Dear Friends,

This week’s post will be shorter than usual. Our City Council meeting touched on two issues that will shape Falls Church for years to come: how we create more affordable housing and how decisions made in Richmond affect our community. Having just returned from a quick trip to Richmond, this is a timely topic so read on.

Even though Virginia Village wasn’t on our agenda this week, we continued to hear public comment and again will welcome public comment at our June 22 meeting or via email in the meantime. As we work towards a RFP issuance, our goal remains clear: preserve and expand affordable housing while creating a high-quality community that fits within its surroundings. To continue the conversation next week, two opportunities for your calendar:

• The city will host a walking tour of Virginia Village and adjacent neighborhoods before our work session – next Monday June 15, 6-7 pm. Staff will be marking proposed setback distances so we can better visualize how future buildings could relate to neighboring homes and open space. Seeing current conditions and concepts like setbacks and height in person provides a much clearer understanding than reviewing plans on paper.
• Falls Church Forward is hosting our monthly happy hour and a discussion with city staff about Virginia Village next Thursday, June 18 from 6-8 pm at Cafe Zevian.

Stay cool and have a safe weekend – hope to see you out at the Pride Pop Up and Little City Sips tomorrow!

Best,
Letty

What Happened This Week:

General Assembly Briefing, aka What Happened in Richmond Matters Here at Home

We were joined by Delegate Marcus Simon for a recap of the 2026 General Assembly session. While I focus on local decisions, state legislation often has a significant impact on Falls Church especially being a Dillon Rule state. In this session, there were 3,646 bills, 2,379 passed, 723 failed, 447 carried over to the next session, 1131 signed by the Governor, and 31 were vetoed.

For a more detailed briefing, see the staff report but here are my highlights:

Housing was a major focus this year. New state laws related to housing:

• New limits on parking requirements near transit. Parking is a significant cost in development – as much as $50K per underground parking space – which raises the cost of housing. And while no one believes it, we also overbuild parking such that we have excess spaces because parking requirements are often made up (this is an especially good and entertaining video). Parking is also an important amenity for residents – so builders generally know better than the government how much parking is needed and have the incentive to build enough in order to rent or sell their homes – ie, we should let the market work! Meanwhile, government has a role in managing adjacent street parking to encourage turnover near commercial properties and limits any monopolies of those spaces with overnight parkers.
• Expanded opportunities for affordable housing development on certain nonprofit and religious properties
• Stronger tenant rights

The General Assembly also expanded local authority in several areas that could affect quality of life in Falls Church:

• New legislation allows localities to use noise enforcement cameras to address excessive vehicle exhaust noise
• Expanded automated traffic safety enforcement options (note: staff is analyzing if/how/where this could apply in Falls Church)
• Allows for small, portable solar generation device, often referred to as “balcony solar”, in residential structures
• Permanently authorizes ranked-choice voting for local elections should communities choose to adopt it in the future

The state budget remains unfinished. A special session is underway as lawmakers continue negotiating differences over data center taxation and other issues. This matters because local governments depend on many state funding commitments. One item we are watching particularly closely is Metro funding. If the current funding proposal is not included in the final budget, it could have a meaningful financial impact on our region and on our budgets.

Celebrating Public Service

Finally, one of the highlights of the evening was recognizing four public servants whose combined service to Falls Church spans more than a century. Delegate Simon presented General Assembly commendations honoring Renee Bergman Andrews, Ted Trott, Joe Carter, Veronica Prince, and Danny Schlitt for their decades of dedication to our community. As local government often focuses on projects, budgets, and policies, it is worth remembering that our success ultimately depends on people. This week’s recognitions were a reminder of just how fortunate we jave been to have so many dedicated public servants and volunteers helping move our city forward.

What’s Coming Up:

June 15 – City Council Work Session*

June 22 – City Council Meeting*

July 1 – Ask the Council Office Hours (9 am, City Hall)

July 13 – City Council Meeting*

*All Mondays (except 5th Mondays and holidays) at 7:30 pm. You can access the agenda and livestream here, including recordings of past meetings

Letty’s Summer Office Hours:

June 29 – 630 – 8 pm (Harvey’s)

July 15 – 630 – 8 pm (Cafe Zevian)

August 26 – 630 – 8 pm (Little Beast)

Dear Friends,

For fellow FCCPS families, happy last day of school!

As summer gets underway, it’s been another busy week in Falls Church. From national recognition for our quality of life, to important conversations about affordable housing, to community discussions about the future of the Farmers Market, I’ll share a recap of what I’ve been working on and where I’d welcome your input.

I also kicked off the week by joining regional leaders in Alexandria at the memorial for the 67 people who died in the January 2025 crash between an American Airlines flight and an Army helicopter. To quote Congressman Don Beyer who spoke: “Grief only exists because we love, and it fades so slowly because our loss is so real.” It was a beautiful and moving tribute, and a reminder that while community conversations are important, not every disagreement deserves the weight we sometimes give it. Moments like these help put things in perspective and remind us that our shared humanity matters far more than our differences. We are fortunate to live in a community where people care deeply, and we can all benefit from extending a little more kindness and humility and assume positive intent.

