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Project · on the record since 2024 · discussed in 24 transcribed meetings

City of Fairfax 2035 Comprehensive Plan

The City of Fairfax 2035 Comprehensive Plan is the city's primary long-range land use and policy document, guiding development, housing, transportation, and related decisions. 11 separate matters touch this project; each has its own status.

Private Development · Approved

Highlands at Mantua

approved

Highlands at Mantua is a redevelopment proposal by RJL Associates, Inc. to replace approximately 21,566 sq ft of existing office space with 14 front-loaded townhomes on a 2.12-acre site at 9495 Silver King Court. The project drew early public opposition from the neighboring Pickett's Reserve HOA, which raised concerns about lot size, building heights, buffers, and tree removal at the February 10, 2025 Planning Commission meeting.

  • Highlands at Mantua – Public Hearing

    The City of Fairfax 2035 Comprehensive Plan is implicated by the requested Comprehensive Plan Amendment for the Highlands at Mantua project.

  • Sep 22, 2026City Council · item 8aapproved
    Public Hearing – 9495 Silver King Court Redevelopment (RJL Associates, Inc.)

    The future land use map was amended for 9495 Silver King Court from Commercial Corridor Place Type to Townhouse/Single-Family Attached Neighborhood Place Type.

    passedAdopt resolution recommending amendment of the Comprehensive Plan from Commercial Corridor Place Type to Townhouse/Single-Family Attached Neighborhood Place Type for Tax Map Parcel 58-2-10-0001-A-1.
    ✓ Amos✓ Bates✓ Hall✓ Hardy-Chandler✓ McQuillen✓ Peterson
    passedApprove rezoning application Z-24-00236 to rezone 9495 Silver King Court from PDC to PDR-ACOD, approve the General Development Plan Amendment, and approve the Master Development Plan with commitments revised June 15, 2026.
    ✓ Amos✓ Bates✕ Hall✓ Hardy-Chandler✕ McQuillen✓ Peterson
    passedApprove Certificate of Appropriateness for 9495 Silver King Court (Highlands at Mantua) per Section 110-6.5.6.B of the City Code, with stated conditions.
    ✓ Amos✓ Bates✕ Hall✓ Hardy-Chandler✕ McQuillen✓ Peterson

The 2035 Comprehensive Plan Implementation Guide is a living policy document for the City of Fairfax that tracks action items across the 2035 Comprehensive Plan and four adopted Small Area Plans (Old Town, Northfax, Camp Washington, and Fairfax Circle), with dated lead/support roles and timelines developed by staff after the Comprehensive Plan's adoption. It is reviewed and updated on a recurring cycle — typically twice per year — by the Planning Commission in work sessions, with annual updates formally approved and forwarded to City Council as part of the Planning Commission Annual Report.

  • Presentation of updates to the Implementation Guides related to the City of Fairfax 2035 Comprehensive Plan and approved Small Area Plans

    The City of Fairfax 2035 Comprehensive Plan is referenced as the basis for Implementation Guide updates scheduled for presentation at this work session.

Private Development · Under Review

Courthouse Plaza

in progress

Courthouse Plaza (10300 Willard Way, with associated parcel at 3922 Blenheim Boulevard) is a shopping center redevelopment proposal in the City of Fairfax, pursued by Combined Courthouse, LLC. The project has gone through two distinct application cycles.

The Fairfax Circle Small Area Plan is one of four Activity Center Small Area Plans adopted by the City of Fairfax. Plan development began in Spring 2023.

  • Public hearing and recommendation to City Council on the proposed Fairfax Circle Small Area Plan

    Approval of the Fairfax Circle Small Area Plan was made subject to final approval of associated amendments in the update to the 2035 Comprehensive Plan; a Comprehensive Plan review work session was noted for the July 22, 2024 Planning Commission meeting.

    passedMotion to adopt Resolution PC-24-02 approving the Fairfax Circle Small Area Plan and recommending approval and adoption to City Council in the draft dated June 24, 2024, subject to final approval of associated amendments in the update to the City of Fairfax 2035 Comprehensive Plan, and specified modifications including property access preservation, a transportation safety study, analysis of widening walkways/shared use paths, and three textual edits to the plan document.
    ✓ Feather✓ Briggs✓ Coleman✓ Rice✓ Cunningham· Denton· Lockhart
  • Discussion of Next Steps

    The Comprehensive Plan, led by the Department of Community Development and Planning, was noted as including Housing Goals; the City's Housing Division is transitioning into this department to further align housing policy and long-range planning.

in progress

Beacon Landing is a 54-unit supportive affordable housing development in the city, developed in partnership by Wesley Housing and the Lamb Center. The project drew on 23 separate financing sources, including a $700,000 gap financing investment from the city's Housing Trust Fund in February 2023 — a critical contribution that enabled the project to assemble its full financing stack.

Pathway Homes is a nonprofit organization headquartered in Fairfax City that provides housing and supportive services to low-income residents. Its primary tracked project involves the redevelopment of a building at 4010 University Drive (Tax Map 57-4-02-087-B) in the CR Commercial Retail Zoning District and Old Town Fairfax Historic Overlay District.

Private Development · Under Construction

The Botanist

under construction
Private Development · Approved

Davies Property

approved

The Davies Property refers to the redevelopment of 4131 Chain Bridge Road (a ~2.69-acre site currently containing a large vacant house), proposed by The Hill, A Davies Family, LLC. The application sought to rezone the parcel from RM (Residential Medium) to CU (Commercial Urban), retaining the Old Town Fairfax Transition Overlay District (TOD), with a General Development Plan for a mixed-use building of up to 276 apartments, approximately 10,796 sq ft of ground-floor commercial space, and a 3-level below-grade parking garage.

