On September 13, 2023, after nearly four years of civic engagement and more than 60 virtual and in-person meetings, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors adopted major updates to the Reston Comprehensive Plan.

Much of the updated plan, which constitutes the first such major update since 2015 and applies to all of Reston, was drafted by a citizen-led task force in coordination with staff.

The plan carries forward the prior plan’s emphasis on higher intensity mixed-use development in the Transit Station Areas and, with few exceptions, does not make substantive changes to those areas.

At the same time, the updated plan recommends maintaining existing residential densities in Reston’s village centers and, with the exception of Tall Oaks and Lake Anne, eliminates options for residential redevelopment for non-residential portions of the village centers absent a subsequent comprehensive plan amendment (which, the plan says, should be limited to 20 units per acre).

In terms of housing affordability, the plan retains the Reston-specific sliding scale affordability recommendations (with a minimum of 12 percent WDUs), but brings the Area Median Income tiers in-line with countywide policy.

In terms of environmental sustainability, the updated plan recommends land use applicants reduce the volume of runoff of the two-year, 24-hour storm by 30 percent from the predevelopment runoff amount at ultimate buildout. The plan also acknowledges that while achievement of LEED Silver certification for new development is the Countywide policy, land use applicants should be encouraged to achieve higher certification levels.

The updated plan also includes language related to evaluating community health and equity in land use decisions, reducing density in non-Transit Oriented Development areas, and introducing new open space principles.

With adoption of the updated plan, it is anticipated that attention will now turn towards reviewing the myriad Reston Site-Specific Plan Amendments, most of which are located within or proximate to Reston’s Transit Station Areas.

More information can be found on the plan amendment’s project webpage, found here.

The final adopted text may be found in the Board’s meeting package, beginning on Page 224 of the Board’s meeting package, found here.

The firm’s Leesburg Office has continued to work with industry partners such as the Loudoun Chamber of Commerce, NVBIA, and NAIOP to engage the Loudoun County Board of Supervisors and County staff as they continue their work on updating Loudoun’s Zoning Ordinance (see previous update here). When the proposed Zoning Ordinance is adopted, it will be the controlling document for all development in the County as the primary implementation tool for the Loudoun County 2019 General Plan, a policy document that provides guidance for elected officials and other governmental decision-makers as to where and how the community will continue to grow over the coming years.

Following completion of the Planning Commission’s review earlier this year, and a Board of Supervisor’s public hearing in July, the next step in the County’s process is for the Board to conduct a series of work sessions to go chapter-by-chapter to review the remaining outstanding issues within the Zoning Ordinance. The Leesburg Office has worked, and will continue to work, hand-in-hand with our clients and industry stakeholders to provide solutions and options for resolving as many concerns that remain with the current draft Zoning Ordinance as possible.

The Leesburg Office has worked specifically with the industry partners to provide redline edits for each chapter to facilitate potential motions adopting these proposed changes by the Board at each work session. The first submission of these efforts was sent via the Loudoun County Chamber of Commerce earlier this month and can be viewed online here.

We remain committed to engaging with the Board and County staff throughout the coming months to empower the adoption of a Zoning Ordinance that meets the vision of the 2019 without being overly prescriptive and burdensome.

The Board’s work sessions will be held at the Loudoun County Government Center, located at 1 Harrison Street SE in Leesburg. All of the Board’s public meetings are televised on the County’s cable channel, Comcast Government Channel 23 and Verizon FIOS 40, and livestreamed online. The complete text of the Draft Zoning Ordinance being considered by the Board is available for review on the county website.

Current Schedule of Work Sessions

The Board’s first work session was held on Thursday, September 7, 2023, at 6:00 p.m. Documents prepared for the September 7 meeting are posted online here. All subsequent work session documents will be posted on the county’s website.

