December 16, 2025

LAND DEVELOPMENT SERVICES

Letters to Industry

New Webpage Provides Guidance on Installing Living Shorelines

Living shorelines are effective strategies that can be utilized along tidal shorelines, to protect natural resources and minimize negative impacts. Land Development Services created a Living Shoreline webpage which provides guidance and resources to support projects involving living shoreline features. This new web resource includes a map to identify tidal shorelines in Fairfax County, where living shorelines may be implemented, provides tools to guide designers in decision making, outlines the approval process to obtain necessary permits and approvals from various agencies, and offers contacts for additional support to property owners, designers and contractors pursuing projects involving living shorelines.

December 15, 2025

LAND DEVELOPMENT SERVICES

Letters to Industry

Procedures for submission of pavement design plan revisions

Pavement designs for streets within approved site related plans, must be submitted as plan revisions in PLUS. All pavement designs must be signed and sealed by a licensed professional engineer or land surveyor.

Public Streets

Pavement designs for all streets within existing or proposed public right-of-way will be subject to VDOT review, which will generally follow the workflows for plan review outlined in Technical Bulletin 25-07.

When submitting the plan revision in PLUS, the applicant must select "no" to the ESI review field shown below in the PLUS interface.

Private Streets

Pavement designs for privately maintained streets will be reviewed by Fairfax County, for conformance with the Public Facilities Manual, based on review times described in Technical Bulletin 25-06 corresponding to the timelines associated with a revision to the associated plan (e.g., Site Plan, Rough Grading Plan).

Designated Plans Examiners (DPEs) may request an expedited pavement design review through the Engineering Surveyors Institute (ESI), by selecting "yes" to the ESI review field shown below in the PLUS interface.

The ESI expedited review is subject to an additional review fee, to be billed by ESI to the applicant directly. The expedited submission must include the following statement signed by the DPE:

This pavement design is in conformance with the requirements of the Fairfax County Public Facilities Manual and is submitted for approval under the Designated Plans Examiner Program.

ESI expedited review will be completed within 2-3 business days.

November 24, 2025

LAND DEVELOPMENT SERVICES

Letters to Industry

Land Use Policy Committee Agenda for December 2, 2025

A meeting of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Land Use Policy Committee has been scheduled for Tuesday, December 2, 2025, at 1:30 p.m., in the Government Center Conference Room 11. The meeting agenda is as follows:

AGENDA

• Acceptance of the October 7, 2025, Land Use Policy Committee meeting summary
• Accessory Living Units
  
  • Presentation and discussion on the Zoning Ordinance provisions regarding accessory living units
  • Casey Judge, Zoning Administration Division (ZAD), Department of Planning and Development (DPD) and Carmen Bishop, ZAD, DPD
  • Item Type: Presentation
  • Meeting Materials: PowerPoint Presentation and white paper
• Adjournment

The meeting materials will be posted on the meeting webpage when available. The meeting will be broadcast on Channel 16 and streamed live online. Live audio may also be accessed by dialing 703-324-7700. Recording will be available to view on demand following the meeting.

The next Committee meeting is scheduled for January 27, 2026, at 3:00 p.m.

For more information or reasonable accommodations, contact Jerry Stonefield, Site Code Research and Development, Land Development Services, at 703-324-1791, TTY 711 or jerry.stonefield@fairfaxcounty.gov.

November 21, 2025

LAND DEVELOPMENT SERVICES

Letters to Industry

2016 Road and Bridge Standards

Land Development Services received the following information from the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). Forwarding along these details for awareness.

TO USERS OF LOCATION AND DESIGN DIVISION'S 2016 Road & Bridge Standards:

We have been working to resolve several technical glitches. All link issues appear to be working correctly now.  The random text deletion issue with the Standards drawings has been resolved. The text issue mostly affected the new TL-4 Constant Slope Concrete Barrier Standards (CSB) and associated new drainage structures that were published in March 2025. Since these are new Standards, CSB and the associated drainage inlets will not be required for advertised projects until after January 1, 2027. 

REVISION

The Standards Section is removing the MB-9A, MB-9A PC, and MB-10A Standards. 

Background 

1. The MB-9A/9A PC Terminal Section Standards are not MASH compliant concrete median barrier terminals. They are ramped down concrete barrier terminals, cast-in-place or precast, that were only allowed to be used outside the Clear Zone in low-speed applications. To avoid any future installation issues which could potentially lead to run-on impacts, new installations of MB-9 and MB-9A terminals are no longer allowed after December 31, 2025. Should a terminal be required, a crashworthy MASH compliant terminal for concrete median barrier must be used. 
2. The MB-10A is a narrow single-sided F-Shaped temporary concrete barrier that can only be used on bridge deck applications and must be anchored to the deck. The MB-10A is not MASH compliant and the anchorage was designed by the Central Office S&B staff. The Department, at the direction of the Chief Engineer and in compliance with the AASHTO/FHWA joint implementation plan, moved forward with transitioning to MASH compliant hardware. On July 9, 2019, IIM 259 was approved which outlines the sunset date for the use of non-compliant temporary concrete barriers until the end of 2029. The memo also prohibited the manufacturing of the temporary barriers (not meeting MASH) after 2019.

Project Impacts

1. The removal of the MB-9A/9A PC will require design staff to use one of the appropriate impact attenuators from the MASH Provisionally Approved Products List (link below).
2. New installations of MB-9A/9A PC will no longer be allowed after the end of 2025.
3. The removal of the MB-10A will require design staff to utilize an anchored version of the double-sided F-Shaped barrier and accommodate the wider barrier in their MOT designs.
4. At this time, VDOT has an approved MASH compliant bridge anchorage design on the MASH Provisionally Approved Products List at https://www.vdot.virginia.gov/doing-business/technical-guidance-and-support/location-and-design/roadway-design/roadside-safety-devices/.Contractors can also use VDOT approved existing anchored double-sided NCHRP 350 barriers until the end of 2029.
5. Existing stock of the MB-10A can still be used by the contractor, with project staff approval, until the end of 2029.

Refer to the main page of the Road and Bridge Standards website at the below link.

Road and Bridge Standards | Virginia Department of Transportation 

Please distribute this message to personnel that work with the 2016 Road & Bridge Standards.