Thoughts on the Fairfax County Zoning Ordinance Modernization Project (ZMOD)? (Alexandria: transplants, apartment)

[Old Guard]

Does anyone in Fairfax county have any thoughts on the Fairfax County Zoning Ordinance Modernization Project? It seems to me that it has a good chance of destroying property values. The board is going to make it easier for property owners to have accessory dwelling units (ADUs) that will allow homes to have ad-hoc rentals. This looks like it will create parking problems and will just open the door for more violations since they really did not seem to be enforcing the zoning before.



My largest concerns are parking and homeowners using apps like Air BNB to make nice neighborhoods into heavily congested nightmares with increased chance of neighbor confrontations over parking.



Link:



https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/planni...ated-draft.pdf


Where I live currently there seems to be plenty of parking but there are some flop houses a few blocks over that have numerous cars all over the place and when I walk the dog I can see areas with smaller lots that have parking problems with people putting orange cones to "reserve" their spot and such.



I really am against this. I personally think they should do more to use the space we already have that is under utilized like Baily's Crossroads and parts of Annandale.



Where I live there really are very limited mass transit options which will make this even worse.

[BOS2IAD]

I took a quick glance at the link. All I can say is that if this goes through, it will be a recipe for disaster.

These neighborhoods were built as single family neighborhoods. The infrastructure isn't in place to accommodate having multi-family homes.

What about the local schools? Will they have room to accommodate the increased number of students who will be part and parcel of these zoning changes? What often happens is that in such neighborhoods, there is no land available to build new schools.

When we lived in LoCo, our neighborhood ended up with serious parking problems due to overcrowded housing. We had 2 townhouse communities next to our community. Many of these townhouses ended becoming flophouses or the owner would make an illegal apartment in their unit. Our street got all the overflow parking plus we had people who would park then wait around for someone to pick them up, which meant these people lived in the next town over.

Things got so bad that we (as a community) petitioned the BOS for a permit parking district. Of course, the county dragged their heels and a 6 month process took 2 1/2 years. If FFX goes through with this nonsense, I can foresee all kinds of problems. One of which you mentioned --- destroying property values. Also, destroying the local schools.

If people haven't been fighting this, they really need to do so.

[NOVA_guy]

Hmmm... interesting.

Fairfax County is going through an interesting transition. It'll be interesting to see where it is a decade from now.

[lchoro]

I think they allow these to be permitted. Granny flats. I've seen a dentist's office as a secondary structure.

accessory dwellings

[stirbot]

I personally hope it passes. We'd like to build a detached structure that we could live in while we gut the main house, and then later use as a home office or guest house for aging parents or an au pair. We do have nearly an acre on a cul de sac which is already a parking nightmare but thankfully we have a garage and plenty of driveway parking. I do understand the concerns of people in neighborhoods with smaller lots however.

I think Fairfax is overdue for expanded parking zone restrictions, especially in the eastern part of the county. I supported my neighbors attempt to create one but the rules for establishing a new residential parking restriction program are too narrow. You need FCDOT to agree that > 50% of the vehicles on the street are non residents, which would certainly happen but only if everyone agreed to park on someone else's street during the study period.

One neighbor has resorted to buying old trailers and inoperable vehicles (covered - another silly rule) to prevent all the cars with Maryland plates from parking on our street. I struggle to see how that's an improvement (other than perhaps the sense of control it gives him), but it highlights the failure of current policies. If street parking is contentious, then local, actual residents should get the priority. Not someones boat/RV/junk project car or people skirting Fairfax property taxes by registering in Maryland.

[paytonc]

One-third of homeowners surveyed by AARP said that they would consider an ADU, many of whom are seniors who would like to downsize in place but don't want to move far away. (Or can't afford a new high-rise condo, which costs 3X-4X more to build than an ADU.)

There's a huge unmet need, particularly from multigenerational families. And that's not just a class thing; the ethnic group most likely to live in multigenerational families are Indian Americans, who also have by far the most household wealth among American ethnic groups.

In practice, ADUs have been legal for many years under many guises, both in Fairfax (e.g., "granny pods," "caretaker residences") and elsewhere, and have not been "a recipe for disaster." My hometown (Cary, NC) has allowed them almost everywhere since the 1990s, and yet it's still renowned as the snobbiest place in all of NC.