The sections and chapters reviewed during the September 7 meeting were: 

• Chapter 1: Introduction
• Chapter 2: Zoning Districts (All)

The Board’s second work session was held on Monday, September 11, 2023, at 6:00 p.m. and covered:

• Chapter 3: Uses (w/in Urban, Suburban, Office & Industrial Zoning Districts)
• Chapter 4: Use Standards (w/in Urban, Suburban, Office & Industrial Zoning Districts)
• Chapter 12: Definitions

Watch the Board’s September 7^th work session by clicking here.
Watch the Board’s September 11^th work session by clicking here.

Leesburg Office Land Use Planner Matt Leslie has played a critical role in the industry’s efforts to shape the outcome of this process. As one of three speakers chosen to participate during the Board’s Committee of the Whole at the September 11^th meeting, Matt has placed our firm at the forefront of those within the industry working to facilitate solutions that result in the best possible outcome for the Zoning Ordinance Rewrite process.

The remaining schedule of work sessions is as follows:

• September 26: Chapters 3,4, & 12 – Uses/Definitions (w/in Rural, Transition & JLMA)
• October 2: Chapters 5 & 6 – Overlay Districts and Natural & Environmental Resources
• October 12: Chapters 10, 11, & Appendices – Procedures, Officials, & Modifications
• October 16: Chapter 7 – Development Standards
• October 23: Chapter 8 – Signs
• October 30: Chapter 9 – Attainable Housing & Chapter 12 Definitions

Our Leesburg Office stands by ready to assist our clients and stakeholders in providing information and updates, in an effort to protect individual property rights, and safeguard against unnecessarily prescriptive and burdensome regulations which may limit Loudoun’s land use and economic potential. While we are hopeful that a substantive and thorough review by the Board will result in the necessary changes, the time and opportunities to provide further input are not limitless. For this reason, we would highly encourage anyone with specific questions or concerns to reach out to J. Randall Minchew so that we may begin to assess your case.

On July 15, 2023, the Arlington County Board adopted Zoning Ordinance amendments and a new County Code chapter to codify the recommendations of the Future of Outdoor Dining (FOOD) Study related to outdoor dining areas.

The amendments seek to streamline the approval process such that outdoor café seating may be approved via an administrative or use permit review process in both public- and privately-owned spaces. The draft framework proposes amendments to Articles 7, 8, 12, and 14 of the Arlington County Zoning Ordinance.

Some of the changes include the following:

• On Private Property (Not Subject To County Easements): Outdoor cafés must obtain a outdoor café license created under the newly-adopted Chapter 70 of the Arlington County Code. Café furniture (e.g., tables, chairs, bars, server stations, and canopies) would be permitted to be affixed to the ground, and sound/AV equipment will no longer be permitted in areas across an alley or abutting a R or RA districts without use permit approval. Lighting must be located within or immediately adjacent to the outdoor café and be directed into the outdoor café area. Outdoor cafés may be located on non-required parking spaces, and on otherwise required parking spaces with approval of a use permit.
• On Public Rights-of-Way/Sidewalks: Outdoor cafés may be permitted by administrative approval subject to obtaining a Chapter 70 outdoor café license and adhering to revised Zoning Ordinance standards. Outdoor cafés must be located in front of restaurants (rather than separated from the restaurant), cannot be enclosed, must adhere to normal operating hours of the restaurant, and ensure a minimum six-foot wide straight and unobstructed clear sidewalk zone. Sound and AV equipment may be permitted within day/hour restrictions as specified by the Zoning Ordinance.
• On Privately Owned Public Spaces (“POPS”): POPS refers to areas of private property that are either subject to public access easements/licenses, or were dedicated publicly-accessible areas per a prior zoning entitlement (e.g., a plaza or courtyard). Outdoor cafés may be permitted in POPS only by use permit and a Chapter 70 outdoor café license. The use permit review process will confirm, among other things, that the POPS was not provided as a community benefit for the purpose of earning additional density, that the proposed outdoor café would not obstruct or prevent public access to pathways or points of interest, and the proposed outdoor café space would be a minor feature relative to the overall square footage of the POPS.

