Planning Commission recommends approval of zMod despite widespread opposition
The Fairfax County Planning Commission on May 3 voted unanimously to recommend the Board of Supervisors approve an overhaul of the county’s zoning ordinance known as zMod.
The Planning Commission also agreed to have its Land Use Process Review Committee look at some of the issues raised by residents during the public hearing, with the provisions on data centers given top priority.
The Board of Supervisors initially approved zMod in March 2021. The Virginia Supreme Court voided zMod in March of this year. The opinion said that because it was passed at a virtual meeting during the pandemic, it violated the open meeting provisions of the Virginia Freedom of Information Act.
At the public hearing on May 3, dozens of residents urged the Planning Commission not to recommend approval of zMod – bringing up the same complaints raised the first time the revised zoning ordinance was proposed.
Many residents argued that the provisions that would make it easier to establish accessory living units (ALUs) and home-based businesses (HBBs) would destroy the character of stable single-family neighborhoods.
People also complained that allowing such changes to be approved administratively without public notice or a hearing would eliminate opportunities for public comment and reduce transparency.
Residents opposed a section in zMod that would allow data centers to be approved on land zoned for industrial uses by right – thus not requiring a public hearing. Data centers are allowed in certain commercial districts but those proposals must go through a hearing process.
There are some 70 data centers in Fairfax County, and there are expected to be proposals for many more, as the need for servers to handle internet traffic is growing exponentially.
Nine data centers were approved in the county after zMod was initially approved.
Related story: Virginia Supreme Court throws out zMod
Several residents of the Bren Mar Park area of Mason District who spoke at the hearing talked about a plan by a major corporation to build a data center at the Plaza 500 industrial property on Edsall Road. In November, the Planning Commission voted to indefinitely defer the rezoning application for that project – but it could come up again.
Those residents and other people from throughout the county complained that the noise emitted from data centers disturbs the quality of life in neighborhoods. Residents also raised objections about data centers’ heavy use of energy and water.
Related story: Board of Supervisors approves zMod
Debbie Smith, chair of the Mason District Council of Community Associations, told the Planning Commission that ALUs and HBBs would harm the character of single-family neighborhood, leading to more traffic congestion and other problems. She noted that dozens of people spoke at a previous hearings and hundreds of people sent letters to the Planning Commission opposing Zmod.
ALUs will not lead to more affordable housing as the county’s planning staff contends, said Falls Church resident Adrienne Whyte, speaking on behalf of Reclaim Fairfax County. Instead, ALUs will lead to more density, and HBBs would commercialize stable residential communities.
Jeff Parnes of the Fairfax Federation of Citizens Association, said zMod lacks enforcement provisions, as it relies on residents to submit complaints.
Others told the Planning Commission that ALUs would transform single-family houses into duplexes, and chemical waste from in-home beauty salons would lead to water pollution.
The Board of Supervisors is expected to hold a public hearing on zMod later this month.
Again, what is the issue with zMod? The widespread opposition to zMod is a great illustration of the typical NIMBYism in Northern VA. Homeowners can’t have their cake and eat it too.
This is not the sleepy suburb of the 1980s. Fairfax County has close to 1.5mil residents and that number is growing. Realize that this is going to change the “character of your neighborhood” whether you like it or not. I know that the opposition just wants everyone to fuck off and not live here, but that is not a reasonable solution by any means. If you don’t want the mixed-use development built next door, don’t oppose ALUs. We need solutions to our dire housing issues and we need them quickly. We can’t axe every effort that is even a slight inconvenience to you. It is also unreasonable to believe that the county should bend over backwards to craft a specific solution just for your individual benefit.
The sooner we collectively accept that this is not a suburb anymore the sooner we can get on with shaping a landscape that is far more efficient, less congested, and better for the utility of everyone. Not just those who have carved out their little fiefdom in a subdivision.
Hello Catboy: your population guesstimate for Fairfax County is way off by about 400,000. And, for the past three years, the County has had a minuscule population loss. And, stop with the NIMBYism already –it’s over-used and boring. The problem with housing here is its expense. I have yet to see in any of the major new massive developments inside the Beltway condo or townhome prices that someone earning under 200K per year can afford absent outside support for the downpayment. I despise the mega-mansions that have replaced the older single family homes. Why does a family of 4 “need” an 8000 sq foot house that sells for $2.2 mil? They don’t. Then lets divide that house into four 2,000 sq foot units so we can have Missing Middle Housing (which no one seems able to define) …inside the Beltway, that developer isn’t going to sell them for 550K each — nope more like 1.2.-1.5 million. So, who actually benefits? I’d say the developer. in the end, whether we’re talking about zMod or other related gifts to the developers, like Parking Reimagined, the developers, their land use attorneys and our dopey Board of Supervisors all lick their paws and the general population, including housing advocates get screwed.
