A majority of the 2,400 owners of single-family homes in Falls Church soon could be allowed to build standalone accessory-dwelling units (ADUs) with far less government oversight.
City Council members on Monday (Nov. 25) formally started the ball rolling on a five-month consideration of allowing ADUs “by right” in neighborhoods zoned R-1A (low-density residential) and R-1B (medium-density residential).
Redevelopment projects in Falls Church continue to roll along without any major setbacks or warning signs.
“Development interest in the city remains steady,” Paul Stoddard, Falls Church’s director of planning, told ARLnow. He said city officials were dealing with “the usual volume of calls exploring ideas for possible future applications.”
Is 2025 the year Falls Church follows neighboring Arlington in enacting ranked-choice voting to elect its governing body?
It’s a question that will be answered in coming months by the seven-member City Council, whose members will have to address both logistical and philosophical issues before coming to a decision and setting the timetable.
The concept of granting religious organizations more flexibility to create affordable housing on their properties is a good one, Falls Church officials say.
But city leaders remain wary of pending legislation in Richmond that could handcuff local-government zoning powers in order to obtain that outcome.
Add Falls Church to the list of Northern Virginia localities where elected officials are worried about implications of Donald Trump’s victory.
“Things may very well change fairly dramatically,” City Council member David Snyder said last Wednesday (Nov. 6), the day after a national election that swept the former president back into office and saw Republicans potentially controlling both houses of Congress.
Falls Church’s two new elected officials are likely to be on the dais when their respective bodies next convene.
Both the City Council and School Board will meet Tuesday evening (Nov. 12). And if paperwork requirements are met, the two victors in special elections will be sworn in before those meetings begin.
Falls Church’s consideration of zoning changes to permit standalone accessory-dwelling units in single-family neighborhoods is drawing sharp contrasts.
At a Monday (Nov. 4) City Council work session, some on the body argued the proposal would be a win for local homeowners.
Falls Church City Council members appear ready and eager to give the 6600 and 6700 blocks of Wilson Boulevard the honorary name “Saigon Blvd.”
The new name, which would not impact Postal Service addresses or public-safety responses, will pay tribute to those who came to the local area from South Vietnam after that country’s fall to North Vietnamese forces in 1975.
Falls Church City Manager Wyatt Shields and his staff currently are attempting to juggle requests from various organizations to close streets for Halloween-themed events.
At least six have come in, double the typical number of street closings allowed on any given day, city officials say.
The two contenders for an open seat on the Falls Church City Council used the same word to describe how city leaders should address housing policy going forward.
“We have to attack it in different ways. We have to be aggressive,” said Laura Downs.
The prospect of a Donald Trump presidential-election victory could bring Falls Church leaders back to the drawing board when it comes to developing their 2025 legislative priorities.
But they will have a small window of opportunity: Election Day is Nov. 5 and the City Council is expected to review its draft 2025 legislative package on Nov. 11.
“Nobody’s doing it to make money.”
Few would quibble with that assertion about service on the Falls Church City Council, made Oct. 7 by Vice Mayor Debora Schantz-Hiscott.
