Fairfax Planning Commission reviews zoning changes to implement small area plans, weighs design-based mixed‑use approach

Consultant Justin Wallace presented a mid-project report to the Fairfax City Planning Commission on May 12, proposing zoning amendments intended to align the zoning ordinance with the city’s adopted small area plans and to guide development in five activity-center areas.

Wallace, who introduced firm partner Mark White as part of the consultant team, said the work aims "to make the right things easy, and streamlining and making things as straightforward as possible" as the city moves from plan language toward specific zoning text. The consultant described a package of design- and outcome‑oriented tools: development frontages, clarified open-space and tree-canopy standards, master development plan requirements for larger parcels, parking adjustments for urban cores, and a menu of community benefits to trade for additional height or density.

The presentation outlined four frontage types — priority retail, flexible commercial, residential and open‑space frontages — intended to regulate how buildings address streets and public spaces, rather than relying solely on use categories. Wallace proposed allowing some mixed-use development "by right" paired with frontage and design criteria so that ground-floor function and quality are controlled without requiring a special-use permit in every case.

Commissioners pressed how that…