On July 19, 2022, the Board of Supervisors endorsed several modifications to the Site-Specific Plan Amendment (SSPA) process, which is Fairfax County’s process for reviewing proposed land use changes (called “nominations”) to the County’s Comprehensive Plan for individual sites. The process modifications were developed through a retrospective assessment and are detailed in a report. As endorsed by the Board of Supervisors, the changes to the SSPA process include:
More frequent opportunities to submit SSPA nominations through a two-year Countywide nomination period (compared to the previous four-year alternating reviews of the North and South County areas).
New submission criteria (including a required concept plan and property owner’s consent) for nominations to provide the level of detail expected by stakeholders and help determine planning priorities.
Enhanced community engagement during the screening phase by using community meetings to reach people who would be most impacted by the proposed changes.
A Planning Commission workshop during screening to provide a forum for considering the nominations and the balance of other planning priorities as a whole.
Reducing the overall timeline for the nomination and screening period to improve efficiency and make better use of stakeholders’ time and resources.
2022-2023 Countywide SSPA Process
The changes outlined above are effective immediately and will be implemented in the next 2022-2023 Countywide SSPA cycle, which kicked off on October 3, 2022. To learn more about the 2022-2023 Countywide SSPA process, including a full guide to the SSPA and overall schedule, please visit the 2022-2023 Countywide SSPA Process webpage.
The Site-Specific Plan Amendment Process (SSPA) is an opportunity to participate in Fairfax County's land use planning process by submitting and reviewing proposals (called “Nominations”) to amend the land use recommendations in the Comprehensive Plan. The Comprehensive Plan is the guide used by the Planning Commission and the Board of Supervisors to make land use decisions.
The Board of Supervisors endorsed a series of changes to the process on July 19, 2022 to modify the eligible areas, submission requirements, and community engagement practices. To learn more about the revisions to the SSPA process, read the white paper on the topic. In October 2022, nominations were accepted in all nine Supervisor Districts in the 2022-2023 Countywide SSPA cycle, including Braddock, Franconia, Mason, Mount Vernon, Springfield, Dranesville, Hunter Mill, Providence and Sully Districts. This Countywide scope supersedes prior focuses on the North County (2017-2018) and South County (2019-2020) districts.
To receive timely announcements about the SSPA process, as well as announcements related to the Comprehensive Plan and plan amendments, subscribe to the Comprehensive Plan Announcements email list.