Initial application period for the permits and licenses needed for outdoor dining will run from September 1^st through October 16^th.

Recognizing the need to broaden the types of food-related uses that could be permitted in commercial areas (e.g., shared kitchens, catering establishments, etc.), the County Board revised the Zoning Ordinance’s use tables and outdoor café regulations (under Article 12) to permit outdoor cafés as an accessory use to a food establishment.

Staff is also in the process of updating the County’s Guidelines for Outdoor Cafés to reflect the changes to the review and approval processes.  It is anticipated that the updated administrative document will be posted online and available in Fall 2023 and will serve as a comprehensive resource for applicants.

Restaurants are a critical component of sustainable and active mixed-use areas in Arlington County. The County’s pandemic-era Local Emergency Declaration, which expired on August 15, 2022, created an expedited process for temporary outdoor dining seating areas (“TOSAs”) to allow restaurants, bars, and cafes with valid Certificates of Occupancy to provide outdoor seating through an expedited and application process.

More specific information on the adopted changes may be found here.

 

 

 

On June 27, 2023, the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors approved a request by Falls Church Gateway Partners – Metro LLC (“FCGP”) for a rezoning, conceptual development plan, and final development plan for the redevelopment of the approximately 24-acre West Falls Church Metrorail Station site.

FCGP is the joint development partner selected by the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (“WMATA”) to redevelop the site, is comprised of three members: ME Homes Associates, LLC (an affiliate company of EYA, LLC), Rushmark West Falls, LLC (an affiliate of Rushmark Properties, LLC), and HA FC Metro LLC (an affiliate of Hoffman & Associates).

The station, which has long served commuters since it opened in 1986, today consists of a transit bus loop, a parking garage and large surface lots, older infrastructure, access roads, and a stormwater management pond.

Like Fairfax County’s other Orange Line and Blue Line stations, the West Falls Church was originally constructed during an era in which the County prioritized automobile-oriented commuter accessibility over walkable mixed-use transit-oriented development.

Once among the busiest Metrorail stations, ridership at West Falls Church declined precipitously following the 2014 completion of Phase 1 of the Silver Line. This reduction led WMATA to file a request for an amendment to the Fairfax County Comprehensive Plan (Plan Amendment 2018-II-1M) to transform the Metrorail site into a higher-density, pedestrian-oriented neighborhood.

WMATA’s request was subsequently consolidated with a separate request by Virginia Tech to redevelop its adjacent 7.5-acre Northern Virginia Center site. Following a two-year community review process, the Comprehensive Plan amendment was adopted by the Board of Supervisors on July 13, 2021.

As approved, the redeveloped Metrorail site will include up to 1,001,105 square feet of new development, consisting of between 720 and 810 multifamily units, 110,000 square feet of office uses, and 10,000 square feet of ground floor retail and active uses.

Representing a major step forward in implementing the Comprehensive Plan, the project will complement the nearby “West Falls” development, which is under construction on the approximately 10-acre former George Mason High School site in the City of Falls Church. When taken together, the three sites are anticipated to evolve into a larger 42-acre inter-jurisdictional neighborhood that will not only be transformative but offer an inter-jurisdictional land use planning model entirely unique in Virginia.

Substantial infrastructure and safety upgrades will be provided for the benefit of riders, including improved pedestrian and vehicular access to the station, and a separation of the three primary WMATA vehicular facilities (Park-and-Ride, Kiss-and-Ride, and the bus drop-off). New utilities, sidewalks, streetscapes, bus shelters, wayfinding signage, and bicycle infrastructure will also be constructed.

Given the site’s highly visible location, the FCGP emphasized the need for high-quality publicly accessible open spaces, including a series of civic plazas, pocket parks, linear parks, hardscaped areas, a dog play area, and a nature-oriented recreation play area. A variety of streetscape activation and placemaking elements will also be provided.

