Land Development Services Alert:
Pavement designs for streets within approved site related plans, must be submitted as plan revisions in PLUS. All pavement designs must be signed and sealed by a licensed professional engineer or land surveyor.
Public Streets
Pavement designs for all streets within existing or proposed public right-of-way will be subject to VDOT review, which will generally follow the workflows for plan review outlined in Technical Bulletin 26-01.
When submitting the plan revision in PLUS, the applicant must select “no” to the ESI review field shown below in the PLUS interface.
Private Streets
Pavement designs for privately maintained streets will be reviewed by Fairfax County, for conformance with the Public Facilities Manual, based on review times described in Technical Bulletin 25-06 corresponding to the timelines associated with a revision to the associated plan (e.g., Site Plan, Rough Grading Plan).
Designated Plans Examiners (DPEs) may request an expedited pavement design review through the Engineering Surveyors Institute (ESI), by selecting “yes” to the ESI review field shown below in the PLUS interface.
The ESI expedited review is subject to an additional review fee, to be billed by ESI to the applicant directly. The expedited submission must include the following statement signed by the DPE:
This pavement design is in conformance with the requirements of the Fairfax County Public Facilities Manual and is submitted for approval under the Designated Plans Examiner Program.
ESI expedited review will be completed within 2-3 business days.
On October 14, 2025, the Board of Supervisors (Board) authorized public hearings on amendments to Chapter 124.1 (Erosion and Stormwater Management Ordinance) before the Planning Commission on November 12, 2025, at 7:30 p.m. and before the Board on December 9, 2025, at 4:30 p.m. The amendments update Chapter 124.1 to implement changes to the Virginia Erosion and Stormwater Management Regulation (Regulation) and clarify existing requirements in the Erosion and Stormwater Management Ordinance. The changes to the water quality control requirements related to the Regulation were implemented by Land Development Services on July 1, 2025, as required by the Regulation (See Letter to Industry #25-05). For detailed information on the proposed amendments and public hearing schedule, visit Public Facilities Manual and County Code Amendments | Land Development Services.
Effective immediately, the Health Department’s Onsite Sewage and Well Water Section will no longer conduct reviews of Infill Grading Plans (INFs) until an Onsite Sewage System Design (HOSSA) has been approved. This change is intended to streamline the review process and reduce the need for multiple re-reviews by our plan review staff.
If you have any questions regarding this process change, please contact the Health Department at HDEHD@fairfaxcounty.gov.
On September 9, 2025, the Board of Supervisors (Board) authorized advertisement of public hearings before the Planning Commission and Board to consider proposed amendments to the Subdivision and Zoning Ordinances necessary to implement changes required by changes to the Code of Virginia §§15.2-2259 and 15.2-2260 made by Chapter 100 of the 2025 Virginia Acts of the Assembly (House Bill 2660) and Chapter 594 of the 2025 Virginia Acts of the Assembly (Senate Bill 974), which became effective on July 1, 2025.
The amendments:
The Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on October 8, 2025, at 7:30 p.m., in the Board Auditorium at 12000 Government Center Parkway. Information on ways to testify can be found on Ways to Provide Public Hearing Testimony.
The Board will hold a public hearing on October 28, 2025, at 4:00 p.m., in the Board Auditorium. Information on the ways to testify can be found on Ways to Provide Public Hearing Testimony.
If adopted, the amendments are proposed to become effective October 29, 2025.
A copy of the staff report may also be found under the “Proposed Amendments Authorized for Public Hearing” section on the Public Facilities Manual and County Code Amendments | Land Development Services (fairfaxcounty.gov) webpage.
For more information contact Jerry Stonefield, Site Code Research and Development, Land Development Services, at 703-324-1791, TTY 711.
