Vienna-area homeowners would face a lower bar for adding a secondary dwelling unit under zoning changes the Fairfax County Planning Commission recommended Nov. 3.
The commission voted unanimously to slash the minimum lot size for detached accessory living units (ALUs) from two acres to 15,000 square feet, as first reported by FFXnow. The recommendation goes further than county staff proposed and now heads to the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, which is scheduled to vote Nov. 17.
An ALU is a secondary dwelling, sometimes called an in-law suite, that is either attached to or detached from a single-family home. It must include a kitchen, bathroom, bedroom and living space, according to the county's amendment page.
What the commission changed
County staff had recommended allowing detached ALUs by right on lots of at least 36,000 square feet, increasing maximum occupancy from two to three people, eliminating the off-street parking requirement, raising the height limit from 20 to 35 feet and capping unit size at 1,200 square feet or 40% of the main home.
At-Large Commissioner Candice Bennett moved to go further. She proposed cutting the minimum lot size to 15,000 square feet and raising the occupancy cap to four.
The commission backed her motion unanimously.
"An accessory living unit can let a family bring an aging parent close, give an adult child a place to start out, help an older homeowner age in place with a caregiver nearby or add a modestly priced home in a part of the county where few exist," Bennett said, according to FFXnow.
Three other commissioners tried separate amendments, and each failed. Providence District Commissioner Jeremy Hancock sought to extend ALUs to townhouses. Sully District Commissioner Evelyn Spain tried to remove the owner-occupancy requirement. Commission Chair Phillip Niedzielski-Eichner moved to keep the existing one-parking-space requirement.
What it means for Vienna
How many Vienna homeowners would qualify for a by-right detached ALU under the 15,000-square-foot threshold is unclear. A local real estate analysis noted that roughly 100 homes a year are torn down and rebuilt on the same lot inside town limits, and most of those teardown lots run 10,000 to 12,000 square feet. Owners of lots that size would still need a special permit for a detached unit.
County zoning staff also clarified following the Oct. 29 public hearing that homeowner association rules would supersede the zoning ordinance, Annandale Today reported. That means an HOA could ban ALUs regardless of the county rules.
Opposition and support
The proposed changes drew criticism at the Oct. 29 hearing. Tyler Ray, vice chair of the Mason District Council, spoke on behalf of 12 civic associations and urged the commission to keep stricter rules.
"Removing parking requirements, eliminating owner-occupancy safeguards, expanding the number of residents, and abandoning administrative permits could fundamentally alter single-family neighborhoods," Ray said, according to Annandale Today.
Springfield District Supervisor Pat Herrity, the board's lone Republican, argued in a Friday, Nov. 6, newsletter that the parking requirement should stay, occupancy should rise only to three and lots under 35,000 square feet "probably should" require a special permit.
The Coalition for Smarter Growth, a regional organization that advocates for walkable, transit-oriented communities, supported the changes. Becca Dedert, the group's Virginia Housing Advocacy Specialist, said in a Nov. 2 press release that the update is an opportunity for ALUs to be "a real part of the solution," according to FFXnow.
What's next
The Board of Supervisors is scheduled to consider the proposal at its Nov. 17 meeting. Residents can review the amendment details on the county's zoning amendment page.
