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The Rose Hill Coalition LLC provides current information and supports full transparency on land-use issues directly affecting the Rose Hill Planning District within Franconia in Fairfax County, Virginia. More than 300 subscribers!
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Coalition Update
November 8, 2024
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- Public Hearings: Springfield Site-Specific Plan Amendments
- What Happened: zMod Public Hearing and Decision
- What Happened: Policy Plan Committee Meeting (Plan Forward)
- Community Meetings: Plan Forward
- Land Use 101
- Fairfax County JADE Geographic Information System
- US Census Information by Address
- In The News
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Springfield SSPAs
The Fairfax County Planning Commission (PC) held a Public Hearing on October 23, regarding Springfield Blvd (2023-IV-6S) and Amherst Ave (2023-IV-7S) proposed amendments. Following public comments, the PC deferred their decision to no later than November 13, 2024. The PC's recommendations will go to the Board of Supervisors (BOS) for consideration. The BOS will hold a Public Hearing on Tuesday, November 19, 4 pm, and then make a final decision on the two amendments.
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The proposed land-use changes include:
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- An option for mixed-use development to include up to 732 multi-family residential units
- 9,000 SF of ground floor non-residential use subject to guidelines to address consolidation, site design and building design, accommodation of transportation improvements, street scape, parks, and open space
- An option for Tax Map Parcel 80-4 ((1)) to be planned as a publicly-accessible open space or as a public park
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For more information, click on the Calendar dates above.
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Kingstowne Towne Center
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The owner of Kingstowne Towne Center, Federal Realty Investment Trust, submitted a rezoning application to Fairfax County on September 9, 2024, to drop retail from future housing. The rezoning application has been "approved for review" by the County (10/28/24) and will now proceed through the land use site-specific application (SSPA) review process. For more information, go to https://rosehillcoalition.org/rose-hill-planning-district/kingstowne/
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Amendment to zMOD (Zoning)
PASSED: Immediately following a Public Hearing on October 22 (no testimony was submitted), the Board of Supervisors voted in favor of the amendment to repeal Chapter 112.1 (zMOD Zoning) and the super-session clause that was included in the adoption of Chapter 112.2 (zMOD Zoning). See meeting Video.
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PC Policy Plan Committee Meeting
This was an informational meeting of the County's Planning Commission Policy Plan Committee* regarding the development of land-use policy in Fairfax County going forward (aka Plan Forward). Staff reviewed the draft land-use vision and committee members provided feedback.
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Watch to understand how the committee and staff work together to communicate with the public regarding the goals of Plan Forward. Advance warning, expect some tedium and lots of acronyms! However, don't let that discourage the opportunity to peek into the workings of the County's Planning Commission.
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*The Board of Supervisors also has a Policy Plan Committee that will meet on November 26, 2024.
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- The single "Policy Plan Amendment" encompasses a sweeping array of land use considerations not previously undertaken, including in terms of its reach and its specificity.
- A series of White Papers will cover specific areas that are a focus of attention based on the future of land use in Fairfax County. These will be published in 2025 for public review and comment.
- Editing of the draft language for the Policy Plan Amendment is ongoing.
- Expect single-family zoning to "go away". (Braddock District Commissioner Cortina, see 10/24/24 PC Policy Plan meeting video, 1:17)
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Plan Forward Overview and Goals
If you want to understand and have a say in the future of the County, we recommend attending the topic-specific virtual meetings and future general (in person) community meetings*. Fairfax County's Plan Forward policy update will provide land-use guidance for future development. Considerations include density, transportation, environment, and site-design to ensure that new developments fit into the context of the affected communities and overarching County priorities, especially with regard to increasing multi-family housing and reducing the cost of housing.
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*The Plan Forward in-person general community meetings originally scheduled for November and December will be rescheduled for early 2025. "This decision was made to allow staff time to incorporate feedback received from the community outreach to date, as well as complete research and publish white papers on specific topics that will be used to guide the development of these future community meetings."
