Coalition for a Planned Reston: "Parking Reimagined" Needs Your Help Now!

 

"PARKING REIMAGINED" NEEDS YOUR HELP NOW!

Fairfax County is proposing a parking amendment to the Zoning Ordinance that will reduce Minimum Parking Requirements (MPRs) both in residential and commercial areas.   

Residents support parking requirements that are equitable and add a net benefit to the environment. The parking amendment currently proposed by staff completely fails these two objectives.  To correct the proposed parking amendment, the following changes must be made:

• The County must identify the specific challenges of each area before changing parking requirements.  Applying percentage reductions to areas based on their zoning designation will only lead to reductions. Some areas need more, not less parking. One size does not fit all!
   
• The County must require that any reduction in required parking spaces will result in additional green spaces and increased tree canopy.  Without these items, the proposed parking amendment is just a reduction in required parking and an increase in density.
   
• Reductions in MPRs must be implemented in a way which doesn't shift parking costs from developers to residents.  Many residents are already facing economic hardship. NO residents should not have to pay for parking permits, parking meters and parking garages in order to park near their homes!
   
• New parking rules must provide added loading spaces for numerous daily deliveries and strict enforcement to ensure that handicapped spaces remain accessible for those who are handicapped and that overflow parking into adjacent communities is prevented.
   
• The stipulation allowing administrative approval of reductions in parking minimums must be stricken completely.  The Director of Land Development Services, a non-elected bureaucrat, should never have the authority to make parking reductions without thorough public review. 

•  Under no circumstance should the parking amendment be retroactive to projects approved but not yet built.

• The County must have a viable plan B in case their original assumptions in 2023 about reducing parking requirements are incorrect. 

Fairfax County residents will be forced to live with any changes in Minimum Parking Requirements (MPRs) for years. 

If you would like to see the proposed parking amendment be equitable to residents and not just a HUGE windfall to developers, please share this email and concerns with the following leaders:

• Board of Supervisors at ClerktotheBOS@fairfaxcounty.gov 
• Jeff McKay, Chairman at  chairman@fairfaxcounty.gov
• Kathy Smith, Chair of the Land Use Policy Committee at sully@fairfaxcounty.gov 
• Fairfax County Planning Commission at Plancom@fairfaxcounty.gov

HELP CREATE A FAIRFAX COUNTY THAT WORKS FOR RESIDENTS