Community Survey
The City of Fairfax Community Survey is an ongoing civic engagement initiative in which the city solicited broad resident feedback on quality of life, city services, and community priorities. 6 separate matters touch this plan or program; each has its own status.
Beacon Landing
Beacon Landing is a 54-unit supportive affordable housing development co-developed by Wesley Housing and Lamb Center, located within the city. The project drew on 23 separate financing sources, including a $700,000 gap financing investment from the city's Housing Trust Fund in February 2023 — a sum that had accumulated over roughly seven years from cash-in-lieu payments made by developers prior to the city's 2020 Affordable Dwelling Unit ordinance.
- December 2nd Council Presentation
The 2025 City of Fairfax Community Survey findings were referenced as a source of community and business perspectives on housing in the Council presentation.
Pathway Homes
Pathway Homes is a nonprofit organization that relocated its headquarters to Fairfax City and redeveloped a building at 4010 University Drive in the Old Town Fairfax Historic Overlay District into a mixed-use facility providing 15 units of supportive affordable housing targeted at low-income older adults, along with ground-floor commercial space. A special exception was approved by City Council on or around February 25, 2025, permitting a maximum density of 28 dwelling units per acre in the CR Commercial Retail zoning district.
- December 2nd Council Presentation
The 2025 City of Fairfax Community Survey findings were referenced as a source of community and business perspectives on housing in the Council presentation.
The Botanist
- December 2nd Council Presentation
The 2025 City of Fairfax Community Survey findings were referenced as a source of community and business perspectives on housing in the Council presentation.
Davies Property
The Davies Property project is a mixed-use redevelopment of 4131 Chain Bridge Road (2.69 acres) in Fairfax City, proposed by The Hill, A Davies Family, LLC. The application sought to rezone the site from RM (Residential Medium) to CU (Commercial Urban), retaining the Old Town Fairfax Transition Overlay District (TOD overlay), with a General Development Plan for a building of up to 276 multifamily apartments, approximately 10,796 sq ft of ground-floor commercial space (retail and office), and a 3-level below-grade parking garage.
- December 2nd Council Presentation
The 2025 City of Fairfax Community Survey findings were referenced as a source of community and business perspectives on housing in the Council presentation.
Fairfax Square
Fairfax Square Professional Center (9840–9946 Main Street) is a ~10.4-acre commercial site on the north side of Main Street, adjacent to the Fairfax Square garden-style apartment complex. The property owner (Van Meter Companies) is proposing a phased mixed-use redevelopment that would demolish most of the existing low-slung commercial buildings while retaining the five-story office building and an existing bank; the concept calls for roughly 300 new apartment units in two or three buildings, along with some ground-floor retail (~10,000 sq. ft.).
- December 2nd Council Presentation
The 2025 City of Fairfax Community Survey findings were referenced as a source of community and business perspectives on housing in the Council presentation.
The City of Fairfax 2035 Comprehensive Plan is the city's primary long-range land use and policy document, guiding development, housing, transportation, and related decisions. A five-year review process culminated on October 8, 2024, when City Council unanimously adopted Resolution R-24-30 approving the updated plan dated September 27, 2024.
- December 2nd Council Presentation
The 2025 City of Fairfax Community Survey findings were referenced as a source of community and business perspectives on housing in the Council presentation.
- Apr 22, 2025City Council · item 1aWork Session: Discussion on the Community Survey process
Staff presented and discussed the community survey process during the work session. No formal action was taken.
- Jun 10, 2025City Council · item 11dCommunity Survey discussion (Work Session)
Work session discussion was rescheduled for June 24, 2025; not held at this meeting.
- Jun 24, 2025City Council · item 11dWork Session: Community Survey discussion
Council discussed the Community Survey during the work session; no formal action was taken.
- Jun 28, 2025City Council · item 6Follow-Up Discussion on the Community Survey
Scheduled as a follow-up discussion on the community survey. No outcome recorded.
- Jul 1, 2025City Council · item 1eFollow-up Discussion on the Community Survey
Council held a follow-up discussion on the community survey during the work session.
- New Business – Summary of recent Council meeting actions pertaining to Parks and Recreation
The community survey for the Parks Master Plan is scheduled to be presented to City Council on January 6th.
In full
Staff first presented and discussed the survey process at a City Council Work Session on April 22, 2025, with no formal action taken. Subsequent work session discussions were held on June 24, 2025, and a follow-up discussion occurred at the City Council Retreat on June 28, 2025, and again at a work session on July 1, 2025 — all without formal Council action. Results were eventually released and referenced publicly beginning in late October 2025, with officials noting that the survey found Fairfax City to be among the happiest communities in the country, outperforming national and Mid-Atlantic averages.
Key findings highlighted in later meetings include high satisfaction with city services (such as refuse and recycling) but notable concern about affordable housing accessibility, with roughly 45% of respondents expressing neutrality or dissatisfaction on that issue. The survey results have since been referenced across multiple boards and meetings — including a December 2, 2025 HHCAB presentation on housing, a November 13, 2025 PRAB report scheduling a Parks Master Plan survey presentation to Council for January 6, 2026, and discussions extending into 2026 — serving as an ongoing data source for city planning on topics such as housing, senior services, and parks.