Fairfax County’s Site-Specific Plan Amendment (SSPA) process can be an ideal way for developers and property owners to propose modifications to their projects. The SSPA process is a biannual opportunity to work with the County to propose changes within the County’s Comprehensive Plan.
And yet, many questions arise when proposed changes involve issues such as increasing density, converting old land uses, or changing the mix of uses of a property. To assist property owners and prospective property purchasers, we asked a panel of experienced practitioners from DLA Piper, LandDesign, and Wells + Associates (W+A) to provide insights and answers to many of these questions about the SSPA process.
DLA Piper
Thank you to Brian Winterhalter, Stephen Varga, and Jennifer Garcia of the law firm DLA Piper for their insights. DLA’s experienced team helps clients work through the necessary analysis prior to submitting SSPA nominations. Their advocacy work includes engaging with County staff, attending public meetings, and voicing concerns or suggestions in support of nominations.
LandDesign
Thank you to Stephanie Pankiewicz and Jack Scanlon of LandDesign for their contributions to this Q&A. At the intersection of civil engineering and land planning, the LandDesign team employes their jurisdictional knowledge and expertise in infrastructure planning and real estate development to bring projects in Fairfax County to life.
Wells + Associates
With longstanding experience in Fairfax County, the Wells + Associates team employs traffic engineering and transportation demand management (TDM) principles to help bring real estate development projects to approval. W+A leverages data on actual peak hour trip generation reductions over a ten-year period to make the case for both increased density and parking reductions for SSPA nominations. Thank you to Mike Workosky and Courtney Menjivar for contributing to this Q&A.
FAQ: Fairfax County’s Site-Specific Plan Amendment Process
Q: If I am seeking to add more residential housing to my current residential development or am considering a conversion from office to residential, is the SSPA process the right approach? What are some other land use changes that would be appropriate for Fairfax County’s SSPA process given the current market?
Brian Winterhalter, DLA Piper: The Site Specific Plan Amendment (SSPA) process in Fairfax County can be a viable option for submitting a proposal, or nomination, to amend the Comprehensive Plan and request increasing residential density within existing developments or converting office space to residential use. It’s particularly well-suited for projects aligning with the County’s Comprehensive Plan goals, such as promoting mixed-use development, transit-oriented development, and affordable housing.
For example, if your property is located near a Metro station or in a designated activity center and you are seeking additional development potential or a different mix of uses than is currently recommended in the Comprehensive Plan, the SSPA process might be a good fit. It’s also crucial to evaluate your proposal’s specific characteristics and the County’s current priorities to determine how it aligns with the SSPA criteria.
Beyond residential development, the SSPA process can also be used to propose a variety of other land use changes that support the Board of Supervisors’ strategic plan and equity objectives, both of which are priorities for the County.
These could include repurposing underutilized commercial spaces into community-serving facilities like health clinics, transforming aging and underutilized commercial strip malls into vibrant mixed-use centers with housing, retail, and community-serving components, or even converting vacant industrial land to include parks or recreational areas that enhance the quality of life for surrounding residents. A key consideration for the County is the ability to demonstrate how your proposed change aligns with the County’s vision for the area and furthers County goals and priorities.
Q: How can I demonstrate that my SSPA nomination is preserving adequate park and recreational space while increasing the intensity of uses on my site?
Stephanie Pankiewicz, LandDesign: The current Fairfax County Comprehensive Plans provide guidance for development in each district for dedicated urban parks, open space preservation, diverse recreational facilities, and multimodal connectivity. These Comp Plans reflect the significant value that communities within the county place on these aspects. Successful SSPA nominations will demonstrate alignment with the recommended provision of quality park and recreational spaces to support proposed land use or density changes.
Leveraging our multidisciplinary design services, we have curated a comprehensive design “tool kit” that optimizes the creation of dedicated green areas. This toolkit has been instrumental in shaping mixed-use developments within the TOD areas of the county, especially along Metro’s Silver Line, and is equally effective for SSPA nominations in suburban redevelopment sites. Our strategies integrate sustainable features like stormwater management, native flora, and biodiversity into rooftop gardens, pocket parks, and pedestrian-friendly streets.
The SSPA nomination process incorporates community engagement and public hearings, allowing neighbors near the studied parcels to provide input on their specific open space needs and preferences, such as playgrounds, walking trails, biking paths, community gardens, dog parks, water features, and sports fields. By encouraging active community involvement and understanding local aspirations, our approach ensures that nominated projects, once integrated into the county’s work plan, cater distinctly to the diverse park and open space needs of each neighborhood. This will result in redevelopments with vibrant and integrated public realms, a priority in the county.
Note: Stephanie Pankiewicz’s explanation of the role of public park spaces in this Fairfax County video about placemaking is important to keep in mind: “For Fairfax County to be competitive in that environment, then we have got to have within the county really, highly desirable destinations – places of parks, open space, public realm that are memorable and distinct to people.”