Happy summer,
Letty

PS – If you haven’t already, mark your calendars for a fun day in the Little City next Saturday June 13: after a family-friendly Pride Event in Cherry Hill Park in the afternoon, we’ll kickoff the evening with our pilot Little City Sips. We want this to be a successful, fun, and safe day to support our local businesses and enjoy a beautiful night in our downtown.

What Happened This Week:

(1) Quality of Life Recognition

This might seem like the sort of click bait I don’t read or share. But this is worth a mention because it’s backed by a legitimate source and one that I’ve personally researched years ago. Falls Church was named the most livable community in the South. This was based on the AARP’s Livability Index (no surprise: what makes communities livable for seniors also makes communities livable for all age groups!) Falls Church earned particularly high marks for healthcare access, parks, walkability, and our strong sense of community.

While accolades are always nice, what stood out to me is that many of the things recognized are the result of years of work by residents, city staff, volunteers, local businesses, and community organizations. Our parks, trails, schools, small businesses, and civic engagement don’t happen by accident. At the same time, the report highlighted something many of us already know: housing affordability remains one of our biggest challenges. That’s why I continue to believe we need to focus on creating housing opportunities for residents at a range of income levels while building on the qualities that make Falls Church such a special place to live.

(2) Virginia Village – continued discussions

A good segue to the meat of our City Council work session this week – we had in depth discussion on the upcoming Request for Proposals (RFP) for the redevelopment of Virginia Village, one of the city’s most important affordable housing initiatives for our generation. The RFP is expected to come before Council later this month for a vote to issue it, with responses from development teams anticipated at the end of the summer.

If you missed my May 9 post with more information and FAQs, I encourage you to go back to that one and/or see the city website with the latest information. We’re working on the draft of the RFP to elicit responses from affordable housing and real estate partners to respond to three scenarios (or a hybrid) – renovate the city-owned buildings with small expansions, low density redevelopment (3-4 stories), or moderate density redevelopment (6-7 stories) with affordability targets spanning 30–80% Area Median Income (AMI) and a target vote to release the RFP on June 22. We welcome public comment at our upcoming meetings on June 8 and 22 (see schedule below) or offline anytime via email: cityclerk@fallschurchva.gov or to me personally.

Letty’s Thoughts:

A few themes that are guiding my thinking:

1. Curiosity – what will the development community propose? We should preserve flexibility in the RFP so we don’t limit creative options we might get back
2. Affordability needs to remain the primary objective of the project.
3. Thoughtful balance of building height and scale, parking, environmental standards – how to balance our policy goals and financial realities of delivering affordable housing while being respectful of adjacent neighborhoods
4. Tenant protections for current Virginia Village residents – the city has an existing relocation policy we will be discussing on June 15. We discussed ensuring that any displaced residents will have a new home during construction (if a project happens) and they get first priority to return at affordable rents comparable to what they currently pay.
5. Clarity where the city will still make decisions – the City Council will issue the RFP, we will choose the top ranked development partner from RFP respondents (there will be an evaluation committee who helps us do the scoring and vetting but City Council makes the final decision), we will negotiate and sign any interim and comprehensive agreements with a development partner, and there will be final site plan approval for any project.

In my opinion, staff has done a good job listening to the community and incorporating the considerations we heard as guardrails in the drafts of the RFP, planning documents, and zoning code changes that we’ll begin discussing in a few weeks. We will continue to debate and wrestle with the ambitious timeline and details about zoning rules – but it’s also important to remember that we have not only professional staff but also JLL, the real estate consultant we’ve hired to advise us on the process, financials, and evaluate eventual RFP responses. They will be at the table with us at our next work session so we can leverage their expertise.

(3) Farmers Market Discussions

One of the most talked-about community discussions this week centered on a proposal to pilot a temporary street closure during the Saturday Farmers Market. Our award-winning Farmers Market is one of Falls Church’s greatest success stories. It has grown into a regional destination that supports local farmers and businesses, attracts visitors, and serves as a gathering place for residents from across the community.

This week, the EDA (Economic Development Authority) heard public comment on a proposal to temporarily close a portion of Little Falls Street and/or Park Avenue during market hours. The idea, brought forward by Falls Church Forward (full disclosure – many of you know I’m a member of Falls Church Forward’s leadership team), would test closing a portion of Little Falls Street and/or Park Avenue during market hours to give it more room to breathe – create additional gathering space, provide room for existing sidewalk vendors, and potentially allow a limited number of additional vendors who are on the waitlist.

As expected, there were strong opinions on all sides.

One longtime farmer expressed concerns about preserving the producer-only model, worried that adding prepared food vendors or expanding too quickly could impact existing vendors’ sales and alter the character of the market. Nearby restaurants and businesses also raised questions about competition and street access during one of their busiest business periods of the week. At the same time, another local business owner made a compelling case that the city should give them a path to being part of the market, being unable to get off the waitlist, despite operating multiple Falls Church businesses, sourcing local ingredients, paying local taxes.

The idea is in its exploratory stages and no decisions have been made.

