Dear Neighbors,
As we all continue to
adapt and change in our response to the COVID-19 pandemic,
so does the Board of Supervisors. For the first time in County history, the
Board met entirely electronically, as was approved at the last BOS meeting in the event that it would be
unsafe or impractical to meet in-person. The continuity of County government is
especially essential in times of crisis, both to manage the crisis and its impacts, and to deal with
County matters that must continue to move forward regardless of COVID-19. Please know that as we enter this
new era of virtual meetings, we do not take this lightly.
All public meeting rules and regulations will be observed for transparency and all public hearings will have ways for constituents to provide public testimony in writing, by phone or by video. Read more about this
process here.
Top 5 Things You Need to Know from the BOS Meeting:
- Authorized the Fairfax County Small Business COVID-19 Recovery Microloan Fund.
- Adopted an Emergency Uncodified Ordinance to extend the validity of certain development approvals to ensure continuity in Fairfax County Government during the COVID-19 emergency.
- Ensured continuity in the meetings of County boards, authorities, commissions and regional and interjurisdictional public bodies during the COVID-19 emergency. This ensures these organizations can hold electronic meetings and continue to perform their roles.
- Authorized FCDOT to apply for $25 million in federal funding for the Richmond Highway Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Project.
- Approved revisions to its adopted 2020 meeting schedule to add new April and May budget meetings.
You can read
more about these items and the
latest COVID-19 information below.
The Board's highest priority remains to
support our residents and local businesses in this challenging time.
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Respectfully yours in public service,
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Dan Storck
Supervisor, Mount Vernon District
Fairfax County Board of Supervisors
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The following are
highlights from the Board of Supervisors April 14, 2020
meeting,
including items of particular interest to Mount Vernon residents. For additional information, please go to the
County’s Board Agenda and Meeting Schedule
. You may listen to highlights from the Board meeting on your computer or listen directly on iTunes. Subscribe to the podcast, or choose a program and listen in.
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All presentations, recognitions and Board Matters were postponed.
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To view the April 14, 2020 Board Package
click here
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Administrative Items
Item 1: Approved the
Department of Neighborhood and Community Services applying for and accepting
federal funding supplemental grant funding for
Head Start, Early Head Start and Early Head Start Child Care Partnership and Expansion grants.
The full item can be read on pages 6 - 20 of the Board Package.
Item 2:
Approved the
Department of Family Services accepting funding from the Virginia Community College System for the
Rapid Response COVID-19 Business Support Initiative.
The full item can be read on pages 21 - 30 of the Board Package.
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Action Items
Item 3: Authorized
Fairfax County Department of Transportation (FCDOT)
to apply for $25 million in federal funding for the
Richmond Highway Bus Rapid Transit (BRT) Project.
The full item can be read on pages 72 - 75 of the Board Package.
Item 5:
Approved modifying the criteria for using
funds from the Economic Opportunity Reserve to more effectively consider programs to
support small businesses impacted by COVID-19.
The full item can be read on pages 87 - 92 of the Board Package.
Item 6:
Authorized the
Fairfax County Small Business COVID-19 Recovery Microloan Fund which
small businesses can apply for
loans of up to $20,000 at 0% interest. Applications will be accepted
starting April 28. Businesses that
employ less than 50 people make up
94% of Fairfax County businesses. As a small business owner, myself,
I strongly support this assistance and believe it is
critical that we support our local businesses through this crisis. There is federal funding going to small businesses and these
microloans will serve second to those federally granted by the Small Business Administration. It
fills a gap for businesses that might not qualify, for example due to credit history and immigration status.
Learn more here, download the
flyer here and how you can
apply here.
The full item can be read on pages 93 - 106 of the Board Package.
Item 7:
Approved
revisions to its adopted 2020 meeting schedule by adding meeting dates on
April 28, 29 and 30, dedicated to
FY 2021 Budget public hearings, as well as on
May 12 for the
final vote on the proposed budget. These meetings will all be conducted electronically. For information on
how you can
testify on the
County Executive's Revised Proposed FY 2021 Budget
via submitted video, written testimony, or phone call,
click here.
The full item can be read on pages 107 - 109 of the Board Package.
Item 8:
Approved the extension of the
validity of all expiring Director-approved land development items
until 60 days following the Board mandated COVID-19 emergency ends. Our office and County staff have
received requests from homeowners and professional organizations to extend the validity of plans and permits
already approved by the Department of Land Development Services (LDS). LDS finds
many of these permits are set to expire. While the LDS Director is able to extend approvals
on a case by case basis, the Board streamlined this process by
extending all approved-items.
The full item can be read on pages 110 - 117 of the Board Package.
Item 9:
Adopted an Emergency Uncodified Ordinance to
ensure continuity in the meetings of
boards, authorities, commissions and regional and interjurisdictional public bodies within Fairfax County Government during the COVID-19 emergency.
The full item can be read on pages 118 - 132 of the Board Package.
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Public Hearings
Adoption of an Uncodified Ordinance to Establish Methods to Assure Continuity in Fairfax County Government and Conduct of Board of Supervisors Meetings During the Novel Coronavirus 2019 (COVID-19) Emergency, and to Repeal the Emergency Ordinance Adopted on March 24, 2020, Which is Hereby Replaced
Approved an uncodified ordinance to
establish methods to ensure continuity in the conduct of
Board of Supervisors’ meetings during the COVID-19 emergency and to repeal the emergency ordinance adopted on March 24. This allows the
Board to meet entirely electronically, at times that it is
unsafe or impractical to meet in-person.
