Land Development Services Alert:
REMINDER: Land Development Fee Changes Effective July 1, 2024
Land Development Services fee changes effective on July 1, 2024. The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved proposed fee adjustments from Land Development Services (LDS) on April 16, 2024, marking the first significant update since 2015. The new fees will better align with the current costs of providing land development services, which have risen due to increased personnel costs and other inflation-related factors.
Building fees (excluding vertical transportation) will experience a 12.5% increase on July 1, 2024. Site-related fees will increase by 5%. A technology surcharge fee that is normally 4% will increase to 7%. There will also be a new code academy surcharge fee of 1% applied to all building records. New fees will also be introduced for pedestrian bridges and minor revisions to site-related plans. See the infographic below for more details on all the fee changes.
All fee changes will apply only to applications submitted after July 1, 2024. Applications filed before these dates will be subject to the fees that were in place at the time of filing. Read more about these changes. To see the amended fees policy document, review Appendix Q.
In 2024, Fairfax County implemented new parking regulations in the Zoning Ordinance (Ordinance). To measure the effectiveness and use of the new regulations, county staff created a survey for those who use the parking supply requirements in the Ordinance to determine parking for their projects and site activities. The goal of this survey is to evaluate how industry has adopted the new requirements, whether the requirements have made projects easier to implement, and whether the newly created parking tools are helpful.
The survey will be available until May 31, 2025, and can be accessed at this Parking Survey link. A link can also be found on our LDS Off-Street Parking webpage where other guidance, such as our Parking Calculator and informational videos discussing the new parking requirements, are found.
If you have any questions, please contact Michael Davis, Parking Program Manager, in the Site Development and Inspection Division at 703-324-3065, TTY 711.
Land Development Services (LDS) recently merged the existing Customer Experience Team counter with the Customer Information Center, creating a unified Permitting and Customer Support Center in Suite 324 of the Herrity building. This customer support center is staffed to respond to general queries about the building and site-related permitting process, to address engineering-related inquiries with the building and site engineer of the day, and to assist in depositing checks and money orders for LDS-related services. Previously, these services were dispersed throughout three locations in the building. Customers will find this new central location to be conveniently located with ample directional signs throughout the first floor and third floor.
Permitting and Customer Support Center operating hours:
8 a.m. – 4 p.m. (Mon-Thurs); 9:15 a.m. – 4 p.m. (Fri)
Please note that visitors may not be added to in-person queues past 3:45 p.m. Please plan to arrive before that time.
If you prefer the convenience of calling, emailing or meeting virtually from the comfort of your home or office, our virtual customer service options are detailed on our Meet With Staff web page or you can call us at 703-222-0801, TTY 711.
Land Development Services (LDS) offers a Third-Party Inspections Program which allows private-sector inspections firms to perform certain inspections on residential projects that would otherwise be conducted by the county. A list of inspections eligible for the Third-Party Inspections Program is listed on our website. LDS recently created Third-Party Inspection Reports for all Third-Party Inspection Firms to complete and submit after their inspections have been performed. These reports will help streamline the submission process and provide consistency throughout the Third-Party Inspections Program. A hyperlink to each form can be found on the Third-Party Inspection Program website.
An update to the electronic parking calculator is now available to assist in determining required accessible parking for site approvals in Fairfax County. This calculator continues to be an important tool to determine minimal general parking requirements for land use in the county. With the adoption of county-based accessible parking requirements to Section 6100.4 of the Zoning Ordinance, the calculator has been updated to derive the expected minimum accessible parking for most uses.
There are some residential, health care, and land uses that either require a special calculation based on accessible parking requirements outlined in Chapter 11 Accessibility – 2021 Virginia Construction Code or require no accessible parking. These are excluded from the calculator.
The Electronic Parking Calculator can be accessed through Section 6100.4 of the Zoning Ordinance as well as other key areas within Article 6. In addition, the calculator and training resources associated with the updated regulations are available through the LDS Off-Street Parking webpage.
If you have any questions, please contact Michael Davis, Parking Program Manager, in the Site Development and Inspection Division at 703-324-3065, TTY 711.
This notice provides an update to our October 14, 2024, notice to industry on the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality's (DEQ's) two amendments to the Erosion and Stormwater Management (VESM) Regulation [9VAC25-875], which is the regulation governing the county's Erosion and Stormwater Management Ordinance (Ch. 124.1).
The first set of amendments was published in the Virginia Register of Regulations on October 7, 2024. The original amendment is described by DEQ as correcting technical errors that will improve clarity and certainty by making the VESM Regulation internally consistent, removing outdated requirements, and accurately reflecting requirements in the State Water Control Law. When it is republished, we expect there will be changes to the original proposed amendment. The original amendment and the comments can be viewed on the Virginia Regulatory Town Hall at: https://www.townhall.virginia.gov/L/ViewStage.cfm?stageid=10407.
The second set of amendments is scheduled to be published in the Virginia Register of Regulations on December 30, 2024, for a 30-day comment period. The amendments are described by DEQ as amending the VESM Regulation to update sections and requirements that are out of date and burdensome to the regulated community because they do not reflect current practices, technology, or data about land use and nutrient loading. The proposed amendments impact the design of development plans by reducing the allowable phosphorus load from new development to 0.26 pounds/acre/year from the current 0.41 pounds/acre/year, require use of the new Virginia Runoff Reduction Method (VRRM) Version 4.1 spreadsheet to compute the phosphorus load, and require use of updated nonproprietary Best Management Practices (BMP) design standards contained in the Virginia Stormwater Management Handbook. The proposed effective date is July 1, 2025.