Letty’s Thoughts: What struck me most is that all of the goals above are not necessarily in conflict. We shouldn’t be afraid to try things. The schools teach our kids a growth mindset: we should always be asking how can we make something better. It is reasonable to ask whether there are ways to create opportunities for more local businesses, more gathering space, more community activity – while preserving the success of the market. What is currently being discussed is not a permanent expansion, nor a wholesale change to the market’s identity. It is a pilot—a chance to gather data, learn what works, and evaluate the impacts before making any decisions.

The conversation also highlighted a broader question about how we use public space. A few hours of street closure on a Saturday morning would undoubtedly require adjustments, but we already close streets for community events throughout the year because we recognize that streets can serve purposes beyond moving and storing cars. (And we have 3 garages with free public parking within a 10 minute walk that would be better utilized.) Sometimes streets can also be places for people to gather, connect, shop, and build community.

As with many issues in Falls Church, the challenge isn’t choosing between preserving what works and embracing change. It’s finding ways to do both. Some of our most successful community assets – pocket parks, housing, economic development, transportation projects – exist because we grow and try new ideas while staying true to the things that make us special. As this conversation continues, I hope we can approach it with that same spirit of curiosity, flexibility, and community-mindedness.

What’s Coming Up:

June 8 – City Council Meeting*

June 15 – City Council Work Session*

June 22 – City Council Meeting*

July 1 – Ask the Council Office Hours (9 am, City Hall)

July 13 – City Council Meeting*

*All Mondays (except 5th Mondays and holidays) at 7:30 pm. You can access the agenda and livestream here, including recordings of past meetings

Letty’s Summer Office Hours:

June 29 – 630 – 8 pm (Harvey’s)

July 15 – 630 – 8 pm (Cafe Zevian)

August 26 – 630 – 8 pm (Little Beast)

Dear Friends,

Happy long weekend – May is affordable housing month so it’s fitting that we had a lengthy discussion on Virginia Village in a joint work session with the Planning Commission, EDA, and Housing Commission this week. A common critique and question I hear is that we’re building too many luxury apartments and what we need is more affordable housing. Virginia Village could be that big opportunity. This is a “yes/and” and not an “either/or.” If you read nothing else from me this weekend, here’s a really good 3 minute video on why housing of all kinds – even market rate homes – creates “moving chains” of affordability. (Here’s the Pew study that backs up the video.) It makes sense when you think about it.

With the holiday weekend and high school graduation next week, this week’s post will be briefer and I’ll be taking a break until the first week of June. We will continue to have weekly City Council meetings in June, three meetings in July, take our summer recess in early August, and then back in session for two meetings at the end of August. Note we have new sets of office hours below if you’d like to catch me or other members of City Council in more informal settings outside of our meetings.

Tomorrow, I look forward to honoring the fallen at our Memorial Day festivities. It’s especially significant this year during the 250th anniversary of the US, where we can all pause to reflect on our nation’s founding ideals of freedom, liberty, democratic governance – and the responsibility we all share to carry these ideals forward.

Stay dry,
Letty

What Happened This Week

Virginia Village RFP, Small Area Plan, Zoning Amendments

Quick recap – these is a good primer + FAQs before you dive in:

• Since last fall, we kicked off the process to begin seriously looking at a roadmap forward for more affordable housing at the Virginia Village site, where we have been slowly acquiring quads over the past 5 years (see my Nov 2025 post). We discussed how the City could proceed with issuing an RFP this year and simultaneously develop a new vision and zoning tools for the future of the Virginia Village neighborhood with community input along the way.
• Public engagement sessions were held in March and April – community meetings as well as specific outreach and discussions with nearby communities in Winter Hill, residents of Virginia Village, Tinner Hill Heritage Foundation.
• Back in March, we also asked staff to explore possible amendments to small area plans for Virginia Village.
• Much of the community feedback collected this spring contains detailed guidance beyond what is suitable for a typical small area plans, and, notably, is not currently supported by existing zoning. As a result, staff recommends amending the zoning ordinance to better align with the more prescriptive feedback received during the Small Area Plan update process which will ensure clarity and predictability.

What’s happening now:

• We’re reviewing the draft RFP which includes asking for proposals for 3 options – renovate the existing quads in current footprint, expand the existing quads to add a small additional amount of affording housing, or a redevelopment with moderate scaled development with more affordable housing. Note the RFP is only for the quads that the city owns (9 out of 20 total on the Virginia Village site).
• We’re wrestling with this “new to us” parallel process – where we are synthesizing the feedback on guardrails (eg height, density, setbacks/stepbacks, tree canopy, green buffers, mix of incomes and housing types, etc) should we get responses for a potential redevelopment that would go in small area plans and zoning ordinances – while developing and issuing the RFP.
• Based on our feedback in work session this week – we’ll hear a revised schedule from staff on how his parallel process can work.

Letty’s Thoughts: with housing affordability being an important issue for us and the region, I am hopeful that Virginia Village will be our opportunity to live our values of being welcoming and inclusive and meet our policy goals. I want to see a careful balance between being too prescriptive – we should clearly signal community expectations – without stifling creative market responses on what is realistic (buildable and financeable). We have heard consistent feedback on those community expectations, brought in expert real estate consultants to help guide us, and have a terrific staff who have experience doing this so we have all the right ingredients to take this on. And we should all be curious what the market response will be- we could find that we still need more quads, the real estate market doesn’t support it yet or other responses – and that is useful information for a preservation and acquisition strategy. While it seems like an aggressive timeline to issue a RFP in the next month, we still have decision-making authority on whether we proceed with any of the responses from a potential partner.