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Note: The Coalition has asked Supervisor Lusk to request that an in-person community meeting on Plan Forward be held in Franconia. We will let you know if that happens. You may email Supervisor Lusk at Franconia@fairfaxcounty.gov
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Workforce Dwelling Unit Policy Updated
On September 10, the Board of Supervisors approved and adopted the revisions to the Workforce Dwelling Unit (WDU) policies in the Comprehensive Plan.
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The next step in the process is revising the related WDU Administrative Guidelines, which serve as the implementation tool for the WDU policies. The Administrative Guidelines address such details as integration and dispersion of WDUs within a development; technical requirements for the units; WDU sale, resale, and rental requirements; and legal documentation for commitment of the WDUs.
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The County has released the draft revisions to the Board of Supervisors’ Workforce Dwelling Unit Administrative Policy Guidelines for public review and comment. The County welcomes public comment until Thursday, November 21, 2024 at 4:30 pm. The draft revisions and the means to submit comments are available on the website at
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The next and last virtual information session on the revised Administrative Guidelines will be held Tuesday, November 12, 2024 at 11:00 am. (not included in the Coalition Calendar)
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For more information, email Meghan Van Dam (Director, Planning and Inclusionary Housing Programs Division) in the Department of Housing and Community Development, at Meghan.vandam@fairfaxcounty.gov or call (703) 324-1379.
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Fairfax County JADE Geographic Information System (GIS)
Jade is a Geographic Information System (GIS) web application that provides an easy way to view, search, and analyze geographic information. Features include:
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- Detailed property reports, especially useful for land development.
- One-map application with over 170 layers to view, combine, and analyze.
- Current and historical aerial imagery, viewable from multiple angles.
The GIS Division of Fairfax County's Department of Information Technology is tasked with developing, maintaining, coordinating, and distributing GIS data and technology to County agencies and residents, including products and services for the public. A wide array of interactive mapping applications focus on a variety of Fairfax County data and services. Dozens of map layers, aerial imagery, and other data are available to view and download from the data page. The FAQ page has detailed information on many topics, such as parcel information, finding maps, and basic GIS explanations.
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U.S. Census Information By Address
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A new address search feature is now available at data.census.gov. Simply click on the locator icon (shown below) found on the search bar to quickly view geographic information for a specific street address.
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Click on the above U.S. Census map for information on the Rose Hill Planning District.
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In The News
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- Public Hearing: Draft 2025 Legislative Program
The draft document of the Fairfax County 2025 Legislative Program will be available to the public on Thursday, November 14, and comments will be heard at the Public Hearing on the following Tuesday, November 19, during the regular Board of Supervisors meeting. Earlier this year, the Fairfax County’s Delegation to the General Assembly held a Public Hearing on January 6, 2024, to hear about residents’ interests.
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- Housing Starts Jumped 9.6% in August, Reaching an Annual Rate of 1.356 Million Units, Surpassing Expectations
Gains were recorded in three of the four regions, with double-digit increases in the South and Midwest, suggesting that some of the previous month's weakness was due to Hurricane Beryl and other weather-related factors. Single-family starts saw a 15.8% surge, the largest since June 2020, while multifamily starts declined by 6.7%. (Source: Ned Davis Research)
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- Public Housing Redefined as "Affordable" Housing
"Every year more than 10,000 taxpayer-supported public housing units are lost to disrepair. But federal lawmakers routinely ignore the full amount, around $115 billion, needed to keep the units in “decent, safe and sanitary” condition...."
"Rep. Alexandria Ocasio-Cortez (D-N.Y.), Sen. Tina Smith (D-Minn.) and others recently introduced a bill that would create a new social housing authority to support construction of more affordable housing. It would also lift a 25-year-old moratorium on public housing construction and commit extra funds for public housing repairs."
Source: The Washington Post, Health Brief, 9/23/24)
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Mark Your Calendar
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The Coalition Calendar provides detailed information on Public Hearings and other County meetings regarding land use affecting the Rose Hill Planning District. Each event includes an option to add an event to your personal online calendar. (Fairfax County provides a single, basic list of all Public Hearings and meetings.)
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Take Action!
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Planning Commission: Public Hearings and Staff Reports
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Schedules, agendas, information, and staff reports on land use applications that are scheduled for public hearings.
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How to Provide Public Hearing Testimony
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Stay In Touch!
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