Revised Fairfax RPA Maps and Vesting Policy Expected

The staff report (disregard old hearing dates) proposed changes to the 2003 RPA Maps that include:

• Designation of new RPAs along newly identified perennial streams (7.7 stream miles) and along perennial streams incorrectly depicted as intermittent on the 2003 map (an additional 5.7 stream miles) – for a total of 13.4 newly mapped miles of RPA.

• Deletion of RPAs along streams reclassified as intermittent (2.2 stream miles) or piped prior to adoption of the 2003 maps (an additional 2.2 stream miles) - for a total of 4.4 deleted miles of mapped RPA.

• The addition of County Plan Numbers where RPA boundary delineation studies have been approved.

The first issue has been addressed by several field visits by county staff and by a staff-proposed process to address challenges to the RPAs submitted as part of public testimony. The process, as well as map changes resulting to date, are incorporated in a memo to the PC from Land Development Services (LDS – Code Analysis), dated June 30, 2005.

The second issue, the use of hyporheic flow in perennial stream reclassifications, was determined by staff and the PC to not be appropriate. The issue is presented in the June 30, 2005 memo to the PC, which concludes by saying:

“… it is not appropriate to use hyporheic flow as a defining characteristic of perennial streams and hyporheic flow should not be interpreted as part of the County’s existing definition of a ‘water body with perennial flow’ in the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance. Further, because hyporheic flow is not a part of stream flow and may be found below the beds of both perennial and intermittent streams, observations of the presence or absence of hyporheic flow have no relevance in identifying perennial streams in the field.

In summary, there is no basis in the Act, the Regulations, other parts of the Code of Virginia, the State’s guidance on identifying perennial streams, and the County’s Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance to consider hyporheic flow as a part of stream flow, a defining characteristic of perennial stream flow, or as a parameter in the identification of perennial streams.”

The PC made the following unanimous recommendations (from notes – not transcripts):

1. Approval of the RPA map revisions referenced in the May 9, 2005 staff report, as revised by the June 30, 2005 memo for Tax Maps #36-3, 55-1, 96-4 and 100-4, with the exception of Tax Map 41-1 (this map is approved only in its 2003 version). Citizen testimony regarding County staff data discrepancies reviewed in FOIAs (i.e., the same photos used to support differing RPA decisions in 2003 and 2004) caused the PC to not recommend approval of extending the RPA along the “Crimmins Lane Property” and 10 lot owners on Overbrook Street, until further investigation is concluded.
   
   
2. Approval of the Vesting Policy contained in the May 9, 2005 staff report.
   
   
3. Requested DPWES to review and revise the public information brochure on the Chesapeake Bay Preservation Ordinance.
   
   
4. Requested DPWES to review the possibility of administratively updating the RPA maps and notifying the PC and BOS when these updates occur. (Since the text definition governs, not the RPA map, RPA plans are prepared and reviewed/approved/denied by DPWES that precisely define the RPA boundary. However, these precise boundaries are not used to update the RPA maps (unlike property lines or flood plains). These RPA maps could be maintained (per CBLAB) as a “living document” using the County’s GIS system so that the public has easy access to the most updated RPA information) and then periodically (say every 1-3 years) presented to the BOS and CBLAB for formal approval since the RPA map is referenced in chapter 118 of the County Code).

For a recent historical perspective on Fairfax County’s evolving RPA mapping update and policies, refer to:

• WSSI’s March, 2005 Newsletter
  
• WSSI’s June, 2005 Newsletter; or
  
• Fairfax County’s Digital Map Viewer
  (Map Type: Chesapeake Bay Map 2003 – Adopted or Chesapeake Bay Map 2005 – Proposed)