July 6, 2022

Neighbors,

Fairfax County's Department of Management and Budget recently released the 2022 Needs Assessment - Economic Factors report, which provides a high-level overview of economic conditions that are affecting the lives of our residents, and the compounding impact of the pandemic. It highlights comparisons with the state or the nation, where possible, as well as disparities by race, ethnicity, sex and location.

The county's Needs Assessment report usually includes the additional topics of health and transportation, which are coming soon. However, given the rapidly changing economic conditions, the county is publishing the economic section first to consider an earlier strategic response to emerging community needs.

Some examples of what is found in this report:

• One year after the onset of the pandemic, there were 3.1% or 20,024 fewer persons employed in the county. As we know, many businesses have grappled with labor shortages, including here in Hunter Mill District. 
• Disparities in areas like median household income: White households earn 63 percent more than Hispanic and Latino households ($140,817 versus $86,409 annually). The report notes seven census tracts within the county in which the median household income was below $55,500.
• From May 2021 to May 2022, inflation raised consumer prices in our area by 7.5%. This increase represents the largest over-the-year increase in 40 years. The chart shows the 1-year and 5-year change in cost of basic need items.

In addition to identifying needs and challenges, the report identifies existing and proposed strategies to address them. It also ties directly to the Countywide Strategic Plan. Examples include a proposed roadmap to assist the county’s most economically disadvantaged residents in building workforce competencies and linking them to opportunities. Successful implementation of this strategy should reduce income disparities while also addressing the labor needs of the county’s small business community.

I encourage you to take a few minutes to review this report. There is a lot of work and discussions to take place by the Board of Supervisors, county agencies, residents and stakeholders. Look for the upcoming reports on health and transportation, which I will include in this newsletter when they are available. If you have questions, please contact my office at huntermill@fairfaxcounty.gov 

Regards,

Walter

• Children Under Age 5 Now Eligible for COVID-19 Vaccinations
• Community Levels By County
• Fairfax County COVID-19 Data Dashboard

You will soon be receiving your Personal Property (car) Tax bill in the mail. During the budget process earlier this year, the Board of Supervisors approved 15% in tax relief to offset an unprecedented spike in vehicle assessments. Vehicle values have soared as a result of the pandemic that caused a worldwide shortage of computer chips needed for today’s cars and trucks. As a result, new cars are in short supply, and fewer people are selling their old cars. High consumer demand for vehicles combined with low supply have driven prices up sharply. 

The15% in tax relief was automatically applied to your tax amount, so you won’t see the reduction listed. Fairfax County’s tax relief is in addition to the state relief that is listed separately on your bill. If you have questions about your bill or vehicle assessment, contact the Fairfax County Department of Tax Administration by email or at 703-222-8234, TTY 711.

Following the July 4th celebrations seems like a good time to remind residents where they can properly dispose of old and tattered U.S. flags:

Police Stations

All Fairfax County Police stations accept American flags and they are collected twice a year by Police Honor Guard for proper disposal. There is a disposal box in the reception area outside my office and the Reston District Police Station at 1801 Cameron Glen Drive, Reston

Fairfax County Government Center 

When you walk into the lobby of the Government Center (12000 Government Center Parkway, Fairfax), you’ll see a flag disposal box located near the main information desk. The American Legion collect the flags and conducts a Flag Retirement Ceremony.

I-66 Transfer Station and I-95 Landfill Complex 

Flag disposal boxes are located at the I-66 Transfer Station and I-95 Landfill Complex and are available during residential hours. The American Legion collects flags and conducts a Flag Retirement Ceremony.

Reston Comprehensive Plan Study Task Force Update; Upcoming Meetings 

County staff review of the Task Force’s interim recommendations on the 14 areas of the Reston Comprehensive Plan Study is underway. Upcoming Task Force meetings to discuss county staff input and endorse final drafts of various comprehensive plan sections:

• Tonight, Wednesday, July 6, 5 p.m. The meeting is hosted on Webex. Use this link to attend and participate. Call in and listen to the meeting: dial 1-844-621-3956, and use access code: 2337 128 2725.
• Monday, July 11, 7 p.m. The meeting is hosted by Webex. Use this link to attend and participate. Call in and listen to the meeting: dial 1-844-621-3956, and use access code: 2344 846 1625.
• Tuesday, July 12, 7 p.m. The meeting is hosted by Webex. Use this link to attend and participate. Call in and listen to the meeting: dial 1-844-621-3956, and use access code: 2331 570 9625.

The meetings can also be viewed on YouTube.

Important Note: Meeting dates are subject to change, non-Task Force members can receive notifications about changes to scheduled meetings. To sign up for email updates, visit the Email Subscription page, enter your email address and select Reston Study & Plan Amendment News.

