Redevelopment proposals in the Merrifield area will likely get high-priority consideration by Fairfax County planners, as the county nears the finish line of its reconfigured site-specific plan amendment (SSPA) process.
After a nearly four-hour-long workshop on Thursday (March 23), the Fairfax County Planning Commission gave its support to staff’s recommendation that the pitches for Merrifield and an AT&T office site in Oakton be designated as “Tier 1” in the SSPA work program.
That means they would get top priority in terms of resources and scheduling. County staff are reviewing 68 Fairfax County Comprehensive Plan amendment nominations and have recommended about 50 for inclusion in the work program, which will be finalized by the Board of Supervisors on April 11.
The Merrifield proposals all replace older, mostly commercial properties with mixed-use housing, leading a couple of commissioners to warn against leaning too heavily on current market trends when determining what development to pursue.
“Things go in cycles, and we have to be attuned to how those cycles change, when they change and why they’re changing,” Dranesville District Commissioner John Ulfelder said. “Sometimes, we’re not very good at that.”
Community members who testified last week generally supported the Merrifield nominations, describing the area around the Dunn Loring-Merrifield Metro station as ideal for housing that supports modes of travel other than private cars.
Prosperity Business Campus
The response to a proposed transformation of the 41-acre Prosperity Business Campus into seven blocks of mid-rise, multifamily residential buildings and townhouses was particularly enthusiastic.
Representatives of the Coalition for Smarter Growth (CSG) and YIMBYs of Northern Virginia said their groups ranked this nomination at the top when reviewing the SSPA submissions.
“The increase in parks actually reduces the impervious surfaces that are in this area as well, so it’s good for the environment,” YIMBYs member Aaron Wilkowitz said. “It’s good from the transit perspective, it’s good from the housing perspective. Across all the things that the county cares about, this proposal is critical to meeting those needs.”
The proposal adds an estimated 1,273 units of housing and 183,000 square feet of nonresidential uses, including some ground-floor retail. It also provides over 12 acres of publicly accessible park space, preserves the adjacent Long Branch stream valley and updates a pedestrian crossing over the stream.
Two residents of Dunn Loring Village, a townhouse complex west of the stream, said they’re “excited” about the potential project, though one advocated for better stormwater management in light of the recent I-66 widening.
The resident noted that Long Branch flows into Accotink Creek and, eventually, Lake Accotink, which is at risk of disappearing due to sediment build-up.
“Please consider…anything that can be done to reduce the impervious footprint, experimental ways to reduce that footprint,” he said.
Dunn Loring at Merrifield Station
Malkin Properties has proposed replacing the 35-acre garden apartment community at 8130 Prescott Drive with eight blocks of mixed-use development, including 2,300 residential units and up to 700,000 square feet of nonresidential uses.
Wilkowitz and some other supporters of the Prosperity redevelopment backed this one as well — with the caveat that it must deliver enough housing to compensate for the loss of the 706 existing apartments.
“This is an opportunity, since we are still very early in the process, to truly address concerns by working to ensure no net loss of affordable housing and providing current residents the right to return and relocation assistance,” CSG Northern Virginia Advocacy Manager Sonya Breehey said, encouraging the county to consider seeking more workforce dwelling units.
That push for as much housing as possible may clash with the desires of some existing area residents. A resident of Manhattan Place to the north said her neighborhood feels “the scale and density of what is being proposed is too large for the land that’s available.”
Vienna Crossing is “happy” the 1960s-era Dunn Loring at Merrifield apartments will get an upgrade, but the 54-townhome community is also worried about a planned two-lane “ring road” connecting Pleasantdale/Hartland Road and Park Tower Drive, the president of its homeowners’ association said.
“We’re the part on Gallows that it would ring through,” Ryan Watkins said. “…We have currently about seven to eight buses that stop there each morning, picking up kids for different schools, so traffic along that road cuts right through our community. We have concerns about that.”
Watkins also said the Providence Park Homeowners’ Association, which represents townhomes to the south, was wondering if the developer would consider acquiring an apartment building on the southeast corner of the property.
