Planning commission sends detailed requests to designated agent on 815 West Broad Street dental‑office redevelopment

The Falls Church City Planning Commission spent the bulk of its April 15 meeting on a work session for the proposed redevelopment of the Broadway Dental Associates site at 815 West Broad Street.

Jeff Holland of the planning staff outlined the by‑right site plan: demolition of the existing dental office and construction of a three‑story building with approximately 10,466 ft² of office space for dental use. Holland said staff completed a first review (March 27 submission) and issued a list of comments two days before the meeting—issues included parking calculations and a requested parking modification, missing infrastructure and stormwater details, and landscaping and canopy compliance. He noted the designated agent’s decision deadline under the 40‑day review rule is May 5, 2026.

Applicant team members said the proposal reflects site constraints and that the clinic operator plans to consolidate two existing locations, stagger appointments and manage staffing to reduce simultaneous demand. The applicant’s team proposed 24 parking spaces on site; staff calculated a requirement of roughly 28–31 spaces and described the 24‑space proposal as a roughly 19% reduction that would need Transportation Demand Management (TDM) documentation to justify a waiver.

Commissioners repeatedly asked for concrete data: current on‑site parking counts and utilization, floor plans showing the number of dental chairs and staffing, sanitary‑sewer loading calculations, and a clear list of stormwater BMPs. Applicant engineers explained runoff graphs (pre/post development) and said porous pavement and adjustments to curve numbers would be used to reduce peak flow; commissioners requested clearer labeling and more explicit BMP descriptions and examples.

Design and streetscape questions were prominent. The Architectural Advisory Board and several commissioners urged greater façade articulation where a long blank party wall faces the pedestrian environment; they recommended renderings with color and material samples and encouraged the applicant to work with the city’s arts organizations on a mural or other public art for the blank elevation. Commissioners also flagged a large London plane street tree at the frontage and asked the team to protect it where possible and to ensure tree‑canopy requirements are met.

Staff and several commissioners said the application, as submitted, is incomplete: missing or unclear stormwater calcs, sanitary sewer evaluation, parking utilization data and a TDM narrative, building material/finish details, floor plans, and clarification on whether vacation of a shared access easement would require a subdivision amendment. Given the number of outstanding items, the commission agreed to compile recommendations for the designated agent.

A motion to transmit the commission’s recommendations and comments to the designated agent passed by roll call. Commissioners emphasized they were not rejecting the project but asking the applicant to supply specified technical clarifications and design refinements before the designated agent’s decision. The commission also requested staff try to secure another opportunity for the commission to review substantive resubmissions when scheduling allows.

Next steps: the applicant is expected to respond to staff’s comments and to provide the requested TDM, floor plans, sanitary and stormwater clarifications and material/rendering details. The designated agent will review the materials and take final administrative action by the May 5 deadline; if outstanding issues remain, the agent may deny and the applicant would need to resubmit on a 30‑day clock.