FAQs

The National Register is a nationwide inventory of historically significant properties, structures, and districts in the United States. It is maintained by the National Park Service. The Virginia Landmarks Register is the statewide inventory that more or less mirrors the National Register for historic properties and districts in Virginia. The City of Fairfax has one district listed on the National Register and Virginia Landmarks Register, the City of Fairfax Historic District, the area known colloquially as Old Town, as well as a handful of individually listed properties. Properties within a district are deemed contributing or non-contributing to the historic character of the district. See below for more on contributing vs non-contributing.

The Old Town Fairfax Historic Overlay District is defined by the City’s Zoning Ordinance and carries with it use and dimensional requirements aimed at preserving the development pattern and historic character of the City’s historic core. Regulations cover setbacks, parking, and building height, among other things. All physical changes to properties in the Historic Overlay District visible from the street or other public places are subject to architectural review. 

The National Register district and the Historic Overlay District have slightly differing boundaries. 

If you are located within a historic district currently, your property will most likely remain within that district. If your property is located just outside of the districts’ boundaries, it is possible that it could be added. Over the course of the next year, our consultant team and Community Development staff will be surveying and researching the properties in and around the district to consider their significance and whether they should or shouldn’t be considered for inclusion in the National Register and Overlay districts.

No. Being listed as part of a National Register historic district does not have any affect on what you can do with your property. It does allow you the opportunity to apply for tax credits for work on your property that preserves its historic character. Your property must be considered contributing to the National Register historic district to be eligible for tax credits. See below for more on contributing vs non-contributing.

Yes. The Zoning Ordinance has specific standards that apply to this Overlay District. These include height and use limitations, but provide benefits such as reduced parking requirements and increased lot coverage allowances.

Structures or properties within a National Register historic district are considered contributing if they are 50+ years old and possess architectural or historical significance. In some instances, the 50-year benchmark can be overlooked. Non-contributing structures or properties are those that are less than 50 years old and/or do not exhibit exceptional architectural or historical significance. Determination of contributing status is decided based on the National Register’s criteria A-D:

• A: Event; made a contribution to a major pattern of history or is associated with a historical event
• B: Person; is associated with a significant historical person
• C: Design/Construction; contains distinctive architectural characteristics associated with a specific architectural style or architect 
• D: Information potential; has yielded or is likely to yield information important to prehistory or history

The consultant team will be in and around Old Town Fairfax between November 2 and the end of the year conducting their survey work. This will for the most part entail them walking around and snapping photos/taking notes from the street and other public places. Staff will be sending a letter to affected property and business owners prior to survey work commencing as a heads up. For certain properties, the consultant team may need to access the property to get a better understanding of it. In these cases staff and the consultants will contact the property/business owner directly to discuss. No survey work will be taking place inside any building.

In January, there will be a public outreach meeting to discuss the results of the survey work. Later in winter or spring 2021, another outreach meeting will be held to review the draft nomination prepared by the consultant. This nomination must be reviewed by the City’s Board of Architectural Review (BAR) and City Council for a recommendation. Next, the nomination is reviewed by the Virginia Department of Historic Resources, and then finally by the National Park Service for final determination of whether it will be added to the Register. In this case, the existing historic district would be updated with new survey information and potentially amended boundaries as well. See timeline below, and check back periodically for updates on meeting days and times.