Fairfax City Council Approves Green Building Policy And Future Pay Raises

FAIRFAX CITY, VA — The Fairfax City Council unanimously adopted a green building policy Tuesday, setting new environmental standards for city buildings and future private developments that seek discretionary approvals.

The council also unanimously approved updates to the city’s subdivision ordinance to match new state review timelines and enacted future salary increases for the mayor and City Council. The meeting included a presentation on regional bus rapid transit planning and a work session on updating the city’s small area plans.

Stephanie Kupka, the city’s sustainability program manager, told the council the green building policy is intended to reduce long-term costs, improve resilience and help the city meet its environmental goals. She said buildings account for nearly half of the city’s greenhouse gas emissions, making both public and private building standards important to the city’s climate strategy.

Green Building Policy Approved

Under the policy, existing city buildings of 1,000 square feet or more will be subject to energy benchmarking and audits. New city buildings and major renovations of 5,000 square feet or more will be required to meet higher performance standards, including LEED Gold certification for new construction and major renovations.

Private-sector standards will apply to new construction and major renovations of 5,000 square feet or more when a project is subject to special exception, variance, rezoning, planned development review or special use review. Those projects will be required to obtain certification at the silver level through LEED building design and construction or EarthCraft.

Kupka said the public-sector standards would take effect immediately if adopted. The private-sector standards are expected to launch in July 2027, after staff develops procedures, forms, training and guidance for developers. The city also plans to hire an energy programs manager this fall to help implement the policy.

“This policy is a practical tool that advances city goals, improves building performance, reduces long-term costs and environmental impacts, and aligns the city with regional best practices,” Kupka said.

Two residents spoke in favor of the policy during the public hearing. Ben Rhodes, a member of the Environmental Sustainability Committee, said he looked forward to consistent environmental features in public buildings and private development. Faiza Alam, also a committee member and a science teacher at Katherine Johnson Middle School, said students had previously spoken to city officials about green building issues and heat island effects.

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“What we do here, we are leaving a mark for our young ones,” Alam said.

Councilmember Tom Peterson asked whether developer training would include information for lenders and capital partners about the financial benefits of green building investments. Kupka said staff had been working with the Virginia Commercial PACE program and could look into additional outreach to banks.

Councilmember Stacey Hardy-Chandler moved to approve the policy, and Peterson seconded the motion. The council approved it unanimously.

Subdivision, Pay Changes Pass

The council also approved amendments to the subdivision ordinance after Senior Planner Eric Forman said the changes were needed to align city code with 2025 state legislation. The amendments shorten the first review period for subdivision applications from 60 days to 40 days and update how later submissions are reviewed.

Forman said most subdivision actions are handled administratively, while larger subdivisions involving more than 50 lots require Planning Commission review. No one spoke during the public hearing, and the council approved the ordinance unanimously.

In a separate unanimous vote, the council approved future pay increases for the mayor and council members. City Attorney Brian Lubkeman said the ordinance raises the mayor’s salary from $13,000 to $24,000 and council members’ salaries from $12,000 to $22,000.

Lubkeman said the increase cannot take effect until after the next election. The ordinance is expected to take effect July 1, 2027.

Councilmember Billy Bates said he hoped the pay increase would make it more realistic for early-career professionals and single parents to run for office.

Transit Plan Discussed

Earlier in the meeting, Monica Backmon, CEO of the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority, briefed the council on the region’s bus rapid transit action plan. Backmon said NVTA has invested $5 billion regionally, including $125 million in Fairfax City and $33 million distributed to the city for public transportation purposes.

Backmon said the regional plan identifies 28 potential bus rapid transit routes, including three that would pass through Fairfax City: Little River Turnpike, Jermantown Road and Fairfax Boulevard. She said the plan is a long-term blueprint that would be implemented incrementally, not all at once.

“This is not in lieu of Metro,” Backmon said. “But this is something that we can put on the ground a lot quicker and at a lower cost.”

Council members asked how the city could incorporate the plan into local planning documents, how residents could understand the local impact and how funding might work. Backmon said localities would need to decide which routes they want to prioritize and incorporate them into plans before the projects can be positioned for state, regional or federal funding.

“It’s not for us to tell you, it’s for you to tell us,” Backmon said.

Bates said the presentation showed Fairfax City’s regional importance despite its small size.

“Fairfax City plays, despite its relatively small size, a large role in regional connectivity,” Bates said.

Small Area Plans To Be Reviewed

During a work session, Paul Napti, the city’s division chief of planning, outlined a proposed review of the small area plans for Old Town, Northfax, Kamp Washington and Fairfax Circle. Staff recommended reviewing all four plans at the same time to make them more consistent and to take advantage of shared analysis.

Napti said the review could examine city policies adopted since the plans were written, including the Urban Forest Master Plan, the Affordable Housing Strategic Plan, the green building policy and the Move Fairfax transportation plan. Staff also proposed studying development impacts, property impacts, tree canopy, building height, ground-floor commercial space, open space, traffic, utilities and market conditions.

Council members supported moving forward but emphasized several priorities, including traffic, pedestrian safety, affordable housing, building height, setbacks, office-space preservation and clearer formatting for developers and residents.

Peterson said the city should be careful to understand cumulative impacts before making major changes.

“There’s a huge value in getting a cumulative impact version of that done, so we can see what happens if we embark on this journey,” Peterson said.

Councilmember Rachel McQuillen said the review should be driven by data as well as public input, and she asked that safety, pedestrian flow and traffic flow be considered.

proposed Northfax Linear ParkThe council also received an introduction to design guidelines for the proposed Northfax Linear Park, a planned open-space and stormwater feature identified in the Northfax Small Area Plan. Staff said the guidelines would help make future public and private improvements along the corridor more consistent.

No final action was taken during the work session.