Fairfax County supervisors on Tuesday (Jan. 13) set a pair of future public hearings on proposed revisions to zoning rules for large-scale battery storage in the county.
The proposed changes would impact what are known as Battery Energy Storage Systems, or BESS. Language in the amendments would add a new definition for BESS and add new use standards and submission requirements, including minimum setbacks and the completion of a noise study before a site plan can be approved.
Fairfax County is one step closer to updating its regulations for manufactured homes for the first time in nearly half a century.
At its meeting last Wednesday (Nov. 19), the Fairfax County Planning Commission recommended that the Board of Supervisors amend the Comprehensive Plan and zoning ordinance guidelines for manufactured homes, which are sometimes called mobile homes or trailers.
Fairfax County leaders appear ready to battle any efforts in the 2026 General Assembly session to strip powers of local government to regulate creation of new housing.
“We want affordable housing,” Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeff McKay said, but the county’s lobbying efforts in Richmond would be focused on “making sure the General Assembly doesn’t have a one-size-fits-all” approach that erases local decision-making powers.
A divided Fairfax City Council narrowly approved a major redevelopment plan at its July 22 meeting that will see a century-old home replaced with up to 276 apartment units, plus ground-floor commercial and retail space, on a key parcel in Old Town Fairfax.
The 4-3 vote to support the staff recommendation for redevelopment marked the conclusion of a nearly decade-old process to determine the future of the 2.7-acre site at 4131 Chain Bridge Road.
The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors tapped Celebrate Fairfax on Tuesday (July 15) to manage logistics of the county’s celebration of the nation’s upcoming 250th birthday.
The organization will work with the Fairfax County 250th Commission and community groups to support an “inclusive-community-driven experience,” Mount Vernon District Supervisor Dan Storck said.
Fairfax County planning officials say they have the resources to meet new, stricter turnaround requirements for submissions by property developers.
“We’ve already changed our process. We’re in compliance,” Jerry Stonefield, a Land Development Services staff member, told the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors at a land use policy committee meeting last Tuesday (July 8).
The first major rewrite of zoning rules governing Fairfax’s manufactured home communities since the 1970s soon could head to county supervisors by the end of this year.
If approved, the new regulations would guide future development at the seven existing residential parks, which are mostly located in the Route 1 corridor. They also potentially would provide more protections for residents in cases of redevelopment or other displacement.
Fairfax County supervisors wrapped up the 2024-2025 Site-Specific Plan Amendment (SSPA) cycle at their meeting on Tuesday (June 10) with a few tweaks to recommendations from the Planning Commission.
Projects that made the cut will now be placed on a county staff work plan for further review and community outreach. Rejected submissions can return in the next cycle, expected to start in about 18 months.
A wholesale redevelopment of Reston National Golf Course for housing is off the table — at least for now.
Going against a recommendation by the Fairfax County Planning Commission, the Board of Supervisors voted yesterday (June 10) not to add the site to a list of potential Comprehensive Plan amendments for staff to review.
Fairfax County is planning to make significant changes to the Fair Lakes area and is looking for some public input on those plans.
Fairfax County has launched a community survey to inform the next phase of a study to “re-evaluate the mix of land uses” and reconsider the “future of the Fair Lakes office market.” In simple terms: Fair Lakes could be downsizing its offices and is trying to determine what should replace that?
