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Vienna planning commission delays recommendation on Green Hedges expansion amid noise and enrollment concerns
Summary
The Vienna Planning Commission deferred action on Green Hedges School’s requested CUP amendments after weeks of new materials; the applicant trimmed its proposed enrollment cap to 217 and proposed acoustic fencing and buffer increases, but commissioners demanded measurable noise metrics, clearer planting standards and phase-based checks before endorsing enrollment growth.
The Vienna Planning Commission on Jan. 28 deferred its recommendation on Green Hedges School’s request to amend its conditional-use permit and to modify site-plan requirements, saying more technical data and draft condition language are needed before the board forwards advice to the Board of Zoning Appeals and Town Council.
Sarah Mariska, an attorney for the applicant, told the commission the school had revised its request in Attachment 23, lowering its previously proposed maximum enrollment from 225 to 217 (the school’s currently approved cap is 190). Mariska said the application also increases perimeter buffers so that about 90% of the property would meet 15-foot buffer standards, relocates the athletic field to reduce impacts in one area, and proposes acoustic fencing and additional plantings to reduce noise. “We are committed to doing this for everybody’s sake,” the applicant said when questioned about mitigation and enforcement.
Commissioners focused on two central concerns: whether proposed fencing and planting will actually cut noise at residential property lines, and whether the town should approve further…
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