Private Development · Under Review

Fairfax Square

proposed

Fairfax Square Professional Center (9840–9946 Main Street) is a ~10.4-acre commercial site on the north side of Main Street, adjacent to the Fairfax Square garden-style apartment complex. The property owner (Van Meter Companies) is proposing a phased mixed-use redevelopment that would demolish most of the existing low-slung commercial buildings while retaining the five-story office building and an existing bank; the concept calls for roughly 300 new apartment units in two or three buildings, along with some ground-floor retail (~10,000 sq. ft.).

The Housing and Homelessness Strategic Plan is a City of Fairfax initiative to develop a comprehensive affordable housing and homelessness strategy, undertaken in partnership with national consulting firm Thomas P. Miller and Associates (TPMA).

The Urban Forest Master Plan (UFMP) is the City of Fairfax's first-ever 20-year roadmap for stewardship of its urban forest, developed beginning in May 2024. The planning process included two Steering Committee meetings, multiple public meetings and open houses (July 2024, October 2024, October 2025), a public survey, stakeholder interviews, and presentations to the Planning Commission, City Council, PRAB, and the Environmental Sustainability Committee.

Other mentions
  • Jul 22, 2024Planning Commission · item 8cin progress
    Presentation of updates to the Implementation Guides related to the City of Fairfax 2035 Comprehensive Plan and approved Small Area Plans

    Staff presented updates to the Implementation Guides related to the 2035 Comprehensive Plan and approved Small Area Plans; no formal action was taken.

  • Sep 10, 2024City Council · item 13ain progress
    Work Session – Five-Year Review of the City of Fairfax 2035 Comprehensive Plan

    Council discussed the five-year review of the 2035 Comprehensive Plan during the work session; no formal action was taken at this meeting.

  • Oct 8, 2024City Council · item 8aapproved
    Public hearing and Council action to consider approval and adoption of amendments resulting from the five-year review of the City of Fairfax 2035 Comprehensive Plan

    The five-year review amendments to the 2035 Comprehensive Plan were adopted by the City Council via Resolution R-24-30 at this meeting.

    passedAdopt Resolution R-24-30 approving and adopting the City of Fairfax 2035 Comprehensive Plan dated September 27, 2024
    ✓ Bates✓ Doyle Feingold✓ Greenfield✓ Lim✓ Ross✓ Stehle
  • Planning Commission – Matt Rice

    The Planning Commission began discussions on the comprehensive plan, focusing on city investments in specific areas around the city.

  • Overview of Land-Use Application Processes, Comprehensive Plan, Fact Book, and Small Area Plans

    The Comprehensive Plan was listed as a topic in the scheduled land-use overview presentation; no outcome recorded as no minutes or actions report exist.

  • Orientation

    Brooke Hardin presented on the Comprehensive Plan, Affordable Dwelling Units, and Housing Assessment and Strategy Report, noting approximately $540K in cash-in-lieu developer contributions received prior to implementation of the Affordable Dwelling Unit Ordinance.

  • Mar 24, 2025Planning Commission · item 8ain progress
    Discussion of a potential review of the City of Fairfax 2035 Comprehensive Plan related to mixed use development outside activity centers

    Staff presented a report discussing a potential review of the 2035 Comprehensive Plan related to mixed-use development outside activity centers; the matter was discussed but no formal action was taken.

  • HHCAB Strategy Teams, Working Session

    The 2035 Comprehensive Plan (last amended October 8, 2024) was cited in strategy background materials for its housing goals, including Action H2.1.1 on maintaining a Housing Trust Fund and Action H1.1.3 on expanding ADU opportunities.

  • Work Session: Discussion of a potential review of the City of Fairfax 2035 Comprehensive Plan pertaining to mixed-use development outside activity centers

    Council discussed a potential review of the 2035 Comprehensive Plan relating to mixed-use development outside activity centers; no formal action taken.

  • Committee Activity

    The Comprehensive Plan was referenced as background context at activity tables, particularly regarding maintaining a robust Housing Trust Fund and integrating affordable housing targets into economic growth plans.

  • Strategy Team Updates

    Identified as a key reference for aligning housing goals and production targets alongside Small Area Plans and regional efforts.

    passedMotion to approve the information sharing/gathering approach of attending various Village in the City events for the Home Sharing Strategy Team.
    ✓ Light✓ LaCroix✓ Delboy✓ Bonaiuto✓ Vincent✓ Ihara✓ Derosier✓ Atwood✓ Gillespie✓ Napolitano✓ Cattaneo✓ Opoku-Yeboah· Anderson· Jensen· Wilber· Cabelli· Hatch
  • Continue to Review Compiled Data

    Revising the Comprehensive Plan and land use map was identified as a potential land use strategy to increase housing supply in the absence of significant financial resources.

In full

A five-year review process culminated on October 8, 2024, when City Council unanimously adopted Resolution R-24-30 approving the updated plan dated September 27, 2024. Leading up to that adoption, the Planning Commission on July 8, 2024 approved the Fairfax Circle Small Area Plan (Resolution PC-24-02, 5-0) as part of the broader update, subject to final Comprehensive Plan amendment approval. Since adoption, the plan has continued to function as a governing reference: it is cited by the HHCAB in housing strategy work (including Housing Trust Fund and ADU goals), was used as orientation material for new advisory board members, and has been implicated in individual land use decisions — most notably the September 22, 2026 amendment for 9495 Silver King Court (Highlands at Mantua), which changed that parcel's future land use designation from Commercial Corridor to Townhouse/Single-Family Attached Neighborhood Place Type, approved unanimously.

A separate, broader potential review of the plan related to mixed-use development outside activity centers has been discussed at both the Planning Commission (March 2025) and City Council (September 2025) levels, but no formal action has been taken on that review.