In this Issue…
Home Share Program Moves Forward – At the September Older Adults Committee meeting, the Board agreed to continue exploring the feasibility of a home share pilot program. This pilot idea began in 2019 as part of the Fairfax 50+ Community Action Plan, which identified home sharing as a key initiative that would serve the housing needs of older adults, young professionals, graduate students, and small families at a very low cost and management burden for the County. In July, the Board unanimously supported my motion to consider a pilot program that will help our older adults age in place through home sharing. According to the National Shared Housing Resource Center, "Home Sharing is a simple idea: A homeowner offers accommodation to a home sharer in exchange for an agreed level of support in the form of financial exchange, assistance with household tasks, or both . . . for these people, shared housing offers companionship, affordable housing, security, mutual support and much more." This concept is very successful both nationally and internationally. I am very excited to see this creative housing solution moving forward, more details below.
Is it Lee or Franconia Magisterial District? – We have received a number of calls from residents noting that their voter cards indicate they are still in the Lee District despite the passage of a Board motion and announcements that the name of the magisterial district has been changed to the Franconia District. According to state law, the change cannot be made official until after the Board passes a notice of public hearing, holds a public hearing and a majority vote of the Board. Until then it is still the Lee Magisterial District. More below.
Other News and Information
- Early Voting Information
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County’s SSPA Process Begins (Oct 3rd)
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Parking Reimagined Virtual Open House (Oct 11th)
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Fire Prevention Week and Department Open Houses @ All 39 Fire Stations (Oct 15th)
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PLUS Transition and Permit Delays (Oct 21st)
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Home Share Program Moves Forward
This pilot idea for Home Share began in 2019 as part of the Fairfax 50+ Community Action Plan, which identified home sharing as a key initiative that would serve the housing needs of older adults, young professionals, graduate students, and small families at a very low cost and management burden for the County. In July, the Board unanimously supported my motion to consider a pilot program that will help our older adults age in place through home sharing. According to the National Shared Housing Resource Center, "Home Sharing is a simple idea: A homeowner offers accommodation to a home sharer in exchange for an agreed level of support in the form of financial exchange, assistance with household tasks, or both . . . for these people, shared housing offers companionship, affordable housing, security, mutual support and much more."
Many of our older adults live alone in homes with empty rooms and want to remain there as long as possible while recognizing that affordability, general safety issues, upkeep, and maintenance of a house become hurdles. Meanwhile, there are many individuals looking for an affordable place to live including young adults entering the workforce, graduate students and independent older adults with limited income. With the proper interviewing, background checks and references, along with guidelines for personal compatibility checks, home sharing could provide benefits to both the homeowner and the home sharer.
Home sharing is very successful both nationally and internationally through nonprofit, private business, and government partnership models. From July to September, a committee made up of staff and members of the Commission on Aging conducted benchmarking research on various home share program models across the country. At the September Older Adults Committee meeting, they shared a range of home share models from jurisdictions fully administering a home share program to simply directing residents to existing home share matching organizations. The Board agreed that a model that provides some County administration to facilitate matching and background checks may be preferable as a pilot as opposed to the models of fully administering a program from match to contract, or simply advertising resources. I encourage you to view the presentation and benchmarking research the committee brought to the Board. When this concept was first presented to the Board it was as a nonprofit initiative, but the 50+ Community Action Plan primarily considered a for profit model. I believe the idea is worth exploring with our non-profits as a public private partnership model with the County playing a small role with initial funding, providing creative lease models, and a screening process for participants including running background checks. This idea got a positive reception from the Fairfax County Alliance for Human Services as well as with the Commission on Aging.
As part of the development for the SHAPE the Future of Aging plan, our next countywide Older Adults Plan, we plan to include questions about home share as part of the public outreach this fall. This feedback should help us to better understand residents who may be interested in the program, the reasons why they are interested, as well as what kind of program model would work best in our community.
For Fairfax County, this is an especially exciting program because it serves both young residents and our largest demographic, older adults, all while maximizing a resource that is invaluable in Fairfax County: space. This program does not require development, it simply matches and connects residents in a way that mutually serves their housing needs. Our police department is looking at this model to address housing issues for our officers. I saw the power of this housing model work firsthand with my mom. When the daily maintenance of her home became too much for her to take care of on her own, we found a young family who needed a place to live and in return helped her with basic tasks.
In addition to helping older adults stay in their homes, this program also addresses the critical issue of isolationism among our older adults. The County’s Older Adults COVID-19 Response Plan identified that one of the top three challenges for older adults that was exacerbated by the pandemic is social isolation. Creating more opportunities for older adults to connect with others through regular social interactions, whether it be through home share or programs like Meals on Wheels, has a direct impact on the wellness of our older adult community.
As Chairman of the Older Adults Committee and having seen firsthand the impact of this program, I am very excited to share more with you on home sharing as we get closer to a pilot.
Is it Lee or Franconia Magisterial District?
We have received a number of calls from residents noting that their voter cards indicate they are still in the Lee District despite the passage of a Board motion and announcements that the name of the magisterial district has been changed to the Franconia District. According to state law the change cannot be made official until after the Board passes a notice of public hearing, holds a public hearing and a majority vote of the Board. Until then, it is still the Lee Magisterial District.
I supported the motion to consider the name change as requested by the district Supervisor but asked staff for the financial impact. I have not received any information on the financial impact to date. I was surprised that the vote was considered official by many and the process was not made clear publicly. I have not heard officially but it is anticipated that the notice of the public hearing will be on the agenda in November with the public hearing on the name change in December after the current election but before the local elections in 2023.
