Next Community Association Meeting, August 6
The next meeting of the Huntington Community Center will be held on August 6 at 7:30 PM. There is no meeting in July.
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Police Request Participation in Survey
The Fairfax County Police Department wants to hear from you. A public survey has been posted on the agency web page in an effort to solicit your ideas and concerns. Officials are seeking greater community input in an effort to provide better service to the diverse population of Fairfax County. Constructive feedback is vital in helping the agency evaluate and improve our services to the public, according to John Kapinos, Strategic Planner for the Police Department.

"To date, more than 70 percent of our respondents have expressed overall satisfaction with our services," said Kapinos, who tabulates the results monthly and plans to evaluate them quarterly. "Our survey offers an opportunity for the public to tell us what they like, what they need and where they feel we can make improvements." In addition to the web survey, which can be found at www.fairfaxcounty.gov/police, officers are distributing the survey at public meetings and at district stations.

Urgent Action Needed for Flood Protection
Act by Wed. May 13
The Army Corps has completed a 65% design for Huntington flood protection that will cost $20.5 million. Fairfax County needs funding help from the federal and state governments to make this a reality. Please help Huntington get funding for flood protection by contacting your representatives before this Wednesday May 13, after which a meeting will take place to determine funding possibilities.

Use the following links to review contact information, talking points, or cut and paste from suggested text for the following representatives:
Congressman Jim Moran (3 pages)
Gov. Tim Kaine (3 pages)

Spring Plant Swap
The Huntington Spring Plant Swap Brunch was held May 2 on a dreary wet Saturday. Over 14 area gardeners brought mostly plants to swap and give away, along with food for brunch. This year's plants included pepper plants, hostas, coreopsis, iris, lettuce, St. John's wort, castor and cosmos plant seeds, basil, and redbud tree. The fall plant swap brunch will be held during the first Saturday in November.

You don't need to bring plant materials to join in. We always have extra plants that want to find a good home. But remember to bring a snack to share. The plant swap brunch takes place at the Huntington Community Center on Liberty Drive on Saturday, May 2 from 12:00-1:00 PM.

Flood Protection Bill Update
Thanks to all who wrote or called to support VA HB 1758-many calls and emails were received from this area and members were supportive. However, from www.davidenglin.org: "...without new revenue, the state has reached its full debt capacity and there is no money left to pay the debt service on additional bonds. For that reason... the Capital Outlay Subcommittee tabled my Virginia Flood Mitigation Infrastructure Bond Act. While that means no new state money for local flood control projects this year, the good news is that our local governments will still have access to state-backed bonds..."

Huntington Approves Conservation Plan Amendments
At the last Community Association meeting on November 6, our committee's proposed amendments to the Huntington Conservation Plan were approved by residents in attendance, 21-1-1. This came after discussing proposed revisions that residents submitted to the committee's proposed document. The county's Redevelopment and Housing Authority along with the Planning Commission will be reviewing our proposed amendments and requirements for county adoption. There will be a public hearing after our amendments are reviewed by these agencies sometime in November or December.
Final Conservation Plan Proposal

Get on the HCA "E" News List
Huntington Community Association has an official list of members who wish to receive quick updates about events, crime watch, notices, announcements, and reminders by e-mail. To place your name on the mailing list, simply send your name and e-mail address to mail@HuntingtonOnline.org.

Developer Presents Plans at May Meeting
A&R Companies presented plans for the block bounded by Huntington Avenue, Biscayne, Blaine, and Glendale at the Association's May meeting before an overflow crowd. The plan presented calls for transit-oriented development consisting of mostly residential rental apartments, with ground floor retail and commercial space fronting along Huntington Avenue, and offices at the eastern end of the block, again fronting on Huntington Avenue. All parking for the development would be accommodated in internal and underground garages, and not on the public residential streets.

The plans presented represent the developer's application to change the county Comprehensive Plan of this land. The approval process would last until the end of this year at the earliest and include further public hearings and review. If the Plan change is approved, the next step would be to apply for a zoning change, at which time many of the details dealing with parking, construction, noise, and building height and entrances would be addressed with the neighborhood.

It is believed that the entire block could be developed at the same time, although A&R currently only has plans and control over the western section of the block. The developer is considering a 150-foot residential building at the corner of Biscayne and Huntington Avenue, stepping down in height along Biscayne to three or four story townhouses facing Glendale. A&R or another developer may find the remaining block attractive for redevelopment at a later date.
A&R company web site

Flood Levee Proposed
A flood wall levee is proposed for protecting Huntington from Cameron Run flooding. A levee would be roughly 65 feet wide and have at least one access ramp for maintenance and emergency equipment. The levee at its highest point at Fenwick would be 19.6 feet and would have three pumping stations. At this height, there is only a two percent chance of it being overtopped. The levee would also meet FEMA certifications requirements meaning that residents living behind the levee would not have the mandatory flood insurance purchase requirement.

The Corps and the County will now move forward with the necessary design work. You may see Corps engineers in the community taking soil samples and performing similar work. The Corps estimates that the levee can take up to two years to construct. Huntington did not qualify for Federal funds to construct the levee. The Corps estimates the cost to be about 25 million dollars. The Huntington Community will need to work with County, State and Federal officials to identify funding sources. It may turn out to be a combination of funding sources.