“It would be hard for them to ever redevelop because of their location, so they wanted to encourage the redevelopers to try to acquire that property or get them on board so they don’t get boxed in and that property goes downhill going forward,” Watkins said.
Antonio Calabrese, an attorney representing Malkin, said the developer has tried to contact the apartment building owner, but “they’ve been evasive.”
After three weeks of workshops on land use changes across the county, including at the Innovation Center Metro station and in McLean, the planning commission will take vote on its SSPA recommendations for the Board of Supervisors tomorrow night (Wednesday).
Fairfax County high school students will soon have access to free mental health services. Starting April 10, Hazel Health will provide students with weekly virtual therapy sessions at no cost to families.
The school system’s website says Hazel’s therapists can help students with mood or behavior changes, anxiety, social skills, bullying, family relationships, and academic stress.
In a statement to FFXNow, the school system said it included funds for telemental health services “to reduce access barriers for youth requiring mental health services beyond those provided by FCPS school-based mental health professionals.”
Last year, the Fairfax County Youth Survey showed that students were more depressed than at any other time in the past decade. The report also found that specific groups, such as female, Hispanic, and LGBTQ students, were more likely to experience depression.
The data mirrors a nationwide issue. Last year, the Center for Disease Control and Prevention (CDC) reported poor mental health among teens and children nationwide, with the pandemic compounding existing challenges like poverty and bullying.
FCPS said it contracted Hazel following a competitive process that began last spring and that the company previously provided services to several large school divisions.
The school system allocated $500,000 in its current budget to hire the company, which was initially expected to launch a pilot program in January but got delayed, WTOP previously reported.
“Hazel is HIPAA and FERPA (Family Educational Rights and Privacy Act)-compliant, and their services incorporate practices that encourage parent engagement and ensure student safety,” the school system said in its statement.
How to access services:
- Parents permit FCPS to share basic demographic information with Hazel
- Request mental health services by visiting the Hazel website
- Provide consent for Hazel Mental Health Services on the Hazel website
According to FCPS, the teletherapy will be available Monday through Friday from 7 a.m. to 7 p.m.
“Therapists will be locally-licensed clinicians; 50% of whom identify as Black, Indigenous, or people of color (BIPOC); and 40% of whom are bilingual,” FCPS said in a newsletter earlier this month. “More than 15 languages are available.”
Hazel will help connect students to long-term care if needed after therapy sessions are completed.
Metro is retrofitting its new fare gates with taller doors intended to prevent fare evasion (via WMATA)
Saloon-style doors are coming to the Vienna Metro station’s fare gates.
The Orange Line terminus is one of nine stations in the first phase of Metro’s fare gate retrofits, which will install taller, glass doors on all of the transit agency’s recently modernized gates to deter people from jumping over to avoid paying to ride the rails.
The first phase will focus on stations with only one entrance and, therefore, fewer gates, Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority officials told the Board of Directors on Thursday (March 23).
Other stations in the first phase include Court House and Pentagon City in Arlington; Federal Center Southwest, Congress Heights, Mount Vernon Square and Fort Totten in D.C.; and Bethesda, Wheaton and Addison Road in Maryland.
“We have done some work to determine that the infrastructure needs to do the retrofits are minimal, a way for the team to learn and progress as they’re installing these retrofits,” WMATA Chief Planning and Performance Officer Tom Webster said.
Metro began testing doors aimed at preventing fare evasion last November at the Fort Totten station, including a design with “anti-vaulting arches” that proved ineffective.
The pilot launched before the agency had even finished outfitting all stations with their first updated fare gates since the 1990s, a process that lasted from 2021 to this past December. Though Metro estimated in 2019 that fare evasion was costing it $10 million, board members didn’t want gates that evoked cages like the ones in New York City, according to DCist.
However, reducing fare evasion has emerged as a top priority for WMATA General Manager and CEO Randy Clarke since he took over the job in July.
The new gates have sensors that register all users, regardless of whether they tap their SmarTrip card to pay, giving WMATA more accurate data on rail ridership, Webster said.
So far this year, Metro has seen about 22.3 million rail users, averaging 324,000 trips on weekdays, and the roughly 404,000 trips recorded on Wednesday (March 22) represent the system’s highest single-day ridership of the pandemic, Webster reported at the board meeting.
