The Pimmit Hills Community is currently fighting against a plan by Washington Gas to route a large-diameter, high-pressure natural gas pipeline through the Pimmit Hills neighborhood. The planned pipe is 24" in diameter, will operate at pressures up to 325 psi, and will not serve homes in the neighborhood--it only exists to transmit large volume of gas through the neighborhood, to customers elsewhere in Virginia, DC, and Maryland.

This fight has broad implications for all Fairfax residents. Washington Gas is replacing a transmission pipeline that currently runs down a major road (Route 7 through Tysons Corner) with a new pipeline that instead meanders through narrow streets of a nearby neighborhood. As of October 2023, Washington Gas successfully convinced a Virginia court that they can route large-scale pipelines like this virtually anywhere in the county where they can obtain a VDOT permit, despite years of opposition from the affected residents and local officials, and in contradiction of a Fairfax County Board of Zoning Appeals decision in Feb 2022 that this project must obtain additional approval from the county before proceeding.

The planned pipeline would run on a zig-zag, 1.6 mile route from the intersection of Magarity Rd and Peabody Dr, down Peabody Dr, continuing on Fisher Dr, left on Cherri Dr, right on Leonard Rd, left on Cherri Dr again, right on Griffith Rd, right on Pimmit Dr, then out to the intersection of Pimmit Dr and Route 7.

See the this Google map for the planned route. You can zoom out on that map to also see the rest of the route for the Washington Gas Strip 1 Tysons project (red line) as well as other gas transmission pipelines in Fairfax County (blue lines), including the existing transmission pipeline that runs down Route 7 that Strip 1 Tysons project replaces.

In January and February 2022, Pimmit HIlls residents went before the Fairfax County Board of Zoning Appeals to present a case that according to Fairfax County Zoning Code ("zMOD"), this project needs to obtain a "special exception" permit from the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors in order to continue. The seven-member BZA agreed with the Pimmit residents by a vote of six to one.

Washington Gas responded by suing the Pimmit Hills residents in Virginia Court. In a bench trial (no jury, just a single judge's decision), Washington Gas successfully convinced the judge that the BZA made the wrong decision. That decision is being appealed. Please help support the appeal by donating to this GoFundMe.

So there currently exists a fundamental problem with the zMOD code when it comes to the language related to gas pipelines:

• On the one hand, the Fairfax Board of Zoning Appeals, the highest authority in Fairfax County for interpreting the zoning code, feels that this project needs must undergo a "special exception" permit process before the Board of Supervisors.
• On the other hand, the Virginia Court system feels that a project like this does not need to obtain a "special exception" permit to move forward.

On March 4, 2024, at a Special Meeting, the PHCA Community elected to send the following letter to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors and Chairman Jeff McKay, strongly requesting clarification to zMOD code:

Pipeline Oversight Request from PHCA to Fairfax Board of Supervisors 03-04-2024.pdf

How can you help?

• Read the letter to learn more details about the issue
• Talk to your Fairfax neighbors about the issue
• Contact your Fairfax District Supervisor or Chairman McKay to let them know how you feel about this
• Donate to this GoFundMe to support the legal appeal of the October 2023 VA court decision

Background

Longtime Pimmit Hills residents Jamie and Linda Wheeler run a local real estate company, The Wheeler Team. They have generously offered to support our community with contributions to the GoFundMe campaigns that support the legal fund (Stop the Pimmit Pipeline! - Appeal Process) in exchange for real estate referrals from the PHCA community!

At our July 11 community meeting, PHCA members in attendance voted on and approved this agreement between PHCA and The Wheeler Team: Agreement between PHCA and the Wheeler Team (PDF)

Referrals and donations

If you remember just one thing from this page, it's this...

If you or anyone you know is buying or selling a home in Northern Virginia and is looking for an experienced realtor, get in touch with Jamie and Linda Wheeler at 571-348-4242. This is a special number that they set up for PHCA community referrals.

For every real estate referral in Northern Virginia from a Pimmit Hills community member as a result of the PHCA promotion, The Wheeler Team will donate $500 (for a closed sale under $800K) or $1,000 (for a closed sale of $800K or higher) at settlement to the GoFundMe campaign.

