Fairfax County Board of Supervisors

Published February 4, 2025 at 8:15AM

Trash bins on the side of a road in Dunn Loring (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Fairfax County is launching a public outreach campaign ahead of a June Board of Supervisors hearing on its plan to take over management of residential trash collection.

The Department of Public Works and Environmental Services introduced its plan for Unified Sanitation Districts (USD) in December. The proposal would shift the county from a waste collection system where most single-family homeowners hire private haulers to a county-managed model that would assign private companies to specific collection zones.

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McLean Citizens Association questions need for Dunn Loring school before board vote

By James Jarvis

Published February 3, 2025 at 3:55PM

Dunn Loring Elementary School design (via Fairfax County Public Schools)

The McLean Citizens Association (MCA) is calling for the Fairfax County School Board to delay the construction of a new Dunn Loring elementary school, arguing that the project is unnecessary given the ongoing decline in student enrollment at nearby schools.

The request comes ahead of a Fairfax County Board of Supervisors meeting tomorrow (Feb. 4), when officials are set to hold a public hearing and vote on whether to approve the project.

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Fairfax County might ask voters to approve funding for early childhood education facilities

By Scott McCaffrey

Published January 31, 2025 at 2:30PM

A preschool kid drawing (via Gabe Pierce/Unsplash)

Fairfax County leaders anticipate asking voters to support funding this fall for early childhood education facilities.

Details of the potential standalone bond referendum, including the proposed dollar amount and projects to be supported, will come when County Executive Bryan Hill unveils his fiscal year 2026 budget and related capital-improvement program on Tuesday, Feb. 18.

Countywide

Fairfax County board questions cost of sliding-fee plan for park services

By Scott McCaffrey

Published January 31, 2025 at 9:45AM

A person sits on a bench outside the Providence Rec Center (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Fairfax County Park Authority staff laid out a $12 million, multi-year plan on Tuesday (Jan. 28) to factor equity into the costs paid by county residents for park services.

However, FCPA Executive Director Jai Cole’s presentation of the proposal to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors at a health and human services committee meeting on Tuesday (Jan. 28) sparked concerns about the expected administrative costs.

Countywide

Fairfax County explores tighter rules for substations as energy demand grows

By James Jarvis

Published January 29, 2025 at 3:45PM

Power lines connected to Reston substation (staff photo by James Jarvis)

Fairfax County is proposing new zoning regulations for utility substations that could limit where they can be built and impose stricter standards on projects near residential neighborhoods.

The draft amendments, discussed at a Board of Supervisors Land Use Policy Committee meeting on Tuesday (Jan. 28), aim to address community concerns about the noise and industrial appearance of substations, while accommodating the region’s growing energy needs, zoning administrative staff said.

Countywide

Fairfax County joins national effort to protect monarch butterflies

By Scott McCaffrey

Published January 28, 2025 at 11:15AM

A monarch butterfly spotted by the W&OD Trail (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Fairfax County leaders have joined hundreds of municipalities across the nation in pledging to do more to help the monarch butterfly’s survival.

The county’s Board of Supervisors agreed during its Jan. 14 meeting to sign on to the National Wildlife Foundation’s Mayors’ Monarch Pledge Program, which commits local governments to take various actions to stem loss of habitat for pollinators.

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Fairfax open to joining Falls Church in ‘Saigon Blvd’ renaming, board chair says

By Scott McCaffrey

Published January 24, 2025 at 9:00AM

Elected officials and the local Vietnamese American community unveil a sign for Saigon Blvd, an honorary designation for Wilson Blvd in front of Eden Center in Falls Church (staff photo by Scott McCaffrey)

Fairfax County could be next in bestowing the honorary name “Saigon Blvd” on a stretch of Wilson Blvd near Seven Corners.

Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay nodded in the affirmative when asked at a Wednesday (Jan. 22) ceremony whether Fairfax would be willing to join Falls Church in renaming the area in front of the Eden Center in honor of the one-time South Vietnamese capital.

Countywide

Report: Housing costs force exodus of young families from Northern Virginia

By James Jarvis

Published January 22, 2025 at 1:15PM

The Vienna Market condominium townhomes from across Maple Avenue (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Northern Virginia’s high cost of living is driving more residents to leave for areas where their money stretches further, a new report shows.

The report, published this month by the Northern Virginia Regional Commission, found that nearly 158,000 people moved out of the region in 2022, nearing a record set during the pandemic in 2020. At the same time, only 128,000 people moved in — a sharp drop compared to pre-pandemic years.

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County board allows denser development on site near Mosaic District

By Scott McCaffrey

Published January 21, 2025 at 1:15PM

The Alliance Center property in Merrifield (via Fairfax County)

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved a comprehensive plan amendment last Tuesday (Jan. 14) that ultimately could lead to the redevelopment of the Alliance Center office condominiums adjoining the Mosaic District in Merrifield.

Though there’s no current development proposal on the table, the amendment would allow nearly 360 residential units with 60,000 square feet of ground-floor uses on the 3.2-acre site, which currently hosts two buildings with 24 aging commercial-condominium units, surrounded by surface parking.

News

Fairfax County seeks nearly $91 million in federal transportation grants

By Scott McCaffrey

Published January 17, 2025 at 2:30PM

The Fairfax Connector bus fleet has a growing number of electric buses (courtesy FCDOT)

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors authorized staff on Tuesday (Jan. 14) to make federal grant requests totaling nearly $91 million to fund eight transportation projects.

The application for fiscal year 2031 Congestion Mitigation Air Quality (CMAQ) and Regional Surface Transportation Program (RSTP) funding now goes to the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA), where it will be scored against applications from other jurisdictions in the region.