April 9, 2026 PC Infrastructure Committee - Apr 09, 2026
meeting
Fairfax County Planning Commission
1h 2m
5 speakers
8 agenda items
transcribed 7 days ago
official recording ↗
Transcript
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Transcript generated automatically by AI and may contain errors.
What is the purpose of the Public Facilities Manual amendment for streetlights?
All right, good evening everyone. Welcome to our April ninth Planning Commission Infrastructure Committee meeting. We have uh one item, a briefing on um the public facilities manual update um for street lights. Um so I'm gonna turn it over to our guest. I think um the plan for questions here once we get done, I'm gonna turn it to Commissioner Najelsky Eichner who's been um leading on this just to make sure we I think issue spot and then we'll open up um we'll work down the line. Um for commissioners. So we have Ben and Christ Kristen, welcome. Um the floor's yours.
Good evening, Commissioners. I'm Kirsten Munz. I'm the director of the Site Development and Inspections Division and Land Development Services. We are excited to be before you tonight to talk about a proposal we have to make changes to the public facilities manual related to streetlights. Uh Bin Zhang is here who's been kind of leading the effort. She's our assistant director of engineering for SDID. We also have Eileen Santiago with us from Public Works and she's been partnering really closely with us in this process. So I'll turn it over to Bin and let her present the changes and then we'll be happy to answer any questions that you have.
Good evening, members of the Planning Commission. My name is Bin John Staff with Land Development Services. Uh today in front of you is the proposed PFM amendment on streetlights. So this section of the PFM applies specifically to street lights along public roadways when there are associated development projects. This does not affect Private roadway lighting or private property lighting. Those remain governed by the outdoor lighting standards in the zoning ordinance. So that's background. Uh the purpose of this amendment is threefold. One is to consolidate and clarify existing design standards. We already have a very solid framework in the PFM. on general streetlight requirements, but many detailed design expectations are scattered across multiple sources.
Some are in the PFM, some are in technical bulletins and other guidelines, and others exist only as institutional knowledge known to staff. We have not changed the substance of the standards, instead we have reorganized, documented and clarified them so that everything is together, transparent, consistent and easy to use. The second purpose is to update outdated standards. The last update to this section was in twenty nineteen when we added LED lighting requirements. Since then, specifications have evolved, products have changed. Specifically in development centers that use non-standard fixtures. We have also encountered practical issues over the years that warrant refinement of the requirements. The third purpose is to improve the submission and review process.
Currently designers often lack sufficient information to prepare a complete street light design and they rely on staff to determine where lights should be placed. With the proposed amendment, designers will have all the standards, tables, and criteria to produce a full design. Staff will shift from doing design work to conducting compliance reviews. Together these changes create a process that is clear, more predictable and more efficient for designers, developers and county staff. There are five subsections in the PFM and I I would like to highlight the changes in each one and clarify the nature of the proposed updates uh with each subsection. The general information section sets the administrative framework for streetlight design.
The update here is the addition of the waiver, submission, and review process. We don't receive many streetlight waivers, but when we do, the review is challenging because the current PFM doesn't have defined review criteria. The proposed amendment introduced required supporting information and they will be reviewed by the director holistically. The goal is to make waiver evaluations objective and consistent. General requirements section specifies the basic street light requirements based on type of development and density. We have consolidated all requirements into a table to make it clear and easy to use.
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Agenda
8 items
1
What is the purpose of the Public Facilities Manual amendment for streetlights?
0:04–10:13
2
How does the amendment consolidate and clarify existing street‑light design standards?
10:13–17:12
3
What updates were made to address outdated lighting specifications and new technologies?
17:12–26:07
4
How will the new waiver, submission, and review process improve street‑light approvals?
26:07–33:55
5
What are the changes to entrance‑light requirements and how do they address community concerns about over‑lighting?
33:55–41:47
6
How does the amendment handle non‑standard street‑light fixtures and the waiver process for them?
41:47–47:52
7
What new requirements are introduced for pedestrian‑level lighting in development centers?
47:52–54:58
8
What are the revised timelines for developer coordination, cost estimates, and installation with Dominion?
54:58–1:02:09
Speakers
5 identified
John A. Carter 11 min
Mary D. Cortina 3 min
Jeremy Hancock 2 min
Alis Wang 1 min
Alyssa Batchelor-Causey
Officials recognised by voice; public commenters shown as “Speaker N” unless they state their name.