By a 6-1 margin, the Falls Church City Council Monday night passed on “first reading” two ordinances to approve the 88-unit, five story Kensington senior living facility at 700 W. Broad, the current site of a drive-through Burger King. The plan was first submitted to the City last April, and many have been critical of the extensive bureaucratic delays that have put off the first formal Council vote on the plan until Monday night. By Monday’s vote, the Council formally refers out the plan for comment and evaluation by an array of citizen volunteer boards and commissions, with the plan for a vote on final approval in May.

Offering a creative plan for providing the City with a substantial tax revenue yield from the project on an annual basis to distinguish it from the low-yield Sunrise Senior Living facility on N. Washington, developer Ed Novak submitted a letter of correction to the Council today to set the record straight against a factually erroneous analysis shared with the Council over the weekend. In fact, the yield to the City will be three times the current tax yield provided by the Burger King ($314,000 per year compared to the BK’s $103.000),

While some on the Council, such as Mayor David Tarter, said that their vote tonight should not be taken as meaning they will approve the project in May, there was only one “no” vote, coming from Councilman Nader Baroukh.