To learn more about the Reston Comprehensive Plan Study and the Task Force, visit the Reston Comprehensive Plan Study webpage. The archive of meeting details and agendas is here. The video archive of all past task force meetings can be found on my YouTube page. If you have questions or would like to provide input, please email restonplantaskforce@fairfaxcounty.gov.

Reston Planning and Zoning (P&Z) Meeting, July 18 

The Reston P&Z meeting is scheduled for Monday, July 18 at 7:30 p.m. Use this link to attend and participate. You may also call in and listen to the meeting, dial 571-429-5982 and use conference call ID: 830 241 075#. For more information contact Shruti Nallappa

Site-Specific Plan Amendment (SSPA) Public Hearing Tuesday, July 19

A public hearing on the county's SSPA will be held Tuesday, July 19, 4 p.m. in the Fairfax County Government Center. The SSPA process allows anyone to propose site-specific land use changes to the Comprehensive Plan, the county’s guiding document for land use and development decisions. An evaluation of the SSPA process took place from Fall 2021 to Spring 2022, and the recommended changes were published in a detailed report in May. Learn how to view the public hearing and submit public hearing testimony: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/boardofsupervisors/about-board-meetings. View the full list of recommended changes to the SSPA process and learn more about the evaluation process on the SSPA website. 

Naturalization Ceremony 4th of July Weekend

Last Saturday, I attended Vienna's first-ever naturalization ceremony in conjunction with U.S. Citizenship and Immigration Services (photo). It was quite an inspiring experience to witness the candidates who had worked so hard to become U.S. citizens take their oath. If you ever have the opportunity to attend a naturalization ceremony, I highly recommend going!

Stories and Sprinklers 

Join families and kids for Stories and Sprinklers on Wednesdays, through July 27 at 1 p.m. on the patio behind the historic Freeman Store and Museum. Listen to stories and then cool off running through sprinklers on the Town Green lawn.

On October 31, 2022, the Planning and Land Use System (PLUS) will be the central Fairfax County platform for customers doing business with these county agencies:

• Environmental Health (Department of Health)
• Department of Code Compliance
• Department of Planning and Development
• Land Development Services
• Office of the Fire Marshal (Fire and Rescue Department)

Land development-related processes, including creating and submitting applications, scheduling inspections, paying fees, tracking application status and submitting complaints to the Department of Code Compliance will be performed in PLUS.

What to Know: 

• Many records (permits and other applications) are already active in PLUS, but on October 31 over 100 additional records will be available for customers seeking land development-related permits for use, including all building permits. See the complete list of new records at fairfaxcounty.gov/plan2build/plus. See “Agency-specific Records & Web Pages.”
•  PLUS and all legacy systems currently in use (such as FIDO, PAWS and ProjectDox) will be unavailable between Oct. 21-31. 

Please plan ahead if you are trying to start a new project or complete one that has been in the system. The outage impacts legacy systems within Land Development Services, Planning and Development, Code Compliance, Environmental Health and Office of the Fire Marshal. For several weeks after October 31, data will still be migrating, and processing of records may be impacted.

You can learn to use PLUS via live and video webinars and YouTube videos:

• Webinar Wednesdays: Fairfax County PLUS staff will answer all your questions about PLUS in live bi-weekly webinars. Webinar Wednesday sessions are 30 or 45 minutes long. Visit fairfaxcounty.gov/plan2build/plus for more information. See “Webinar Wednesdays” or “Upcoming Events.”
• PLUS YouTube Channel – Training videos for PLUS can be found on our YouTube Channel Fairfax County PLUS - YouTube.     

Subscribe to the PLUS email subscription to receive notifications on training, scheduled maintenance outages, etc. Visit “Stay Connected” at fairfaxcounty.gov/plan2build/plus.

Volunteers Needed For Boards, Authorities and Commissions (BACs) 

The Hunter Mill District Office has openings on several BACs. If you are interested in serving your community and meeting new neighbors, contact Gwenn Minton in my office about a position on one of these BACs:

• Citizens Corps Council
• Community Action Advisory Board
• Transportation Advisory Commission
• Reston Transportation Services District Advisory Board
• Cathy Hudgins Community Center Advisory Council (high school youth representative)

Celebrate Latino Conservation Week at Frying Pan Farm Park

Frying Pan Farm Park is hosting a Latino Conservation Week celebration on July 16, including Spanish language tours of the farm and free wagon rides in the afternoon. Learn more. 

Reston Forward Podcast

I really enjoyed the opportunity to be a part of Reston Forward's most recent podcast. It was a great conversation covering a number of topics related to Reston. You can listen here.  Learn about Reston Forward here.