Fairfax Land Use Committee reviews Comp Plan Amendment work program, prepares for January 2025 SSPA nominations

Graham Owen of the Fairfax County Department of Planning and Development told the Land Use Policy Committee the Comprehensive Plan Amendment Work Program update will guide the next Site Specific Plan Amendment (SSPA) round anticipated to open for nominations in January 2025.

Owen said the Board’s 2022 structural changes — including a biannual, countywide nomination cycle, revised outreach and a tiering system — have shortened the overall timeline and produced more predictable, countywide review. “The SSPA process consists of a 1 month nomination period in which anyone may submit a change to the comprehensive plan with the property owner's consent,” Owen said, summarizing the near-term schedule and decision steps.

Why this matters: staff reported that since the last authorization the Board adopted 15 amendments and that the cumulative effect of recent changes is roughly 3,700 new planned residential units (about 800 of which are committed affordable, roughly 22% of that total) and about 4,100,000 square feet of nonresidential development. Those outcomes and the SSPA process affect where and how the county balances growth, mobility and public services.

Committee members praised improvements and pressed staff for greater clarity in a few areas. Several supervisors urged a clearer checklist and sequencing for concurrent plan and zoning cases so developers and staff know which studies are required at plan‑amendment phases and which belong to subsequent zoning applications. Owen said staff will pursue a more specific set of standards for concurrent cases and will return with recommendations.

Transportation and small-area planning funding drew particular attention. Owen noted nominators typically fund site‑specific traffic studies and that expanded small‑area traffic studies often need consultant funding, delaying start dates. Staff proposed screening more strictly for logical planning areas and pairing expanded study authorizations with funding requests for anticipated transport studies to avoid piecemeal delays.

Owen also described outreach improvements: the prior screening included 18 community meetings attended by over 1,800 people and closer collaboration with Neighborhood and Community Services to reach areas of higher social vulnerability. Staff said they will continue adaptive engagement during the evaluation phase and will advertise the January nomination round broadly this fall.

The committee did not take formal votes. Chair McKay closed the item after discussion and the meeting proceeded to the next presentation.