County to consider rezoning Justice HS
The Fairfax County Department of Planning and Zoning has accepted an application to rezone Justice High School from R-3 to R-8.
Fairfax County Public Schools announced the plan to seek a rezoning and a parking waiver at a community meeting in October.
FCPS and the Park Authority had previously agreed to build a parking lot in Justice Park to offset the loss of parking spaces due to the addition. Both entities subsequently rejected that idea in the face of strong community opposition.
The rezoning is necessary to allow construction of a major addition at the school without using land in Justice Park in calculations to meet criteria for floor-to-area ratio (FAR).
Related story: Fairfax County Public Schools to seek rezoning and parking waiver for Justice HS addition
The 21-acre property is currently zoned R-3 (three single-family residences per acre) which allows a floor-to-area ratio (FAR) – a measure of density – of 0.3 percent of the site. Because the addition would increase density on the site to a FAR of .373, the property would have to be rezoned to R-8.
The rezoning would only affect the school property; it would have no impact on the surrounding neighborhood.
The Planning Commission hasn’t yet scheduled a public hearing on the rezoning proposal.