Housing and Community Development

CONTACT INFORMATION: Operating Hours: 8AM-4:30PM M-F
703-246-5000 TTY 711
3700 Pender Drive
Fairfax, VA 22030
Tom Fleetwood
HCD Director

Workforce Dwelling Unit For-Sale Task Force

The Board of Supervisors recognized the need to evaluate the efficacy of the Workforce Dwelling Unit (WDU) for-sale policies and program and appointed the WDU For-sale Policy Task Force, composed of affordable housing advocates; representatives from the market development industry, Planning Commission and Redevelopment and Housing Authority; and Departments of Housing and Community Development and Planning and Development staff.  The Task Force convened from April through October 2023. The group evaluated such topics as income levels served in the program, the number of units produced and sold, sales prices of those units, financial impact on shifts to affordability ranges, resale best practices, term controls, and geographic applicability.  The task force considered options to maximize the potential of the for-sale WDU program to serve low- and moderate-income families, while maintaining project feasibility. The task force reached consensus to recommend:

  • Shifting the affordability level of the program from up to 80% to 120% AMI, to a new range of up to 70% to 100% AMI,
  • Extending proportionality of bedroom mix between the WDU and market rate units (with flexibility for 3+ bedroom units considered family-sized units),
  • Extending the geographic applicability to properties that are zoned and planned for medium to high-density outside of development centers,
  • Adjusting the WDU pricing model and resale requirements.

These recommendations were presented to the Board of Supervisors at the November 28th Housing Committee meeting.

Follow on Activities

On December 5, 2023, the Board of Supervisors endorsed the task force recommendations and authorized the preparation of a comprehensive plan amendment to incorporate the task force recommendations into the county’s Comprehensive Plan and the WDU Administrative Policy Guidelines. Visit the Plan Amendment 2023-CW-1CP website for more information on the Comprehensive Plan amendment.

In addition, the Department of Housing and Community Development is preparing revisions to the WDU initial sales and resale pricing formula based on the task force recommendations.

On the initial sales price, the public comment period has closed on the draft For-Sale Workforce Dwelling Unit Pricing.  More information about the 2024 draft initial WDU sales prices can be found here.  The revisions to the WDU sales pricing schedule and public comment will be presented to the County Executive for review. The County Executive has the authority to approve the new pricing schedule. 

Stay tuned for more information about revisions to the resale pricing formula.  

 

The Department of Housing and Community Development is revising documents and forms to improve efficiency.  

Developments that offer for-sale stacked townhouses will be able to market and contract to sell WDUs that are not yet part of the condominium regime using

  • Revised WDU Notice of Availability and For-Sale Offering Agreement
  • Revised WDU Declaration of Covenants and Notice of Proffer
  • New Amended and Restated Declaration of WDU Covenants and Notice of WDU Proffer

Task Force Resources

The Board of Supervisors (Board) adopted the Countywide and Tysons WDU Comprehensive Plan policy and the Administrative Policy Guidelines (the WDU Policies) in 2007 and 2010 respectively. The Policies were originally designed to encourage the development of rental and for-sale units affordable to individuals and families with a wide range of income throughout the County. The Policy Guidelines provide an incentive system that encourages the voluntary development of rental and for-sale WDUs in the County’s high-density areas consistent with the Comprehensive Plan. The Board adopted revisions to the policies for rental WDUs in February 2021, following review by a stakeholder task force in 2019-2020. Summaries and meeting materials from this task force are available below.

In participating developments, the current WDU Policies create between 8 to 20 percent of total new units as WDUs, which serve households earning up to 120 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI). The WDU Policies allow a maximum density bonus of up to 20 percent. The density bonus means that in exchange for providing a certain number of WDUs at lower rental rates and sales prices, the developer is able to build more market-rate units.  The developer is required to maintain these WDUs apartments as affordable for 30 years.  The specific number of WDU units and the density bonus percentage are negotiated and implemented through a proffer during the development process.

The 2021 revisions for the WDU rental policies were based on a recognition that the 100% AMI and 120% AMI WDU rental unit rents were actually higher than the market rate rents.  Market rate rents are what apartment units without any rental restriction (like the WDU program requires) would cost in the general market.  The Board established a WDU Policy Task Force in 2019, comprised of different affordable housing stakeholders, to evaluate the Policies to ensure the WDU units provided would enable housing affordability in the County. The recommendations of this group informed the amendment to the WDU rental policies in the Comprehensive Plan and to the WDU administrative guidelines, that increased the percentage of WDUs up to 80% AMI and eliminated the 100% and 120% AMI levels in rental development projects.

The Board also authorized the continuance of the evaluation for for-sale WDUs on October 11, 2022 to similarly evaluate improvements to the WDU for-sale WDU policy and program improvements. A stakeholder task force has been formed with recommendations anticipated in fall 2023.

Video recordings of the meetings will be available following the meetings.

October 13, 2023

September 8, 2023

July 28, 2023

July 14, 2023

June 30, 2023

June 16, 2023

May 19, 2023

 

April 28, 2023

 The meeting summary and video recording will be available following the meeting.

The task force held discussions on issues related to the WDU affordability levels, pricing, term of price control, geographic applicability, and resale requirements. Research through case studies, existing market conditions, and an assessment of current program requirements provided context for these discussions. On September 8, the task force reached consensus on revisions to the policy, such as recommending proportionality of bedroom counts between the WDU and market rate units; and adjusting the WDU pricing model and resale requirements. On October 13, the task force reached consensus on the final two topic areas: extending the geographic applicability to properties that are zoned and planned for medium to high-density outside of development centers; and shifting the affordability level of the program from up to 80% to 120% AMI, to a new range of up to 70% to 100% AMI.  Recommendations from the group are anticipated to be delivered to the Board of Supervisors by the end of 2023.

Meetings were in the HCD Center on the first floor of the HCD Offices, 3700 Pender Drive, Fairfax, VA. 

Mtg. #
Date
1
Friday, April 28, 2023, 9:30 a.m.
2
Friday, May 19, 2023, 11:00 a.m.
3
Friday, June 16, 2023, 1:00 p.m.
4
Friday, June 30, 2023, 11:00 a.m.
5
Friday, July 14, 2023, 11:00 a.m.
6
Friday, July 28, 2023, 11:00 a.m.
7
Friday, September 8, 2023, 11:00 a.m.
8
Friday, October 13, 2023, 11:00 a.m.

 

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