Housing affordability figured prominently into the project, which will meet the West Falls Church Comprehensive Plan’s heightened affordable housing and workforce housing policy objective of providing 15 percent of for-sale units (based on the proposed 0.96 FAR) as affordable and 10 percent of the rental units as either ADUs or WDUs.

From a transportation perspective, the project will implement the adopted Comprehensive Plan’s street grid and pedestrian pathway system connecting this site to the Virginia Tech and West Falls sites. Of critical importance, a key piece of West Falls Station Boulevard will be constructed, which will serve as a parallel street to Haycock Road and will provide mobility between the West Falls, Virginia Tech, and WMATA sites.

Offsite transportation improvements will include upgrades to the existing Haycock Road Bridge over Interstate 66, improvements to the intersection of Haycock Road and Great Falls Street, a new right-turn lane on Grove Avenue, and signal timing upgrades at four nearby intersections.

Substantial vegetation and landscaping will be provided across the site and the project exceeds County requirements in terms of tree cover, open space, publicly-accessible open space, tree preservation, and phosphorous removal.

The project will also meet the West Falls Church Comprehensive Plan’s heightened stormwater management goals, with a 40 percent reduction in stormwater runoff below predevelopment conditions through the use of urban bioretention facilities, manufactured treatment devices, and underground vaults.

This vibrant, attractive, and transformative project is anticipated to substantially increase Metrorail ridership and reduce automobile dependency. It will fulfill the Comprehensive Plan’s vision for a high-quality mixed-use development, generate economic vitality, and provide much needed diverse housing opportunities.

Walsh Colucci shareholder Andrew Painter and land use planner Bernard Suchicital assisted FCGP throughout the process.

Arlington County’s Department of Community Planning, Housing, and Development recently released the long-awaited Draft Area Plan Langston Boulevard Area Plan, which may be found here.

The Draft Area Plan sets forth a comprehensive policy framework to guide future public and private investment in Arlington’s Langston Boulevard/U.S. Route 29 corridor. The document represents the first major corridor-wide planning effort for Arlington County’s portion of Route 29 since the adoption of the General Land Use Plan in 1961. 

With the hope of transforming the typology of Langston Boulevard into a “green main street,” the Draft Area Plan sets forth a vision, goals, policies, and implementation strategies to guide long-term public and private investment in the Langston Boulevard corridor.

The Draft Area Plan groups its recommendations around nine key planning areas and sets forth a series of design principles for new development, with an emphasis on biophilia, safety, social connections, placemaking, and neighborhood identity.

The Draft Area Plan builds on the 2022 Preliminary Concept Plan by including additional recommendations for pedestrian safety, housing affordability, and building sustainability/carbon neutrality. It also makes recommendations for additional parks, plazas, and pedestrian connections in each neighborhood. Taller building heights are also recommended at key intersections and transit-proximate activity hubs.

The County will collect feedback on the Draft Area Plan this summer. Planning Commission and County Board hearings are tentatively expected in the September/October timeframe.

To elicit public feedback, the County will be hosting three open houses for the public on July 12^th, 20^th, and 26^th from 12:30 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. at the Langston Boulevard Alliance Design Studio, located at 4500 Langston Boulevard. Additionally, the public may provide feedback online by July 30^th here.

Please contact the firm for further information and ways to participate in the process.

 

Image Source: Public Domain

Since August 2021, Fairfax County staff have been reviewing updates to the County’s off-street parking and loading regulations—the first such comprehensive evaluation of these regulations since 1988. Known as “Parking Reimagined,” staff is proposing to modernize these requirements, which includes tiered parking reductions and minimum bicycle rates.

Parking Reimagined is scheduled to be heard by the Planning Commission on Wednesday, July 25, at 7:30 p.m. and the Board of Supervisors on Tuesday, September 26^th at 4:00 p.m. A virtual public engagement meeting will be held on Thursday, June 29^th at 7:00 p.m.

