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Fairfax panel revokes conditional‑use permit for 100 Lima Road after owner declines to legalize unpermitted work
Summary
Planning staff told the commission the owner of 100 Lima Road did not submit required plans to legalize work done without permits; commissioners voted to revoke the earlier conditional‑use permit and deny design‑review and sign permits, citing incomplete compliance and the owner’s written intent to evict tenants and not legalize work.
The Fairfax Planning Commission voted Jan. 15 to rescind the conditional‑use permit for the Tena Lima collective at 100 Lima Road and to deny the related design‑review and sign permits after staff reported the property owner had not submitted required construction plans or taken steps to legalize unpermitted changes.
Staff reminded the commission that on June 26, 2025 discretionary permits had allowed a collective of artists and small events at the site while the owner pursued required permitting to legalize work. Staff said subsequent inspections and correspondence showed that the owner had added structures without building permits, had not furnished the construction plans requested by fire and building departments, and had informed staff in writing that he did not intend to legalize the work and was in the process of evicting tenants.
Because the factual basis used to grant the original approvals no longer existed and the owner had not complied with the commission’s prior direction to submit plans, staff recommended revoking the earlier CUP and denying the outstanding design‑review and sign permits. The town attorney advised that revocation (rather than suspension) was appropriate in the circumstances; the commission adopted the resolution revoking the approvals and denying the design and sign permits on a unanimous vote.
Public comment was split. Several neighborhood speakers urged preserving the principal two‑story house on the property, arguing it has historical value and asking the commission to consider suspension rather than revocation so a future owner might complete the project under more cooperative circumstances. Others emphasized that ongoing unpermitted activity and failure to comply with permit conditions justified rescission. Commissioners and staff noted that historic determination is a professional analysis that must be undertaken if an application for new development is submitted.
Planning staff said the action does not preclude the owner or a future owner from coming back to the town with proper plans and seeking approvals under normal procedures; it reflects that the facts underlying the interim approvals have materially changed since June 2025.
