FAQ - Zoning Amendment
Why does Victory Village require a zoning amendment?
Christ Lutheran Church’s 20-acre site is currently zoned “UR-7,” which allows development of one single-family home per seven acres. Fairfax's 2010-2030 General Plan, adopted in 2012, designates two acres of the Christ Lutheran Church property as a Housing Opportunity Site to be rezoned as Planned Development District (PDD) in order to accommodate affordable apartments for low-income seniors at a density of 20 units per acre. On March 1, 2017, the Town Council directed staff to propose a new zoning designation for Victory Village – “Multiple-Family Residential – Senior” – as an alternative way to carry out the goals and objectives of the General Plan on this site. The remaining eighteen acres would retain their UR-7 zoning, allowing a maximum development of two single-family homes on the entire property.
Why is the Town proposing to switch from a “streamlined" PDD zoning review process to a new senior housing zoning designation?
Town staff had been seeking to amend the PDD zoning language in order to provide a more transparent, consolidated review process for Victory Village and the two other Housing Opportunity Sites designated to be rezoned to PDD (1.24 acres at 10 Olema Road, and 1 acre at School Street Plaza), and to meet local housing needs in a manner contemplated in the General Plan. Though there is overwhelming support for Victory Village in Fairfax, concerns of some community members about using the “streamlined” PDD review for the other two Housing Opportunity Sites led the Town Council to seek an alternative zoning approach. The alternative senior housing zoning is defined so narrowly – senior housing proposals on land between two and three acres – that it only applies to the Victory Village site at this time. The senior housing zoning keeps the local approvals on the same schedule to allow for Victory Village to apply for a key affordable housing funding sources by its June 2017 deadline, with ample opportunity for public participation, review, and comment. The Town’s staff report for the March 16, 2017 Planning Commission informational item explains the Town’s zoning approach.
Christ Lutheran Church’s 20-acre site is currently zoned “UR-7,” which allows development of one single-family home per seven acres. Fairfax's 2010-2030 General Plan, adopted in 2012, designates two acres of the Christ Lutheran Church property as a Housing Opportunity Site to be rezoned as Planned Development District (PDD) in order to accommodate affordable apartments for low-income seniors at a density of 20 units per acre. On March 1, 2017, the Town Council directed staff to propose a new zoning designation for Victory Village – “Multiple-Family Residential – Senior” – as an alternative way to carry out the goals and objectives of the General Plan on this site. The remaining eighteen acres would retain their UR-7 zoning, allowing a maximum development of two single-family homes on the entire property.
Why is the Town proposing to switch from a “streamlined" PDD zoning review process to a new senior housing zoning designation?
Town staff had been seeking to amend the PDD zoning language in order to provide a more transparent, consolidated review process for Victory Village and the two other Housing Opportunity Sites designated to be rezoned to PDD (1.24 acres at 10 Olema Road, and 1 acre at School Street Plaza), and to meet local housing needs in a manner contemplated in the General Plan. Though there is overwhelming support for Victory Village in Fairfax, concerns of some community members about using the “streamlined” PDD review for the other two Housing Opportunity Sites led the Town Council to seek an alternative zoning approach. The alternative senior housing zoning is defined so narrowly – senior housing proposals on land between two and three acres – that it only applies to the Victory Village site at this time. The senior housing zoning keeps the local approvals on the same schedule to allow for Victory Village to apply for a key affordable housing funding sources by its June 2017 deadline, with ample opportunity for public participation, review, and comment. The Town’s staff report for the March 16, 2017 Planning Commission informational item explains the Town’s zoning approach.