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County planning team presents Clarion retail trends and recommends targeted policies to protect local businesses
Summary
Planning staff presented Clarion consultants' retail land‑use findings: Fairfax County's retail vacancy is low (about 3.5%); recommendations included discouraging displacement, clarifying ground-floor retail locations, and repurposing underutilized retail for housing or industrial uses. Supervisors requested magisterial-district data and incentives to support legacy retailers.
Fairfax County planning and economic development staff briefed the Economic Initiatives Committee on national, state and regional retail trends and policy options recommended in a Clarion report. "A lot of our retail in Fairfax County is in shopping centers," Rebecca Mowgry, Department of Economic Initiatives, told the committee, and staff framed the Clarion findings to inform updates to the county's comprehensive plan policy amendment (Plan Forward).
Key data and findings: staff cited Census and CoStar figures showing roughly 2,500 retail-trade firms employing about 50,000 workers (rising to about 5,000 firms and 91,500 workers when accommodation and food services are included); the county has more than 230 shopping…
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