Metro’s new data indicates that approximately 13% of those total riders didn’t pay at the fare gate. While acknowledging that riders may not be paying for a variety of reasons, including college and D.C. students who can ride for free, the agency says fare evasion affects both its finances and its optics.
“Non-payment of fares reduces Metro’s revenue and ultimately impacts our budget, which can impact service for all customers,” Webster said. “There are also broader concerns with fare evasion in terms of a sense and perception of safety and security and this sense of disorder associated with fare-jumping.”
Metro is facing a $185 million budget shortfall that could widen to as much as $730 million next year, after the agency’s federal Covid relief funds run out. To close the gap for fiscal year 2024, which begins July 1, Clarke has proposed a budget that increases fares by 5% on average, adding 50 cents to the current $6 maximum.
WMATA estimates the fare gate retrofits will cost $35 to $40 million — money that some argue would be better spent in other ways.
Call me crazy, but I would rather my tax dollars go towards letting people who can’t afford transit ride free than on imposing consequences on people who can’t afford to ride transit. This is a waste of money @wmata. https://t.co/oUoKKeQO5i
— Alison Horn (@AlisonHornDC) March 20, 2023
The proposed FY 2024 budget includes a program to cut train and bus fares in half for low-income riders — similar to what Fairfax County has done for Fairfax Connector. The plan also eliminates peak fares and aims to improve rail service times.
A Maryland representative on the board suggested Metro wait three to six months after the Fort Totten station fare gates are fully retrofitted — a process finished this weekend — before rolling out the new doors to other stations.
Clarke said the agency is committed to implementing the new doors system-wide, noting that purchase orders for the equipment have already been issued and the installations are underway.
“I wouldn’t label this as a pilot. I would look at this as this is what we’re doing moving forward,” he said.
Metro didn’t respond to FFXnow’s query about the Vienna station timeline, but the full rollout is expected to take about 15 months.
Why D.C. Area Could Smell North Carolina Wildfire — “Weather models indicate that low-level winds, around or below 2,500 feet, have been generally blowing from eastern North Carolina toward D.C., Maryland and Virginia at about 20 to 45 mph since early Monday morning. That probably was strong enough to transport the smoke into the D.C. area by about midday” [Capital Weather Gang]
Route 1 Widening Already Displacing Local Businesses — “Stubbs’ angst about his shrinking business is due to the expansion of a 3.1-mile section of Richmond Highway in the Alexandria portion of Fairfax County, near Mount Vernon — a project that is already starting to displace businesses along the strip even though construction isn’t expected to start until 2027.” [DCist]
FCPS Considers Dress Code Changes — “Changes may be coming to Fairfax County Public Schools’ dress code, including one that would prohibit students from wearing pajamas or sleepwear to class…Students also wouldn’t be allowed to wear jackets with hoods up during class time or in the time in the hallways between classes.” [WTOP]
McLean Woman Convicted of Murder Faces 78 Years in Jail — “A Fairfax County jury recommended Monday that a 37-year-old McLean, Va., woman be sentenced to 78 years in prison for fatally shooting her two daughters in her apartment in 2018. Veronica Youngblood was convicted Wednesday of two counts of first-degree murder in the killing of her daughters” [The Washington Post]
FCPS Employee Joins School Board Race — “A longtime former Fairfax County Public Schools interpreter and family liaison employee announced Friday that she is running for the open Franconia District seat on the county school board. Marcia St. John-Cunning, who currently serves as the community school coordinator at Mt. Vernon Woods Elementary School…is hoping to succeed Tammy Derenak Kaufax, who announced in January that she would not seek re-election” [Patch]
Springfield House That FCPS Students Helped Build Hits Market — A single-family home in the Spring Village Estates at 7429 Foundation Way will hit the market Thursday (March 30) for $1.3 million. The house was built with the assistance of students in the Foundation for Applied Technical Education Inc., or FATE, a career education nonprofit. [Washington Business Journal]
Army Museum Working on New Event Space — “Construction is largely complete, and landscaping has begun on the National Museum of the U.S. Army’s new outdoor space known as Warriors’ Plaza and Field, according to the Army Historical Foundation…Warriors’ Plaza will include stones collected from the Pentagon after the 9/11 attack,” among other features. [On the MoVe]
Vienna Parking Lot to Close for a Day — “The parking lot right off Ayr Hill Avenue NE and directly across from the Train Depot will be closed for scheduled maintenance this Thursday, March 30.” The procedure is needed to ensure the lot can continue draining water. Vehicles parked there after dark tomorrow (Wednesday) night will be towed. [Town of Vienna, W&OD Trail/Twitter]
It’s Tuesday — Mostly cloudy throughout the day. High of 56 and low of 44. Sunrise at 7:00 am and sunset at 7:29 pm. [Weather.gov]
Less than two years after overhauling its plan for the West Falls Church Metro station area in Idylwood to allow more development, Fairfax County needs to make a relatively limited but critical revision.