I encourage you to stay informed (the city website here has the most accurate information), attend meetings, and share your thoughts constructively.

What’s Coming Up:

May 26 – City Council Meeting*

June 1 – City Council Work Session*

June 3 – Ask the Council Office Hours (9 am, City Hall)

June 8 – City Council Meeting*

June 15 – City Council Work Session*

June 22 – City Council Meeting*

July 1 – Ask the Council Office Hours (9 am, City Hall)

July 13 – City Council Meeting*

*All Mondays (except 5th Mondays and holidays) at 7:30 pm. You can access the agenda and livestream here, including recordings of past meetings

Letty’s Summer Office Hours:

June 29 – 630 – 8 pm (Harvey’s)

July 15 – 630 – 8 pm (Cafe Zevian)

August 26 – 630 – 8 pm (Little Beast)

Dear Friends,

We adopted the FY27 budget without fanfare this week (press release here, my comments here, and you can go back to read my previous posts) so I’m going to detox from the budget in this week’s post. Instead this week’s post is about transportation with two calls to action…

• This is hitting your inboxes a little early this week to remind you that it’s Bike to Work Day. Falls Church’s pit stop is on the W&OD and Little Falls and I’ll be there this morning. Fun fact – 2 million people use the W&OD trail each year, and we’re fortunate that it runs through the spine of the city. It’s not too late to consider changing up your commute and consider a bike ride on the W&OD. Or if you work from home, take a mid day ride around the city.
• Help the city win transportation grant dollars! Your comments have helped us with several rounds of funding in the past, so you really help make a difference. There are two projects up for grant funding: a shared use path along Haycock Road near the secondary schools campus up to West Falls Church Metro station and a project to improve Annandale/S. Washington/Hillwood intersections, a corridor I’ve long lamented that needs significant pedestrian improvements. Read on for suggested blurbs where you can send your comments before this Sunday, May 17.

The rest of this post is also about transportation and in particular our Neighborhood Traffic Calming program, which was not an official agenda item, but continues to be the top community priority we hear about so I’ll share my thoughts – what we’re doing about it and what I think should change.

Look forward to hearing from you.

Best,
Letty

What Happened This Week:

(1) Transportation Improvements – Help the City win Grant Funding

The City submitted its Haycock Road Shared Use Path Project and Annandale Road Multimodal Improvements Project for regional funding consideration as part of the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority’s (NVTA) Fiscal Year 2026 to 2031 Six Year Program (SYP). Public comment is open through May 17, and is an important part of the project selection process.

Provide a public comment regarding the City’s projects (CFC-012 and CFC-013) using the NVTA FY2026-2031 Six Year Program Feedback Form.

Haycock Road Shared Use Path Project Scope

The scope of this project includes professional and construction services for a new multi-use path to better connect the W&OD Trail with the West Falls Church Metrorail Station. The project is located on the east side of Haycock Road and runs from the intersection of West Broad Street/Route 7 and Shreve Road, to the intersection of Haycock Road and Falls Church Drive. The Haycock Road Shared Use Path project will connect with the shared use path on Shreve Road, and will also include work through the intersection.

Suggested blurb to use:

“I support the Haycock Road Shared Use Path project because it will improve the pedestrian and bicycle connection to the West Falls Church Metrorail Station, increase travel options, and reduce congestion by providing a more complete street grid.” 

Annandale Road Multimodal Improvements Project Scope

The scope of this project includes professional and construction services for multimodal improvements along Annandale Road, between South Washington Street and Hillwood Avenue, along with safety improvements at, between, and adjacent the two intersections. The project includes sidewalk widening, bicycle improvements, updated intersection geometry­, crosswalks, ADA ramps and signal improvements. Utility undergrounding and relocation are also included in the project.

Suggested blurb to use:

“I support the Annandale Road Multimodal Improvements project because it will improve safety for pedestrians with new crosswalks, shortened crossing distances, ADA ramps, and widened sidewalks. The project will also provide new bicycle facilities.”

(2) Traffic Calming Projects – Letty’s Thoughts

We hear you: traffic calming concerns are the #1 issue we hear and it’s a shared top priority among City Council and staff. We want our streets to be safe and accessible for all modes, especially the more vulnerable ones like walking and biking, and for people of all ages and abilities. Not only is it healthier but it is also better for the environment and frees up the roads for people who really do need to drive. Compared to 10 years ago, we now have pedestrians! On a beautiful spring morning, we have kids walking and biking to school. On an early release Wednesday, students leave the various schools on foot to explore and eat their way across the city. And during summer evenings, our streets are lively. It’s amazing to see the evolution of the city where we actually have people strolling the streets.

