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Fairfax County leaders are reviewing whether to allow pets in more apartments overseen by the county’s housing authority, a change that could spare some residents from choosing between affordable housing and their animals.

Board of Supervisors Chair Jeff McKay confirmed the review during the board’s Feb. 18 meeting after Gina Marie Lynch, Mount Vernon’s representative on the Animal Services Advisory Commission, raised the issue during public comment.

Lynch said pets can provide a reason to get up in the morning and offer companionship to children and older adults. Current restrictions at some affordable housing properties can leave residents facing the loss of either their homes or their pets, she said.

That decision can also place more pressure on county animal shelters that are already full or nearly full.

McKay responded favorably to the request, telling Lynch that county officials looked forward to working with her.

The county’s existing rules vary by housing type, program and property management arrangement. Pets are permitted, with some breed and size restrictions, at the Fairfax County Redevelopment and Housing Authority’s manufactured-home park and wholly owned independent-living properties for seniors.

Most of the authority’s multifamily units prohibit pets, as do both of its licensed assisted-living facilities. Additional restrictions apply to some multifamily and senior units in private developments because of homeowners association bylaws.

At authority-owned properties that accept pets, residents pay minimal deposits and fees and must keep their animals’ vaccinations current.

Landlords set pet rules for residents participating in the county’s Housing Choice Voucher Program, formerly known as Section 8. Service and companion animals are allowed when required under the Americans with Disabilities Act, while requests for reasonable accommodations are reviewed and documented under established procedures.

Resident Calls for Mandatory Sidewalk Snow Removal

Another speaker, Joe McMullin, asked Fairfax County to adopt a snow-removal ordinance modeled on Falls Church’s rules.

Fairfax currently encourages property owners to clear adjacent sidewalks but does not require them to do so. Falls Church gives residents 12 hours and businesses eight hours after snowfall ends to clear sidewalks. When snow stops overnight, those deadlines begin at daylight.

Violations can carry fines ranging from $100 to $750, though Falls Church officials have said most people comply after receiving notices. An informal staff estimate indicated that only one citation had been issued in six years. Arlington also requires sidewalk snow removal but rarely issues citations.

McMullin cited the Jan. 6-7 storm, when freezing temperatures turned uncleared snow into ice that remained for weeks. Fairfax County Public Schools identified icy and snow-covered sidewalks as one reason schools stayed closed through Jan. 9, leaving students out of class for nearly three weeks when winter break was included.

Snowfall on Feb. 11 caused fewer problems because warmer weather and rain helped melt the accumulation.

Stronger Bamboo Enforcement Requested

Nancy Oakes urged supervisors to strengthen enforcement of county rules governing running bamboo. She said bamboo from a neighboring property had spread into her yard, but she had been advised not to cut it. County officials said they were working with her on the matter.

The Board of Supervisors revised its bamboo ordinance in 2022, requiring property owners to prevent running bamboo from invading neighboring land or public rights-of-way. The rules took effect Jan. 1, 2023.

Owners who fail to comply with a violation notice can face a $50 civil penalty for each day the bamboo remains uncontained, up to $2,000 within 12 months.

Speaker Presses County Over Palestinians

Susana Vega also criticized county leaders for what she described as continued silence about Palestinians in Gaza and the West Bank.

Echoing requests made during earlier public-comment periods, Vega called on the county to divest from companies doing business in or connected to Israel. She compared the proposal with the county’s divestment decades ago from businesses operating in apartheid-era South Africa.

Israel and Hamas, the militant organization governing Gaza, agreed to a ceasefire in mid-January following more than 15 months of violence after Hamas attacked Israeli towns on Oct. 7, 2023. An agreement on a second phase had not been reached as the initial truce approached its scheduled March 1 expiration.

Meanwhile, Israeli settlers continued constructing homes in the West Bank and attacking and displacing residents in territory envisioned by the 1993 Oslo accords as part of a future Palestinian state.