As for infrastructure sufficiency, the number of residents in many established areas has been declining for decades. People have smaller families now than they did in the postwar years, when most of Fairfax's subdivisions were built. Traffic seems worse because ever-further-out sprawl means that people drive more miles than they did. Whether new residents* live in Fairfax or in Fauquier doesn't matter -- they'll still drive THROUGH Fairfax, because that's where the jobs are. But if people have a chance to live closer to work, they'll drive fewer total miles.

Current law cannot prevent people from having roommates within one house. The difference with an ADU is that said roommates now can have separate kitchens.

* Fun fact: almost all of this region's population growth is from people who were born here. More people move OUT of metro DC to the Rest of the US than the other way around, so blame babies, not "transplants," for growth and traffic.

[Old Guard]

Originally Posted by stirbot

We do have nearly an acre

This is great and I truly wish I had an acre. When looking for a house lot size really was not on my mind by we lucked out and got half an acre. My problem now is with larger lots does this entice more developers to buy houses in my area as the become available and build home/office or home with built in ADU('s) to help supplement the cost of the new homes to buyers? I could see this being abused and crushing my parking and changing the feel of my neighborhood and I have no idea if it will devalue my home value or not. Do I really need a used car lot or a vape shop next door?

[Lusitan]

These ADUs won’t be used for grandparents or au pairs. They will be filled with transient renters and Air BnB visitors.

These “onerous” zoning laws were created for a reason. These zoning laws resulted in the nice, leafy, quiet, safe suburbs we have in a Fairfax Co. Mess with the zoning and you will destroy these neighborhoods and turn them into something else. It’s not complicated, but it seems that, when they don’t understand, people take the good things for granted and can’t resist the urge to tinker with them.

Vote the Fairfax Co. government OUT before they ruin Fairfax Co.

[BOS2IAD]

Originally Posted by paytonc

One-third of homeowners surveyed by AARP said that they would consider an ADU, many of whom are seniors who would like to downsize in place but don't want to move far away. (Or can't afford a new high-rise condo, which costs 3X-4X more to build than an ADU.)

There's a huge unmet need, particularly from multigenerational families. And that's not just a class thing; the ethnic group most likely to live in multigenerational families are Indian Americans, who also have by far the most household wealth among American ethnic groups.

In practice, ADUs have been legal for many years under many guises, both in Fairfax (e.g., "granny pods," "caretaker residences") and elsewhere, and have not been "a recipe for disaster." My hometown (Cary, NC) has allowed them almost everywhere since the 1990s, and yet it's still renowned as the snobbiest place in all of NC.

As for infrastructure sufficiency, the number of residents in many established areas has been declining for decades. People have smaller families now than they did in the postwar years, when most of Fairfax's subdivisions were built. Traffic seems worse because ever-further-out sprawl means that people drive more miles than they did. Whether new residents* live in Fairfax or in Fauquier doesn't matter -- they'll still drive THROUGH Fairfax, because that's where the jobs are. But if people have a chance to live closer to work, they'll drive fewer total miles.

Current law cannot prevent people from having roommates within one house. The difference with an ADU is that said roommates now can have separate kitchens.

* Fun fact: almost all of this region's population growth is from people who were born here. More people move OUT of metro DC to the Rest of the US than the other way around, so blame babies, not "transplants," for growth and traffic.

Yes, it would be "a recipe for disaster" if multifamily units were to be allowed on streets with single family houses. Unless, you've experienced what happens in such situations, then you have no idea. As per my post, I've experienced living near overcrowded housing and the problems it has when it comes to parking.

As for declining population --- Virginia's population in 1980 was 5.5 million. In 2020 it is 8,626,210. And, yes, much of that growth has happened in older NoVA areas.

To make a blanket statement about families getting smaller, neglects to mention that there are those from third world countries (both legal and illegal) that tend to have large families. And, yes, infrastructure gets negatively impacted when many of these older homes become flophouses.

[lchoro]

Alexandria seeks input on Granny Flats, other accessory dwelling units (ADUs)

link

Big surge in inquiries into setting up granny flats as admissions into senior living is falling.

Grandma's living in backyard to escape COVID-19

"People are looking for alternatives to assisted living," says Kol Peterson, author of "Backdoor Revolution," a book about ADUs.

The units are typically 500 to 1,000 square feet and include bathrooms and kitchens. Some homeowners use ADUs to house aging parents or adult children. Others rent out the units.

link2

A lot of jobs are going to be remote or work from home so that offices in or outside the home will be needed.