Reply to High Density Housing Everywhere in Fairfax?

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[quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous][quote=Anonymous]It looks like Richmond is going to override local zoning rules and force Fairfax to approve development at a minimum of 20 units per acre on any land owned by churches or non-profits. The only requirement is that 60% of the housing units must be reserved for low income housing. Which areas of the county and school pyramids will be the least impacted by this policy? At this point. I'm honestly just thinking about sending my kids to private school k-12. This state zoning law is going to ruin all of the schools in Fairfax county[/quote]

This law would apply across the entire state, and not just in Fairfax.  It would not force churches or non-profits to sell their land for redevelopment, or prevent them from selling their land to developers who want to build large single-family homes or market-rate condos or townhouses.  What it would be is allow churches or non-profits to avoid rezoning approvals they otherwise might be required to obtain under local laws if they sell properties that are redeveloped with denser, affordable housing.

The county is already pushing for more affordable housing, and will continue to do so regardless of whether this law gets signed or vetoed by Spanberger.  There are several such projects under consideration in the Marshall district - you can read about the proposals for the Vine Church redevelopment on Gallows Road in Dunn Loring.  Developers aren't going to build such housing, however, unless they think it's economically viable.  [/quote]

That is disingenuous. The law does not allow developers to build a large single family home neighborhood. The numbers won’t pencil out for that because of the AMI cap. You can’t build large single family homes for the 60% that is limited to 120% of AMI. The 30 year affordability covenants required will also make it hard to sell single family homes subject to this requirement. It’s basically going to be used to build high density townhouses or apartment building in most circumstances in Fairfax county. [/quote]

I think you misunderstand the law.  The law does not prevent a church or non-profit from selling their property to a developer to build a large single-family home neighborhood.  However, in that case, the developer would have to go through all the steps necessary to ensure the development complies with local zoning laws that address lot sizes, etc.  Or, if the area was generally zoned for larger lots, and the church or non-profit wanted to sell to a developer who wanted to build townhouses, the developer might have to seek a zoning variance or get the property rezoned.

This law would allow a developer to bypass those steps, provided the housing met the density requirements and the residents met the income requirements.  So it basically fast-tracks redevelopment for affordable housing.  But it does not limit redevelopment to AH.

As for development in Fairfax County these days, most new development in the county now is multi-family housing, not single-family housing.  In many instances, that can be good for schools, if you end up with more residents without kids paying taxes.  That's why Arlington - with a lower percentage of school-age kids than Fairfax - have nicer school buildings and smaller class sizes than Fairfax.  [/quote]

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