On July 27, 2021 the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved the Special Exception application from Turner Farmhouse Foundation (TFF) to create a public benefit association. Specifically, TFF was seeking approval to create a bereavement retreat on its five acre portion of Turner Farm Park. The retreat center will be located in an existing structure under renovation located behind the historic Queen Anne style house.
The purpose of the special exception is to permit TFF to operate a public benefit association facility on its five acre property, which is part of The Turner Farm, a Fairfax County Park Authority public park. TFF intends to operate the facility as a bereavement retreat center that will host up to ten overnight guests on weekends from Friday through Sunday, and provide counseling support.
The special exception application is subject to a host of development conditions that limit the nature and scope of the facility and its operation, including the nature of the types of services that can be offered, the number of people who may be accommodated, the number and types of meetings which may be held, restrictions on parking, restrictions on lighting, restrictions on the use of the buildings on the property, requirements regarding onsite staff, requirements calling for regular consultations with mental health professionals, and periodic reporting requirements.
These development conditions, all of which have been agreed to by TFF, have been designed to address the reservations of Great Falls citizens, given that Great Falls is a dark skies community, its roads are narrow and often congested, and that Turner Farm Park is located in a residential neighborhood. The development conditions were drawn up following a series of meetings between TFF and the Great Falls community, led by the Great Falls Citizens Association’s Land Use and Zoning Committee, working from input from residents whose homes are in close proximity to Turner Farm Park.
Turner Farmhouse Foundation is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit organization that was started in 2016 with the goal of creating a retreat center to Great Falls within the Fairfax County Park Authority curatorship program. The Turner Farmhouse, in partnership with the Northern Virginia Soil & Conservation District, provides a working example of how to keep ponies and small animals on a small-scale property. The five acres comprising the Turner Farmhouse contains several historic structures, and is an example of the type of farm that predominated in the Great Falls area during the early years of the 20th century. The retreat house, located on the property, will have meetings and dining spaces, living quarters, and the capacity for up to 10 overnight guests.