Support Responsible Development

Our Position

We support thoughtful, responsible planning that respects the character and livability of existing neighborhoods, preserves meaningful tree canopy and natural buffers, provides appropriate transitions in scale between new and existing development, and accounts for cumulative impacts on infrastructure and quality of life.

The Zoning Ordinance permits an independent living facility in an R-1 district only by special exception, and only where the county can make specific findings. Section 4102.1.F requires the Board to find, among other things, that the use at the proposed location is in harmony with the adopted Comprehensive Plan, that it is compatible with the neighborhood around it, and that pedestrian and vehicular traffic will not be hazardous. Those findings are required for every special exception, separate from and in addition to the standards written for independent living facilities in Section 4102.4.Q. Among those, Section 4102.4.Q(8) requires that the intensity of the use be consistent with the scale of the surrounding neighborhood, measured on total gross floor area, floor area ratio, and number of dwelling units.

The Comprehensive Plan recommends these parcels for 1 to 2 homes per acre, to be compatible with the existing residential neighborhood to the south. The applicant’s own statement of justification compares the project to the attached homes to the northeast, and describes that community as developed at 3 to 4 homes per acre. This proposal is about 6.9 homes per acre.

We are asking Fairfax County not to approve this application as filed, and to defer it until a final application is on file, the community has had a proper chance to review it and respond, and the county can make every finding the Zoning Ordinance requires. We are not asking that nothing ever be built here.