Q: How do I know if my property is a good candidate for an SSPA nomination?
Stephen Varga, DLA Piper: To determine if your property is a good candidate for an SSPA nomination, several factors come into play, including: the extent to which the proposal addresses emerging community interests or changes in circumstance (e.g., repurposing vacant office space); how the proposal advances Comprehensive Plan objectives; alignment with other Board of Supervisors’ policies such as economic development or environmental stewardship; and whether the nomination area would be considered a logical planning area.
Other components that are factored into the evaluation of a SSPA nomination include the transportation network, proximity to transit, parks and open space requirements, and urban design. Lastly, community support and stakeholder engagement play a vital role, and community and stakeholder meetings are part of the SSPA process.
Is the SSPA a unique opportunity particularly for complex development projects?
The SSPA process can be particularly advantageous for complex development proposals where amending the Comprehensive Plan would provide flexibility needed to implement the proposal. The SSPA process also provides an opportunity for collaboration with a variety of County agencies which could afford greater creativity and innovation. This is especially valuable for projects contemplating multiple land uses, unconventional site designs, or those seeking to integrate public and private spaces in new and exciting ways.
For example, a project aiming to create a mixed-use development with residential, commercial, and recreational components, while also incorporating public art and green infrastructure, could benefit from consideration within the SSPA framework.
Moreover, the County incorporates community meetings to allow for concerns to be raised and addressed early in the process. This collaborative approach can be particularly beneficial for complex projects that may face community opposition if and when a rezoning application is proposed.
Q: How can I demonstrate that my SSPA nomination is providing adequate water and sewer infrastructure while increasing the intensity of uses on my site?
Jack Scanlon, LandDesign: Water and sewer systems are designed to serve the maximum buildout population of the current Comprehensive Plan. As applicants consider filing SSPA applications to modify the long-term use and density of a property, it is critical to assess existing system capacities and availability of adequate utility service.
As areas of Fairfax County experience redevelopment, some water and sewer systems are reaching their original design capacity. Water mains require modeling to evaluate if there is adequate pressure for domestic water service and most importantly fire protection. Sewer mains require analysis far downstream of the property to identify any sections of sewer main without capacity that may add complexity to the project.
While there are several possible capacity and utility service challenges, our team has extensive experience surveying, modeling, analyzing and engineering solutions to ensure adequate utility service is available.
Q: How can County plans that may impact my development, such as proposed roadway improvements, affect my SSPA nomination? And what can I do about it?
Jennifer Garcia, DLA Piper: If planned infrastructure improvements, such as proposed roadway changes that serve the nomination area and could be impacted by the proposal, the impact to those improvements would be evaluated during the SSPA process.
For instance, if the County plans to widen a road adjacent to your property, access points, traffic flow, or even the overall feasibility of the nomination may be impacted. It’s crucial to proactively review the County’s Comprehensive Plan, transportation plans, and any other relevant planning documents to identify potential impacts on your project.
Furthermore, active participation in the planning process is essential.
Q: How can vehicle trip generation estimates impact the allowable density for my SSPA nomination ?
Mike Workosky, Wells + Associates: More than any other feature of a development, vehicle trip generation estimates determine density limits and impacts. Right or wrong, stakeholders who oppose developments with increased density do so because they perceive more density equals more people, and more people automatically equals more cars and traffic congestion.
As a result, many communities overestimate the amount of vehicle trips generated by a development and restrict the amount of density allowed to ensure there are less people to possibly drive on the roads during peak hours. So, overestimating trip generation can have deleterious effects on a neighborhood because trip generation is so closely linked to the amount of square footage that a property is allowed.
Fortunately, forecast trip reductions based on firsthand experience implementing TDM strategies in Fairfax County has enabled us to make more accurate trip reduction forecasts that not only help justify the most density possible, but also ensure the development functions optimally from a mobility perspective.
Note: Wells + Associates’ seminal white paper, Don’t Underestimate Your Property: Forecasting Trips and Managing Density Over the Long Term in Fairfax County, Virginia, provides detailed research into how to achieve increased density.
Q: Does an increase in development and density automatically result in an increase in vehicular traffic for my SSPA nomination? What are some ways that I can demonstrate to Fairfax County that I will reduce vehicular traffic into and out of my development?
Courtney Menjivar, Wells + Associates: An increase in density at your development does not have to result in more auto traffic during peak hours. Especially when you are thoughtful about applying transportation demand management (TDM) strategies to change tenant travel behavior away from driving a car during peak hours.
Committing to help tenants shift to either driving a car during off-peak hours or using a more sustainable non-auto mode of transportation like walking, biking, carpooling, and taking transit can achieve significant reductions in peak hour trips generated by your site. That said, Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT) will want to see that the TDM strategies you’ve selected to reduce peak hour trips take into consideration the unique characteristics of the building, the users, as well as the surrounding infrastructure.