Fairfax County staff from the Department of Planning and Development (DPD) and Land Development Services (LDS), are embarking on an initiative to review Article 6 of the Zoning Ordinance which regulates off-street parking and loading. While amendments to off-street parking and loading regulations have occurred over the years, to address certain uses and areas within the county, overall rates and regulations have not been comprehensively reviewed since 1988. This project, known as Parking Reimagined, aims to evaluate existing parking rates and determine if adjustment of parking rates to meet current demand is appropriate, while also examining County administration of parking regulations.
In some ways, little has changed with parking since the 1980s. People still routinely drive and park their cars at their home or place of work. However, in this thirty-year span, several forces have influenced that basic activity. Changes in technology, such as the use of autonomous and electric vehicles, remote working, and car sharing have affected parking needs. An example that most residents can relate to is the growth of online retailing. The delivery of many products to our homes reduces the need to drive and park at a retail store, which lowers parking demand at retailers.
Alone, the changes that have occurred require a re-examination of parking requirements. However, we must also look at current and future trends in parking supply and demand as the County continues to evolve with the changing world. County regulations must have more flexibility to be adaptable to a greater variety of circumstances. During the past thirty years, the county has changed from primarily a suburban community of single-family homes with shopping centers and office parks to become an employment center, a generator of retail sales that are among the highest in the country, and residential communities of varying development intensities that are home to a rapidly growing and increasingly diverse population. County parking regulations need to relate to activities within that broad range of land use opportunities. Unfortunately, residential development is extremely sparse within the Annandale business center so walkability and use of public transportation will not contribute to the reduction in parking needs. People will continue to drive (and require parking) until alternatives and new housing centered most likely in Mix-Use Developments are established. Most shopping centers are fronted with hardscape parking. It is unsightly but little headway has been made in convincing property owners to enhance their properties with landscaping. Only a couple in Annandale have bothered or been required to do so. Two major HOT SPOTS (environmentally detrimental) for all of the Metro Area are found in Annandale---the Old K-Mart lot all the way over to the Giant lot on Columbia Pike.
Evaluating parking must be clear and consistent. This involves looking at county internal operations and policies as well as the regulations for parking. The county believes that flexibility and streamlining can be gained with change to the process. They will also consider if parking rates for various uses should be changed. Further, parking requirements will be reviewed in various land-use areas to determine if additional fine-tuning should occur, recognizing that a “one size fits all approach” for parking countywide may not be the best approach. In Annandale, a significant reduction in required parking would permit the many many small commercial properties to expand their square footage while not adding parking. This can be a two edge sword and should also not be treated as one size fits all.
Parking Reimagined will include an in-depth evaluation of off-street parking and loading rates and regulations. The goal of this effort is to modernize parking and loading requirements, creating greater flexibility in the provision of parking for current and future land uses. The initiative will involve an extensive analysis of parking and loading supply and demand factors, as well as local, regional, and, to some extent, national parking and loading trends.
In conjunction with an analysis of parking by staff and a hired consultant, outreach and listening sessions are planned to gain important feedback from those impacted by parking and to survey the public on future proposed changes to parking and loading regulations. In the coming months, staff will be scheduling these meetings.
For additional information about the Parking Reimagined project, including project goals, task summary, and project schedule, please review the informational white paper.
Braddock District Virtual Town Hall
Monday, November 8, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Virtual - GoToMeeting
Call In Number: 1 866 899 4679
Access Code: 729-602-757
Mason District Virtual Town Hall
Thursday, November 18, 2021 at 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Meeting Link TBD
703-256-7717 Call for Details