Completely agree, the problem is expense. There is far too much demand for housing in relation to the supply, making housing very expensive.
We need to increase the housing supply to drive down the cost of housing. NIMBYism is in the way of increasing the housing supply. If it’s overused then it’s not without warrant.
How on earth would allowing ALUs everywhere and doubling up the number of residents lead to less congestion? I am in a townhouse neighborhood with barely enough parking for everyone and multiple households that have stealth apartments in their basements and multiple roomers. This results in more trash and higher costs for the HOAs as well as more competition for the limited spaces that we have. This also puts increased demands for utilities on an aging infrastucrure with limited capacity. The people taking advantage of this end up costing the rest of this more money as well as inconvenience
Hey Catboy – I completely agree with you. We need more housing & more neighbors, not less. My org YIMBYs of Northern Virginia is grassroots org aimed at building up community support for smart, common sense transit-oriented development. Please consider signing up:
https://www.yimbysofnova.org/sign-up-for-action-alerts
https://www.facebook.com/groups/novayimbys
–Aaron Wilkowitz
[email protected]
Yeah… Grassroots my ass. YIMBY’s are bought and paid for by Gartner. The same “consulting” group that did the 2016 developers dream report that has led to zMOD and all the other developer friendly crap that is happening in Fairfax County. And the residents got to pay for that! I am all for development, just not development ONLY for the benefit of developers. Residents who paid for this gem didn’t have ANY say or input so take your YIMBY crap and go away.
So this article is making the rounds. Seems like you have a ton of parking at your home and on the empty streets next to it. Who are you to tell others that they shouldn’t have enough parking? https://www.wusa9.com/article/money/business/amazon-effect/falls-church-home-sells-170-thousand-over-asking-price/65-6cd15798-aeae-4b3f-946f-a93a48d70616
Right. I’m sure you know what is in all 700 pages of this document. Where is the public education on this? How many meetings did you sit through? I don’t have issues with ALUs unless mature tress have to be cut down, or there isn’t enough room for parking since each street has its own footing that may or may not allow for extra parking, and what about additional people using a septic, yes, there are still those in Northern Virginia. You don’t understand the environmental ramifications of these. It isn’t a matter of not wanting development, but careful consideration of where that should happen. You may not like suburbia, but it exists, whether you like it or not. And many moved here because of it. Multifamily housing financing is waning and there are real problems facing commercial real estate. Nothing this county is doing will impact market priced housing. Build all the affordable units you want it won’t change the prices here.
zMod was passed with public notice the first time. It is already a done deal. I don’t agree with all of its provisions, but this small group of residents with too much time on their hands who think they are going to get it thrown out on a technicality are sorely mistaken. They are forcing the county to waste taxpayer dollars and time on unnecessary hearings, and should not have been allowed to file this suit in the first place.
I completely agree. Although I don’t agree with all
Provisions of zMod, the County cannot remain frozen in an antiquated expectation of remaining an old school low density, single use development suburban county. The county must embrace mixed use and transit-oriented development. Sustainable urbanity should be the goal. Just because you moved here back when the county was a low density suburb, doesn’t mean the county should remain stuck in 1991. I am tired of the NIMBYIsm and fear of change that plagues much of the county. Change is inevitable, and it is coming. Embrace it or exercise your right to move to a more rural area.
How are American cities doing in 2023? You guys are like locusts. Quit destroying my beautiful neighborhood and victimizing by nice, normal neighbors. If you want the city, go to the city and ENJOY.
Javier: Meowza! Please define “sustainable urbanity.” All I’m seeing in Fairfax County’s “new” developments are these make-believe, soul-less “work, live, shop, play” places that masquerade as urban environments with their Soviet-style block architecture and artificial turf “dog parks” (fine with me because I’m an indoor cat). There’s nothing organic about them, and then when there actually is a place that has real life, (Eden Center in Falls Church City for example), the developers want to homogenize that too. And, Fairfax County’s commitment to “workforce housing” and “affordable dwelling units” is laughable. I’d welcome much more of those units in my general area than the condos and townhomes that are being priced out of the reach of anyone earning less than 200K per year.
