Land Development Services

To better assist customers with site-related plan and document submissions in Fairfax County’s Planning and Land Use System (PLUS), Land Development Services (LDS) created the Site-Related Submission Guidelines webpage. The webpage is also referenced on each site record page in the new LDS Permit Library.

Submitters are strongly encouraged to adhere to these best practices when uploading plans and documents to the PLUS digital plan room. These practices promote customer ease-of-use and help facilitate the efficient acceptance and review of site-related plans.

For questions or additional information, please contact the Site Application Center staff via email or telephone at 703-222-0801, 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.

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.

The Land Development Services Site Development and Inspections Division has updated the Erosion and Sediment Control (E&S) Checklist. The checklist contents have been re-organized and simplified, and outdated code references and contents have been updated.

All E&S plans submitted for approval must include an E&S checklist. The hyperlinked checklist is available under the “Requirements section of all relevant site record guides found in the LDS Permit Library. (Learn more about the Permit Library.) The new checklist may be used immediately and is required for all initial submissions made on or after November 10, 2023.

A copy of the updated checklist has been posted on the website.

If you have any questions, please contact the Site Development and Inspections Division at 703-324-1720, TTY 711.

All plat submissions, including Easement Plats and Record Plats, must clearly identify public easements. This new requirement is effective immediately and is necessitated by a recent court decision regarding Virginia Code Sec. 15.2-2265.

All plats with proposed easements must bear a note saying, “See the accompanying deed to this plat for information on use, ownership, maintenance and conditions of easements shown”.

If you have any questions, please contact Matthew Hansen or call Land Development Services at 703-324-1752, TTY 711.

To better serve you, we continue to improve the Planning and Land Use System (PLUS). Check out these new PLUS updates for Land Development Service s (LDS) customers.

Building & Site:

• Updated the digital plan room to include a PDF. Customers can download the PDF by selecting the PDF icon to see general comments as well as comments made on a specific sheet. The PDF is available when comments are in the “open” status, meaning they have not been “answered/addressed."
• Added help bubbles to all permit records, linking to the corresponding Permit Library webpage for each building and site application.

Building:

• Corrected the date field on the Elevator Vertical Transportation Inspection report.
• Created the Building Records Issued report to allow customers to view permits issued monthly, by record type, similar to what was available in our previous permitting system (FIDO).
• Updated street names for Lee Highway (Route 29) and Lee Jackson Memorial Highway (Route 50) to reflect the county-wide name change for these roads to their route numbers 29 and 50.
• Created a new TRUSS record allowing customers to submit truss shop drawings under their own record type, streamlining the process and increasing efficiency for applications to now be directly managed by the Building Division.

Site:

• Updated the General Information Tab on Waiver applications (WAIV) to provide more options to the customer in selecting the appropriate code reference based on the application type, such as invasive vegetation removal in the RPA under 118-3-3(d)(3) and then assess fees appropriately based on the request type.
• Corrected the Floodplain Study record to no longer require a wetland delineator for submission.
• Updated site email notifications to better inform the customer on the status of their record and any necessary actions, such as a notification directing the applicant that the modest corrections needed for approval can be submitted as a “signature submission” along with the necessary steps and timeframe in which to satisfy the comments without being charged an additional review fee.
• Updated Pro Rata Share assessment to account for July 1 fee change.
• Corrected the Minimum Submission Review (MSR) fee for temporary (TMP) records which were previously charging incorrectly.

 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.

Staff at LDS have spent the past several months developing a comprehensive permit library for each building and site-related record type available in the Planning and Land Use system (PLUS). Within the permit library, customers will find a page devoted to each record type providing guidance through the application and approval process.

In addition to developing detailed content for each permit library guide, staff worked with a web design consultant to ensure the layout for each page is intuitive and user friendly. Our goal is to make the permitting process easier and more transparent.

Each permit library page is formatted in a similar way to provide consistency and quick reference across each record type by including the following information:

• The first section of each guide gives a detailed description of what projects are applicable under the record type. For example, for the residential addition/alteration record type, the description begins, “Residential additions and alterations include renovations, decks, finished basements and more…”
• Quick links at the top of each page take customers to specific sections.
• An explanation of who should apply for the record type – property owners or contractors.
• Useful links and resources to help plan for your project.
• Guidance on submitting applications in PLUS along with relevant YouTube tutorials.
• Detailed information on requirements to complete your application in PLUS. (Requirements may include architectural plans, house plats or other documents and authorizations.)
• An explanation of what happens after applications are submitted including how review works, who is reviewing your application, any fees due and the estimated timeframe for review and approval.
• Once customers reach permit or plan issuance, the permit guides explain how to access the permit card and other approved documents in PLUS.
• Depending on the record type there may be additional sections providing information on the inspections process, conservation/bond release, occupancy and more.
• Once fully indexed by Google each record type page will be accessible from a Google search, such as “Fairfax County household appliance permit.”

LDS will continue to strive to bring excellent customer service to the Fairfax County community. Staff believes the permit library is a big step forward in furthering that commitment by providing our customers with the tools to succeed. We appreciate feedback and will be offering an online form at the bottom of each permit guide to capture your suggestions. Thank you for your commitment to building safely by applying for land development permits through Fairfax County.

Release 4 of the Planning and Land Use System (PLUS), which allows customers to create and submit building and site-related permit applications online, launched October 2022. The new platform created a learning curve for Land Development Services (LDS) customers. To accommodate this learning curve for existing customers and assist new customers in navigating the permitting process, staff at LDS has spent the past several months developing a comprehensive permit library for each record type available in PLUS. Within the permit library, customers will find a page devoted to each record type providing guidance through the application and approval process. A “record” is any application submitted in PLUS, including permits, plans and other miscellaneous project types such as damage reports and critical structure requests.

