Countywide

Decision day is drawing closer, but Fairfax County leaders aren’t yet committing one way or another on whether to implement a meals tax as part of their upcoming budget deliberations.

Even if one is imposed, it won’t be the cure-all to the county government’s funding challenges, with a $292.7 million gap between anticipated revenues and expenses that must be filled in the coming year, one top official says.


Countywide

Nearly a third of Virginia’s data centers are located within 200 feet of residential areas, with Fairfax County leading the state, according to a new report released Monday (Dec. 9) by the Virginia Joint Legislative Audit and Review Commission (JLARC).

Assessing the impact of data centers throughout Virginia, the JLARC report found that 55% of Fairfax County’s 20 data centers are within 200 feet of residential zones, and 70% are within 500 feet.


Countywide

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors on Tuesday (Dec. 3) honored students and teams from the county’s public high schools for state-championship performances this fall.

“We have a long list of champions, which is fantastic,” Board Chairman Jeff McKay said during a presentation that helped kick off the body’s final meeting of 2024.


Countywide

An anticipated two-decade-plus effort to redevelop Fairfax County’s 48-acre judicial complex has taken its first major step forward.

County supervisors approved a conceptual plan on Tuesday (Dec. 3) that ultimately could add four new office buildings, affordable housing and parks to the site at 4110 Chain Bridge Road, adjacent to the City of Fairfax. The construction would bring the amount of development on the campus from 1.4 million square feet to about 2 million.


Countywide

Future parking lots and garages across Fairfax County will need to devote a larger percentage of spaces to support those with disabilities.

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved a proposal Tuesday (Dec. 3) changing the ratio of accessible spaces to total spaces from the current one per 25 spaces to one in 15. The change took effect at midnight on Wednesday, Dec. 4.


Countywide

Fairfax County leaders are taking preliminary steps to potentially restrict new tobacco and hemp retailers from locating in close proximity to schools and day-care facilities.

The Board of Supervisors voted unanimously yesterday (Tuesday) to direct county staff to begin studying the regulatory options available to localities under a law passed earlier this year by the Virginia General Assembly.


Countywide

Despite continued growth in early voting, Fairfax is facing an increasing space crunch at its Election Day voting locations.

“Many precincts are growing rapidly,” Fairfax County Electoral Board chair Kate Hanley told the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors yesterday (Tuesday) during a review of the 2024 election season.


Countywide

Fairfax officials have promised resistance to Trump administration policies that conflict with their values.

But when it comes to keeping the federal workforce rooted in the local area, they may try another tack: flattery, or at least finding common ground.


Countywide

If the Virginia General Assembly allows it, Fairfax County leaders are willing to be the guinea pigs in any effort to find more effective ways to tamp down on noisy vehicles.

The Board of Supervisors’ legislative committee took steps last Tuesday (Nov. 26) to request legislation allowing the county to host a pilot program that would use technology to catch drivers whose after-market mufflers pump out more noise than the 85 decibels allowed under state law.


Countywide

Fairfax County leaders have a nearly $300 million budget gap to fill between now and the time the fiscal 2026 budget is adopted in springtime.

“We have a lot of work to do,” County Executive Bryan Hill said last Tuesday (Nov. 26) at an occasionally testy joint meeting between the county’s Board of Supervisors and School Board.


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