During its meeting last Tuesday (March 21), the Board of Supervisors authorized a study of an amendment to the comprehensive plan for the West Falls Church Transit Station Area (TSA) that would allow more office on Virginia Tech’s Northern Virginia Center at 7054 Haycock Road.
The amendment would also reduce the amount of institutional space proposed for the 7.5-acre property, reflecting changes to developer Rushmark Properties and the construction company HITT Contracting’s plan to expand the campus.
“The rezoning application by HITT Contracting and Rushmark Properties proposes a decrease in the planned institutional use by 120,000 square feet and an increase in general office use by approximately 62,000 square feet,” Dranesville District Supervisor John Foust said in his motion asking the board to authorize the study.
Plans to redevelop Virginia Tech’s Idylwood campus have been percolating since 2018, when the university received an unsolicited bid from Rushmark. HITT got involved a year later, seeking to relocate its headquarters to the site.
That original pitch also called for a new academic building and a design and construction research center, along with an additional 250,000 square feet of office space, 500 residential units and 50,000 square feet of retail.
However, Virginia Tech announced on Feb. 28, 2021 that it and HITT had agreed not to move forward with the project. Despite that termination, the proposed development was still incorporated into the new West Falls Church TSA plan approved by the Board of Supervisors on July 12, 2021.
The plan allows 1,720 dwelling units, 301,000 square feet of office use, 48,000 square feet of retail, and 160,000 square feet of institutional use across the TSA, including on the adjacent Metro station property.
Rushmark and HITT put forward a new redevelopment plan last fall that would replace the existing Northern Virginia Center with a 283,000-square-foot office building, up to 440 residential units, and a 2,000-square-foot retail pavilion.
The newly requested plan amendment will be considered at the same time as that rezoning application, which is scheduled for a public hearing before the Fairfax County Planning Commission on June 7.
According to Foust, the use changes won’t affect the 2.5 floor area ratio now allowed on the Virginia Tech site or the overall development limits for the TSA.
(Updated at 2:05 p.m.) Many D.C. area residents who have ventured outside today (Monday) have reported a smoky or burning smell from a wildfire unfolding in North Carolina.
The scent has been reported from D.C. to Arlington and into McLean. The Fairfax County Fire and Rescue Department confirmed that it has gotten calls from around the county, as previously reported by FFXnow’s sister site ARLnow.
The department confirmed that the smell is being carried over by winds from a large wildfire currently burning in North Carolina, citing the National Weather Service.
“A wind shift has caused smoke from the NC wildfires to migrate widely,” the FCFRD said. “Low wind speeds in our area prevent the odor and haze from dispersing.”
#FCFRD has been getting reports of a burning smell and haze throughout @fairfaxcounty. According to @NWS a wind shift has caused smoke from the NC wildfires to migrate widely. Low wind speeds in our area prevent the odor and haze from dispersing. @FairfaxCountyPD #weather pic.twitter.com/VW7t1xNxSo
— Fairfax County Fire/Rescue (@ffxfirerescue) March 27, 2023
Scanner traffic indicates that Fairfax County’s dispatch center received calls from numerous schools, prompting the fire department to send units to some locations until they realized that it appeared to be a countywide issue.
