The County has established a help center on the first floor of the Herrity Building. For average residents and development professionals alike the alphabet soup of departments and agencies involved in the development and permitting process can quickly become confusing and overwhelming. To assist residents, the Development Services Customer Information Center has been established to provide a centralized location for customers to meet with Department of Planning and Zoning (DPZ) and Land Development Services (LDS) staff members who can help them navigate the county's land development process. For more information please see:
www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpz/pod/fxfirstportal.jpg and www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpz/pod/cicdirections.htm
Graham Park Plaza Plan Amendment 2015-I-J1 (formerly Loehmanns Plaza)
In late 2016 the Board of Supervisors approved a Comprehensive Plan amendment for Graham Park Plaza, formerly Loehmanns Plaza, in the Mason District. The new plan could permit the development of a mix of residential and nonresidential uses. The pending rezoning RZ 2016-MA-022 to develop part of the plaza with residential buildings and ground floor uses had been placed on indefinite deferral. The owner of the plaza is revising the design to respond to community concerns and to ensure safe automotive and pedestrian access and circulation. It is anticipated that the rezoning will be reactivated this fall with public hearings at the Planning Commission late this year and a Board hearing in early 2018. www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpz/fairfaxforward/pa/grahamparkplaza/grahamparkplaza.htm
Modernization of Fairfax County’s Zoning Ordinance: zMod process is launched
The County has initiated the process of rewriting and updating the county zoning ordinance. The current ordinance is nearly 40 years old and is showing its age. The goal of the rewrite is to make the ordinance easier to administer and easier to understand by the average citizen. The Zoning Ordinance Modernization Project (zMod) will make the county’s zoning ordinance more agile, flexible and forward thinking. The project in its first phase will prioritize three key ordinance amendments for review: minor modifications, planned development housing districts and creating broader, more general zoning categories. zMod is also intended to support the county’s strategic plan to grow and diversify the economy. For more information see: www.fairfaxcounty.gov/news/2017/fairfax-launches-zoning-ordinance-modernization.htm
Idylwood Substation Update
Dominion Virginia Power is planning to rebuild the existing substation located near the corner of Shreve Road and Holly Manor Drive. The existing facility, originally built in the late 1950’s, needs to be upgraded to address capacity and reliability concerns in the region. Dominion is moving forward with their Special Exception Amendment application (SEA-2014-PR-032) and a separate Certificate of Need application to the State Corporation Commission. Both of these applications were triggered by the proposed introduction of a high-bus electrical line that had not been anticipated under the approved Special Exception application. Stakeholders are working to mitigate adverse impacts and safety concerns of the upgrades proposed. The Board SEA hearing has been scheduled for September 12 of this year. Residents can also sign up to receive project updates via email. www.dom.com/about-us/news-center/electric-projects-and-initiatives/power-line-projects/idylwood-at-shreve-road-project
Providence District Land Use Updates
Providence District has multiple pending and recently approved zoning applications. Several other property owners expressed interest in submitting new zoning applications at the time of publication.
In Tysons, the approved Capital One zoning application (FDPA/PCA 2010-PR-021-02) will result in the development of an urban style Wegmans and The Capital One Center. The center will include a Main Hall with 1,500-seats, a 225 seat Black Box multipurpose space and two classrooms in addition to other meeting spaces. The center will also have an orchestra pit, a fly system, dressing rooms and state of the art, lighting, sound, and rigging systems. Operations will be managed by a professional management company. The center will be capable of hosting everything from Capital One’s corporate events to publicly-accessible performing arts events, such as symphonies, local arts exhibits and school graduations and professional touring artists. It is anticipated that it will become a premier performance venue for Fairfax County performing arts groups.
To accommodate additional growth and consolidation of their operations MITRE (RZ/FDPA 2010-PR-023) proposes to master plan their 22 acres to permit a 30 year phased development to meet their office needs. The developer of The Boro, TMG Solutions Plaza (PCA 2010-PR-022) is quickly moving forward with construction of the mixed use redevelopment of the SAIC campus property. CityLine proposed PCA/FDPA 2011-PR-011-02 will be going to the Board of Supervisors for public hearing this fall. The development located on the south side of 123 envisions the development of three high rise residential buildings, ground floor retail and interim retail uses. The interim retail buildings would be replaced in the future with the construction of two office buildings fronting 123. The approved International Place development (RZ 2015-PR-006), located on the former Killmon Ford dealership site, will result in the development of a 350 to 385 unit residential building with over 100,000 sq. ft. of ground floor retail uses and an urban pubic park. The Old Meadow Holdings application (RZ 2015-PR-014), that proposes to develop a 10 story office building at the corner of Old Meadow Road and Route 123 with integrated parking and 12,000 square feet of ground floor retail, has been placed on indefinite deferral.
