City of Fairfax 2035 Comprehensive Plan
in progressStatus set at Planning Commission Regular Meeting/Work Session on Mar 24, 2025 · ▶ watch the moment
Project wiki — a maintained overview, meeting history, and recorded positions.
- Proposed
- Under reviewJul 22, 2024
- DecidedOct 8, 2024
Summary
The City of Fairfax 2035 Comprehensive Plan is the city's long-range land use and policy framework, guiding development decisions, small area plans, zoning amendments, and infrastructure priorities. A five-year review process culminated on October 8, 2024, when City Council unanimously adopted Resolution R-24-30 approving an updated version of the plan dated September 27, 2024 (6-0 vote). Prior to that adoption, the Planning Commission on July 8, 2024 recommended approval of the Fairfax Circle Small Area Plan (5-0) subject to final approval of associated Comprehensive Plan amendments, with a Comprehensive Plan work session held July 22, 2024. Following adoption, attention has shifted to implementation: staff has presented updates to Implementation Guides on multiple occasions (July 2024, July 2026), and a Comprehensive Plan implementation group meeting was noted for June 25, 2026. A new potential review focused on mixed-use development outside activity centers has been under informal discussion since at least March 2025, with Planning Commission discussion in March 2025 and a City Council work session in September 2025, though no formal action has been taken on that review. The plan continues to be actively applied to individual land-use applications, including the Highlands at Mantua Comprehensive Plan map amendment (public hearing July 27, 2026, with City Council public hearing scheduled for September 22, 2026) and discussions around accessory dwelling units and mixed-use development standards.
Open questions & options on the table
- Whether and when the City will formally initiate a Comprehensive Plan review pertaining to mixed-use development outside activity centers (discussed at Planning Commission March 2025 and City Council work session September 2025, but no formal action taken).
- Outcome of the July 13, 2026 Planning Commission work session presentation of Implementation Guide updates (no minutes or actions report available to confirm outcome).
- Outcome of the July 27, 2026 Planning Commission public hearing on the Highlands at Mantua Comprehensive Plan map amendment (no minutes or actions report available); City Council public hearing on that application is scheduled for September 22, 2026.
- Outcome of the January 11, 2025 City Council Retreat presentation on the Comprehensive Plan, Small Area Plans, and related land-use processes (no minutes or actions report available).
What members have said
At what appears to be a July 14, 2026 session, Hall raised a question about the Fairfax County School Board's formal request that the Board of Supervisors consider a referendum, indicating engagement with regional coordination topics that intersect with comprehensive planning discussions. Hall also indicated a view that the city will need to improve its comprehensive planning efforts to proactively access new transportation funding rather than being reactive.
Positions as recorded in meeting minutes; votes without recorded comment aren’t summarized.
Discussion time
Minutes of named discussion per transcribed meeting.
Full history
[6a] 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[8c] Staff presented updates to the Implementation Guides related to the 2035 Comprehensive Plan and approved Small Area Plans; no formal action was taken.
[13a] Council discussed the five-year review of the 2035 Comprehensive Plan during the work session; no formal action was taken at this meeting.
[8a] 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[3] 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.
[8a] 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.
[11b] Council discussed a potential review of the 2035 Comprehensive Plan relating to mixed-use development outside activity centers; no formal action taken.
[10] A comprehensive plan implementation group meeting was noted for June 25, 2026.
[8c] The City of Fairfax 2035 Comprehensive Plan is referenced as the basis for Implementation Guide updates scheduled for presentation at this work session.
[6a] The City of Fairfax 2035 Comprehensive Plan is implicated by the requested Comprehensive Plan Amendment for the Highlands at Mantua project.
Discussed alongside
Topics that come up in the same meetings.