In addition to developing detailed content for each permit library guide, staff worked with a web design consultant to ensure the layout for each page is intuitive and user friendly. Our goal is to make the permitting process easier and more transparent to our valued customers.

Each permit library page is formatted in a similar way to provide predictability and consistency across each record type by including the following information:

• The first section of each guide gives a detailed description of what projects are applicable under the record type. For example, for the residential addition/alteration record type, the description begins, “Residential additions and alterations include renovations, decks, finished basements and more…”
• Quick links at the top of each page take customers to specific sections.
• An explanation of who should apply for the record type – property owners or contractors.
• Useful links and resources to help plan for your project.
• Guidance on submitting applications in PLUS along with relevant YouTube tutorials.
• Detailed information on requirements to complete your application in PLUS. (Requirements may include architectural plans, house plats or other documents and authorizations.)
• An explanation of what happens after applications are submitted including how review works, who is reviewing your application, any fees due and the estimated timeframe for review and approval.
• Once customers reach permit or plan issuance, the permit guides explain how to access the permit card and other approved documents in PLUS.
• Depending on the record type there may be additional sections providing information on the inspections process, conservation/bond release, occupancy and more.

LDS will continue to strive to bring excellent customer service to the Fairfax County community. Staff believes the permit library is a big step forward in furthering that commitment by providing our customers with the tools to succeed. Thank you for your commitment to building safely by applying for land development permits through Fairfax County.

Thanks to a recent Planning and Land Use System (PLUS) enhancement, customers can now submit their Truss Shop Drawings through PLUS under the new “Residential Truss Submission” record type. Customers only need to check the appropriate field in PLUS to start the truss submission process.

For more information about the new record type and how to submit, watch this YouTube video and visit the Residential Truss Web page in the LDS Permit Library.

If you receive the below error message, please contact the Residential Fast Track team at 703-222-0801, TTY 711, or via email at LDSResTruss@fairfaxcounty.gov.

For assistance uploading documents into PLUS, please contact the Customer Experience Team at 703-222-0801, TTY 711.

The three main causes of flooding in Fairfax County include the following conditions:

1. Proximity to a floodplain.
2. Location in a sump condition.
3. Lack of overland relief. 

To identify these conditions, Land Development Services (LDS) staff developed two new Flood Risk Analysis Tools as part of the Floodplain Viewer and the Drainage Basin Delineation Tool. The new data layers:

• Potential Sump Conditions Layer.
• Overland Relief Flow Accumulation Layer.

These two layers are the result of analysis performed on a Light Detection and Ranging (LiDAR) derived Bare Earth Digital Elevation Model (DEM).

The Potential Sump Conditions layer highlights locations of sumps, or bowl-shaped depressions, where water pools and is unable to drain until the depression fills and overtops. Where structures are within such sump areas those structures may be subject to flood risk. Flooding can also occur when there is a stormwater inlet in the sump, and it becomes overwhelmed due to the magnitude of incoming flows. This layer includes the volume and three-dimensional surface area of the sump areas.

The Overland Relief Flow Accumulation Layer helps to visualize the natural overland runoff flow paths, including paths into and out of sumps. The flow path is strictly based on the bare earth elevation. This provides a clear picture of where the water flows when there is no stormwater management in place, or the infrastructure is overwhelmed.   

Fairfax County uses the Flood Analysis Tools to better assess and review flood risk. Applications for the tools include: 

• Assessing existing site conditions when responding to service requests for structural, yard and road flooding.
• Evaluating existing site conditions and potential impacts of localized changes in topography during redevelopment on adjacent properties.   
• Assessing potential impacts of overwhelmed stormwater inlets in sumps on adjacent structures due to ponding of stormwater runoff.   
• Determining topographic features of the sump area including inflows, outflow and extents.  
• Ensuring that proposed elevations of entry points into new structures (i.e., areaways, walk-in basements, window wells) are adequately protected or situated away from the sumps.

The Potential Sump Conditions and Overland Relief Flow Accumulation layers can be found in Floodplain Viewer and the Drainage Basin Delineation Tool. The Potential Sump Conditions layer is available for download in the Fairfax County Open Geospatial Data site. The image service for the Overland Relief Flow Accumulation is located on our server and can be added to ArcGIS Pro and ArcMap. Please visit the Flood Risk Analysis Tools story map for more information on these new datasets.

Please review the Fairfax County GIS Division disclaimer. These layers are provided to improve awareness of flood risk but are not engineering analysis nor hydraulic analysis.

For questions about any LDS GIS apps or data, including the two new layers, please email LDS GIS.

Three Things to Know

1. The Board of Supervisors proclaimed May as Building Safety Month in Fairfax County to raise awareness for the importance of building codes and the role that employees, builders and homeowners play in maintaining the integrity of our buildings.
2. The International Code Council created the internationally recognized Building Safety Month campaign 43 years ago to promote building safety worldwide. This year’s campaign, “It Starts with YOU,” raises awareness about the role we all play in ensuring safety in the spaces in which we live, work and learn. The campaign also makes the connection between building codes and our personal safety, as well as the important work done by building safety professionals in our communities.
3. At the proclamation presentation on May 10, Sully District Supervisor Kathy Smith thanked staff and the construction industry for helping residents feel safe and confident in Fairfax County buildings. Building codes help ensure Fairfax County structures are built to be resilient during dangerous weather conditions.

Podcast: Listen to Supervising Combination Inspector Jonathan Weaver discuss building safety month and his role as a Fairfax County commercial plumbing inspector.

Related Story: First Defenders: Ensuring Safe Buildings Before Occupancy