Two new substantial PTC zoning applications have been filed for Tysons: The View (RZ 2017-PR-102/103), a nearly 7 acre area located at Spring Hill Road and Rt. 7, proposes to develop five buildings with 2.8 million square feet including options to develop approximately 19% of the site with office, 61% residential, 14% hotel, and 5% retail and public uses including a pedestrian plaza and a performing arts venue. The initial 1.3 million sq. ft. building is proposed to be 615’ tall and would include a combined total of 650 residential and hotel rooms. The Mile rezoning located off of Jones Branch Drive proposes to replace three existing office buildings and surface parking on 38 acres with nine buildings with 2,155 to 2,970 residential units, 650,000 sq. ft. of office and 60,000 sq. ft. of retail and open space.
The Sekas Homes RZ/FDP 2016-PR-012 application located on 26 acres off of Rt. 50, was approved to redevelop the Kena Temple site with 22 single family homes. The Pearson family RZ 2016-PR- 089 application to redevelop their property on Haney Lane with 9 homes is anticipated to go to public hearings late this year. In the Oakton area the Flint Hill Upper School located off of Jermantown Road has a pending Special Exception Amendment SEA 99-P-046-02 to eliminate the option to build a field house and build in its place a middle school to accommodate about 100 additional 7th and 8th graders who are currently housed at the lower school campus. This application was heard before the Planning Commission in July and will be scheduled for public hearing at the Board of Supervisors this fall.
In Merrifield, Sekas Homes is proposing to redevelop the Four Seasons Tennis Club with a mix of townhomes, multifamily units and childcare. The pending rezoning application (RZ/FDPA 2016-PR-020) and will go to public hearings in October of this year. At the former ExxonMobil campus located on Gallows Road INOVA has established the Inova Center of Personalized Health and has initiated retrofitting portions of the campus to accommodate the center.
At MetroWest, Pulte has reiterated their plan to start construction of four of the five senior living (55 and over age restricted) residential buildings. In July, SSL Development Company, LLC submitted a final development plan amendment application to permit the development of an assisted living facility in the fifth age restricted residential building. The application FDPA 2003-PR-022 has been accepted by Fairfax County for review. A public hearing before the Planning Commission has not been scheduled at this time.
Short-Term Rentals: development of new regulations
Over the summer I contacted all Civic and Homeowner Associations located in the Providence District to alert them that Fairfax County is considering the development of new zoning regulations for Short-Term Rentals (such as Airbnb). This year the Virginia General Assembly passed Senate Bill 1578. This gives localities the authority to require registration of Short-Term Rentals. As a result, the Board of Supervisors directed the creation of a working group to draft zoning regulations for Short-Term Rentals in the County and to establish a registry of Short-Term Rentals. In proposing Short-Term Rental regulations to the Board, the working group seeks to balance residents' interests to protect the character of their neighborhood with the interests of persons wanting to operate Short-Term Rentals within their residences. To help facilitate developing the proposed regulations for Short-Term Rentals, the county posted online a quick Short-Term Property Rental Survey to obtain community input. To monitor the progress of the working group’s public outreach and to participate in future public hearings that will consider new regulation please see: www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpz/short-term-rentals.htm
North County Site-Specific Plan nominations to be accepted in September
In June the Board of Supervisors adopted modifications to the Comprehensive Plan Amendment Process, formerly known as Fairfax Forward, to improve public participation in land use planning efforts. The major modification incorporates a new nomination-based review cycle, known as the Site-Specific Plan Amendment Process (SSPA) into the Comprehensive Plan Amendment Work Program. The SSPA is designed as a four-year review cycle — the first two years will encompass the North County Supervisor districts of Dranesville, Hunter Mill, Providence, and Sully, and will commence in September of 2017; the following two years will include the South County Supervisor districts. The North County Site-Specific Plan Amendment process will commence with an open nomination period anticipated in September 2017. The nomination period will allow anyone to propose land use plan changes in the eligible areas. For more information please see: www.fairfaxcounty.gov/dpz/planamendments/sspa.htm.
If you have any land use questions, please contact my aide, Michael Wing, at 703-560-6946.
