When Fairfax resident Courtney Leonard’s next-door neighbor began a renovation project last August, she didn’t think much of it. But by October, when the modest one-story home on Marble Lane in the Greenbriar neighborhood suddenly sprouted not one, not two, but three stories — all in an addition just 8 feet from her property line — she couldn’t ignore it anymore.
“The biggest concern is the lack of sunlight and the loss of the view down the street,” Leonard says. She also fears the structure will affect her property value and her ability to eventually sell her home.
Leonard and her family have lived in the circa-1960s neighborhood for 10 years. It is not part of a homeowners association. She describes her relationship with her neighbors as “cordial” but says they never mentioned the project to her.
Zoning Rules
When she initially contacted Fairfax County, officials told her the construction complied with zoning rules.
“I don’t blame our neighbors as much as I blame the county,” Leonard says. “They were within their rights to build a 35-foot-tall structure.”
After Leonard contacted county officials, Fairfax County Supervisor Pat Herrity took a closer look at the case. He eventually uncovered a zoning violation: While the massive structure meets the height limits allowed by county ordinance, it violates setback requirements. It sits about half a foot too close to Leonard’s property. The construction was halted.
Unlike Leonard, Herrity says responsibility lies primarily with the homeowners undertaking the renovation.
“That size structure has no business being 8 1/2 feet from [Leonard’s] house,” Herrity says. “You can’t legislate common sense — common sense would dictate that the structure would have a significant detrimental impact to that neighbor and the neighborhood.”
But homeowner Mike Nguyen says he did everything according to code and never intended to disrupt the neighborhood.
“Everything is the correct way, the way that the county approved, so I don’t know what else to do,” he told ABC 7 News.
Leonard says she sees Nguyen’s point. “I respect their right and their desire to add more space for their multi-generational family, and I am all for that,” Leonard says. “It’s just the county zoning should never have let them get this far.”
Nguyen is meeting with county officials to try and sort out the issue.
What’s Next?
For now, construction has stopped, but Leonard’s home is dwarfed by the towering structure. If the neighbors can somehow lose one half-foot of their building closest to Leonard’s home, they would be within zoning compliance.
The new build has garnered media attention and traffic has picked up on the street. People stop to take photos, and Nguyen told ABC 7 he’s faced harassment in his front yard from passersby.
Herrity says he plans to introduce zoning amendments at the November 18 Board of Supervisors meeting to address the “looming issues.” Still, any future ordinance changes wouldn’t affect the Marble Lane issue.
“What should have happened, clearly, is there should have been some common sense involved in the structure of what they were building,” Herrity says. “Like most popups, they could have gone above their current residence, rather than significantly impacting their neighbors.”
Herrity says the new build will adversely affect Leonard’s property value. Would he want to live in her home? “No,” he says. “Not a chance.”
Feature image courtesy Courtney Leonard
