The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors tapped Celebrate Fairfax on Tuesday (July 15) to manage logistics of the county’s celebration of the nation’s upcoming 250th birthday.
The organization will work with the Fairfax County 250th Commission and community groups to support an “inclusive-community-driven experience,” Mount Vernon District Supervisor Dan Storck said.
The commission was set up by the Board of Supervisors in 2021 to coordinate planning efforts and create a “signature experience” honoring the 250th anniversary of the signing of the Declaration of Independence in 1776.
A nonprofit founded in 1981, Celebrate Fairfax works “to celebrate the people, art, recreation and culture in our community,” the organization says on its website. It was previously best known for organizing the county’s annual Celebrate! Fairfax Festival, but shifted in 2022 to support more year-round programming.
Events for the semiquincentennial have already begun, and in June, Fairfax native son George Washington (portrayed by Mount Vernon staffer Daniel Cross) visited supervisors to help kickstart major efforts.
“The celebration has started,” Hunter Mill District Supervisor Walter Alcorn said at the July 15 meeting. “There are some good things out there, and more are coming.”
Fairfax also plans to soon debut a mobile exhibition of its own to complement the state government’s mobile museum, which stopped in Vienna this past weekend as it continues touring the commonwealth over the next year.
Fairfax County’s celebratory efforts to date have been among the most visible among Northern Virginia jurisdictions, but neighboring localities are also planning for events over the coming year.
Arlington’s government has tasked the Arlington Historical Society with planning and coordinating events. In Falls Church, a government committee recently adopted a mission statement declaring that the commemoration would be “historically honest, founding-principles based, future-focused and collaboratively designed.”
Alexandria, which, like Fairfax County, claims George Washington as its own, also has begun commemorative events leading up to bigger things in 2026.
County to pay closer attention to homeowner groups
The supervisors also directed staff to pay more attention to maintaining accurate lists of homeowner and civic associations.
The final action, however, was not quite what Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity had in mind when he brought a request to his colleagues at the July 15 meeting.
Herrity initially proposed formally directing County Executive Bryan Hill to work with Office of Public Affairs staff to determine ways to better maintain contact with the groups and ensure updated information is available to the community.
“We can enhance the databases through outreach,” he said, calling a robust contact list “an invaluable tool” both for government and the public.
Other supervisors, however, had concerns about adding another responsibility to the public affairs office’s workload.
“I understand the information is valuable and hard to get,” Sully District Supervisor Kathy Smith said, adding that “we have limited staffing. Our staff is working hard on the tasks they have.”
A compromise suggested by Board Chairman Jeff McKay and accepted by Herrity resulted in a verbal directive to have the matter discussed in meetings between county supervisor staff members.
Keeping the effort within supervisors’ offices seemed appropriate, said Providence District Supervisor Dalia Palchik.
“If there’s one role our offices have … it is [maintaining] that contact information and outreach,” Palchik said. “This really is the number-one thing our offices and our staff are here to do.”
Herrity acquiesced, with the hope that all supervisor offices take the effort seriously.
“We all get better if we share,” he said.
The county government keeps a list of approximately 1,500 homeowners’ and condominium associations, and provides a guide to running such groups.
Hearing on electric substation zoning bumped back
County supervisors have decided to give themselves more time before considering potential zoning changes for new power substations, many of them necessitated by the proliferation of data centers.
In a unanimous vote, supervisors pushed back the Fairfax County Planning Commission’s consideration of the zoning ordinance amendments from Sept. 10 to Oct. 16. The Board of Supervisors public hearing has been moved from Oct. 14 to Dec. 9.
The board had concerns that the “aggressive dates” initially planned by staff might limit public feedback and the planning commission’s ability to fully consider the proposed changes, McKay said.
The proposed zoning amendment adds specific standards for setbacks and screening, among other alterations, staff said in a board report. The standards would apply to all new substations and, in certain cases, might require modifications to existing substations.
The delay doesn’t mean supervisors will not move forward on proposed changes, Alcorn noted.
“This has been a long time coming,” Alcorn said. “This is not a new discussion.”
