Welcome to Our Community

Welcome to the Vantage community home page! We are community of 421 single-family homes in Fairfax County, built in a variety of styles in the 1970s. Our community is graced with mature trees, lighted streets, a large playground and walks, and easy access to Washington, Fort Belvoir, Kingstowne Town Center, the Lee District Recreation Center, and Huntley Meadows, Fairfax County’s largest park. The Community Association sponsors an annual picnic and two community yard sales yearly. We are served by the Fairfax Connector bus service to the Huntington and Franconia-Springfield Metro stations. Most homes are on public streets, while some are on privately maintained cul-de-sacs. We welcome you to visit our web site and the community.

Vantage Residents on Social Media

Many residents stay in touch, discuss local issues, and sell items to neighbors in the Vantage Residents Group on Facebook or by joining the Vantage Nextdoor Neighborhood.

Community Points of Contact

The board, newsletter editors, and web administrator can be emailed via the Contact link in the site menu.

Board of Directors

President: TBD
Vice President: Kristina Scrimshaw
Treasurer: TBD
Secretary: Angela Harrison Eng
Board Member: Eric Kerby
Board Member: Liz Loevner
Board Member: Jim McDonald
Board Member: Kerri Shilts
Board Member: Connor Tracy
Board Member: Christian Nicholson
Board Member: Sonata Haley

The board meets monthly, typically virtually or at the home of one of the board members. Interested homeowners are welcome to attend. Please contact the board for more information.

Vantage Homes Association General Information

The Vantage Homes Association, Inc. (VHA) is a non-profit corporation formed to provide for maintenance and preservation of common areas and to enforce architectural covenants and community rules on properties within the community. The basic legal documents establishing and governing VHA are the Articles of Incorporation and Declaration of Covenants, Conditions and Restrictions, created in 1971 by the original developers, and the Bylaws, adopted by the community in 1994. These documents are available on the Vantage Web Site Document Library. Every lot owner in the subdivision is a member of VHA by virtue of the master deeds governing our properties. In addition to the basic legal documents, VHA has a set of Community Rules and Architectural Guidelines, both enforceable under the basic legal documents.

Each lot is subject to an annual fee to support the activities of VHA. This assessment is $70 per lot per year (as of 2022). Lots on Private Streets (“pipestems”) are assessed an additional annual fee of $24 for the Private Street Fund, providing maintenance of the private streets. The annual fees are billed in May. The Association employs standard reminders, late payment fees, and collection measures. You can now pay your annual assessment dues online.

VHA owns three parcels of common property: a 5.8 acre natural area between South Kings Highway and Stream Bed Way, a 10 acre natural area between Stream Bed Way and Rock Creek Road, and a 6.7 acre area at the end of Vantage Drive that includes the playground and natural areas. On Google Maps, the playground is named “Swirly Slide Park” for the big spiral slide, and the sidewalk from Vantage Drive to the playground and on to branches on Rollingbrooke Court and Whetstone Road is named the “Swirly Slide Park Trail.” Maintenance of common areas is the association’s largest budget item. The Association also sponsors an annual picnic, community yard sales, social and civic programs, and a quarterly community newsletter.

Committees

Architectural Control: Kerri Shilts (chair), Tony O’Connor, Jeff Lucas: The Architectural control committee is responsible for helping maintain the character of the community by setting standards for alterations to the exterior of homes in Vantage. In the mid 1990’s, the previous restrictive rules were revised to allow more freedom in exterior appearance and simplify improvements and repairs. Many common maintenance and improvement items are pre-approved, while others noted in the Guidelines require specific approval. In general, the architectural guidelines aim to maintain a tasteful, mainstream appearance in the community and prevent alterations that would violate the Fairfax County Code or jeopardize property values. Most Architectural Requests are approved; most of those that are denied are for situations that would be a violation of Fairfax County regulations. The Architectural Committee and the Vantage Board do not knowingly approve homeowner Architectural Requests that would violate the County Code.
Playground and Common Grounds: TBD: The Common Grounds and Playground Committee is responsible for maintaining the safety and appearance of the common grounds, including the playground, trails, undeveloped land, and mowed areas. The Vantage Homeowners Association owns about 22 acres of land, mostly undeveloped. This land cannot be sold or built upon, and contributes to the vital green space in our very urban setting. The Association has a contractor to mow the extensive lawn areas, and takes action when warranted to remove dead or fallen trees, maintain and repair playground equipment, and contact Fairfax County when the storm water drainage system components in Vantage need attention. Vantage has a mile or so of paved trails, a short sidewalk from Vantage Drive to the playground, assorted play equipment, and a footbridge across the storm water canal to Dogue Creek. In the past, the Association has installed stone to retain subsiding soil, replaced playground equipment, repaved the basketball court, renewed storm water drainage swales, rebuilt the footbridge, sealed the trail surface, and replaced sidewalk sections. Care of the common grounds is the most significant future capital obligation of the Association. This obligation is smaller than in many other communities since the street lamps and most of the streets and sidewalks in the community are public, not Vantage property.
Private Streets: Anna Urman and Brian Mazuc: The Private Streets Committee is responsible for disbursement of Private Street Funds, which may only be used for repair, maintenance, and upkeep of the private streets. The Vantage Homes Association collects a special fee from homeowners on private streets and maintains an accounting of the Private Street funds. Each Private Street Fund is credited with the private street fees collected from homeowners on the private street, credited with apportioned interest earnings, and debited with disbursements for that private street’s maintenance. For use of private street funds, please submit a Request for Disbursement of Private Street Funds.

Activities, Groups, and Clubs

Volunteer Coordinator: Vacant
Neighborhood Watch: Brian Mazuc
Yard Sale: Randy and Cara Martinson
Adopt-a Highway: Kristina Scrimshaw
The Villager (Newsletter), Editor: Angela Harrison Eng
Vantage Website Administrator: Eric Kerby