A new law from a Fairfax County state delegate will set statewide limits on minimum parking requirements years after the county completed a major overhaul of its standards.
Del. Irene Shin (D-8), who represents parts of Herndon, Oak Hill and Chantilly, introduced HB 888 to limit the minimum amount of parking that localities can require for mixed-use and residential developments within a half-mile of mass transit facilities or public transportation stations.
Under the law, localities can’t impose conditions or adopt and enforce zoning ordinances requiring developers to provide more than 0.5 parking spaces per dwelling unit at multifamily or mixed-use developments, or one space per dwelling unit for one-family and two-family homes and townhouses in qualifying transit-oriented areas.
In a statement to FFXnow, Shin cited the high cost of housing for families and shortage of affordable options in Fairfax County.
“Nearly 45 percent of all Fairfax renters households are cost-burdened compared to the national average, and homeownership is a pipe dream thanks to an overall housing supply shortage keeping housing prices out-of-reach for Fairfax families,” Shin said. “A huge factor that drives these costs is minimum parking requirements for new construction, which are a significant but often overlooked driver of housing costs.”
According to Shin, mandated parking spots cost as much as $5,000 each in surface lots and $50,000 each in parking decks — prices that get reflected in higher rent and home prices. The delegate believes more flexibility on parking requirements could help stimulate new housing construction when Fairfax County faces a shortage of affordable units.
Approved by Virginia Gov. Abigail Spanberger on April 22, the law will take effect on July 1, 2026, more than two years after Fairfax County adopted its Parking Reimagined initiative, which represented the county’s first comprehensive review of its off-street parking and loading requirements since 1988.
The zoning ordinance amendment updated minimum parking requirements based on density and proximity to transit, requiring fewer spaces in areas near transit stations where multifamily residential and commercial development are planned.
Chairman Jeff McKay’s office referred an FFXnow inquiry on the bill’s impact on Fairfax County to county staff. During the General Assembly session, county staff advocated for the bill to be amended to align with the Parking Reimagined program, which sets different requirements depending on a development or business’ use and location.
“County staff is still evaluating how it will specifically align or change our Parking Reimagine[d] limits and waiver process as the ones in the bill were lower,” county staff said in a statement to FFXnow.
One other component of the bill allows localities with populations above 600,000 to increase parking requirements within a half-mile of locally-run bus stops.
“[That] provides the opportunity for larger and growing localities to have flexibility where needed,” Shin said. “Fairfax County is the only locality with a population over 600,000 that the condition would apply to.”
Developers would be allowed to apply for a 25% reduction in off-street parking requirements at residential, multifamily or mixed-use developments within 1,000 feet of a bus stop.
Parking reduction requests for developments that would serve households earning 70% of the area median income or less would only need administrative approval, meaning they don’t have to go through the county’s planning commission and Board of Supervisors. Developers could also seek administrative approval if the required number of parking spaces are unfeasible on the site or if there’s a shared parking agreement within 1,000 feet of the property.
Developments not subject to the new law’s parking minimum requirements could still seek parking reductions. In localities with populations over 20,000, the law allow administrative review of parking reductions of at least 20% for residential, multifamily, or mixed-use development more than a half-mile away from transit stations.