You may comment on the amendments in a Town Hall comment forum as soon as they are published in the Virginia Register of Regulations. If you sign up for the Town Hall email notification service, you will be notified when the comment forum opens.
If you have any questions, please contact John Friedman, P.E. with the Site Code Research and Development Branch at 703-324-1773, TTY 711.
As detailed in Technical Bulletins 23-07 and 24-2, the 2021 Virginia Uniform Statewide Building Code (USBC) became effective January 18, 2024, which replaced the 2018 USBC. The one year grace period, which allows the use of technical provisions of the 2018 USBC, expires on January 17, 2025. All building permit applications submitted after January 17, 2025, must comply with the 2021 USBC.
If you have any residential code change questions, please contact Kyle Kratzer in the Building Division at 703-324-1516, TTY 711. If you have any commercial code change questions, please contact Maryia Lackansingh in the Building Division at 703-324-2655, TTY 711.
Land Development Services’ Site Development and Inspections Division has updated the Parking Tabulation Form. The form contents are updated to reflect the changes adopted by the Zoning Ordinance amendment related to Parking Reimagined and to incorporate minor editorial changes. It has also been reformatted, reorganized and limits supporting document submissions.
All parking studies prepared for the purpose of a parking adjustment, parking tabulation, and/or parking redesignation plan must use the updated parking tabulation form. The completed form must be uploaded to the PLUS Plan Room. This form is available under the Parking Study (PKS) section of the Permit Library. The revised form should be used immediately and is required for all initial submissions made on or after January 1, 2025.
A copy of the updated form is also available at the LDS Forms and Publication Library.
If you have any questions, please contact the Site Development and Inspections Division at 703-324-1720, TTY 711.
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.
PLUS Enhancement |
LDS Customer Benefit |
Updates to Building |
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|
Updated Residential Demolition |
Added a new structure type under residential demolition; detached accessory structure. This will allow for accurate information to be provided by the applicant when applying for demolition of gazebos, pool houses, etc. |
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Updated Critical Structures Records |
The 2021 Uniform Statewide Building Code (USBC) updates have been added to the Critical Structures record and can be selected during submission. Two new email notifications were added, one to confirm when a document is uploaded and another when the record itself is closed at the end of the inspection process. |
|
Updated PLUS to Display Plumbing Fixtures |
Customers can now see information related to plumbing fixtures (or drainage fixture units) associated with their commercial construction project. (See image 1 below.) |
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Updated Non-Residential Use Permit (NONRUP) Records |
The “Pay Fees” link was added to the confirmation page for NONRUP record applications. This will allow payments to be made through the link directly, versus having to click into the record and navigate to the fees tab. (See image 2 below.) |
Update to Site |
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Created a Clarifying Disclaimer for Lot Validation Submissions |
Additional language has been added to the Lot Validation application in PLUS to clarify when this request is appropriate and to help distinguish the difference between a valid lot and a buildable lot to ensure applicants are submitting appropriately. |
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Updated the Signature Set Disapproval Notification |
The signature set disapproval email has been updated to incorporate the fees adopted by the Board of Supervisors with the Appendix Q updates on July 1, 2024. |
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Updated the Land Disturbance Permit (removing the "and Stormwater Permit" language). |
Land Disturbance Permits have been updated to reflect the adoption of the Chapter 124.1 consolidated Erosion and Stormwater Management Ordinance. Customers will no longer see the “and Stormwater Permit” title and supplemental language as it is now covered under the combined ordinance and applicable in all scenarios where Chapter 124.1 is applicable. |
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Added Gateway and Minimum Submission Review (MSR) disciplines to the Digital Plan Room to Operate Similarly to ESI Review |
MSR and Gateway staff will now have access to complete their respective review entirely in the Digital Plan Room (DPR). Staff are now able to create DPR ‘Issues’ which can be directly addressed by the applicant in the Plan Room, upon resubmission. This eliminates the need for both staff and the applicant to upload separate documents to identify comments and comment responses. Additional email notification has been created to notify applicants when MSR and Gateway reviews result in ‘Not Acceptable’ and require resubmission. |
Image 1:
Image 2:
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.
On December 3, 2024, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors amended Section 6100.4 of the Fairfax County Zoning Ordinance to include new minimum requirements for accessible parking. The new requirements apply to any site plan, minor site plan, or parking redesignation plan accepted after December 3, 2024, for a new parking lot or parking structure, or a modified number of parking spaces in an existing parking lot. The adopted minimum requirements are consistent with the chart below.
|
TOTAL PARKING SPACES PROVIDED |
REQUIRED MINIMUM NUMBER OF ACCESSIBLE SPACES |
|
1 — 15 |
1 |
|
16 — 30 |
2 |
|
31 — 45 |
3 |
|
46 — 60 |
4 |
|
61 — 75 |
5 |
|
76 — 105 |
6 |
|
106 — 135 |
7 |
|
136 — 195 |
8 |
|
196 — 255 |
9 |
|
256 — 315 |
10 |
|
316 — 615 |
3% of total |
|
616 and over |
25, plus one for each 100, or fraction thereof, over 615 |
The adoption of new accessible parking requirements aligns accessible parking minimums with changes to general parking requirements adopted with Parking Reimagined. Additional information on parking requirements is available on the LDS Off-Street Parking webpage.
If you have any questions, please contact Michael Davis, Parking Program Manager, in the Site Development and Inspection Division at 703-324-3065, TTY 711.