Blog posts are the personal views of Letty Hardi and not official statements or records on behalf of the Falls Church City Council

Dear Friends,

It’s been a week. Nearly 80% of the city is likely distraught over the outcome of the presidential election, and I share your disappointment, grief, and worry about the uncertainty ahead. State and local government is more important than ever! Falls Church remains steadfast in our shared values of being welcoming and inclusive, regardless of what happens at the national level. The world is watching to see how we pick up, connect, and choose light when faced with darkness. And my personal commitment stands – to keep working for progress for all of our residents, today and tomorrow. We also had a special local election: congrats to Laura Downs and we welcome her to the City Council. And thank you to our election officials and city staff who helped ensure we had safe and fair elections here in Falls Church.

The good news and the bad news is that the world is not that different than it was last week. There are plenty of pundits each with explanations for the election results, and many of them center around wealth and income inequality paired with high prices for food and housing. Other than adding more grocery stores (that’s a joke), we can’t do much about the price of food. But local government does sit at the center of housing policy, so this must continue to be a priority. We will keep working to increase affordable and diverse housing supply because the data shows it works. Our lengthy work session on accessory dwellings (ADs) this week is timely – ADs are not a silver bullet, but another tool to the toolbox we should be adding – so I encourage you to read on about how we’re tackling this and weigh in.

Finally, if you are looking for local ways to connect and channel angst into action specifically in the area of housing – here are some of my personal favorites in the city: Homestretch, Falls Church Homeless Shelter, Welcoming Falls Church, and Falls Church Forward. Or consider joining the city’s Housing Commission. When we’re feeling hopeless, it’s an opportunity to reaffirm our values and priorities and stand up for those who need us.

Ahead of Veterans Day, thank you to all who have served.
Letty

PS – I’d love to see you at my November office hours – next Thursday, November 14 at 9 am at The Happy Tart.

What Happened This Week:

Accessory Dwellings Update

Since kicking off this work 6+ months ago where we reviewed the objectives, scope of work, and public engagement plan (see my post from spring 2024), staff has developed draft code changes on Accessory Dwellings (ADs) based on national best practices, input from 9 public meetings and City boards and commissions, input from 4 open house meetings, and analysis of proposed state code legislation.

As a refresher, here are the benefits and considerations when considering ADs – which will be familiar slides if you attended the open houses. Detached ADs offer a choice in how someone can use their property to meet their specific needs – vs right now, the only option for 70% of the city’s land is a single family home. An important note: ADs are not an affordable housing strategy by the strict definition, but they are less expensive forms of housing especially relative to current options in neighborhoods. And they offer supplemental income if rented out, which can help offset living expenses for the owner.

The staff report has a lot more detail, but here’s a summary of the current staff recommendations. An overarching principle is to lower the cost and barriers to building an accessory dwelling so that it can be a more realistic choice, while balancing the considerations above.

• Gross floor area (aka size of the AD) – lesser of 1K square feet or 50% of the primary dwelling
• Lot coverage – same as current rules (25% building coverage, 35% impervious coverage) to preserve open space and mitigate stormwater runoff
• Height and setbacks – sliding scale option 20′ tall if 5′ setback (1.5 stories), 25′ tall if 10′ setback (2 stories). For reference, single family homes are allowed to be 35′ with a 10′ side setback and sheds/garages/accessory structures are allowed to be 12′ tall with a 3′ setback.
• Parking – no off-street parking requirements, as it increases impervious surface area and cost of construction
• No owner occupancy requirement, which presumes a negative association with renters that is not born out in the data. Owner occupancy requirements would introduce complications should owners need to move for job reasons or others.
• Short term rentals – currently we do not have rules regulating short term rentals because we haven’t been a market for short term rentals. We have “nuisance” ordinances that regulate issues such as trash, upkeep, noise, etc that can be applied to all properties.
• Conversion of existing structures (for example, garages) into ADs would be allowed via a special use permit process that would go to the Board of Zoning Appeals

Nearby jurisdictions have legalized similar rules for accessory dwellings. To date, Alexandria has 63 accessory dwellings (internal and detached) since 2021 and Arlington has 78 since 2014, who are over 6-10x our size in geography and population. Based on the data that ADs represent less than 10% of all single family homes built, qualifying parcels in Falls Church, and cost of construction ($200K+), staff estimates Falls Church could see 2 accessory dwelling units per year (vs 20 new SFHs built per year).

We are scheduled to take a “first reading” vote on November 25, which refers the draft out to our boards and commissions and more community discussions such as walking tours, for further review and input. The final consideration would be in March 2025.

What’s Coming Up:

Tuesday, November 12 – City Council Meeting

Monday, November 18 – City Council Work Session*

Monday, November 25 – City Council Meeting*

Monday, December 2 – City Council & School Board Annual Joint Meeting (6 pm, City Hall)

Monday, December 9 – City Council Meeting*

Wednesday, December 11 – Ask the Council Office Hours (9 am, City Hall)

*Mondays (except 5th Mondays and holidays) at 7:30 pm. You can access the agenda and livestream here, including recordings of past meetings

Letty’s Office Hours:

Thursday, November 14 – Letty’s Office Hours (9-10 am, The Happy Tart)