Get Full Government Meeting Transcripts, Videos, & Alerts Forever!
Get email alerts on the Environment topic
No spam. Unsubscribe anytime.
Falls Church staff brief planning commission on DEQ‑driven Chesapeake Bay updates; public hearing set for July 1
Summary
City staff told the Planning Commission June 17 that DEQ found deficiencies in local Chesapeake Bay program materials and recommended technical updates to the comp plan and zoning/subdivision code; the commission was asked to review draft amendments and schedule a July 1 public hearing for a recommendation to council.
City staff presented draft amendments June 17 intended to bring Falls Church City’s comprehensive plan and related code into alignment with the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Act after a Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ) compliance review.
Staff said the DEQ compliance review (July 2024–April 2025) identified missing maps and narratives for the comp plan — specifically a Chesapeake Bay preservation area map (resource protection areas and resource management areas), narratives and maps documenting build‑constrained areas (steep slopes, erodible soils, flood‑prone areas), streambank erosion locations, and existing/potential pollution sources. The draft comp plan amendments add those maps and narratives (primarily in Chapter 5 and Appendix B) and include formatting and minor clerical updates to meet an August 31, 2026 timeline agreed with DEQ.
Public works staff also described proposed code edits for Chapter 38 (subdivision) and Chapter 48 (zoning) to require depiction of RPA/RMA boundaries on plats and site plans and to reconcile terminology differences (for example, changing “exceeding 2,500 square feet” to “equal or greater than 2,500 square feet” for consistency with state code). Staff recommended the commission schedule a public hearing on July 1 for the commission’s recommendation to city council; council tentatively plans final consideration July 13 to meet the DEQ deadline.
Commissioners asked how frequently RPA disturbance applications arise (staff estimated a handful per year, most outside the critical 50‑foot buffer), where exception and exemption procedures are codified (chapter 35), and whether the state audit flagged any other code chapters (staff said the audit’s Chesapeake Bay findings drove the changes). Commissioners emphasized the need to meet DEQ deadlines to avoid potential MS4 permit sanctions.
What happens next: planning commission will review the draft amendments and is scheduled to hold a public hearing on July 1 before forwarding a recommendation to city council; staff and council anticipate adoption steps in July to satisfy the DEQ timeline.