I try to experience all of our streets as a pedestrian/runner at least once daily so I know firsthand the same issues our residents and visitors face as we evolve Falls Church to be more multimodal. I see the stop sign running, red light running, and the speeding. (Note that while we hear complaints about car volumes increasing in Falls Church – VDOT data has not supported that. In fact, while while population increased about 20%, VDOT data showed that overall car volumes decreased by almost 10% in the same time period. Some streets saw small increases in volumes, but total volumes of vehicle traffic in the city decreased over time, busting the myth that more people automatically equals more cars especially when we invest in other forms of transportation, like walking, bike, and transit. See the actual data and charts in this post. We’ve asked for the latest data as this analysis was done in late 2024.)

What are we doing: Compared to 10 years ago, not only do we have more businesses and vibrancy around the city, but we also have more infrastructure that supports pedestrians and cyclists. We have several large capital projects underway like the Maple/Annandale roundabout, the intersection improvements at Columbia/N Washington and more (and the two projects above we’re hoping to win grant funding)- this work is expensive and slow and mostly funded with grant dollars. In fact, the majority of our Capital Improvements Program (CIP) is transportation. We also adopted a Bike Master Plan last year that has prioritized routes we need to implement. We know we have more to do.

We also have traffic calming projects that are meant to be more responsive – some involving concrete, speed bumps, some involving more “quick build” type solutions with signs, paint, flexi posts. We’ve changed up the Neighborhood Traffic Calming program twice during my time on City Council – each time with the goals of making it more efficient and effective. This is the monthly update of the NTC program that is reviewed and discussed by our Citizens Advisory Committee on Transportation (CACT) – there are a lot of active projects underway – including the largest ever in Greenway Downs, and more that are being submitted. Right now, NTC cases are “bottoms up” – we get petitions from neighborhoods with traffic calming requests, requiring that a majority of residents agree on improvements at various stages.

What needs to change: we know that our approach to traffic calming needs to evolve again to be faster and provide more throughput. Right now the NTC program has paused work on new cases until we get through the current queue and try a new approach. IMO, it needs to evolve in 2 ways: it should be more tops down and data driven.

“Give people a voice and not a veto.” Many of us live near these projects, walk, run, or bike around the city, and therefore have personal experience and input on the public streets. There are many examples where the current voting process clogs up the queue while everyone is debating the options or just a handful of people objects to a recommended safety solution. We can keep iterating on designs forever, but we also want to be responsive to the safety concerns and get these important projects built – which means there will need to be some “tops down” initiatives (that incorporate professional engineering standards, industry best practices, and adopted city policies) – we won’t be able to satisfy every suggestion. Bottoms up and listening to the community is important, but the process is resource intensive, slower, and often will water down the end solution such that we aren’t accomplishing the original safety or walkability goal.

We need to be willing to take a test and learn mentality and be nimble using data to make changes in our streets. Two years ago, we funded the “rapid response team” to more quickly address safety issues vs the 2+ years it takes through the Neighborhood Traffic Calming Program (the flexi posts are an example of the rapid response work). A cross functional team of police, public works, and planning is meeting monthly to review crash data and discussing changes to improve the streets – whether it’s street redesign, enforcement, or a combination. We should look at near miss data too – because if we have crashes and injuries, we’re too late! We need to be bolder where there are safety issues and focus our resources on the highest risk intersections and not reactive to the ones with the most complaints.

A deep dive on all things transportation – the NTC program, emergency routes, snow removal, etc – is scheduled for our July 20 work session and I’d welcome your thoughts before then. The CACT also meets the second Wed of each month and I know they’d welcome public comments and discussion with them as well.

What’s Coming Up:

May 18 – City Council Work Session*

May 26 – City Council Meeting*

June 1 – City Council Work Session*

June 3 – Ask the Council Office Hours (9 am, City Hall)

*All Mondays (except 5th Mondays and holidays) at 7:30 pm. You can access the agenda and livestream here, including recordings of past meetings

Dear Friends,

Happy weekend! This week’s post will be briefer with highlights across a number of topics:

• Budget – we’re nearly the finish line, with final comment opportunity next Monday
• Affordable housing – what’s the latest at Virginia Village?
• Coming soon “Little City Sips”
• City Manager search process underway – how to share input

Happy Mother’s Day weekend – it will be a busy weekend in the Little City all about celebrating women. I’ll be volunteering at the Women’s History Walk today and then supporting a good cause and local restaurants at the Women’s Crawl this afternoon! Hope to see you.

Best,
Letty

What Happened This Week:

(1) FY27 Budget – we reached consensus during our final markup session of budget season, with a half penny real estate tax rate reduction, slight increases to other fees to keep up with inflation and costs, a few changes on the margin, and largely following the recommendation of the City Manager’s proposed approximately $130M operating budget for the city. We have a final public hearing next Monday night before our final vote and we’d welcome continued public input.

Letty’s Thoughts:

A half penny tax rate cut is a small change to the tax bill, but signals an important reminder that we need to keep taxpayers at the table and remember sustainable budget growth, especially when there is a mostly positive revenue picture (we’ll end the current year with a surplus and local revenues are solid, especially residential real estate values). I’ve written plenty about the budget over the past two months so I’d encourage you to go back to those posts – the last two should catch you up.

