New Fairfax Task Force Meets Today to Work Towards Preserving Affordable Housing

A new task force dedicated to holding onto Fairfax’s limited affordable housing is scheduled to start meeting later today.

Tysons is trying to become a city, but one of the largest hurdles remains trying to create and preserve a range of affordable housing options. The new Affordable Housing Preservation Task Force is focused on drafting policies to keep the county’s limited affordable housing stock around as areas like Tysons start to develop.

According to the task force website:

Key issues to be addressed will include:

• Definitions for the types of preservation that can occur in communities
• Typology of properties at risk and characteristics to guide prioritizing properties or neighborhoods in need of action sooner
• A comprehensive set of preservation strategies the includes recommended policies and tools to achieve the goal of no net loss of affordability

The first meeting today is scheduled to focus on foundational work like setting the mission in stone and establishing a timeline for new policies and initiatives.

Most of the discussion around affordable housing in Tysons comes with new units added as part of development deals with the County, though some of those plans have stumbled and other redevelopment has pushed out previously affordable housing stock.