The proposed design and placement of utilities necessary to support the planned extension of Metrorail to Dulles are drawing fire from residents.
At issue are some of the electric substations and stormwater management facilities that will dot the 23-mile rail route. The debate came to a head last week during a review of the monstrous project at the Fairfax County Planning Commission.
The concerns led the panel to delay until Jan. 18 a decision on whether it will recommend the project, Planning Commissioner Walter Alcorn said. That decision will be forwarded to the Board of Supervisors for a final vote.
It’s unlikely the delay will have an impact on the timing of the rail extension itself, but it does signal that even a $4 billion, multi-agency project is not immune to nitty-gritty land use fights.
“There were concerns expressed [at the meeting] about the visibility of these structures to theirproperty, some questions about whether the locations were the best available, there were questions raised about the size of some of them,” Alcorn said.
For example, a task force of residents on Olney Road — the site of one of the proposed substations — are calling for major design changes. They include shortening the building and removing a surrounding fence, according to a letter from the group to the county.
Possible changes to the utilities “are under active discussion,” Alcorn said.