Dawna & Javier – I completely agree with you. We need more housing & more neighbors, not frivolous lawsuits. My org YIMBYs of Northern Virginia is working on smart transit-oriented development. Please consider signing up:
https://www.yimbysofnova.org/sign-up-for-action-alerts
https://www.facebook.com/groups/novayimbys
–Aaron Wilkowitz
[email protected]
Totally disagree with catboy. We do live in a suburb. We have bought houses, spending huge amounts of our income to live in a stable environment. Having an apartment built next door to our houses lowers property values and adds to the parking problem. I have seen Los Angeles and what apartments have done to neighborhoods, and I do not want that in single family neighborhoods. The county supervisors could care less what their constituents want. They have decided that anyone and everyone who wants to live in Fairfax County should live here no matter what it does to property values and traffic. I couldn’t afford to live close to my work in D.C. so I bought here. Others may have to buy further out also for affordability and availability. That is life. If Fairfax County wants to build apartments all over the county in areas that are zoned for them, go ahead. Leave our neighborhoods alone.
Ditto!
No, it’s not “that’s life”. Sprawl is not “that’s life”. Sprawl is a choice that has left us with a myriad of problems that we are currently having to deal with. Problems that are becoming more excruciating as we drag our feet, whether that is through NIMBYism or red tape.
I’m glad that you have been fortune enough to purchase a home in the neighborhood you wanted through the hard work you have done. And I mean that sincerely. I am not trying to suggest we bulldoze vacant lots in Holmes Run, etc. and build apartments there. Nor am I trying to suggest we need to further subdivide subdivisions.
However, there are many, many people in the community that will never be able to afford to buy a house, let alone a single-family house. Just because you got yours doesn’t mean that others should have to suffer, or attempt to live in Warrenton or Stafford solely because you don’t want them around you.
Please don’t oppose literally every plan for density in Fairfax County, particularly on baseless assumptions of an increase in crime and decrease of “neighborhood character”. We need to stabilize the cost of living here. We need to increase the housing supply.
It doesn’t have to be directly in your neighborhood, but stop opposing development that is a 1/2mile away from your respective subdivision then turning around and opposing ALUs.
“There are many, many people in the community that will never be able to afford to buy a house, let alone a single-family house.”
And those are the people that should not be in my neighborhood. I don’t need section 8 DC and MD creepies speaking more cars nor breaking into more houses on my street, thank you very much!
I suppose I should thank you for saying the quiet part out loud.
I agree. Fairfax county should be zoned multifamily mixed used countywide
Data Centers should not be by-right. Some areas might be okay for data centers, but placing them next to residential areas is not reasonable. I would not want to live next to constant noise on a 24/7 basis. The County’s noise ordinance doesn’t even have a recommendation for a safe decibel level for a constant noise. Before there is scientific evidence on what this safe decibel level is, data centers should not be located near residential areas and should not be by-right.
Absolutely. The County approved building homes right next to industrial zones areas and now wants to pretend they aren’t there so they can install Data centers, one of the easiest money streams the County can find, right next to those homes. Plaza 500 is the perfect example of this.
Interestingly, two former Fairfax County Planning Commissioners testified last night about serious concerns with ZMOD.
The ghettoization of Fairfax – coming soon – brought to you by Progressives… why not just do away with all zoning…let people put up 10 story apartments on a single family lot –
Ditto. The BoS are out of touch w their constituents.
The blatant racism and stupidity in the comments never shocks me unfortunately. Blame the republicans who don’t give a flying fart about anyone unless they’re rich and can pad their pockets or give them power. Development makes someone rich. Sorry you can’t afford to live in a gated single-family-home or neighborhood. Why is that? You probably didn’t work hard enough in your youth to afford that privilege now. Blame yourselves, your neighbors are NEVER guaranteed unless you’re living that high life where you have more control over more things that you don’t like and can pay to make them go away.
Blame republicans? Republicans haven’t had any meaningful political power here for decades. I want what you’re smoking.
“The Board of Supervisors is expected to hold a public hearing on zMod later this month.”
FIXED IT: The Board of Supervisors is expected to ignore the public on zMod later this month.
Andres Jimenez who is an at-large member of the Planning Commission and running for Mason District Supervisor, along with Mason District Planning Commissioner Darren Shumate, voted to eliminate residents from participating in these serious zoning issues impacting neighborhoods. Poor decision.
To “???”:
As you’ve called me out by name, I’d like to make myself available. Thus, I’d be glad to discuss any of my votes and commentary with any citizen. My e-mail is [email protected] (one R in Daren.) If you make contact with me, I’d be glad to either share my phone number or meet you in person.
I also recommend to everyone to watch any of the hearings, they are all available on line. I think that you will see that both Commissioner Jimenez and I stressed that the most important thing we can do as commissioners is to listen. For instance, I suggested the value of confirmation of noise ordinance compliance BEFORE permission to construct a data center. And to be certain, the Planning Commission voted to include a motion to re-visit the Data Center provisions of ZMOD.
I look forward to speaking with you.
Daren Shumate, Mason District Planning Commissioner
Please share why you voted to eliminate residents from the public process related to establishing market-rate apartments and businesses in single family homes.