Looking ahead, a few things that are top of mind for me:

• Uncertainty ahead – between rising fuel costs, continued disruption to the region, lack of a state budget, and more – being conservative and prudent with our budget is important. I expect FY28 to actually be a difficult budget.
• True needs-based budgeting – how to balance flexibility, taxpayer burden, with the schools’ request for budget predictability in the revenue sharing model. The reality is that needs are not always 50-50. I expect we’ll revisit revenue sharing this summer.
• Feels like 2017 again – how to fund capital vs operating budgets. We are likely on the cusp of another round of expensive capital needs following a “facilities conditions assessment” now underway of school and city buildings.
• Long term vs short term – it’s human nature to be most responsive to issues that are urgent and important, but as the governing body and fiscal stewards of the city, it’s also our job to keep the future in mind.
  • Climate – this is one of those “important, but doesn’t always feel urgent” issues. We’ve received the most comments this year about funding solar panels at the Community Center (thank you!). As part of our commitment to the energy action plans we adopted in 2023 the staff recommendation is to fund the project with likely surplus dollars we’ll have this fall. As we all believe in climate change and our role in reducing greenhouse gas emissions, how do we ensure we keep climate is an evergreen investment in the budget?
  • Housing affordability – because this seems like a big, national issue, I often hear how Falls Church can’t solve it alone. Of course we can’t and we aren’t. But if budgets are to reflect our inclusive values and if we care about who can live here in the future, this will need to be an investment we make not just with yard signs, but with budgets.

(2) Affordable Housing – Virginia Village Updates

A good segue to the Virginia Village project! If you haven’t checked out the project’s city webpage (again you should use city resources as the main source of information which is why I generally link to those), I encourage you to check it out for a good primer especially the 4 sets of FAQs which I’m including below. I’m hearing some misinformation beginning to circulate so I really encourage you to skim this if you want to get up to speed.

FAQs

The Big Picture — What’s Happening and Why 

What’s Going On? 
The City of Falls Church is exploring whether reinvestment or redevelopment of the City owned Virginia Village properties could create modern, safe, affordable homes for current and future residents. No final decision has been made.  

Why Now?
Over the last decade, the City has used grant money to purchase 9 of the 20 Virginia Village properties to preserve affordability and prevent private, high-priced redevelopment. Some of the City owned buildings which are over 80 years old, need major repairs to stay livable, so the City is weighing whether reinvestment or redevelopment is best in the long term to protect and expand affordable housing on this site.  Several needed improvements to some of the buildings have already occurred, addressing things like roofs, laundry facilities, and more. 

What’s Decided vs. What’s Not 

What’s NOT decided: 

• There is no approved renovation or redevelopment plan.
• There is no rehabilitation or demolition schedule.
• Details like building designs, number of stories, and construction timing are not set.
• Renovation vs. redevelopment is still being evaluated. 

What is decided: 

• Only City owned properties are being considered; privately owned buildings on the Virginia Village site are not part of this effort, and the City is not using eminent domain to acquire additional lots. Past acquisitions and transfers were voluntary.
• If any project moves forward, it will include resident protections.

Who Could Be Affected? 

If you live in a privately owned building in Virginia Village (yellow building address on the map above): 

• Your building will not be included in potential renovation or redevelopment plans. The City is not pursuing eminent domain, and private owners have not indicated interest in selling at this time.

If you live in a City owned building in Virginia Village (green properties on the map above): 

• You may be affected in the future if a plan is approved — but nothing changes immediately. Many steps must still occur (public meetings, policy and funding decisions, approvals). Even under the most aggressive schedule, renovation or construction efforts would not begin for at least 18–24 months (and likely longer).
• Renovations would require extensive (full building) rehab that willbe quite lengthy. Duration of this process could be further extended if any expansions to the existing buildings is considered.
• Should redevelopment be pursued, new buildings would require several years to complete and become occupiable.

Resident Protections 

If renovations or redevelopment move forward, current residents of City owned units have these protections: 

• Advance Notice: You’ll receive months of notice before any physical changes or relocations happen. Much prior updates will also help set the stage for anticipated changes to ensure adequate planning and support services.
• Relocation Support: Renters will have assistance with temporary housing during renovation or construction, and individual needs will be prioritized (e.g., keeping kids in Falls Church City Public Schools and individual renters within City limits).
• Right of Return: You will have priority to move into the new homes once they’re ready and your household meets the income and eligibility requirements. The affordability levels of any new units will consider current residents’ incomes.

Bottom line: No one is being left without options, and you will have support and a path back if renovation or redevelopment happens.

Affordability Considerations 

Relevant Definitions

• Market rate affordable (or naturally occurring affordable): These units have cheaper rents mainly because they’re older or have fewer amenities compared to newer units available in this area. They are not, however, protected from large rent increases. Many privately owned Virginia Village buildings fit this category.
• Committed affordable: These homes are legally guaranteed to remain affordable, with annual rent increases being limited. The City owned units today are committed affordable, and any new affordable units built on City owned Virginia Village land would also be committed affordable. Residing in such units requires annual income verification that verifies renters qualify for the lower rent (this practice is required to prevent fraud and ensure those in need can find this limited supply of housing).
• Mixed Income developments: These are developments and properties that have a mix of committed affordable units at different affordability levels and market rate units. It’s a common way to produce more affordable homes while keeping housing financially sustainable. 

