Plans to celebrate the nation’s 250th birthday with a July 3 “civic jam” celebration are solidifying in Falls Church.
Rather than attempt to compete with national celebrations the following day, the Falls Church event will focus on citizen involvement.
Higher fees for property owners pair with rising real estate assessments in the Falls Church budget proposal unveiled by City Manager Wyatt Shields Monday night.
Falls Church homeowners would pay an average $611 more — an increase of 5% — in real estate taxes under the $134.3 million fiscal year 2027 budget.
Falls Church has formally opened its doors to e-scooters. Now it just needs to find some takers.
City Council members voted 7-0 on Monday night for a one-year pilot program, hoping to entice companies to deploy up to 100 e-scooters and e-bicycles within the community’s 2.2 square miles.
Falls Church officials this week sketched out more details in what would be the largest affordable-housing effort in city history.
“What you’ve laid out today is really exciting,” said Jim Coyle, vice chair of the city’s Economic Development Commission, at a March 2 joint work session between that body, the City Council and Planning Commission.
Falls Church city leaders appear to have a little more budget breathing room over the coming months compared to surrounding jurisdictions.
At a Feb. 23 City Council meeting, finance officials estimated 4% revenue growth in fiscal year 2027 without increasing tax rates. It was a figure Mayor Letty Hardi called “very, very rosy” compared to the situations in Arlington, Alexandria and Fairfax County.
Expiring affordability commitments and a large site where leaders could potentially expand affordable housing are presenting questions for Falls Church policymakers.
“There’s a policy decision: What are the choices before us?” Mayor Letty Hardi said at a Feb. 18 meeting to set the timetable for discussion of key upcoming issues.
Falls Church officials are awaiting developments in Richmond to determine whether the city’s Planning Commission will get back powers that the General Assembly stripped last year.
However, legislation to restore the old arrangement could face an uphill battle.
Nearly seven years after a failed first attempt, Falls Church officials are trying again to entice e-scooter and e-bike operators to the city.
Council members are considering a proposal to allow a maximum of 100 total operating certificates for “shared mobility devices”: motorized skateboards, scooters, bicycles and electrically assisted bicycles.
Falls Church city officials have started talking with potential partners about what could be one of the largest housing projects in the city’s history.
In discussing possibilities with four nonprofit or governmental housing organizations, the city has “laid out a road map” for what could happen to the Virginia Village community, including the construction of a substantial amount of affordable housing, City Manager Wyatt Shields told City Council members at a Jan. 27 meeting.
The Falls Church City Council is preparing to vote on a region-wide proposal to increase annual spending for Metro by $460 million every year.
On Monday, Feb. 2, Council members are slated to discuss a request from the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) and Washington Metropolitan Transit Authority (WMATA) to formally support the DMV Moves funding proposal to augment Metro service.
Falls Church officials are not, to date, seeing police officers move to neighboring communities for more money.
“Not yet,” Police Chief Shahram Fard told City Council members on Jan. 12.
Falls Church’s incumbent mayor narrowly won reappointment to a new two-year term yesterday (Monday).
Letty Hardi was selected by colleagues to continue in the post on a 4-3 vote, with new Council member Arthur Agin delivering the slim margin of victory.
