector of the Upper Potomac Planning District where the proposed building would be located, should be of a compatible use, type, and intensity.
• The potential for additional traffic and safety issues on Walker Road. As parking will be provided for each of the residents who will likely be working outside the facility, it is anticipated that the volume of traffic may be higher than would be generated by a single house, or up to 3 single-family homes should the property be subdivided. Because the driveway as designed, with a 69 feet wide entrance, will be located in a hilly area of Walker Road, there is concern that driver visibility may be limited. 
• Whether the ecological system of the neighborhood will be overburdened and, more specifically, if septic and stormwater management facilities will be sufficient [and appropriately maintained]. (Note: Portions of the property are designated as Resource Protection Areas, and as such, certain land disturbing activities are prohibited without prior approval by the county.)
• The extent to which meetings or other events held at the home are attended by others who are not residents, as the Statement of Justification for the special permit indicates that “the building will also be used as a home base for apostolic outreach in the surrounding community.”
• The Use Determination used by the Zoning Administrator termed “Convent, Nunnery, or Monastery” based on a lack of evidence that the proposed residential building would be occupied by persons subject to vows.

Great Falls Citizens Association (GFCA) had submitted a letter to the BZA Chair John Ribble outlining its objections to the Special Permit, citing its inconsistency with the Comprehensive Plan and the General Standards that apply to the approval of a Special Permit for the proposed use. Although the application was approved by the BZA, prior to the vote the BZA’s Vice Chair stated that this is “an unusual and difficult case,” and acknowledged that an appeal of the Use Determination had been filed. Consequently, the final outcome of this matter appears yet to be determined. 

The property at 815 Walker Road has not previously been developed and includes mature vegetation. To minimize the impacts to this setting, the proposal was designed to allow significant areas of tree preservation, particularly along the property’s Walker Road frontage. As depicted on the Special Permit Plan, the residential building will be constructed toward the rear of the property, allowing preservation of trees in the western portion of the site. In addition, the site design preserves the existing low-density character of the surrounding area by limiting views of the proposed building from Walker Road.

Access to the property will be directly from Walker Road. According to Stonecrest, the proposed vehicle access has been designed to allow minimum disturbance to the property’s existing vegetation. The property will be served by an existing sidewalk connection on Walker Road, which extends to the property’s northern boundary. A five-foot wide sidewalk across the property’s Walker Road frontage is planned.

According to Stonecrest, the building to be constructed will, by design, appearance and function, be a single-family residential dwelling. Like a typical dwelling, it will include parking and recreational amenities for its residents. The residents, who will be closely related by their faith, will live, eat, and worship together as members of the Stonecrest household.

The residents will have individual bedrooms and bathrooms and will share common areas, such as a kitchen and living spaces. The building will include a dedicated prayer room for use by its residents who will gather each morning and evening to pray as a group. The building will also be used as a home base for apostolic outreach in the surrounding community, although the building will not be used to host programs open to the public, and will serve the residents only.

No children will reside on the property. Many of the residents will have full-time occupations, and the residential building will not have any members of staff. Stonecrest’s stated objective is to bring Stonecrest staff closer to the activities it has promoted and served for decades, including educational programs for women and girls in the area, building on its relationships with Oakcrest School in Vienna and Longlea Conference Center near Culpeper. Stonecrest has selected this property due to its proximity to the community Stonecrest serves and because its peaceful and natural setting will provide, it believes, an ideal environment for this residential building. 

Stonecrest is a 501(c)(3) organization governed by a Board of Directors, serving women and girls in the Washington, D.C. metro area since 1959. Its stated goal is to serve as a “leadership hub,” focusing on providing spiritual, intellectual and practical resources and inspiration for personal initiatives within the community by being a center for women who seek to strengthen their character, relationships, and professional undertakings, according to its website, which also states that “the spiritual and doctrinal formation of Stonecrest is entrusted to Opus Dei, a personal prelature of the Catholic Church.” 

To learn more about Stonecrest see https://www.stonecrest.org.

To learn more about Opus Dei see https://opusdei.org/en-us/.