More information on Parking Reimagined may be found here.

Restaurants are a critical component of sustainable and active mixed-use areas in Arlington County. The County’s pandemic-era Local Emergency Declaration, which expired on August 15, 2022, created an expedited process for temporary outdoor seating areas (“TOSAs”) to allow restaurants, bars, and cafés with valid Certificates of Occupancy to provide outdoor seating through an expedited and application process.

The TOSA process, which will end on August 15, 2023, has proven extremely popular and afforded restaurants the ability offer a safer dining experience to make up for reduced indoor seating capacity.

With an eye towards helping restaurants expand dining options with fewer restrictions, and to learn from the lessons of TOSAs, the Arlington County Board last fall initiated its “Future of Outdoor Dining” (“FOOD”) study. The study’s purpose is to examine which aspects of the TOSA program should be incorporated into permanent outdoor café seating regulations, and improve the County’s overall outdoor café framework.

Over the past seven months, County staff have gathered information, evaluated experiences in peer jurisdictions and engaged with the community. The result of this extensive research effort has been the creation of a draft framework of proposed amendments to the Arlington County Zoning Ordinance and the County’s 2013 Guidelines for Outdoor Cafés.

At present, outdoor cafés may be approved on private property through an administrative process subject to certain use standards. They may also be approved on public property in conjunction with a 4.1 site plan or upon receipt of a use permit.

The draft framework seeks to streamline the approval process such that outdoor seating may be approved via an administrative review process in both public- and privately-owned spaces. The draft framework proposes amendments to Articles 7, 8, 12, and 14 of the Zoning Ordinance. Some of the changes include the following:

• For Outdoor Cafés On Private Property: The draft framework proposes that outdoor cafés must obtain a new (to be created) Arlington County Code Chapter 70 outdoor café license. Café furniture (e.g., tables, chairs, bars, server stations, and canopies) would be permitted to be affixed to the ground. Sound and AV equipment will no longer be permitted in areas adjacent to R or RA districts without use permit approval. Cafés may be located on parking spaces that do not necessarily meet the Zoning Ordinance’s parking requirements with approval of a use permit.
• For Outdoor Cafés on Public Property/Sidewalks: The draft framework proposes that outdoor cafés must obtain a new Chapter 70 outdoor café license. Outdoor cafés must be located in front of restaurants (rather than separated from the restaurant), and pedestrians must have a minimum six-foot wide straight and unobstructed clear zone. Sound and AV equipment will no longer be permitted in areas adjacent to R or RA districts without use permit approval.
• For Outdoor Cafés in Privately Owned Public Spaces (“POPS”): The draft framework includes proposes a new Zoning Ordinance definition to account for approximately 75 POPS throughout the County that are privately owned but are under public access easement or license. Upcoming guidance from the County will address specific needs for POPS café permits and licensing and the County may pursue a use permit process for such seating areas.

The draft framework will be heard by the Planning Commission at its July 3, 2023 meeting, and is tentatively scheduled to be heard by the County Board on July 15, 2023.

More specific information on the Zoning Committee’s proposed changes may be found here.

 

Hundreds of miles of underground infrastructure lie beneath Northern Virginia’s urban and suburban neighborhoods. Many of these facilities, including sanitary sewers and water mains, were constructed during the region’s postwar building boom between the 1940s and 1980s. In some instances, they are fast approaching the end of their useful life, may not meet new sewer design standards, and/or are undersized for the amount of future development contemplated under the region’s local planning documents.

This is certainly true in Fairfax County, which has experienced substantial infill development and redevelopment in its urban centers, transit station areas, community business centers, and suburban business centers in recent years.

