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After failing to materialize yesterday, stormy weather showed up in force around the D.C. region this afternoon (Tuesday).

A Severe Thunderstorm Warning was issued for Fairfax County and the rest of the area for around 2:11-3 p.m. The National Weather Service reported that the east-moving storm had reached the Oakton and Vienna area around 2:09 p.m., bringing 60-mph wind gusts and hail the size of quarters, according to Fairfax County.

“Damaging winds will cause some trees and large branches to fall,” the county’s emergency information blog said. “This could injure those outdoors, as well as damage homes and vehicles. Roadways may become blocked by downed trees. Localized power outages are possible. Unsecured light objects may become projectiles.”

As of 3 p.m., about 2,826 people in Fairfax County and Fairfax City have lost power, according to Dominion Energy.

Per the utility company’s outage map, the largest individual outages appear to be along Fairfax Blvd, where 914 customers are without power, and in Great Falls, where 509 customers are affected.

The Fairfax outage stems from an out circuit and is expected to be restored between 5-8 p.m. Dominion estimates a restoration time of 6-9 p.m. for the Great Falls outage, which is directly attributed to the storm.

In Tysons, downed trees were reportedly blocking the ramp from eastbound Route 7 (Leesburg Pike) to northbound Route 123 (Chain Bridge Road), according to the NWS.

Hail was confirmed in Reston by resident Robyn Matthews, but the storm moved relatively quickly, prompting the NWS to let the warning expire on time at 3 p.m.

“The storm which prompted the warning has weakened below severe limits, and no longer poses an immediate threat to life or property,” a 2:51 p.m. update said. “Therefore, the warning will be allowed to expire. However gusty winds and heavy rain are still possible with this thunderstorm.”

Severe Thunderstorm Warning including Washington DC, Arlington VA and Alexandria VA until 3:00 PM EDT pic.twitter.com/yIwOq9WR4E

— NWS Baltimore-Washington (@NWS_BaltWash) June 27, 2023

At 2:25 PM EDT, Tysons Corner [Fairfax Co, VA] Broadcast Media reports Tstm Wnd Dmg. The ramp from eastbound VA-7 Leesburg Pike to northbound VA-123 Chain Bridge Road was blocked by downed trees. https://t.co/6fPcuWCyU4 pic.twitter.com/e9iAfmMCCv

— IEMBot LWX (@iembot_lwx) June 27, 2023

Small hail and strong wind in Reston pic.twitter.com/9gRQCqlsN0

— Robyn Matthews (@robyndmatthews) June 27, 2023

Fairfax County Public Schools students turned a planned rally into a celebration after receiving news that the school system had rejected Virginia’s new model policies that roll back protections for transgender students.

The school system, the largest in the state, made the announcement by email on Tuesday.

Students, parents, advocates and allies marched down Gallows Road outside school system headquarters after learning that FCPS had decided to stick with its current policy toward transgender and non-binary students, rather than adopt Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s "Model Policies on Ensuring Privacy, Dignity, and Respect for All Students and Parents in Virginia's Public Schools,” which were announced in July. The latter outlines policies related to pronouns, names, parent notification, sports, bathrooms and locker rooms.

In particular, they cheered the decision to reject the policies directing students to use school facilities that match their biological sex and making it harder for them to change their name or pronouns at school.

"It was a relief. I know so many people still in FCPS who would've been impacted by these policies, tons and tons. It was honestly a relief when I saw the email," Ranger Balleisen, of the Pride Liberation Project, said.

Virginia Del. Marcus Simon, whose district includes Falls Church and parts of Fairfax County, explained the legal mechanism that gives Virginia’s school districts choice in the matter.

"They include language that said that localities will adopt policies based on these model policies, but they could certainly go further to provide a more protective environment for transgender students, a more inclusive environment for non-binary folks," he said.

Advocacy groups throughout the state have been making their concerns known to school boards and superintendents in advance of the start of school. Tuesday’s rally and march had been planned before the decision by Fairfax County Public Schools.

