City of Fairfax Design Guidelines

From background: "The City of Fairfax is justly proud of its rich history and the architectural legacy of this distinctive community. It is one of the oldest settlements in Northern Virginia since the area became part of the Truro Parish (later Fairfax County) in the early 18th century. The present downtown area initially developed around the Fairfax County Courthouse when it was constructed at the intersection of Ox Road and Little River Turnpike in 1799. The town was originally known as Providence. The community grew throughout the 19th century and much of the downtown was erected at the beginning of the 20th century. After World War II the surrounding area began to grow rapidly with the expansion of the federal government in nearby Washington, D.C. and the entire region continues to grow. The resulting historic district reflects a variety of architectural forms and styles from all of these eras and has examples of both commercial and residential buildings. This architectural legacy of Fairfax is due to a wide variety of factors through its periods of development. Influences in each era include demand of types of building uses, architectural tastes, building technology, financing tools, public investment in infrastructure, transportation modules and levels, and types of government regulation. In more recent times, the City has recognized the importance of better maintaining and preserving its architectural heritage. Thus the City is one of the earliest Virginia communities to create polices to recognize and protect this heritage with the establishment of a seven block core in 1964 as the 'Old and Historic District' whose boundaries generally followed those of the original town of Providence. Its purpose was to 'promote the general welfare through the preservation and protection of historic places and areas of the historic interest in the City.' In 1977, the historic Truro Church property was added to the district and in 1986 the City Council enacted ordinances that further protected the district, now known as the 'Old Town Fairfax Historic Overly District (HOD)'. A buffer area known as the 'Old Town Fairfax Transition Overlay District (TOD)' was created around the historic core and both of these districts are subject to architectural review through the local Board of Architectural Review (BAR). The city has realized that a concern for community appearance and aesthetics should extend beyond its historic core. The result has been a community wide design review by the BAR in non-historic areas known as the 'Architectural Control Overlay District (ACOD).' This area includes most of the corridors of the city and other locations of multi-family buildings and townhouses as well as commercial, institutional, industrial areas, and open space. With this update and expansion of the former design guidelines, the City hopes to continue its commitment to make Fairfax a more attractive community that values not only its rich past but the quality of its future developments throughout the city as well." Project funding was provided in part by a Historic Preservation Fund grant to the Virginia Department of Historic Resources administered by the State, Tribal, and Local Plans and Grants Division, National Park Service, U.S. Department of Interior (grant number P17AF00053).

City of Fairfax Design Guidelines

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