Fairfax County is walking a delicate line between needing more affordable housing for residents and allowing the development of market-rate apartments.
In an effort to strike a balance, the County will be awarding developers with “density bonuses” in exchange for including a certain percentage of affordable housing units in the development.
The amendment to the Workforce Dwelling Unit Policy (WDU Policy) in the County’s Comprehensive Plan came after two-years of work by a multi-disciplinary WDU Task Force and extensive public engagement.
The WDU Policy amendment gives developers a “density bonus” in exchange for the inclusion of committed affordable units in their residential development.
“Simply put, developers can build more market rate rental units if they commit to the provision of WDUs at below-market rents to serve residents with low- and moderate-incomes,” Fairfax County officials explained in an announcement.
The new amendment asks developers to include more apartments that are affordable to those who make 60 to 80 percent of the area’s median income in exchange for a density bonus, that would allow them to build more market-rate units with a proportional increase in affordable units.
The Tysons Corner area has its own WDU policy and related density bonus.
Fairfax County has a countywide goal of producing a minimum of 5,000 new affordable homes by the year 2034, but even that may not be enough as demand for affordable housing rises as the cost of living increases in Northern Virginia.
“Providing more housing opportunities for our residents is a community-wide priority that requires partnership and unity of vision when it comes to local government and housing providers,” said Fairfax County Board of Supervisors Chairman Jeffrey McKay. “The WDU Policy has long stood as an example of how such cooperation can be successfully achieved in striking a balance to responsibly incentivize housing providers to include committed affordable homes in their market-rate housing development plans. With an increasing share of our families experiencing severe housing cost burden, now is the time to ensure we have mechanisms in place to provide new affordable housing to our workforce across lower income levels throughout the County.”
