Blog posts are the personal views of Letty Hardi and not official statements or records on behalf of the Falls Church City Council

Dear Friends,

It’s been an exciting morning already – we welcomed the long-awaited grand opening of Whole Foods in Falls Church at the Broad and Washington project, which is grocery store #5 in the Little City (and yes, two more on the way). We certainly have an option for everyone! As the healthiest community in the US, having access to fresh food is part of that ranking, not to mention the fact that 70+% of our residents live within a 10 minute walk to a grocery store. Read on for photos, including a new favorite spot for a quiet place to work (where I am right now!)

And while there is local celebration, I know it’s been another chaotic, rough week. I was honored to join a vigil in Alexandria remembering those who lost their lives in the DCA crash last week. And if you haven’t seen it already, Congressman Beyer wrote an open letter to the federal workforce. It is everything I know Congressman Beyer to be – empathetic, heartfelt, and wise. I know our entire federal delegation – Senator Warner, Senator Kaine (whom I spoke to this week), and Congressman Beyer and our state reps – Delegate Simon and Senator Salim (whom I spoke with last weekend) understand what’s at stake.

Like the “feedback sandwich” (where you start and end with positive news, sandwiching the constructive feedback in the middle), read on for some good news. It’s been very busy – I am doubling down to continue focusing on what we can control and supporting a strong, local community. Read on about our current status on hunting, towing rules, and a lot of meetings and community events paired with a lot of eating to wrap up Restaurant Week 2025 – including my second ever podcast appearance. You have 3 more days to support our local restaurants!

I look forward to hearing from you.

Best,
Letty

What Happened This Week:

(1) Hunting Rules in Falls Church

While hunting on one’s private property is recognized as a right in the Virginia Constitution – many localities adopt regulations to prohibit hunting with weapons in heavily populated, urban areas like Falls Church where stray bullets or arrows could be dangerous to nearby residents. There are rare occurrences of hunting in Falls Church and without a hunting ordinance on the books, our police have no authority to stop the activity. This week, we discussed a proposed ordinance update to prohibit hunting in Falls Church to safeguard public safety. I expect we’ll take up the first vote in our meeting next week.

(2) Towing Rules

Towing is a tricky topic! Predatory towing, in particular, is a top 5 concern I hear from residents and visitors. At the same time, I understand the need from property owners and businesses to manage their private parking so they can welcome customers. Having “enough” parking is the root of it – contrary to popular opinion, repeated parking studies have shown us data that we don’t have a severe parking issue and our challenge is to help drivers navigate to available parking and ideally, for private property owners to share spaces with each other especially when there are complementary uses.

Recently Virginia gave localities more authority to regulate towing, including adding a 48 hour grace period for residents with expired stickers, a permitting system for towing companies, and the “second signature” requirement – which has actually been in place for years elsewhere in Virginia. We discussed pros and cons of adopting additional towing rules. I expect more discussion to come.

(3) Whole Foods and more

A great turnout of city leadership and residents this morning to celebrate the opening of Whole Foods with a “bread breaking” ceremony in lieu of a traditional ribbon cutting.

It’s been a busy week! Lots to share, including a new-to-me experience being part of a “fishbowl conversation” at the Future Forum with ULI Washington. I had fun, nerding out with other regional leaders discussing the challenges of housing and economic development.

And my second podcast/radio experience! I enjoyed a conversation talking about Falls Church and our second annual Restaurant Week with Foodie & The Beast (listen to me and Thomas Harvey around the 22:21 mark). Plus I enjoyed meeting Asian American commercial real estate professionals for a Lunar New Year celebration at Nue and meeting women-owned small business owners at Midori Tea House.

What’s Coming Up:

Monday, February 10 – City Council Meeting*

Monday, February 24 – City Council Meeting*

Monday, March 3 – City Council Work Session*

Monday, March 10 – City Council Meeting*

*Mondays (except 5th Mondays and holidays) at 7:30 pm. You can access the agenda and livestream here, including recordings of past meetings

Letty’s Office Hours:

Wednesday, February 19 – (5 pm, Harveys)

Friday, March 21 – (12 pm, Clare and Dons)