“We’re getting a lot of different calls throughout the county about a smoke smell,” a dispatcher said. “Not sure what’s going on yet, but just a head’s up, we’re getting calls from multiple schools on this.”
“I too smell a strong odor of either wood burning or something similar to that,” a school security contact said.
Fairfax County Public Schools issued a message recommending that any schools “experiencing burning odors” stay inside.
“Fairfax County is experiencing burning odors. Fairfax County fire department is aware. We recommend students and staff remain inside,” the school security announcement said.
One principal reported trying to get through the phone lines for 15 minutes.
“Right now, our phone lines are jammed,” FCPS school security said on the scanner at 1:12 p.m. “State, federal, local officials, meterologists and others are aware of this. It’s a wildfire from North Carolina. We recommend you bring kids inside from the schools due to underlying health conditions such as asthma.”
An FCPS spokesperson said students haven’t been told to shelter in place, but public safety officials recommended that students remain inside if smoke was detected.
“If smoke is detected in the air, it has been recommended to principals that they keep their students inside,” the spokesperson told FFXnow. “This is a school by school decision to be made by individual principals, however.”
@nbcwashington @ffxnow @ARLnowDOTcom
People are talking about the strange burnt smell across the DMV, any news on what this is???
— Steph Ger (@MrRednWhite) March 27, 2023
Terrible in McLean as well. Know there is a wildfire in NC near OBX. Wondering if it’s from that.
— Mean Streets of McLean (@MeanStreetsMcL) March 27, 2023
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved a new policy last week that could offer incentives to developers to replace the affordable housing lost to new development.
The new policy wouldn’t just require a one-to-one replacement of units set aside as affordable — known as committed affordable units — but would incentivize the replacement of those that were naturally affordable — meaning market-rate affordable.
In effect, if a new development brings units to a site previously affordable for those making less than the area median income, the developer would be offered incentives to include an equal number of affordable units in the new development. Those incentives could include additional density, building height and financial assistance.
The sole voice against the new amendment at the meeting last Tuesday (March 21) was Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity, who said the county can’t subsidize its way out of the regional housing crisis. According to Herrity:
The requirement to replace market-rate affordable units could inhibit the delivery of much needed housing, especially if incentives fail to cover the cost of the preserved affordable units. It’s a lot of those incentives that are basically making housing unaffordable for many of our residents, because those incentives are paid by our residents. Our young adults and our seniors are priced out of housing. We’re not going to be able to do enough government-subsidized housing to fix this problem. Where we need to start is reducing the cost of housing. I’m not going to be supporting this, that’s probably no surprise to the board, but I think there are better ways to attack this problem.
The rest of the board, though, was enthusiastic in its support of the new policy.
“This is a good next step for us,” Mount Vernon District Supervisor Dan Storck said. “The issue is: how do we ensure this distribution of housing is countywide? I think this starts to tackle that issue by highlighting and identifying where those issues and where those needs are. I’m looking to support far more housing that’s affordable in many other areas.”
Storck said the policy is part of the county’s commitment to ensure residents can afford to stay in the county even as overall housing prices continue to rise.
“I have a statement that I say often and my staff will probably roll their eyes when I say this again: we need to make sure we leave no one behind,” Storck said. “If you’ve lived in our community for a while, we need to make sure there are options for you. To get those options, we need to build more housing.”
The policy change was approved in a 9-1 vote.
Following adoption by the Board of Supervisors, staff will work to put together a draft of new guidelines in May and present those to the board later this summer.
