Revamps of parking, towing and tree-canopy requirements could be coming to an increasingly urbanized Falls Church.
A work plan from City Manager Wyatt Shields includes a possible rewrite of existing rules for how much parking new development projects must include, plus possible changes to the city’s tree canopy ordinance and towing ordinance.
The Falls Church City Council discussed its action calendar for the rest of the year at a work session last week.
Parking requirements
The City of Falls Church conducted its last broad study of the community’s parking needs about five years ago.
Although leaders have made some tweaks since then, city officials believe it may now be time for a comprehensive look.
“A lot has changed,” said Mayor Letty Hardi, noting the increase in mixed-use projects along major corridors in the 2.2-square-mile community.
Changing ordinances to match the new environment will be “fairly complicated,” Shields said at the Wednesday meeting.
“We need to do some study, get some data,” he said.
In the past, parking requirements for new development often had been handled through the city’s site-plan process. Changes to state law make that a less available route for negotiation, Shields said.
“We do need to come up with a new way to handle that,” he said.
Council member Dave Snyder urged caution and community engagement.
“There are lots of win-win approaches to the parking-code amendments. And there are lots of win-lose ways we could go,” he said. “My hope is we really find a consensus approach.”
Any discussion on changes likely would focus on commercial and mixed-use areas, but also could incorporate residential areas.
Council member Erin Flynn pushed for looking at real-world parking usage, which might differ from what city planners and developers had anticipated.
“Are the plans playing out the way people intended?” Flynn asked.
Towing changes
City Council members also are likely to take up consideration of potential changes to the Falls Church ordinance on trespass towing from private property.
Council members first discussed the matter in February. One key issue will likely be whether to impose a “second signature” requirement on towing companies before vehicles can be removed from premises.
This would require someone from the business where the tow is taking place to sign off on it in real time. Currently, property owners can give advance, blanket authorization to towing companies to conduct the tow.
The issue has proved controversial across Northern Virginia. In late 2024, the Arlington County Board opted against requiring a second signature in that jurisdiction after passionate testimony on both sides of the issue.
The existing Falls Church towing ordinance was last updated in 2016. At the February work session, Council members agreed to hold off on any changes until the city’s Towing Advisory Board could be brought to full strength.
That panel had been inactive for several years but was being rebuilt, Shields said in February.
Tree canopy requirements
Also on the agenda for future action is a plan to adopt a tree-canopy ordinance that would apply to new commercial development.
Council members vetted the project last March and directed staff to prioritize a proposal that would apply to commercial development rather than residential.
Currently, the city has no minimum tree-canopy requirement for new development. State law allows localities to require up to 10% canopy for commercial and mixed-use lots.
Currently, tree canopies are a common bargaining chip that Falls Church developers use in negotiations with city officials over site-plan agreements.
In some cases, new developments have exceeded the 10% amount, and in a few instances they have nearly doubled it, Hardi said at the March meeting.
