Fairfax Board of Supervisors Adopts Bay Ordinance

The Fairfax County Board of Supervisors (BOS) approved the amendments to the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance on Monday, July 7, 2003 with a 9-1 vote.

The resulting ordinance addressed the three primary issues raised by the Building Industry:

Effective Date. The Amendments will be effective at 12:01 a.m. of the day following the date that the Board adopts the map of the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Areas (maps are expected to be completed for a BOS hearing on November 17, 2003).
Stream Width. The width of a perennial stream may be measured from "Top-of-Bank" or Ordinary High Water Mark (OHWM), at the property owner's choice.
Vesting. RPA Plans that are approved prior to September 5, 2003 will be valid until September 5, 2004. You should note though, that all vested plans must comply with the new rules to the extent possible.

With respect to Intensely Developed Areas (IDAs), the BOS directed staff to have materials ready by the next BOS meeting to advertise Ordinance changes to allow IDAs to be approved in their November 17, 2003 meeting. This will require a Planning Commission hearing prior to that date.

With respect to notification of the public affected by these changes, several Supervisors expressed displeasure with the ineffective public information work done to date. Supervisor Frey noted the Board's request for the building industry to pay for notification was proffered and wanted to know why the BOS was not accepting it, particularly since the Ordinance did not need to be approved until December 31, 2003. However, the BOS's conclusion was that since the offers were conditioned on Notice being sent 30 days prior to adoption – they could not accept the money without reversing their earlier vote. The BOS then approved a motion to direct DPWES to implement a public information campaign.

More specific details on these decisions are contained in the following Board motions and related attachments:

Motion 1:

Approval of Ordinance with changes for:
Definition of Perennial Streams (addresses "Top-of-Bank" v. Ordinary High Water Mark)
Effective Date

Motion 2:

Treatment of Approved and Pending Plans of Development (a/k/a Vesting), which includes a clarifying email from Michelle Brickner. Also note on Page 4 that brackets were made by staff around one sentence and it is unclear if it was removed or not. Staff will be reviewing the BOS audio tapes to decide.

Motion 3:

Public Information

For further information on this topic refer to the following documents:

County Status
Fairfax County News Release entitled "Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Adopts Amendments to Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance" dated July 7, 2003;
The Washington Post article entitled "Fairfax Expands Limits on Properties", dated July 8, 2003;
WSSI's Newsletters and Issue Alerts;
Fairfax County's Interim RPA Maps;
Fairfax County's policy for "Treatment of Approved and Pending Plans of Development", dated July 7, 2003, 3:00 p.m. (a/k/a Vesting);
Information Requested by Fairfax County BOS (June 30, 2003);
Staff Responses to BOS Questions (May 30, 2003);
WSSI's comment letter to Kate Hanley (May 15, 2003).

If you have any specific questions on this topic as it relates to your property or project, contact Mike Rolband (mrolband@wetlandstudies.com) or Mark Headly (mheadly@wetlandstudies.com).