Falls Church City Council discussed proposed legislation that would require policies on accessory dwelling units.
|Updated Wed, Jan 24, 2024 at 1:26 pm ET
FALLS CHURCH, VA — As legislation to require accessory dwelling unit uses in Virginia localities has been proposed, Falls Church City Council discussed Monday what it would mean for the Little City.
Accessory dwelling units, defined as a second living unit on the property of another residence, can be an option for an in-law or nanny suite or a rental. State Sen. Saddam Azlan Salim (D-Falls Church) has introduced legislation in the Virginia General Assembly to require localities to adopt policies that allow accessory dwelling units on a primary residence's property. The bill says that localities could not require dedicated parking for the accessory dwelling unit or for the occupants to be related to the primary residence owner. The units' lot sizes and setbacks could not be larger than the primary residence. The proposed effective date of the legislation is Jan. 1, 2025, giving time for localities to adopt policies if adopted.
Neighboring localities like Arlington County, Fairfax County and City of Alexandria have already adopted accessory dwelling unit policies but not with the same guidelines as the proposed legislation.
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Councilmember Dave Snyder, chair of City Council's legislative committee, said the bill "pre-empts" local discussions and decisions on the topic. He would support a longer-term study being done on accessory dwelling units.
"The big thing for me is I want us to make these decisions, and if it's informed by a state study of this legislation, then I would be fine with that," said Snyder.
Mayor Letty Hardi noted the Virginia General Assembly effort to precede local decisions on accessory dwelling units means localities aren't making quick progress to address the housing crisis.
"I think the fact that the state wants to do something about it, we should take that as a signal, right, because we've all talked about how this is a housing crisis, and we certainly feel that in Northern Virginia," said Hardi. "But the fact that the state wants to pre-empt some of the local decisions means this local authorities are not moving fast enough, frankly."
Councilmember Justine Underhill wanted to know how the legislation stacks up against existing accessory dwelling unit policies in local places like Arlington and DC. She has "conditional support" for the legislation, believing a regional strategy to tackle housing is necessary.
"Lack of housing and thus soaring housing costs cannot be solved by any individual locality, or any one locality to dramatically increase their housing supply overnight," said Underhill. "That could potentially have the impacts that some City Council members have expressed concern over, things like traffic stress and utilities, overburdening schools, but if our entire region synchronizes to increase our housing supply together, then none of us face those issues directly."
Underhill believes the bill still allows individual neighborhoods and homeowner associations to set their own regulations.
"This bill supports the rights of individual citizens, and I support that," said Underhill. "Some may see that as dangerous precedent of the state taking away powers from local governments. But by enacting zoning policies, local governments have taken away power from neighborhoods."
Councilmember Caroline Lian said she'd support a state-level policy to stimulate growth of housing units.
"I would not oppose this bill. I would just say that we work with them to do a study," said Lian. "We allow some flexibilities for local control, but I do not think it's wise to oppose it in totality."
Several City Council members mentioned how city leaders discussed having more community engagement on these types of issues during the transition zoning approval last year.
Councilmember Erin Flynn also mentioned improving local community engagement after the T-zone update.
"We've now seen that ordinances in Arlington, Alexandria and Fairfax differ wildly from one another in terms of the parameters of what those jurisdictions are and aren't allowing," said Flynn. "And I think that it's prudent for us to have a community conversation that's informed by public input on these issues. Before we would support a state bill."
According to Hardi, City Council's consensus on the matter is that they want local parameters to regulate accessory dwelling units and support it being studied on the Virginia General Assembly level.