Lee District Monthly Newsletter

Fairfax County Board of Supervisors

Edition 18
September 2015
 
The McKay Messenger
  
 
Text to 9-1-1 now available
On September 22, Fairfax County's 9-1-1 center began accepting Text to 9-1-1 calls for service. Fairfax County is the first jurisdiction in Northern Virginia--and one of the largest 9-1-1 centers in the country--to implement this service.

Text to 9-1-1 is available within Fairfax County and the towns of Herndon, Vienna, Clifton, and the City of Fairfax. It works similarly to how 9-1-1 voice calls are handled and it's easy to use--you just enter 911 (without dashes) in the To or Recipient field and type your emergency. 9-1-1 will text you back to acknowledge receipt and ask any necessary questions.

It's important to note that Text to 9-1-1 is intended primarily for use in certain emergency situations. The technology is still limited and calling 911 will almost always ensure a faster emergency response. However, in the following cases, Text 9-1-1 is appropriate:
  • For an individual who is deaf, hard of hearing, or has a speech disability.
  • For someone who is in a situation where it is not safe to place a voice call to 9-1-1.
  • For a medical emergency that makes the person incapable of speech. 
Voice calls are still the best method for contacting 9-1-1.  However, remember this important phrase:  Call if you can. Text if you can't.

If text to 9-1-1 is not available in your area, you'll receive a text message indicating that Text to 9-1-1 is not available and to contact 911 by phone.

As with all text messages, 9-1-1 text messages can take longer to receive, may be delivered out of order, or may not be received at all.

Here are some important points about Text to 9-1-1:
  • Text to 9-1-1 is not available if you are 'roaming.'
  • You must have a text or data plan to place a text to 9-1-1.
  • Photos and videos cannot be sent to 9-1-1 at this time.
  • Text to 9-1-1 cannot include more than one person
  • Text to 9-1-1 is only available in English.
You can learn more here.
Getting a Handle on Predatory Lenders
Route One and Fairhaven 
 
 
Would You Take Out a Loan with an Interest Rate of 268 Percent?
Public Hearings Coming on Regulating Payday and Car Title Lenders
 
Sometimes called alternative financial institutions, payday and car title lenders offer quick loans at exorbitantly high interest rates--as high as 268 percent. Not only do these lenders target poor and desperate individuals but they also signal decline in a community and deter other stores, restaurants, and small businesses from moving to these neighborhoods. There's been an explosion of them in Northern Virginia and in 2013, Supervisors Hyland and Gross joined me in directing County zoning staff to research the County's regulatory and land use options for regulating these enterprises.
 
In 2011, the Virginia General Assembly passed a bill allowing car title lenders to extend credit to out-of-state drivers despite objections from the Board of Supervisors. The result: Virginia has become a magnet for people who need cash but live in the District, Maryland, or other nearby states where interest rates are capped and such businesses are discouraged or prohibited from opening.
 
Virginia is a Dillon Rule State where Counties cannot pass legislation without state enabling legislation authorizing them to do so. While we cannot legally ban these businesses, we can restrict where they locate. At the September 22 Board of Supervisors meeting, we took the first step in this process by authorizing public hearings on proposed new zoning regulations.
 
Under current regulations, payday and car title lenders can operate by-right in the same locations as commercial banks, and that means within most commercial and industrial districts. U nder the proposed regulations, they would be banned from the County's revitalization districts (although there are some areas where they could still locate by-right). However, they would have to be located within shopping centers rather than stand-alone locations. Additionally:
  • Only one such lender per shopping center would be allowed.
  • Lenders could not locate in any shopping centers next to or across from any public use, house of worship, child care center, private school, or quasi-public athletic field and related facility.
  • Hours of operation would be limited to 8 a.m. to 6 p.m.
  • Cars could not be stored on the property.
These lenders would also be prohibited from locating in any of the County's commercial revitalization areas: Annandale, Baileys Crossroads/Seven Corners, McLean, Richmond Highway, Springfield, Lake Anne, or Merrifield. 
 
The Planning Commission will hold a public hearing on these regulations on October 21 and the Board of Supervisors has scheduled a public hearing for November 17. These hearings must take place before the new regulations an be adopted.
 
For information on the Planning Commission and County public hearing process or to sign up to testify, click here and here.
Still Time to Visit Our Farmers Markets 
Summer may be in our rear view mirror but Fairfax County's Farmers Markets are still going strong. You can stock up on healthy, locally grown produce that's been grown or produced by vendors within 125 miles of Fairfax County  (brokers or resellers are strictly prohibited).
 
The Farmers Markets are supervised by the Fairfax County Park Authority through the Community Horticulture office based at Green Spring Gardens. The daily operations of the markets are managed by volunteer Market Masters.

Strange spots on your plants or mystifying damage? Fairfax County Cooperative Extension Master Gardeners offer Plant Clinics at most markets. You can bring plant or insect samples for pest identification or disease diagnosis.

You can get a list of all our markets and their dates here.
Thank you for subscribing to my monthly e-newsletter. I hope these updates will keep you in the loop with some of the major events in our District.

If you'd like to learn more about something in the newsletter or have an idea for a future edition, please don't hesitate to contact me or my staff.
  
Sincerely,

Jeffrey C. McKay

Lee District Supervisor

Fairfax County Board of Supervisors

703-971-6262
Jeffrey C. McKay
 
Supervisor McKay has served on the Board of Supervisors since 2007.  
Did You Know?
Question: What are those large sandwich boards and why are they different colors?

Answer: Fairfax County requires notification of public hearings for certain types of land use cases. These large boards are posted near the property in question and include information about the case. They must be posted 15 to 21 days before the public hearing and include the date, location, time, the address of the property, where more information can be obtained, and application case number(s). It's a challenge to see all the relevant information on a board while you're driving by, so you may want to either pull over and park to read the full board, call the County's Planner of the Day (703-324-1290) or check the Planning and Zoning website.

The boards are color-coded so you can tell at a glance what type of public hearing is being advertised. Yellow is for the Board of Supervisors, Orange is for the Planning Commission, Blue is for the Board of Zoning Appeals and green is for 2232 applications (public facilities).
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