Vienna Ice Skater Gets Bronze at World Championships — “Japan’s Shoma Uno repeated as world figure skating champion, performing the total package of jumps and artistry immediately after 18-year-old American Ilia Malinin attempted a record-tying six quadruple jumps in his free skate to earn the bronze medal…Malinin is the only person to land a quad Axel in competition and did so again Saturday.” [NBC Sports]
GMU Students Petition Against Youngkin Speech — “George Mason University students are petitioning against the college’s decision to host Virginia Gov. Glenn Youngkin as the graduation commencement speaker in May. Senior Alaina Ruffin started the petition Thursday…The petition has received more than 4,000 signatures since then.” [WTOP]
GW Parkway Repairs Delayed — “Emergency repairs to the concrete pavement in the southbound lanes of the George Washington Memorial Parkway near Waynewood Boulevard will take place the weekend of March 31 instead of March 24 due to the inclement weather forecast [last] weekend, according to the National Park Service” [On the MoVe]
Metro Police Add Body Cameras — “Metro Transit Police will start wearing body-worn cameras in a new program being rolled out starting in April…According to Metro, there will be a total of 315 Metro officers wearing body-word cameras by the end of the summer.” [WTOP]
Reston Man Accused of Scamming Businesses — “A man from Reston, Virginia, is accused of helping scam more than a million dollars from businesses across the country using hacked or fraudulent emails. Federal investigators said Patrick Allen Womble helped scam eight businesses out of at least $1.3 million from September 2020 through April 2021 using a business email compromise scheme.” [WTOP]
Three Arrested for Vienna Restaurant Robbery — “A February burglary at a family-owned restaurant in Vienna has led to three arrests. On Feb. 28, Skorpio’s Maggio’s Greek Family Restaurant at 421 Maple Avenue E. reported a burglary that happened the night before.” [Patch]
Former South Lakes HS Classmates Teach Auto Classes Together — “When sophomore Dominic Prakash and freshman David Plum became friends during auto mechanics classes at Reston’s South Lakes High School 40 years ago, they had no inkling of what the future held. But today, the two are still side by side, teaching auto technology in adjoining classrooms at Lake Braddock Secondary School in Burke.” [Northern Virginia Magazine]
Charitable Donation Site Now Open in Kings Park — “Cut the ribbon for the new Green Drop donation bin location at the Kings Park Shopping Center. Green Drop provides a win-win for our residents, they have a way to recycle useful items and at the same time contribute to great organizations like the American Red Cross.” [Pat Herrity/Twitter]
It’s Monday — Possible light rain in the afternoon and evening. High of 57 and low of 47. Sunrise at 7:02 am and sunset at 7:28 pm. [Weather.gov]
The sun will shine into the night this Saturday (March 25), as the McLean Community Center hosts its first-ever Fiesta del Sol.
The inaugural celebration of Latin American and Caribbean cultures will kick off with a ribbon-cutting ceremony at 4:45 p.m. before the doors at 1234 Ingleside Avenue open 15 minutes later.
According to a media advisory, anticipated ribbon-cutting attendees include county officials, MCC staff, and representatives of Latin American and Caribbean embassies, businesses and nonprofits in the area.
MCC partnered with Stafford-based VIP Impressions Event Planning to organize the festival, which will have live music, food, drinks, and local business and artisan vendors until 9 p.m.
“We are looking forward to a super fun evening with a Latin beat,” MCC Special Events Manager Catherine Nesbitt said in a press release. “We will celebrate the cultural wonders of Latin American and Caribbean traditions through live music, dancing, great food and art.”
Admission to the festival is free, but tickets will be sold on-site for food and beverages, including alcohol for those 21 and older. Prices will range from $5 to $15 per item.
The tapas menu comes from Pikoteo, a Latin American eatery that recently opened in the former TAV Mediterranean Bistro spot at 6811 Elm Street.
Proceeds from the festival will go to The Institute for Building Agency, a nonprofit that provides civics education and training to people of color. The woman-led organization was chosen as the beneficiary in honor of Women’s History Month, according to MCC.
Here’s more from the community center on the evening’s scheduled performers:
Following a ribbon cutting and official opening of the event at 4:45 p.m., the festival kicks off with Salsa Guy Richmond, who will offer a demonstration of basic bachata, salsa and merengue dance steps. He will present a demonstration 20 minutes before each band performance. D.C.-based DJ Leo will work his magic to keep the party going. Laura Sosa and the Pa’Gozar Latin band will perform bachata, a form of Dominican music, at 5:30 p.m. Originally from Peru, lead singer, Laura Sosa, has created a band that emulates the rich and varied music of South America and the Caribbean. These talented musicians and excellent vocalists are sure to get patrons on the dance floor.
