Check Land Use Changes

Tuesday, January 10, 2023

A series of community meetings for proposed site-specific land use changes in Fairfax County will be hosted this month through early February, as part of the countywide Site-Specific Plan Amendment (SSPA) process. The SSPA process allows anyone to propose a land use change to the Comprehensive Plan, Fairfax County’s guiding document for land use and development decisions.

Examples of the types of proposed changes include new residential development, including multifamily, townhouses, single-family detached, and age-restricted housing types, as well as proposals for mixed use, office, and retail where previously only a different kind of development wad allowed.

In the fall of 2022, Fairfax County received a total of 75 SSPA proposals, called “nominations,” to amend the Comprehensive Plan as part of the 2022-2023 SSPA nomination period. In December 2022, the Board of Supervisors accepted 70 nominations into the Screening Phase of the SSPA process to allow for community engagement and initial staff review.

Proposed SSPA Nominations by Location

The 70 nominations are located throughout the county’s supervisor districts:

  • Braddock District (3)

  • Dranesville District (6)

  • Franconia District (9)

  • Hunter Mill District (13)

  • Mason District (5)

  • Mount Vernon District (9)

  • Providence District (9)

  • Springfield District (6)

  • Sully District (10)

Get Involved

A combination of virtual and in-person community meetings will be held from now through early February. During each meeting, community members will have the opportunity to learn more about the proposed land use changes, provide comments and ask questions. To learn more about the process and participate, Fairfax County residents are encouraged to:

  • Visit the SSPA Track a Nomination web page, https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/planning-development/plan-amendments/sspa/countywide/2022-2023/track-nomination

  • Navigate to the interactive map of nominations , https://fairfaxcountygis.maps.arcgis.com/apps/webappviewer/index.html?id=2aa40e7f3f444ea299dfc1cd4f817635

  • Join one or more community meetings to learn more about the proposed site-specific land use changes in their neighborhood; and

  • Submit a comment on any nomination to DPDSSPA@FairfaxCounty.gov .

Details about the upcoming community meetings are available on the SSPA Track a Nomination web page under the Community Meeting Info tab on the Fairfax County Website.

What’s Next

The Planning Commission will review all the SSPA nominations in public workshops scheduled for February and March to determine which nominations they recommend for formal study on the Comprehensive Plan Amendment Work Program. Board action on the Work Program is anticipated in Spring 2023.

More information about the 2022-2023 Countywide SSPA process is available online: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/planning-development/plan-amendments/sspa/countywide/2022-2023 .