Land Development Services

County staff continue to implement additional improvements to the Planning and Land Use System (PLUS) to serve you better. Check out these new PLUS fixes for Land Development Services (LDS) customers.

We welcome your feedback on future PLUS enhancements. If you have ideas to improve the system, please take a moment to enter them here: LDS Customer PLUS Feedback Form.

Over the March 31, 2023, weekend the county’s technology staff implemented more improvements to the Planning and Land Use System (PLUS) to serve you better. Check out these new PLUS fixes for Land Development Services (LDS) customers.
 

SITE

BUILDING

We welcome your feedback on future PLUS enhancements. If you have ideas to improve the system, please take a moment to enter them here: LDS Customer PLUS Feedback Form.

Land Development Services (LDS) Site Development and Inspections Division (SDID) welcomes the Forest Conservation Branch (FCON) into SDID.  FCON moves from the County’s Department of Public Works and Environmental Services (DPWES) to LDS.  This change will afford more collaboration amongst review disciplines and streamline the plan review process by designating forest conservation review as an “inside agency” in the expedited review process. The transfer became effective February 2023 and allows more direct collaboration between Forest Conservation review staff and the SDID site review staff.

FCON administers Fairfax County’s Tree Conservation Ordinance during the development review process. According to the ordinance, “The conservation (i.e., preservation and planting) of trees during the land development process will protect, sustain, and enhance the county's urban forest resources.” The services provided by FCON are an integral part of the land development process and include reviewing rezoning plans, infill lot grading plans, site plans, and conducting site meetings and inspections. Urban foresters use the latest science and engage with the development community to find innovative solutions to the growing challenges facing our changing urban forest.

Prior to this organizational change, DPWES-UFMD participated in the expedited review program (ESI Designated Plans Examiner (DPE) Program) as an outside agency in a similar way to VDOT and Fairfax Water Authority. Forestry review will now be conducted as an “inside agency” under the DPE program. The Planning and Land Use System (PLUS) and DPE program will reflect this change after April 1, 2023.

For questions about this change, please email Matthew Hansen, SDID Division Director or call 703-324-1698, TTY 711.

Filing a Residential Masterfile plan has become easier. Long-standing practice has required the Masterfile/initial building permit application tie to a specific grading plan (i.e., individual lot or subdivision plan). With the roll out of Planning Land Use System (PLUS) Release 4 we removed this requirement.

Production builders often use master plans to seek general county approval for model homes. Each new building permit application cites the approved Masterfile and thereby eases the subsequent permitting process.

To apply for a Masterfile, create an application within the Building tab in PLUS after logging into your account at the PLUS homepage. The Masterfile application can be found under the Administrative arrow.

LDS customers with questions about navigating PLUS can visit the LDS PLUS Support page or call 703-222-0801, TTY 711.

Flood Awareness Week is March 12-18 in Fairfax County. There is no better time to issue this important reminder. Storms have the potential to produce heavy rains that could lead to localized flooding, so it is vital for construction site workers to check their erosion and sediment controls before a storm.

Here are some vital steps to take:

• Know where drainage patterns cross your site. Flooding may occur where drainageways cross your site.
• Ensure that all erosion and sediment controls are properly installed and rid of any damages to lessen the impact of erosion runoff that could impact nearby properties, roadways and adjacent waterways.
• Thoroughly inspect your sites to ensure that silt fences are properly entrenched, sediment traps and basins have adequate storage, trash containers are covered, and chemicals and other potential pollutants are stored in a protected area.

After the weather system has moved out of the area:

• Inspect your site’s erosion and sediment controls for any damages.
• Make repairs if necessary.
• Clean up any offsite contamination immediately with the advisement of your site inspector.

• Fairfax County Stormwater Management Ordinance
• Virginia Erosion and Sediment Control Regulations
• The Public Facilities Manual

The Planning and Land Use System (PLUS) is the web-based platform for all land use applications. Land Development Services’ (LDS) building and site records transitioned to PLUS on Oct. 21, 2022. Enhancements and fixes continue to make the platform as user-friendly and efficient as possible. Your feedback, along with feedback from our staff, allows us to continue improving the system.

January’s Top Ten PLUS fixes for LDS customers:

Building

1. Corrected the residential trades permit logic associated with the Digital Plan Room which had erroneously required uploading plans for permits when plans were not required.
2. Created permit history “Workflow Routing Slip Report” to allow customers to see the workflow history for a permit.

    

3. Enhanced the internal tool used to route building inspectors’ daily workloads.
4. Created a programming script to generate older elevator certificates.
5. Corrected the building permit card to include the listed Mechanic Lien Agent.

Site

6. Corrected missing parcel data on converted records as well as other conversion related items.
7. Updated Licensed Professional requirement to optional and created a selection for professional wetland delineator on Water Quality Impact Assessment (WQIA) and RPA delineation records.
8. Updated PLUS to allow customers to add multiple contacts for each record. Allows for unlimited billing and secondary contact options. (Once application is submitted, additional contacts will need to be added by staff.)
9. Enabled a ‘Pay Fees’ option for customers to pay certain site-related fees without logging into PLUS. Find more information about this enhancement in this recent Letter to Industry.
10. Made several enhancements to the site inspections process in PLUS to help speed the inspection resulting time in PLUS, freeing staff to complete more inspections.

We will continue to develop and release improvements to the PLUS system to refine its functionality.

