Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Capital Improvements Program topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Falls Church kicks off FY26 CIP planning; staff emphasizes realistic delivery, reinvestment, multimodal transport and housing funding
Summary
Staff presented FY26–31 Capital Improvements Program priorities and a redesigned project sheet to improve transparency. Commissioners urged faster progress on solar, better project tracking dashboards, incorporation of affordable-housing funding plans, and attention to sewer and sidewalk project delivery.
At its Nov. 20 meeting the Falls Church Planning Commission received a staff kickoff for the FY26–31 Capital Improvements Program (CIP) and an early preview of the planning division’s 2025 work program.
Caitlin Sabzi, the city’s CIP coordinator, told commissioners staff’s initial priorities for the next six-year CIP cycle are: effective and realistic project delivery, infrastructure reinvestment, multimodal transportation, and integrating long-range funding planning for affordable housing into the CIP process. Sabzi said staff has launched a redesigned project sheet that will present project benefits, schedules, budgets and alignment with the comprehensive plan and equity and sustainability lenses to improve public transparency.
Commissioners used the early review to press staff on several near-term and programmatic items. Key requests and exchanges included:
- Energy and resilience: Commissioners urged accelerating rooftop-solar assessments (for Aurora House and other municipal buildings), including solar-ready design on new roofs and pursuing federal/state grant programs while the opportunities exist. - Project tracking and transparency: Multiple commissioners asked staff to present status dashboards that show red/yellow/green conditions for active projects and to make it easier for council and the public to see what’s delayed and why (for example, the Bedos sidewalk appeared red in the dashboard and commissioners asked for a clearer explanation of the hold-up). Sabzi said staff will refine the dashboard and include more granular tracking where possible. - Affordable housing funding: Sabzi said the council’s proposed change would require long-range financial planning for affordable housing to be presented concurrently with the CIP through the existing affordable housing fund (adopted via the operating budget ordinance). Commissioners urged continued coordination between the affordable-living policy process and CIP development and noted potential EDA involvement in debt financing. - Utilities and sidewalks: Commissioners asked that sanitary/sewer studies and ongoing sidewalk implementation projects be surfaced in the CIP where they meet reporting thresholds, and they sought clarity about the timing and resourcing for stormwater and sewer upgrades.
Sabzi provided a tentative schedule: staff expects to present the proposed FY26 CIP to the commission in February, and for the CIP to accompany the city manager’s operating budget to council in March. Commissioners thanked staff for the early preview and asked for follow-up materials on solar, EV chargers, the sewer flow-equalization basin and sidewalk project sequencing.
Staff and commissioners agreed to continue coordination over the winter and return in February with draft CIP materials for formal comment and a public hearing.
