Land Use Committee backs concept of standalone Healthy Communities element for county plan

The Fairfax County Land Use Policy Committee on Monday reviewed staff proposals to add a standalone "Healthy Communities" element to the county comprehensive policy plan, with planners asking for guidance on five proposed topic areas and the board outlining next steps for outreach and draft text.

Anna Rickland, Health and All Policies manager with the Fairfax County Health Department, told the committee the proposal responds to evidence linking land use and community design to health outcomes and to direction in the countywide strategic plan to integrate health and equity into planning. "Public health is what we're doing together as a society to ensure the conditions where everyone can be healthy," Rickland said during the presentation.

Rickland and Corinne Bebek of the Department of Planning and Development proposed five interrelated categories for the new element: health care and human services; active living and safe transportation (parks,…