This week, the Planning Commission and Housing Commission had a joint work session to discuss the next steps – proposed edits to the small area plans based on the community input sessions (small area plans are some of the planning documents that envision the future of the city and guide future public and private investments) and the draft RFP (note it’s in draft form and based on input over the next few weeks, it will likely change ahead of City Council’s turn at it.) Our joint work session on May 18 will include the Planning Commission, Housing Commission, and Economic Development Authority where we’ll deep dive into the RFP.

(3) Little City Sips

In this week’s EDA meeting, staff previewed a project that will hopefully pilot this summer! Virginia allows local jurisdictions to apply for DORA licenses (designated outdoor refreshment areas). You may have heard of or experienced “sip and strolls” – where you can take your alcoholic beverage outside of a licensed restaurant and stroll on public streets or other designated areas. The city has submitted an application for a DORA license with the Virginia ABC. We hope to pilot Little City Sips in a small section of the downtown with 9 licensed businesses and 16 participating businesses this summer. A great way to enjoy our downtown and support local businesses. More soon!

(4) City Manager Search Process – Community Input

The search for the city’s next City Manager is underway, starting with an opportunity for community members and staff to provide feedback to the City Council on attributes we should look for in its next City Manager. The feedback form is now open and closes on Thursday, May 21.

What’s Coming Up:

May 11 – City Council Meeting* (budget adoption)

May 18 – City Council Work Session*

May 26 – City Council Meeting*

*All Mondays (except 5th Mondays and holidays) at 7:30 pm. You can access the agenda and livestream here, including recordings of past meetings

Dear Friends,

Happy May! For those with kids in schools as well, you’ll sympathize that May feels like the December calendar. Solidarity if you’re also juggling a lot right now.

Two main topics I’ll share – we’re nearing the finish line on budget (thank you for all the input I’ve personally received) with budget “markup” next Monday night, where we make final adds/deletes. We have the benefit of watching our neighbors adopt their budgets so I’ll share how that shapes my thinking. And I’ll share my answer to one of the questions at last night’s budget town hall – how can one stay aware and involved with local government? I’ll share a comprehensive take on all the options out there but in case you haven’t heard, Falls Church Forward has just rolled out AI summaries for all public meetings!

Enjoy the weekend. As always, if you have thoughts on the budget or any city issue, don’t hesitate to reach out. These conversations are ongoing — and your input helps shape what comes next.

Best,
Letty

What Happened This Week:

(1) FY27 Budget Continues

If you missed my post last week – that included a deeper dive on where we stand on budget, including our sunnier than expected revenue picture – I recommend starting there to catch up. I frequently hear and get asked “how does all of this commercial growth help my taxes?” so I tackled that FAQ in last week’s post as well.

This week, we had another long midnight meeting where we heard public input and deliberated on advanced funding for solar panels for the Community Center, budget requests from the Sheriff, how to fund street maintenance, and next steps on Virginia Village, now that we authorized the hiring of a consultant to proceed with the project. (I’ll write more about Virginia Village next week.)

Letty’s Thoughts

We have the benefit of watching our neighbors’ budgets wrap up first – Arlington increased their real estate tax rate 2 pennies, Alexandria is keeping their tax rate flat (but increasing smaller taxes and fees), and Fairfax will be lowering their tax rate by a quarter penny when they adopt next week.

While paying attention to real estate tax rates is one metric to benchmark with our neighbors, I actually have a few other hot takes, especially having had deeper conversations with my regional colleagues:

• Macro issues: this was an especially helpful comparison why Arlington had to raises tax rates while Fairfax decreased. The TL;DR: Arlington has more exposure to commercial real estate which continues to face challenges and Fairfax implemented a meals tax last year as a new revenue source. Falls Church is a hybrid of those two – we have even less exposure to commercial real estate than Fairfax and we’ve had healthy local taxes with new businesses and mixed use projects coming online.
• Tax bill impact: again, while tax rates are a simple way to benchmark, everyone is sensitive to tax bill impacts (tax bill = tax rate x assessments). The year over year tax bill increase is a metric we’ve begun to use the past few years. Falls Church has among the highest assessment increases in the region – our budget is largely where it is because we have a strong real estate market where sale prices continue to rise. That’s great for your property values, but only if you are selling!
  • In Arlington – even with two penny increase, their median tax bill will increase $537 over last year.
  • In Fairfax, the median tax bill is expected to increase $337 over last year with their quarter penny decrease.
  • In Falls Church, if the tax rate stays flat – the median tax bill increases $611 over last year.
• Caution and FY28 worries: everyone is concerned for our residents and businesses feeling the crunch now and the uncertainty and how the regional economy ahead. Affordability has been front and center in their deliberations. No one is able to fund everyone’s desires and in fact, all of our neighbors are making serious cuts in staff and programs in order to balance their budget. And everyone already is looking ahead and believes their FY28 budgets will be even tougher.

While budget season is the time we hear from everyone in city departments and schools with their budget asks, our role on the City Council is to govern and balance all the stakeholders across the city. I continue to want to be fiscally conservative as well as think about long term sustainability in budget growth, with a half penny reduction on the tax rate. A half penny represents about a $50 decrease in tax bills for homeowners, but more importantly it’s a way to curb operating budget growth.