"This is such a great feeling for us today--and I say us meaning myself and my student, my 15-year-old who's an FCPS student who's transgender--and again, he expressed a feeling of not being able to exist as himself when these policies came out,” parent Christina McCormick said.

The school district joins Arlington County Schools in choosing not to follow the Virginia Board of Education’s Model Policies on Transgender and Non-Binary Students.

A day after neighboring Arlington County made waves by ending single-family exclusive zoning, Fairfax County saw its own zoning reforms reversed two years after they were approved.

The Virginia Supreme Court declared the county’s Zoning Ordinance Modification Project (zMOD) void yesterday (Thursday) because the new code was adopted at a mostly virtual meeting — a ruling could have consequences for other actions taken during the first years of the pandemic, as noted by Inside NoVA, which first reported the decision.

The county is now operating under its previous zoning ordinance, which had been in place since 1978, according to the zoning administration division’s website.

“We are currently evaluating the Virginia Supreme Court decision and considering our options,” Tony Castrilli, the county’s director of public affairs, said. “In the meantime, the 1978 Zoning Ordinance is presently in effect and available for reference on the County website.”

In a 29-page opinion, Justice Wesley Russell sided with four residents who argued that the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors violated the Virginia Freedom of Information Act’s open meeting requirements by not holding an in-person public hearing or vote.

The county contended that an ordinance adopted on April 14, 2020 gave it the flexibility to hold public meetings on the zoning update and other subjects electronically during the Covid state of emergency.

The Supreme Court disagreed that the ordinance allowed the county government to conduct all regular business electronically, finding that the zoning update doesn’t qualify as “necessary to ensure the continuation of essential functions and services.”

“The modification of a 40-year-old zoning ordinance after a five-year revision process does not satisfy this standard,” Russell wrote. “It is not a time-sensitive matter, and its adoption is not and was not necessary to allow the County to continue operations.”

The residents behind the lawsuit — David Berry, Carol Hawn, Helen Webb and Adrienne Whyte — filed a complaint in Fairfax County Circuit Court on March 5, 2021 seeking to prevent the board from adopting zMOD at a public hearing on March 9, 2021.

The circuit court denied the request and ultimately dismissed the complaint on Sept. 9, 2021, stating that it had been rendered moot by the adoption of zMOD on March 23, 2021 and that the county board’s emergency powers gave it the authority to act at an electronic meeting.

According to Russell’s opinion, the circuit court found that zoning “is inherently an essential act of local government” that’s especially “critical…in the context of a national emergency and state emergency because civility between neighbors is the foundation of domestic tranquility.”

In overruling the lower court, Russell pointed to the five years spent on the zoning code update, which began in 2016, and the fact that the previous ordinance had been in place for 40 years as evidence that its passage wasn’t time-sensitive and, therefore, not “essential”:

Everything about the history of Z-Mod suggests that the adoption of Z-Mod could have waited days, weeks, or months without throwing the County’s operations into even minor distress let alone chaos. Simply put, the consideration and adoption of Z-Mod was not time-sensitive, and thus, acting on it in March 2021 was neither essential nor necessary to allow for the continued operations of Fairfax County government.

The court acknowledged that Virginia adopted a new law more broadly allowing virtual public meetings during states of emergency, but that didn’t take effect until Sept. 1, 2022. The opinion doesn’t comment on the substance of the zoning changes.

Publicly launched in 2017, zMOD was intended to simplify and improve the accessibility of the existing code, which topped 1,000 pages in length.

The county also sought to update the document to better reflect modern trends in land use and development, introducing new categories like solar power facilities that didn’t exist in the 1970s and eliminating ones no longer considered relevant.

Proposals to ease restrictions on accessory living units and home-based businesses and limit the heights of flag poles emerged as the most controversial elements, inspiring five-hour-long public hearings before the board and Fairfax County Planning Commission.

