Family's New Fairfax Home Stuck in a Regulatory Forest

This completed house in Oakton was built for Joe and Karen Bartling, but they cannot take possession until they, the builder and the county can resolve a dispute over trees. (By Jahi Chikwendiu -- The Washington Post)

Fairfax requires builders in residential developments like the Bartlings' -- four homes on 10 acres called the Estates at Oakton Hollow -- to preserve trees on 20 percent of the property. The trees can be old or new, to replace those that were knocked down for construction. NV Homes planned to put a "significant portion" of the trees on the Bartlings' lot, county spokeswoman Merni Fitzgerald said. This was partly because some of the other lots lie in a septic drain field that needs to be cleared, said Hugh Whitehead, a county urban forester.

The builder also recently cleared some trees on another lot it may develop in the subdivision, county officials said, prompting a new round of planning to replace them. In both cases, dozens of new trees are needed to make up for the old ones, Whitehead said.

Normally, the county allows trees on a private lot to be removed once the developer is released from bond. But in this case, NV Homes had violated the rules, and stricter requirements applied, officials said.

"It gets pretty sticky sometimes with homeowners wanting to do what they choose with their property," Whitehead said. "I'd certainly hope that most people want trees. I've been surprised by people who buy a lot and proceed to cut down every tree on it for one reason or another. They don't see the benefits."

Whitehead said he sympathizes with the Bartlings, who have tried to reach a resolution with the county and NV Homes as they pay $219 a night for lodging. The number of trees required plunged to 68 and then 50, and the builder and county dropped the requirement prohibiting the trees from being cut down, said the Bartlings' attorney, Gorham Clark. Last week, the Bartlings agreed to accept some trees but demanded $250,000 in compensation from NV Homes. In response, NV Homes threatened to terminate the Bartlings' contract and resell the house. Whitehead, asked about the Bartling case, said he is willing to accept fewer trees. "This is not a situation where I typically find myself," he said.

James Sack, NV Homes' general counsel, declined to comment.

The Bartlings are born-again Christians who said their faith led them to children with special needs. After their son Joel was born, fertility problems led them to adoption. They brought Hannah, 11, a bright fifth-grader who sings in the church choir, home from Korea nine years ago. David, a precocious 6-year-old from China, literally appeared on the couple's doorstep less than two years ago after another couple decided they could not handle a blind child. The year before, Karen Bartling had read in a publication for parents and teachers of blind children that Jesse, from Korea, and Abi, who had been abandoned malnourished on the streets of Calcutta, needed homes.

Life at the Towne Place Suites has been a mix of improvisation and anticipation. Everyone needed new clothes, and the children new toys. Five-year-olds Abi and Jesse, not good sleepers to begin with, are uncomfortable sharing beds with their older siblings, their mother said.

Meanwhile, with the lock on the interest rate on their mortgage about to expire, the Bartlings have taken to calling their predicament their Extreme Screwover.

"We're just sitting on the sidelines waiting for NV Homes to deliver us a home we contracted for," Joe Bartling said. "Since when are trees more important than people?"