Fairfax County supervisors on Tuesday (Jan. 13) set public hearings for later in the winter to consider expansion of zoning districts where group homes, also known as congregate living facilities, would be allowed.
The proposal also would update nearly quarter-century-old standards for the facilities.
The hearings will be held on Feb. 25 before the Fairfax County Planning Commission and on March 17 before the Board of Supervisors. It will be the next step in a process that began in 2022, when supervisors directed staff to study the issue.
Current zoning requirements allow congregate living facilities in residential and commercial-office districts. The proposed amendment would expand the zoning districts where the facilities are allowed to more commercial districts (C-5 through C-8) as well as some industrial districts (I-2 through I-4).
Congregate living facilities are defined by the county as facilities that provide housing and supportive care services “in a supervised setting” either on a permanent or temporary basis. Examples include in-patient addiction treatment centers and facilities that take care of more than eight people with disabilities.
Homeless shelters operated by the county and assisted living facilities aren’t included under that label by the zoning ordinance.
According to county staff:
“Expanded opportunities for locating congregate-living facilities may also help reduce geographic disparities in access to such facilities. In addition, the proposed standards are intended to ensure compatibility with surrounding land uses and that the occupants of these facilities have reasonable access to essential resources.”
The proposed revision sets a standard that requires congregate living facilities in commercial and industrial districts must be located within a reasonable distance of employment areas, public transportation and community services, staff said in a memo to supervisors.
It also includes a requirement that on-site staff and support staff be part of facilities, with the exception of recovery residences where they are not required.
Group home facilities cannot be built by-right; they require special exception permits from the county government, a process that involves public hearings and votes.
The proposed zoning amendment would mark the first substantive alteration of requirements for congregate living facilities since they were adopted by supervisors in 2003.
In the intervening two decades, the county has approved six applications for congregate living facilities, including ones that assist domestic violence and human trafficking survivors and teens with eating disorders. The very first approval came in 2007 for the Catholic Diocese of Arlington’s priest retirement home in Annandale, according to a staff report.
At a 2022 meeting of the board’s Housing Committee, county staff proposed expanding areas where congregate living facilities could be located as part of the county’s strategy to reduce homelessness and promote equity.
The Board of Supervisors also discussed the possibility of repurposing vacant commercial spaces for emergency homeless shelters at that meeting, among other options.
“I can’t imagine too many things that would be more important in a person’s life than moving from homelessness to permanent supportive housing,” said then-Supervisor John Foust (Dranesville), who chaired the Housing Committee in 2022.
Image via Google Maps