At 6:30 p.m., Izis, La Enfermera de la Salsa performs. Originally from Puerto Rico, Izis is now a nurse in the United States Army, where she has served for 15 years. The band recently released a new Christmas album, “My Favorite Things,” that features a salsa beat. Pablo Antonio and La Firma rounds out the evening with a performance at 8 p.m. Originally from El Salvador, Pablo Antonio began performing at age 10 in Arlington. His band generates a celebration of merengue that has won fans nationally and internationally.
A day after neighboring Arlington County made waves by ending single-family exclusive zoning, Fairfax County saw its own zoning reforms reversed two years after they were approved.
The Virginia Supreme Court declared the county’s Zoning Ordinance Modification Project (zMOD) void yesterday (Thursday) because the new code was adopted at a mostly virtual meeting — a ruling could have consequences for other actions taken during the first years of the pandemic, as noted by Inside NoVA, which first reported the decision.
The county is now operating under its previous zoning ordinance, which had been in place since 1978, according to the zoning administration division’s website.
“We are currently evaluating the Virginia Supreme Court decision and considering our options,” Tony Castrilli, the county’s director of public affairs, said. “In the meantime, the 1978 Zoning Ordinance is presently in effect and available for reference on the County website.”
In a 29-page opinion, Justice Wesley Russell sided with four residents who argued that the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors violated the Virginia Freedom of Information Act’s open meeting requirements by not holding an in-person public hearing or vote.
The county contended that an ordinance adopted on April 14, 2020 gave it the flexibility to hold public meetings on the zoning update and other subjects electronically during the Covid state of emergency.
The Supreme Court disagreed that the ordinance allowed the county government to conduct all regular business electronically, finding that the zoning update doesn’t qualify as “necessary to ensure the continuation of essential functions and services.”
“The modification of a 40-year-old zoning ordinance after a five-year revision process does not satisfy this standard,” Russell wrote. “It is not a time-sensitive matter, and its adoption is not and was not necessary to allow the County to continue operations.”
The residents behind the lawsuit — David Berry, Carol Hawn, Helen Webb and Adrienne Whyte — filed a complaint in Fairfax County Circuit Court on March 5, 2021 seeking to prevent the board from adopting zMOD at a public hearing on March 9, 2021.
The circuit court denied the request and ultimately dismissed the complaint on Sept. 9, 2021, stating that it had been rendered moot by the adoption of zMOD on March 23, 2021 and that the county board’s emergency powers gave it the authority to act at an electronic meeting.
According to Russell’s opinion, the circuit court found that zoning “is inherently an essential act of local government” that’s especially “critical…in the context of a national emergency and state emergency because civility between neighbors is the foundation of domestic tranquility.”
In overruling the lower court, Russell pointed to the five years spent on the zoning code update, which began in 2016, and the fact that the previous ordinance had been in place for 40 years as evidence that its passage wasn’t time-sensitive and, therefore, not “essential”:
Everything about the history of Z-Mod suggests that the adoption of Z-Mod could have waited days, weeks, or months without throwing the County’s operations into even minor distress let alone chaos. Simply put, the consideration and adoption of Z-Mod was not time-sensitive, and thus, acting on it in March 2021 was neither essential nor necessary to allow for the continued operations of Fairfax County government.
The court acknowledged that Virginia adopted a new law more broadly allowing virtual public meetings during states of emergency, but that didn’t take effect until Sept. 1, 2022. The opinion doesn’t comment on the substance of the zoning changes.
Publicly launched in 2017, zMOD was intended to simplify and improve the accessibility of the existing code, which topped 1,000 pages in length.
The county also sought to update the document to better reflect modern trends in land use and development, introducing new categories like solar power facilities that didn’t exist in the 1970s and eliminating ones no longer considered relevant.
Proposals to ease restrictions on accessory living units and home-based businesses and limit the heights of flag poles emerged as the most controversial elements, inspiring five-hour-long public hearings before the board and Fairfax County Planning Commission.
As it determines how to proceed, the county says individuals and businesses can refer to the Department of Planning and Development website for updates.