The full item can be read on pages 143 - 152 of the Board Package.
McDonald's Gunston Plaza Shopping Center in Lorton
Approved amended proffers and conditions to
renovate and modernize an existing restaurant
with a drive through on
Richmond Highway in Lorton
. McDonald’s
opened in 1994 at the Gunston Plaza Shopping Center. This application allows the restaurant to
add additional square footage and reconfigure the drive-through. This is a very busy shopping center and
adding one more drive through allows for better stacking and flow through the parking lot.
The full item can be read on pages 164 - 165 of the Board Package.
FY 2021 Effective Tax Rate Increase
Held the Public Hearing as planned and
heard from many of you on various options to adjust the effective tax rate. The
County Executive's Revised Proposed FY 2021 Budget
no longer includes an increase in the Real Estate Tax rate, holding the effective rate at $1.15 per $100 of assessed value. The Board also
extended the comment period on the FY 2021 effective tax rate
to
May 5. The
final decision will be made at the
Board Budget meeting on May 12.
The full item can be read on pages 184 - 186 of the Board Package.
Proposed Amendments to Section 67.1-10-2 of the Fairfax County Code Relating to Sewer Service Charges, Base Charges, Availability Charges, Fixture Unit Charges, and Charges for Hauled Wastewater
Deferred Public Hearing to
April 28 at 4:00 p.m.
The full item can be read on pages 187 - 230 of the Board Package.
Consider Adopting an Ordinance to Establish an Admissions Tax
Held a Public Hearing to consider the
establishment of an Admissions Tax. Following the hearing, the Board
voted to reject this tax, eliminating it from the FY 2021 Budget. Due to the
impact of COVID-19 on our community members and businesses,
I agree with the Board's decision that it is
not appropriate to implement this tax at this time. However,
I do support the diversification a new tax like this would provide to our limited tax base, at the appropriate time.
The full item can be read on pages 231 - 238 of the Board Package.
County Executive’s Proposed FY 2021 Advertised Budget Plan, the Advertised Capital Improvement Program for Fiscal Years 2021-2025 (CIP) (With Future Fiscal Years to 2030) and the Current Appropriation in the FY 2020 Revised Budget Plan
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Upcoming Land Use Cases
Planning Commission
meeting will meet on
April 22
. The April 29 meeting is cancelled.
Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA)
meetings have been
cancelled through April 30
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COVID-19 Updates
Language Resources
Fairfax County launched a
Language Portal
to highlight
COVID-19 content in Fairfax County's
most used non-English languages.
Content includes:
For Basic Needs Assistance
CALL 703-222-0880, TTY 711
Coordinated Services Planning is available Monday-Friday, 8 a.m. to 4:30 p.m., to help identify
emergency food, shelter, clothing, healthcare, employment, financial assistance and other essential needs to fit your circumstances.
Our
multilingual staff can assist callers in Amharic, Dari, Creole (English and French), Farsi, Hindi, Italian, Kannada, Korean, Pashto, Punjabi, Somali, Spanish, Swedish, Tamil, Tigrinya, and Urdu. Services are
also available in other languages through the use of an interpreter. Please call for details.
Mapping Resources for Needs
Some examples are:
- Food resources with food pantries, FCPS grab-n-go locations, and other nonprofit sites.
- Healthcare resources with hospital, urgent care, respiratory clinic, and pharmacy locations.
- Grocery stores that support seniors shopping during special hours.
May/June Elections
- Governor Northam has requested that the General Assembly move all special elections scheduled for May 5, 2020 to November 3, 2020.
- He has moved June primary elections from June 9, 2020 to June 23, 2020.
- Read more...
Trash and Recycling
- Fairfax County residents are strongly discouraged from taking their yard waste to the I-66 Transfer Station or I-95 Landfill.
- Glass recycling has been temporarily suspended. Consider keeping clean glass until the program is resumed, or put it in your trash. All trash in Fairfax County is burned at the Covanta Waste-to-Energy Facility.
- Some best practices for getting rid of trash:
- Reduce the waste households generate so the system isn’t overwhelmed. (Postpone spring cleaning.)
- Wipe and disinfect cart handles and lids.
- Stop setting out yard waste at the curb. Implement mulching or backyard composting. Yard waste placed in trash carts (your regular pick up container) will be picked up.
- Seal sharp medical objects in a rigid plastic container with sturdy tape and label it “sharp.”
- Bag all trash to limit workers’ exposure to harmful materials.
- Read more...
Get Help, Give Help Updates
Artemis House Region 1 Domestic Violence Shelter
- Get Help
- Give Help
- Domestic & Sexual Violence Hotline 703-360-7273; TTY 711
- If You are in Danger, Call or Text 911
Resources
Fairfax County Health Department
Inova has a helpful
FAQ.
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The 2020 U.S. Census has begun! You have or will receive your invitation to respond any day now.
Please take the time to complete the census. Future federal funding is determined by the census and it is very important everyone living in your home on April 1 is counted. For every person not counted, the County
could lose $12,000 in potential funding over the next 10 years.
Learn more...
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Mount Vernon District Office | 703-780-7518
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