The Wheeler Team will also donate $25 to the GoFundMe campaign for any referral that results in a meeting (in person, Zoom, or phone conversation) with a Seller, whether that Seller hires The Wheeler Team or not.

Jamie and Linda Wheeler

Pimmit Hills Residents and PHCA Supporters since... a long, long time!

Realtors with Keller Williams, Inc.

(Or, how to get rid of that old chain link fence)

With many exceptions, a rickety, rusty, chain link fence, shored up by a leaning row of equally rusty posts, surrounds the typical PH property. Commonly, its length is entwined by vines, plants, and bushes, which either through neglect, decorative impulse, or perhaps some degree of shame, have been allowed to tangle themselves into a lush façade, hiding the corrosion beneath. Such was the case with my yard.

Until this spring I had spent almost a full year walking back and forth through my ugly, gate-less fences, mowing around each and every post, trimming back the vines that tenaciously tethered themselves through almost every section. All that time I wondered what utility they provided, unable to keep any pet or person out or in, and dissecting my lawn into two smaller uncooperative sections.

As a Pimmit Hills resident for the past couple of years, I’ve enjoyed many strolls throughout our community. What I’ve found is that besides offering some good exercise, walking our neighborhood allows one to clearly see the many variations and conditions of the homes.

From original condition models to customized castles, our 1950’s ‘burb has changed much from its original days.

In this article, I’ll share some (hopefully) amusing descriptions of the kinds of homes I’ve seen in Pimmit Hills. Of course, these descriptions are amalgams of many typical homes; none describes any home in particular--so please, no hate mail. Imagine this is a brochure for a neighborhood being developed.

Stroll through the quaint village of Pimmit Hills where we have many unique dwellings...

Original Link to Story

“What a mess,” longtime Tysons Corner resident Marie Davis said of the construction pervading the area. Davis, originally from Brooklyn, moved to Tysons in 1963 when “this was absolutely country. There was nothing at Tysons but a feed store.”

Now, construction of Metro’s Silver line, Beltway HOT lanes and other projects have made regularly traveled routes unpredictable and driving much more difficult. There have been nighttime pile-driving marathons, lane closures on I-495 and overnight closures of I-66, ramp closings, lane reroutings, and a temporary shutdown of Metro rail service between the East and West Falls Church stations.

But somehow, it seems, home buyers are still finding their way to area listings. The two Zip codes that overlap the central retail area of Tysons Corner are 22182, which includes homes around Wolf Trap, and 22102, which includes neighborhoods to the north of Route 7, toward Dranesville.

Washington Examiner

Location, lot size and a lack of building restrictions make Pimmit Hills in Fairfax County a booming area for home construction and renovation. Many of the original houses built after World War II are being purchased and torn down to make way for newer, more expensive homes, said real estate agents who sell in the area.

Founded in 1950, Pimmit Hills has more than 1,600 dwellings, mostly bungalows built during the 1940s and 1950s. Depending on their condition and size, original homes will sell today for between $350,000 and $500,000.

“[Pimmit Hills is] about the cheapest place in Fairfax County you can buy into,” said Craig Williams, a 24-year resident.

At the time it was built just east of Tysons Corner on Route 7, Pimmit Hills was Fairfax County's largest subdivision. Photos from the 1950s show bare land, cleared of bushes and even grass. The new homes, light-colored with dark trim along rooflines and windows, stood starkly in the middle of treeless yards. The neighborhood was built with no sidewalks or curbs, constructed quickly for aspiring middle-class homeowners proud to own a little piece of suburbia.

Fifty-five years later, though, large, old trees shade the still mostly modest single-family detached houses on Pimmit Hills' quarter-acre lots. Some sidewalks have been added. And additions -- in some cases, dramatic new constructions -- are changing the look and feel of the neighborhood.

Of the 1,642 homes in the neighborhood, 1,280 were originally constructed on identical floor plans: three bedrooms, one bath, 883 square feet. These boxy, efficient homes had pitched roofs, three front windows and a front door set slightly off-center.

Pimmit Hills Gardener
Local horticulturalist Deanne Eversmeyer-Ellis of Leonard Road gives great advice for making our Pimmit Hills gardens look beautiful! These past columns from the Pimmit Hills Dispatch are fun to read and full of useful tips.