As it determines how to proceed, the county says individuals and businesses can refer to the Department of Planning and Development website for updates.

Ox Hill Companies is moving forward with City Centre West, a seven-story development in Fairfax, Va., that will feature condominiums, office and medical office space.

The Fairfax City Council approved the application for development Tuesday after a five-year design process.

SEE ALSO: Hilco Plans Redevelopment of Potomac River Generating Station

Located on 1.78 acres at 10501 Main Street in Old Town Fairfax, the 210,029-square-foot mixed-use development will feature 79 condominiums and penthouses, 28,200 square feet of office space, plus an additional 8,500 square feet for medical offices. The building will also feature a drive-through bank, ground-floor retail, restaurants and a park named Corner Public Plaza Park.

Ox Hill assembled the three parcels for the project in 2019 through separate purchase agreements. The prices of the deals were not disclosed.

“The luxury condominium market is one of the least-served product types in Northern Virginia,” Chris Smith, managing principal of Ox Hill, told Commercial Observer. “Buyers of this product type have limited choices of products and locations and often leave Fairfax County for D.C. and other places. Fairfax provides a quaint walkable town, centrally located, for luxury buyers interested in a slower-paced environment and higher quality of life.”

Ox Hill is committed to — and designing in accordance with — the requirements and goals set forth in the Old Town Small Area Plan, which was part of the larger 2035 Comprehensive Small Area Plan for the City of Fairfax. The plan was originally adopted by the City Council in 2020.

“With this first project, Ox Hill will be focusing on Key Idea 5 — establishing a balanced city center with a transition into mixed-use buildings,” Smith said. “The appeal for the city is focused on the need for increasing multifamily options in Old Town. For the buyer, it provides the highest quality construction and luxury in the region.”

Amenities in the building will include a rooftop pool, concierge service and private underground parking.

Thomas Juul-Hansen, a New York City-based designer, is designing both the interior and exterior of the building.

Groundbreaking for City Centre West is expected in March, with a completion date projected by spring 2026.

Keith Loria can be reached at [email protected].

Making the switch to solar can be easier than you think and there are many benefits, such as:

Many neighbors are opting to install solar panels on their homes, and you can too. Here are three reasons why there’s no better time to switch to solar.

Fairfax County is teaming up with the Local Energy Alliance on Solarize Virginia and Solar United Neighbors on Capital Area Solar Switch. These two programs make switching to residential solar a snap. Participants receive a free assessment and quote from a qualified solar installer, and a guaranteed discounted rate. There are even opportunities to bundle your solar system with electric vehicle charging stations and solar battery storage.

Both solar purchasing programs are offered for a limited time through the end of August.

Solarize Virginia This grassroots, community-based outreach initiative is managed by the Virginia nonprofit Local Energy Alliance Program (LEAP) in partnership with the Northern Virginia Regional Commission. Through Aug. 31, homeowners can sign up to receive a free satellite assessment to see if their home is a good fit for solar, and discounted prices from vetted installers. LEAP also provides ongoing customer support and education throughout the process to make it as streamlined as possible.

Register now for an informational webinar on July 27 at 6 p.m. to learn more

Capital Area Solar Switch Managed by national nonprofit Solar United Neighbors, Capital Area Solar Switch is a new program that provides residents living around the D.C. area with the opportunity to learn about installing rooftop solar panels, battery storage and electric vehicle charging stations for their homes. Throughout the program period ending Aug. 30, you can join free virtual and in-person information sessions on Solar 101 (solar technology, financing, and incentives), as well as sessions with solar installers.

Sign up to attend a virtual information session on Aug. 9 at 6 p.m.

As part of the Inflation Reduction Act, homeowners can also take advantage of a 30% solar tax credit by deducting a percentage of a solar energy system’s installation cost from their federal taxes with no cap on the value.

Fairfax County also offers other resources and benefits for homeowners looking to go solar, such as waived permit fees and a Solar Energy Equipment Tax Exemption.

Visit our webpages on going solar.