Fairfax County Planning Commission

County revises vision for mixed-use Pan Am shopping center after community input

Published August 2, 2023 at 1:30PM | Updated August 2, 2023 at 6:59PM

Pan Am Shopping Center (file photo)

(Updated at 7 p.m.) The Fairfax County Planning Commission gave its full support last week to a proposal to allow housing at Merrifield’s Pan Am Shopping Center, a key step toward transforming the strip mall into a mixed-use neighborhood.

The commission voted unanimously on July 27 to recommend that the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors amend the county’s comprehensive plan for the approximately 25-acre property southeast of Route 29 and Nutley Street, opening the door for up to 585 multifamily residential units and additional retail space.

Countywide

Supporters and opponents make their case on county’s off-street parking overhaul

By Acacia James

Published July 31, 2023 at 3:00PM

The parking lot at Kingstowne Towne Center (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

In its first public hearing last Wednesday (July 26), the Fairfax County Planning Commission heard from the community on its proposed overhaul of parking requirements.

The initiative known as Parking Reimagined puts forth changes to off-street parking, bicycle parking, and loading. Overall rates and regulations have not been comprehensively reviewed since 1988.

News

Hunt Club residents in Reston worry redevelopment will affect possible slave cemetery

By Vivian Hoang

Published July 26, 2023 at 3:00PM | Updated July 27, 2023 at 5:00PM

Cemetery #FX242 near Lake Fairfax Park in Reston (via SEM Fairfax Land Associates/Fairfax County)

Hunt Club Cluster residents in Reston are pushing back against a potential redevelopment of a 9-acre property just north of Lake Fairfax Park that encompasses a possible slave cemetery and a 1790s-era log cabin.

SEM Fairfax Land Associates has been working to secure approval from Fairfax County to build Fairfax Hunt Estates, a community of eight single-family homes, at 1321 Lake Fairfax Drive and preserve the log cabin known as Fairfax Hunt Club, according to the application submitted on Nov. 22, 2022.

News

Planning Commission supports overhaul of Reston Comprehensive Plan

By Fatimah Waseem

Published July 24, 2023 at 11:00AM | Updated July 24, 2023 at 3:04PM

Reston Town Center from the Dulles Toll Road (staff photo by Fatimah Waseem)

(Updated at 3:05 p.m.) The overhaul of the Reston Comprehensive Plan is barreling towards approval this fall.

At a July 19 meeting, the Fairfax County Planning Commission unanimously approved a new version of the plan, which sets a comprehensive vision for the planned community and culminates more than two years of work by residents, officials and county staff.

Countywide

Fairfax County growth skews toward mixed-use areas, multifamily housing

By Melanie Pincus

Published July 21, 2023 at 10:15AM

Reston Station is among the new developments that have popped up around Fairfax County over the past decade (staff photo by Angela Woolsey)

Growth in Fairfax County is focused in Tysons, the Dulles Suburban Center and other mixed-use areas.

In addition, growth in multifamily housing units outpaced growth in single-family housing between 2010 and 2023, and office space continues to lead the way in non-residential development potential, county staff said in a presentation at the Fairfax County Planning Commission’s policy plan committee meeting on July 13.

News

Plan to redevelop languishing office site in Springfield rejected

By Fatimah Waseem

Published July 20, 2023 at 11:45AM

The commission rejected the proposal at a meeting this month (Photo via handout/Fairfax County Government).

A plan to reinvigorate a 15-acre site in Springfield that was the pinnacle of the local market four decades ago has been derailed.

At a July 11 meeting, the Fairfax County Planning Commission rejected a proposal seeking a special exception to redevelop Versar Center — a site with two office buildings that sits on a floodplain between the Virginia Railway Express and the I-95/I-495 interchange.

News

Developer hopes to energize Spring Hill Metro area by swapping office for housing

By Angela Woolsey

Published July 17, 2023 at 1:30PM

The proposed City House residential high-rise from across Spring Hill Road in Tysons (via DCS Design/Fairfax County)

While new buildings continue to transform the Tysons skyline further east, the Spring Hill Metro station area has yet to see the same frenzy of development.

Developer American Real Estate Partners hopes to change that with City House, pitching the high-rise apartments to the Fairfax County Planning Commission last week as a way to revitalize its Highline at Greensboro District office complex at 8401 Greensboro Drive.

News

Reston Row changes advance, even with concerns about urban park and dining space swap

By Fatimah Waseem

Published July 5, 2023 at 1:30PM

Reston Association president John Farrell raised the association's concerns at a meeting related to Reston Row (Photo via handout/Fairfax County).

Changes to Comstock’s Reston Row neighborhood are moving forward despite concerns about the proposed shift of a public park space into private outdoor dining space for Ebbitt House, an upcoming restaurant.

The Fairfax County Planning Commission recommended on June 28 that the Board of Supervisors approve changes to the project near the Wiehle-Reston Easton Metro station.

News

Vote on overhaul of Reston’s new comprehensive plan deferred again

By Fatimah Waseem

Published June 30, 2023 at 10:15AM

Carter walked through his analysis of the plan at a June 28 meeting (Photo courtesy Fairfax County Government).

The Fairfax County Planning Commission will take another stab at a major overhaul of Reston’s defining planning document next month.

At a Wednesday (June 28) meeting, the commission once again deferred a decision on the extensive update of Reston Comprehensive Plan to July 12 — a move that Hunter Mill District Commissioner John Carter said would allow staff time to incorporate proposed revisions. The commission first deferred a decision on the project on June 14.

News

Plan for Route 7 bus rapid transit in Tysons passes planning commission

By Angela Woolsey

Published June 26, 2023 at 11:00AM

The proposed route and stations for the Route 7 bus rapid transit system in Tysons (via FCDOT)

Fairfax County’s plan for bus rapid transit (BRT) service on Route 7 in Tysons sailed through the planning commission last week.

The commissioners recommended on Wednesday (June 21) that the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approve a comprehensive plan amendment establishing guidelines for the future public transportation system, including the route and station locations.