The Land Development Services (LDS) Site Development and Inspections Division (SDID) has updated the following 3rd Party construction inspection checklists and certifications for various stormwater controls. The checklist contents have been updated to reflect the new Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) specification references and to incorporate minor editorial changes. The updated checklists include:
The 3rd Party Construction Inspection Checklists and Certifications for BMP inspection are required for each BMP/stormwater facility constructed per the approved plan. Copies of updated checklists are available at the LDS Forms and Publication Library. The revised checklists may be used immediately but are required for all submissions made on or after September 15, 2025.
If you have any questions, please contact the Site Development and Inspections Division at 703-324-1720, TTY 711.
Land Development Services’ (LDS) Site Development and Inspections Division (SDID) is pleased to announce the promotion of two individuals into key leadership positions.
Kirsten Munz, Director of SDID, said, “I am thrilled with the new leadership these talented individuals bring to our team in SDID. With their strong technical backgrounds, and deep commitments to customer service, SDID is well positioned to continue to evolve and grow to better serve the development community and citizens of Fairfax County.”
Bin Zhang, PE, has been promoted to the Assistant Director of Engineering for SDID. In this new position, Bin will provide technical leadership and expertise over the plan review process, overseeing the four plan review branches. In this role, she will promote efficiency, consistency and teamwork among all stakeholders and participants. Bin will lead internal training and improvements to processes and resources related to site review, while strengthening our relationships with industry and our partner agencies.
Bin has worked in SDID for over 12 years, first as the Tysons site reviewer, and most recently as the chief of the North Branch, where she has been intimately involved in a wide range of highly complex, high-profile projects. She has demonstrated her ability to provide strong leadership among diverse stakeholders, upholding important regulatory requirements while remaining committed to delivering top-notch customer service. Bin’s technical proficiency and exceptional ability to distill complex processes and problems into clear, streamlined systems and solutions are an ideal fit for this new role.
Daniel Rizzo, PE, has been promoted to Chief of South Branch plan review. In this position, Dan will provide leadership to a diverse group of engineers and code specialists performing plan reviews in Franconia, Mason, and Mount Vernon Districts.
Dan came to LDS two years ago after over a decade of extensive civil engineering design and project management experience in the private sector. As a stormwater specialist for the past two years on the South Branch team, he has reviewed numerous projects and studies, where he has skillfully collaborated with diverse stakeholders to find common sense solutions, and provide clear guidance to submitting engineers. Dan’s creativity and innovation will be an outstanding addition to the SDID leadership team in developing new policies and tools to promote consistency and streamline our processes.
Land Development Services (LDS) is pleased to announce recent enhancements to the Workflow Routing Slip Report in PLUS. The report now provides a more comprehensive view of a project’s permit history by displaying detailed workflow information for individual records.
The Workflow Routing Slip Report now includes review cycles and due dates, giving customers better visibility into each step of the review process and helping track project progress more effectively.
To access the updated report, navigate to your project’s PLUS record and click on the “Reports” dropdown at the top of the PLUS homepage. Then, select “Workflow Routing Slip Report” from the list.
These upgrades are part of LDS’ ongoing commitment to improving transparency and streamlining the development process.
For questions on how to access the report, please contact the LDS Customer Experience Team at 703-222-0801, TTY 711.
In November 2024, the Office of the Fire Marshal sent out a letter to industry titled, "Electric Strike Requirements, Submittal Information, and Inspections." As a follow-up to that letter to industry, Land Development Services and the Office of the Fire Marshal offers the following information to clarify and simplify the “Submittal and Inspection Requirements for Access and Egress Control, Delayed Egress Locking, and Latching Systems” process. The new process will be effective as of March 31st, 2025.
An electrical low voltage permit and a building permit are required for all access or egress control systems, delayed egress locking, and latching system installations. If the scope of work covers special locking systems as defined in the Description and Requirements for Special Locking Hardware document, an additional fire door lock permit is required and will be reviewed by the Office of the Fire Marshal.
