Fairfax Circle Small Area Plan

The Fairfax Circle Small Area Plan is a land-use and transportation planning document for the Fairfax Circle area of the City of Fairfax, developed beginning in Spring 2023. The Planning Commission approved the plan via Resolution PC-24-02 on July 8, 2024 (on a 5-0 vote), recommending City Council adopt the June 24, 2024 draft subject to Comprehensive Plan amendment approval and specified modifications, including property access preservation, a transportation safety study, analysis of widening walkways/shared-use paths, and three textual edits. City Council held a public hearing on July 23, 2024 — with no public testimony — and adopted the plan (in an updated July 11, 2024 draft) on a 4-2 vote, with Councilmembers Doyle Feingold and Greenfield opposed. Following adoption, the plan has informed multiple downstream city efforts, including a Fairfax Circle intersection evaluation included in the city's two-year transportation program, stream restoration prioritization along Daniel's Run/Accutink Creek, Blenheim Boulevard multimodal improvement extensions, height and frontage recommendations in zoning documents, and flood/nature-based solutions studies. As of June 2026, a potential review and update of the plan (alongside the Old Town, Northfax, and Kamp Washington small area plans) was scheduled for Planning Commission work session discussion.

In this wiki

• Meeting history — every action, vote, and update, with links to the moment in the meeting video
• Positions & open questions

2024-07-08 — Planning Commission Regular Meeting/Work Session

Agenda item 6a: Public hearing and recommendation to City Council on the proposed Fairfax Circle Small Area Plan (watch the moment)

• Outcome: Planning Commission adopted Resolution PC-24-02 approving the Fairfax Circle Small Area Plan and recommended City Council approve and adopt 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 modifications provided by the Commission, 5:0.
• Vote (passed): Motion 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: yes, Briggs: yes, Coleman: yes, Rice: yes, Cunningham: yes, Denton: absent, Lockhart: absent
• [6a] The Planning Commission approved the plan via Resolution PC-24-02 and recommended City Council adopt the June 24, 2024 draft, subject to Comprehensive Plan amendment approval and Commission-specified modifications; a City Council public hearing is scheduled for July 23, 2024.
• Status after: approved

2024-07-22 — Planning Commission Regular Meeting/Work Session

Agenda item 10: Staff Report (watch the moment)

• Outcome: Staff reported on recent and upcoming City Council actions and other planning matters.
• [10] Staff noted that a public hearing on the Fairfax Circle Small Area Plan was scheduled for the upcoming July 23, 2024 City Council meeting.

2024-07-23 — City Council Regular Meeting

Agenda item 9a: Public hearing and Council action on adoption of the Fairfax Circle Small Area Plan

• Outcome: Public hearing held with no public testimony. Resolution adopting the Fairfax Circle Small Area Plan (draft dated July 11, 2024) approved 4-2, with Councilmembers Doyle Feingold and Greenfield opposed.
• Vote (passed): Adopt resolution approving and adopting the Fairfax Circle Small Area Plan in the draft dated July 11, 2024, together with any changes made through the meeting. — Bates: yes, Doyle Feingold: no, Greenfield: no, Lim: yes, Ross: yes, Stehle: yes
• [9a] The Fairfax Circle Small Area Plan (draft dated July 11, 2024) was adopted by City Council on a 4-2 vote, with Councilmembers Doyle Feingold and Greenfield opposed. The plan had been in development since Spring 2023 and previously recommended by the Planning Commission on July 8, 2024.
• Status after: approved

2024-09-09 — Planning Commission Regular Meeting/Work Session

Agenda item 10: Staff Report (watch the moment)

• Outcome: Staff reported on recent and upcoming City Council actions and planning-related items.
• [10] City Council adopted the Fairfax Circle Small Area Plan at its July 23, 2024 meeting, as reported by staff.
• Status after: approved

2025-06-12 — PRAB Regular Meeting

Agenda item 4a: Future Stream Restoration Projects – Satoshi Eto, Storm Water Manager

• Outcome: Satoshi Eto presented a stream assessment covering 128 segments along Accotink Creek and its tributaries. Staff recommended preliminary engineering for Daniels Run Park (segment 2) and conceptual engineering and phasing for Accotink Creek from Fairfax Blvd to Pickett Rd (segments 5 and 6). Community survey results and grant funding options were discussed.
• [4a] Staff noted that completing stream restoration in the Accotink Creek corridor from Fairfax Blvd to Pickett Rd would allow components of the Fairfax Circle Small Area Plan to move forward.

2025-10-27 — Planning Commission Regular Meeting/Work Session

Agenda item 10: Staff Report (watch the moment)

• Outcome: Staff reported on several recent and upcoming items, including City Council actions, ongoing plans, and commission vacancies.
• [10] Staff discussed the Fairfax Circle Small Area Plan at a transportation department meeting focused on the Fairfax Circle area, with follow-up meetings with local homeowner associations anticipated.

2026-03-03 — HHCAB Committee Meeting (Housing Goals & Targets)

Agenda item 3: Discussion of Next Steps

• Outcome: The team identified action items for the next meeting on March 24, 2026: staff to share an AI-generated funding model focused on affordable housing benchmarks, gather housing production trends over the past decade, and gather information on the fiscal impact of schools on housing; Strategy Team members to continue reviewing and inventorying data points in the attached spreadsheet.
• [3] Referenced as approved July 23, 2024, the most recently adopted of the four Activity Center Small Area Plans in the City of Fairfax.
• Status after: completed

Open questions

• Outcome of the June 8, 2026 Planning Commission work session discussion on a potential review and update to the Fairfax Circle Small Area Plan (no minutes or confirmed actions reported yet).
• Results and recommendations of the in-depth Fairfax Circle intersection evaluation initiated under the city's two-year transportation program.
• Follow-up meetings with local homeowner associations regarding the Fairfax Circle Small Area Plan (anticipated as of October 2025).
• Whether a CIP or budget request will be advanced for extending Blenheim Boulevard multimodal improvements through Fairfax Circle.
• Outcome of the nature-based solutions study to improve flood conditions along the Accutink Creek corridor adjacent to the Fairfax Circle Small Area Plan area.

Member commentary

• Doyle Feingold — Councilmember Doyle Feingold voted no on July 23, 2024 adoption of the Fairfax Circle Small Area Plan by City Council.
• Greenfield — Councilmember Greenfield voted no on July 23, 2024 adoption of the Fairfax Circle Small Area Plan by City Council.