If you have opinions about this year’s budget – whether it’s the tax rate, budget priorities, or otherwise – please chime in.

(2) Walking Office Hours & Traffic Calming

Shout out to the entire Grove Ave neighborhood for joining me at my walking office hours last week on the W&OD with NOVA Parks. I know transportation safety continues to be a top priority across the city – I’ve relayed the feedback I heard to city staff and analysis for potential improvements is underway.

(3) Stay Informed and Getting Involved

This is a great segue to one of the questions we heard at last night’s budget town hall – how to stay informed about local government issues and how to get involved. You don’t need to walk with me to make your voice heard! This has been important to me. I sincerely believe that local government works best when it reflects the people it serves. The more (informed) voices we hear, the better the outcomes. And it’s important for local government to be accessible beyond formal Monday night City Council meetings because I know how hard it is to juggle those with jobs, kids, and other commitments – not everyone can participate in the old school way of 3 minute public comment at City Hall. I have tried to push for and model new ways of engaging the past 10 years that now many others use, which is great! It’s the combination of this belief + practices in broad, deliberate engagement that makes Falls Church civic life so vibrant.

Below is my take – from easy to harder – on how to stay informed and get involved:

• Falls Church Alerts – if you haven’t signed up for the city’s emergency alerts, you should do it now. This provides critical information in a variety of situations, including severe weather, road closures, missing persons etc.
• Report an Issue – new and improved RequestTracker to report non-emergency maintenance issues, submit public comment easily.
• Focus on Falls Church eNewsletter – every Friday, this newsletter delivers city news straight to your inbox. Note that you can also get newsletters from various departments too – Rec and Parks, Library, Economic Development.
• City Website & Social Media – the city website has been redesigned to be more accessible and user friendly, with the most searched for information more accessible. There can be a lot of misinformation out there, so I encourage you to check the city website as a first step. (My personal caution is that social media is an unreliable and inconsistent way to get your news because the algorithms prioritize things differently for everyone so you may not see it even if it’s posted.)
• My blog – if you’re already reading this, you know about this! I’ve written this newsletter style blog now for almost 11 years (this is post #413) as a way to provide my take on City Council business, what you should pay attention to, and provide everyone an opportunity to directly hear my thoughts in advance of votes, ask questions, and shape my thinking before any decisions. This was never meant to be a 10 year endeavor but now that I’m here, I find it a valuable weekly process. It forces me to know the issues, crystallize my thinking, and be able to somewhat succinctly share pros and cons. I write and publish these regularly enough where your input to me can actually influence a vote and you can understand my approach (vs monthly or sporadic blasts where you’re really just getting informed or called to activate). Readership has grown through word of mouth over the years so if you find it valuable, do share with others. You can also follow me on my city Facebook page. (Brevity is not my strong suit so I don’t do Twitter, Bluesky, etc)
• Attend/watch city meetings (30 min-3 hour commitment) – they’re all posted on the City website. And per open meeting laws, agendas are posted 3 days in advance so you can scroll and determine what you might be interested in joining in advance. City Council meetings and a few others are also streamed live, so you can also watch from home. We also often have public comments at those meetings so they’re a good opportunity to share your thoughts.
• NEW AI meeting summaries – Falls Church Forward (in full disclosure, a civic group I co-founded) has leveraged AI to provide summaries of all city meetings if you don’t have time to watch or read about the meetings. The summaries are fact-based and #AgendaFree so that you can be in the know and make informed decisions on the issues most important to you. You can find out how to get the summaries in the FCF May newsletter here (and you can also join FCF).
• Office Hours or 1:1 Meeting (30 min-1 hour commitment) – I hold personal office hours and a few years ago, we implemented “Ask the Council” office hours the first Wednesday mornings of every month. Coming soon will be after work office hours. I’ll share the schedule when we have those. These are a good way to meet with Councilmembers and allow you to have a back and forth dialogue without the formality of a Monday night meeting. If those times don’t work for you, you can always contact us individually to meet.
• Be a joiner – civic group and/or City Board or Commission (1-2 hour monthly commitment, some B&Cs are more) – while I’m partial to Falls Church Forward and have a vision for a high sense of belonging, connection, and engagement across the city and why that’s important for democracy (see our Civics Bootcamp, Welcome Kits, and Neighborhood Ambassadors), we have a variety of other organizations around the city – school PTAs, run clubs, environment, social justice, and more. And city boards and commissions offer a good way to dip your toes in being a part of local government – you can apply based on your professional experience or personal interest. We have B&Cs from transportation to economic development to housing to history and more. B&Cs are mostly advisory to the City Council, but some have a statutory and more formal decision-making role.

What’s Coming Up:

May 4 – City Council Work Session* (budget mark up)

May 6 – Ask the Council Office Hours (9 am, City Hall)

May 11 – City Council Meeting* (budget adoption)

May 18 – City Council Work Session*

May 26 – City Council Meeting*

*All Mondays (except 5th Mondays and holidays) at 7:30 pm. You can access the agenda and livestream here, including recordings of past meetings