Any deviations from the work shown on the building permit that are made to the special locking systems arrangement as part of the fire door lock permit submission, shall be reflected in an amendment record to the parent building record.
Special door locking systems will be identified during the plan review stage for the building permit. To ensure all special locking systems are identified properly, all door hardware schedules shall be submitted and show the standardized details for identifying normal locks vs special locks on the building plan as outlined in the Door Hardware Schedule Requirements document.
Contact the Office of the Fire Marshal with any questions.
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. LDS was directed to increase fees over a two-year period starting on July 1, 2024. The full amount of fees set forth in the Staff Report dated March 5, 2024, will be effective July 1, 2025. 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, 2025. Site-related fees will increase by 5%. A technology surcharge fee will rise from 7% to 10%. The code academy surcharge fee will increase by 1% and be applied to all building records. The fees for pedestrian bridges and minor revisions to site-related plans will also increase. See the infographic below for more details on all the fee changes.
All fee changes will apply only to applications submitted after July 1, 2025. Applications filed before these dates will be subject to the fees that were in place at the time of filing. See the amended fees policy document Appendix Q, and see details about zoning fee schedule changes.
The Governor of Virginia, Glenn Youngkin, recently signed house bill (HB) 2660 which affects plan review times at various stages of submittal. Beginning July 1, 2025, some review times will change to comply with this new state mandate. Site Development and Inspections Division (SDID) has taken this opportunity to comprehensively assess all review deadlines assigned for various site record types and made updates for consistency, simplification and to comply with HB 2660.
SDID welcomes your comments and input on the review time changes presented in the table below and the draft first submission policy. Please email any comments to LDS SDID Admin by May 28, 2025. We will also hold a virtual community forum for questions and input on Wednesday May 28, 2025, from 10 a.m.-11 a.m. using the link below:
Microsoft Teams
Join the meeting now
Meeting ID: 277 120 697 073
Passcode: DT7Ze3kr
Dial in by phone
+1 571-429-5982,631861062# United States, Washington
Phone conference ID: 631 861 062#
We have adopted a tiered approach to simplify review times for various records. Below is a summary of the review times that will apply to new applications submitted on or after July 1, 2025. All days are calendar days unless noted otherwise.
|
Review cycle |
Tier 1(1)(6) |
Tier 2(2)(7) |
Tier 3(3)(8) |
Tier 4(4) |
|
SP, SD, PI, MSP |
RPA, RGP, DS, SFP, RP, PKS, WAIV, WQIA, SWOD, FDOT, SR, Revisions to Tier 1 plans |
INF, CON, RGP, BATH, FPUD, EP, SAB, SAN, SIP, SR, Revisions to Tier 2 plans |
SDGP, SPGP, Revisions to Tier 3 plans |
|
|
1st Review Cycle |
40 |
30 |
21 |
14 |
|
1st and 2nd resubmissions |
30(5) |
21 |
14 |
14 |
|
3rd resubmission |
14 |
14 |
14 |
14 |
First submissions are considered “officially submitted” when a minimum submission review (MSR), Gateway Review, or Engineers and Surveyors Institute (ESI) Review has been accepted (when required), and the plan has passed pre-screen review via the Application Submittal task in the Planning and Land Use System (PLUS).
Subsequent submissions are considered “officially submitted” as resubmissions if the scope of the resubmission is equivalent to the prior submission that was reviewed, and if all review comments have been addressed satisfactorily. If substantive changes to the project scope have been made, or design concepts have been significantly changed, the resubmission will be handled as a first submission, subject to Director approval. First submissions will be subject to a new application, first submission fees, and first submission review times.
If more than two years have lapsed since a previous review was completed, the resubmission will be considered a first submission, subject to a new application, first submission fees, and first submission review times.
Plan revisions that significantly change the scope of the project, necessitating a completely new plan review, shall be submitted as a new plan, subject to Director approval.
First submissions are subject to the regulations and policies in effect at the time of submission.