Databoy- Please send me an email and I’ll explain. At our hearings, speakers are required to give their name and address. If you share your name and address I will address your comment in this forum. Otherwise I look forward to your email. Please identify yourself as Databoy when you send it.
I would submit they got their marching orders from the County Attorney who is trying to avoid all the lawsuits waiting in the wings by the developers whose projects are on hold because of the Supreme Court decision. They are trying to slam this through once again without any community education or understanding which is what they did the 1st time. Many of them would be included in a potential lawsuit and the County Attorney, who failed in court by the way, would be on the hook to defend them. This is all but a done deal, but please testify and go on the record.
I love that you saw and responded to this within hours.
Just read the crime report and the giant food article here to see how our area has been impacted by the path our county supervisors have chosen for us. These proposals will further erode the quality of life we chose when we purchased our homes. I suppose those of us who want safe streets- schools and stores in our community have been out numbered by the planners and we will need to move to a county where we can raise our families in a quiet small American town (annandale was one 30 years ago) where people respect the laws and each other.
There is nothing in zMod or the 1978 uniform building code that addresses crime, school quality, or anything of the like. Take those issues up with the police, school board, and other entities.
There were plenty of high-rise apartments constructed 30+ years ago in this area of the county. This was not a “small quiet American town” 30 years ago, how revisionist and ridiculous. Perhaps you are thinking of 100 years ago, no one alive commenting on this blog was there to witness that time.
The apartments that were added 30-40 yrs ago in Culmore and baileys x roads and seven corners took down the whole area and it never recovered.
You can’t seriously expect a place 10 miles from DC to remain a “quiet small town?” It’s questionable it was that 30 years ago, although I was not here to observe then.
I was, and it was also..Big change once we turned blue.
Agreed, zMod stands for ghettoizing the district. Injecting multiple dwelling unto into single family zoned areas will negatively impact our neighborhood in many ways. We already have a massive amount of homeowners renting out rooms and that includes Lake Barcroft; and there is little to no county enforcement. This problem has created more road congestion, pedestrian deaths, lack of property maintenance, poor performing schools, trash everywhere, crime, lack of police patrols and an overall spiraling decline in our quality of life. Zoning may as well go on a forever vacation because they are handicapped by county attorneys that arrogantly prohibit inspectors from doing their jobs. These attorneys live in areas like Mclean where they are buffered by high income earners and influencers, so for them it’s not a problem.
If the county really wants to expand its affordable housing inventory, do it by enterprise or revitalization zones like Baileys, Seven Corner, Skyline, Huntington, etc. and where there are transit hubs and a need to uplift these areas economically: and that warrant a need for higher density. Do not go wrecking what works, FIX what is broken!
To “???”:
As you’ve called me out by name, I’d like to make myself available. Thus, I’d be glad to discuss any of my votes and commentary with any citizen. My e-mail is [email protected] (one R in Daren.) If you make contact with me, I’d be glad to either share my phone number or meet you in person.
I also recommend to everyone to watch any of the hearings, they are all available on line. I think that you will see that both Commissioner Jimenez and I stressed that the most important thing we can do as commissioners is to listen. For instance, I suggested the value of confirmation of noise ordinance compliance BEFORE permission to construct a data center. And to be certain, the Planning Commission voted to include a motion to re-visit the Data Center provisions of ZMOD.
I look forward to speaking with you.
Daren Shumate, Mason District Planning Commissioner
I’ve been here since 1978 and Jeff in Annandale is correct.
My husband and I purchased a second home in “Anytown, USA” in another state before the mortgage rates skyrocketed. I am looking forward to unloading my home here, unfortunately.
Quality of life is decreasing by the week and I am given constant reminders. Yesterday, I went to a bike store in Arlington to find a new bike for my grandson. He found a bike and I asked if he could ride it around the block.
The employee asked for my license, credit card, and for my name after I handed him my license and credit card.
I’ve purchased several bikes from this store over the years and was never asked for my ID, credit card, and name after I handed over my ID and credit card.
And don’t get me started on prices. The first bike I looked at was $8,000. The cheapest bike in the store was $700. Bikes now cost what cars used to cost. Cars now cost what houses used to cost.
This was a decent area and it’s no longer worth it. Time to get out while you still can.
And to those who would insult me for respectfully sharing my opinion: You stay here and enjoy.
The county should legalize multifamily mixed used zoning immediately countywide. It should also remove all parking minimums and expand Fairfax connector or create a light rail network.
Cool. I’ll rent my million dollar home to 6 renters and charge them $800 each. $4,800 a month is almost twice my mortgage. I’ll make a bunch of money and contribute to trashing the area.