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Other News and Information
Early Voting Information
In-person early voting for the Local and Congressional races is ongoing at three locations in Fairfax County. I know some residents were redistricted and may have a hard time finding out where they vote, so please use this link to confirm your voting precinct: Lookup (virginia.gov). Additional locations will open on October 27th. Please see the chart below for full details on times and locations:
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September 23 – November 5
Fairfax County Government Center
12000 Government Center Pkwy
Conference Rooms 2/3, Fairfax 22035
Hours of operation:
Weekdays: 8 a.m. - 4:30 p.m.
Three Saturdays (September 24, October 29, November 5): 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
One Sunday (October 30th): 1 - 5 p.m.
Location
Mt. Vernon Governmental Center
2511 Parkers Lane Alexandria, 22306
North County Governmental Center
1801 Cameron Glen Drive Reston, 20190
Hours of operation:
Weekdays: 1 - 7 p.m.
Three Saturdays (September 24, October 29, November 5): 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
One Sunday (October 30th): 1 - 5 p.m.
October 27 – November 5
Burke Centre Library
5935 Freds Oak Road, Burke 22015
Centreville Regional Library
14200 St. Germain Drive, Centreville 20121
Franconia Governmental Center
6121 Franconia Rd, Alexandria 22310
Great Falls Library
9830 Georgetown Pike, Great Falls 22066
Herndon-Fortnightly Library
768 Center Street, Herndon 20170
Lorton Community Center
9520 Richmond Highway, Lorton 22079
Mason Governmental Center
6507 Columbia Pike, Annandale 22003
McLean Governmental Center
1437 Balls Hill Rd, McLean 22101
Providence Community Center
3001 Vaden Drive, Fairfax 22031
Sully Governmental Center
4900 Stonecroft Boulevard, Chantilly 20151
Thomas Jefferson Library
7415 Arlington Blvd, Falls Church 22042
Tysons-Pimmit Regional Library
7584 Leesburg Pike, Falls Church 22043
West Springfield Governmental Center
6140 Rolling Road, Springfield 22152
Hours of operation:
Weekdays: 1 - 7 p.m.
Two Saturdays (October 29 & November 5): 9 a.m. - 5 p.m.
One Sunday (October 30): 1 - 5 p.m.
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The County’s Site-Specific Plan Amendment (SSPA) process begins next Monday, October 3, 2022
The nomination form can be accessed now for demonstration and education purposes in advance of the nomination period here.
Detailed instructions on how to submit a nomination are provided in the 2022-2023 SSPA Nominator Guide, which includes an overview of the process and timeline, how to research Comprehensive Plan information, the nomination submission requirements, and review criteria. The Nominator Guide and the following information on the 2022-2023 Countywide SSPA process is available on the SSPA website:
Parking Reimagined Virtual Open House on October 11th at 7 PM
The County is evaluating existing parking rates and determine if adjustment of parking rates to meet current demand is appropriate, while also examining County administration of parking regulations. Parking Reimagined will include an in-depth evaluation of off-street parking and loading rates and regulations. The goal of this effort is to modernize parking and loading requirements, creating greater flexibility in the provision of parking for current and future land uses. The initiative will involve an extensive analysis of parking and loading supply and demand factors, as well as local, regional, and, to some extent, national parking and loading trends.
I am carefully watching the process to make sure we do not too significantly reduce parking requirements. I have learned many lessons from our townhome and condominium communities that are under parked. There are no easy fixes to under parked communities. I know developers will typically not build any more parking than required so I am somewhat opposed to parking maximums.
County staff will be hosting multiple open houses to promote community engagement. You can find information on Parking Reimagined here. Below is the Zoom information for the open house on October 11th at 7 PM:
Tuesday, October 11, 2022 at 7:00 p.m.
Password: 402439
Call-In Number: 888 270 9936 (US Toll Free)
Conference Code: 928669
Fire Prevention Week and Department Open Houses at All 39 Fire Stations on October 15th from 10 AM to 4 PM
Today’s homes burn faster than ever. You may have as little as one to two minutes to safely escape a home fire from the time the smoke alarm sounds. Your ability to get out of a home during a fire depends on early warning from smoke alarms, advance planning, and practice. You can prevent and prepare for home fires with simple but important steps during Fire Prevention Week this October. More information on this week can be found here.
In conjunction with this week, after a two-year pandemic hiatus, our county fire stations will once again open their doors this fall to welcome members of the community to visit, tour, talk to firefighters, see our vehicles, and learn about fire safety and prevention. All 39 fire stations will be open to the public, including the Burke Volunteer Fire and Rescue Department (9501 Old Burke Road, Burke). This year’s annual Open House is from 10 a.m. to 4 p.m. on Saturday, October 15, and the theme is “Fire won’t wait. Plan your escape.”
PLUS Transition with Release 4 and Permit Delays Expected Beginning on October 21st
PLUS is an online system that acts as a central platform for zoning, permitting, environmental health, and land development. It has been releasing in phases, with phase 4 launching on October 21st over a ten-day period to October 31st. This will integrate five agencies and multiple systems of the county like Code Compliance. For more information on PLUS, you can click here.
After the transition to the new system, plans and documents for permits and applications that were in process but not finalized prior to the shutdown will be migrated into the new system between October 31 and November 29th. Land Development Services has indicated they will be available to expedite processing on time-sensitive cases. This will be an incredibly busy time and delays should be expected. You can find their contact information at the link below:
For more information on their bi-weekly webinars and how to use PLUS, you can go here to participate.
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Email
Office
(703) 451-8873
Website
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Amber is seeking a warm, loving home. Willing to hike, walk, jog (she just walks faster) or run. She definitely can pull you along if you want to up your pace, so both of you will need to work on that together. She is 64 lbs of fun looking for her family. She loves snuggling, too! If you would like to meet Amber, click here to arrange a visit.
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