Although we have completed development improvements over the past several months, we welcome your feedback for future enhancements. If you have ideas to improve the system, please take a moment to enter them here: LDS Customer PLUS Feedback Form.

Helpful PLUS Resources:

• LDS PLUS Support
• The LDS Permit Library
• PLUS known issues and solutions
• Schedule a one-on-one, virtual appointment with LDS staff
• YouTube videos
• Upcoming Webinars
  • Feb. 15 -- Upload Plans and Documents into PLUS
  • March 8 -- Search for Information in PLUS
  • March 22 -- Scheduling Building Inspections in PLUS

The 2023 Unit Price Schedule (UPS) will go into effect on March 1, 2023. This formulaic change reflects a 4.9% increase linked to inflation as published in the Engineering News-Record 2023 Construction Cost Index (published in January 2023). Affected submittals include the following: 

• New bond requests.
• Replacement bond requests. 
• Bond extension requests.
• Bond reduction requests.
• New conservation deposit requests.
• Replacement conservation deposit requests. 
• Future construction deposit requests.

In the case of development agreement extension and replacement requests, if the estimated value using the 2023 UPS exceeds the existing posted amount, the county will require supplemental security before approval of the request. As noted above, all bond reductions must be calculated using the 2023 UPS.  

The 2023 UPS will be available at the Forms & Publications Library on March 1, 2023.

If you have any questions, please contact Morgan Wolfe in the Bonds and Agreements Center at 703-324-1519, TTY 711. 

When a land development project is initiated in Fairfax County, improvements to the public infrastructure, such as streets, sidewalks, utilities and other bondable items, may be required. Learn more about Bonds and Agreements.

Approved by:
William D. Hicks, P.E., Director
Department of Land Development Services
12055 Government Center Parkway, Suite 659
Fairfax, Virginia 22035
703-324-1780

All fees for first and subsequent submissions of site plans, subdivision plans, public improvement plans, floodplain studies, and rough grading plans can now be paid without the need for the payer to be logged into the Planning and Land Use System (PLUS).

Here are the steps:

1. Make sure you have the record ID of the plan to which you want to make a payment.
2. Go to PLUS without logging in.
3. Once in PLUS, put the record ID into the search bar.  

    

4.  After the record pops up, click on the down arrow next to “Payments” and select “Fees.”

    

5. A new screen will pop up showing the outstanding fees. Toward the right of the fees is the option to “Pay Fees.”

    

6. A new screen will pop up, if the fees shown accurately represent your record, select “Continue Application” at the bottom of the screen.

    

7. A new screen will provide information about payment options including Credit /Debit Card or E-check. Select the option you are using and then select “Submit Payments” at the bottom of the screen.

    

8. After selecting “Submit Payments” you will be directed to a secure checkout page to complete your transaction. If you need help at this point, please call 804-318-4133 or email customerservice@virginiainteractive.org.

For all other site permit types that are subject to flat fees such as infill lot grading (INF) plans and soils reports, the payer needs to login to PLUS.

For assistance using PLUS, please visit the LDS PLUS Support page.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors authorized the exemption of all electrical, building and sign permit fees for electric vehicle charging stations (EVCS) for a trial period of 18 months. The exemption was effective Oct. 31, 2022.

The exemption supports the main vision of the Carbon-Free Fairfax initiative—“a future for Fairfax County that is healthy, sustainable, and economically prosperous without local greenhouse gas emissions”—as well as the Environment Community Outcome Area of the Countywide Strategic Plan. Eliminating the permit fees for EVCS may encourage the use of electric vehicles, which is an important step toward fulfilling that vision.

A permit is still required for any new installation of EVCS, in accordance with the Uniform Statewide Building Code, and the permit holder is subject to the re-inspection fee. Freestanding charging stations also may, on rare occasion, require sign permits (for example, commercial charging stations with advertising signs). However, no permit is required if you are plugging a stand-alone charging station into an existing outlet. In addition, EVCS must comply with applicable zoning requirements.

Staff will report to the Board of Supervisors after 12 months whether the fee elimination was successful in incentivizing the use of EVC equipment.

The Board of Supervisors may extend the fee elimination beyond the 18-month trial period.

For general information on permits for EVCS, please visit Electric Vehicle Charging Stations Permits.

Release 4 of the Planning and Land Use System (PLUS) will launch Oct. 31, 2022, and will replace the existing land use, plan review, inspections and complaint systems (including FIDO, PAWS and ProjectDox). In preparation for PLUS, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors adopted amendments to Appendix Q – the Land Development Services (LDS) Fee Schedule of the Fairfax County, Virginia, Code of Ordinances, on Dec. 7, 2021.  Several of those fees will become effective with the implementation of PLUS on October 31. Find the new fees at Appendix Q .

The revised fees will be assessed to applicable plans and permits submitted on or after October 31, with the exception of site-related pre-submission fees which will not be assessed on any plan filed prior to October 31 nor on any resubmission or revision of that plan filed after October 31. (Please note that the transition to PLUS on October 31 will require FIDO, PAWS, ProjectDox and PLUS to be inaccessible starting on Friday afternoon October 21. Consequently, it will not be possible to submit plans or permit applications between Friday evening October 21 and Monday morning October 31)    

For background information, a copy of the staff report and amendments can be found at:
https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/landdevelopment/public-facilities-manual-and-code-amendments.