The question of how to upgrade or enlarge older undersized sanitary sewer facilities to accommodate new growth has been a top priority for the County over the past two years. In some instances, new developments have proffered cash contributions towards upgrades. In other instances, developers have proffered to study downstream flow issues and upgrade systems where deficiencies exist. Fortunately, there have been relatively few capacity-related issues in the daily operation of Fairfax County’s sewer system.

However, in an attempt to accelerate the upgrading of sewer lines before demand exceeds capacity, the Board of Supervisors on December 6, 2022, adopted a new policy for reimbursing developers for upgrading sewer facilities that serve both a specific development project as well as general future growth in flow.

Under the new policy, where a project is proposed in a sewer service area that experiences, or is likely to experience, deficiencies in its sanitary sewer system capacity, the developer would be responsible for upgrading/enlarging the system.

Developers would be eligible for reimbursement for the cost of the upgrades in a proportional amount equal to the difference between: (1) existing background flow plus the anticipated buildout flow under the Comprehensive Plan; and (2) future flows exclusively from the proposed development.

While the Department of Public Works and Environmental Services would be chiefly responsible for implementing the new policy, the Department of Planning and Development would be responsible for calculating the buildout analysis under the Comprehensive Plan.

All hard and soft costs specifically related to the installation of the upgrades would be eligible for reimbursement including, but not necessarily limited to, construction management fees, legal fees associated with easements, and more.

Partial reimbursement can be requested during the project (e.g., at the 40 percent, 80 percent, and 100 percent project completion level), or it can be requested at the conclusion of the project when the upgraded facilities are turned over to the County.

Reimbursement is contingent upon the execution of an agreement with the County that would be negotiated prior to the issuance of the land disturbance permit for the project. The developer must obtain three separate bids from contractors, and the County will base its reimbursement upon the lowest bid (unless otherwise agreed to).

There exists no timing requirement for the installation of the upgraded infrastructure and, as long as the reimbursement agreement is executed and bonds are in place for the enlarged facilities, a developer may phase its construction and determine delivery of the agreed-upon upgrades.

However, a development would only be able to receive Residential Use Permits and Non-Residential Use Permits equal to the amount of available flow capacity remaining in the sanitary sewer system. RUPS/Non-RUPS which would result in flows exceeding such capacity would not be issued until the upgrades were completed.

Funding for reimbursement is anticipated to be generated through a $0.20 per month increase on residential sewer bills, a $182.00 increase in Availability Charges for single-family homes, and a $146.00 increase in Availability Charges for townhomes and multifamily projects. These increases will take effect beginning in 2024.

Any project for which a land disturbance permit has not yet been issued as of December 6, 2022, is eligible for reimbursement under the new policy.

If you have questions about the new policy or its implementation, please contact our firm.

Chambers USA is an annual publication that ranks the leading law firms and lawyers in the United States based on extensive research and feedback from clients and peers within the legal industry. The Chambers USA Real Estate: Zoning/Land Use list specifically recognizes the top law firms and lawyers in the area of zoning and land use law.

The recognition in Virginia indicates that the law firm or lawyer has demonstrated exceptional skill and expertise in advising clients on a wide range of zoning and land use matters in the state of Virginia. The recognition is based on factors such as the quality of the advice given, the depth of the team, the level of client service provided, and the firm’s overall reputation in the legal industry. Receiving recognition in the Chambers USA Real Estate: Zoning/Land Use guide is considered a significant achievement for law firms and lawyers in this practice area.

Congratulations to shareholders John Foote, Lynne Strobel, and Andrew Painter for their well-deserved recognition in the Chambers USA Real Estate: Zoning/Land Use list for their exceptional work in the region. In addition, Walsh, Colucci, Lubeley & Walsh was ranked Band 1 for Real Estate: Zoning/Land Use. This recognition is a testament to the firm’s outstanding legal expertise, dedication, and client service in the practice of zoning and land use law. We are proud to have such skilled and experienced lawyers on our team, and we congratulate them on this impressive achievement!