Fairfax County is proposing to let food trucks stay open six hours a day instead of four in commercial and industrial zones near Vienna.

The change is part of a broader zoning overhaul that would also ease rules for small restaurants, child care centers and service businesses. The county's Board of Supervisors reviewed the proposal, called Commercial & Industrial Modernization Part 1, at its Land Use Policy Committee meeting Sept. 1. The package would update rules for five categories: food trucks, restaurants and other "associated services," child care centers, specialized instruction centers, and vehicle sales lots.

The changes apply to Fairfax County zoning districts, not to properties within Vienna's town limits, which operate under a separate town zoning code. But county-zoned commercial parcels near Vienna would fall under the new rules.

"These seem all modest in my mind. Frankly, I think some of these are long overdue … I feel like we're catching up to real-time demand and consumer interest," Board Chair Jeff McKay said at the Sept. 1 meeting.

Food trucks and small restaurants

Food trucks in commercial and industrial zones could stay open six hours a day under the staff recommendation. The county considered allowing up to eight hours, according to the county's LUPC presentation. The four-hour cap would remain in residential areas, and the existing 32-day annual limit would not change.

Mason District Supervisor Andres Jimenez said the expanded hours would give current and future food truck owners "an ability to work an entire day."

Small restaurants up to 2,500 square feet would be allowed by right in commercial and industrial zones, provided they occupy no more than 10% of a building's gross floor area. Hours would run 6 a.m. to 10 p.m. Larger restaurants would still need a special exception permit. Restaurants would be prohibited in high-density residential districts.

Child care and instruction centers

Child care centers could open by right in high-density residential districts (R-20 and R-30 zones) with a maximum enrollment of 60 children. Enrollment above that threshold would require a special exception permit. The county is still weighing a range of 50 to 99 children for the cap.

Specialized instruction centers, which include tutoring, music lessons, art classes and ballet studios, would be split into two size categories at 6,000 square feet. Smaller facilities would be allowed by right in all commercial districts and most industrial zones. Larger ones would be banned in residential zones and would need a special-use permit in five industrial zones. Permit fees would be $5,790 for small facilities and $23,210 for large ones.

What's next

County staff said the current rules, which tie service-business hours to the main building's operating schedule, are "no longer viable" given that tenants now market to the wider community online.

The Fairfax County Planning Commission's Land Use Process Review Committee is scheduled to discuss the proposal Oct. 8. Community outreach is planned for fall and winter 2026, with a tentative Board authorization in January 2027 and public hearings before the Planning Commission in February and the Board of Supervisors in March.

Residents can contact Lily Yegazu of the county's Zoning Administration Division at [email protected].