For the past three months, RCA has been engaged with County officials and other community groups to express our concerns over zMOD – a County initiative that will have far-reaching effects on everyone, but which has been poorly designed and even more poorly advertised. The original announced purpose of zMOD (Zoning Modernization) was to update and deconflict 40 years of zoning ordinances and revisions. We had no problem with this. However, County staff and special interests have loaded zMOD up with new directives that will significantly change established neighborhoods. Of equal concern, the County appears to be set on approving all of zMOD without engaging the very citizens who will be directly and adversely affected and without responding to dozens of serious questions raised by community groups from every corner of the County.
A full discussion of our concerns can be found on our website or at act4fairfax.net.
If you believe citizens should have a voice in matters that affect them, I would ask that you do two things:
1) Take this Survey Monkey questionnaire – https://www.surveymonkey.com/r/FFXZMOD
2) Let the Planning Commission (plancom@fairfaxcounty.gov) and Board of Supervisors (ClerktotheBOS@fairfaxcounty.gov) know that you believe citizens should be heard and the add on parts of zMOD should be removed from the measure and if need be deferred until a full review of the proposals and their consequences can be assessed.
Dennis Hays
President, RCA