Our Community in Fairfax County, Virginia

Keep the noise down.  Parties are a lot of fun, but the music inside your house is too loud if it disturbs your neighbors who are trying to sleep.  After 11:00 p.m., turn down the sound.

Loud cars are a nuisance.  When coming into or leaving the neighborhood late at night, cars with loud music can wake up neighbors.  Driving on the highway with loud music is fine, but please turn the sound down when in the neighborhood.

Pets urinate in yards, but people should not.  Indoor bathrooms are the only appropriate places for people to urinate.

Keep your yard mowed.  Mow it before the grass goes to seed.  Try to keep the sidewalk edged so the grass and weeds don't cover it.

Mow all the lawn.  The strip of grass between the sidewalk and the street is your responsibility, too.

Keep your front yard neat.  You may display decorations, but do not store construction materials and other items in the front yard.

Get rid of unnecessary cars.  Junk cars are an eyesore and are never going to amount to anything.  Cars are not lawn ornaments.

No car repair or restaurant business allowed.  Working on your own car and cooking your own food is great, but you may not use your home to run a car repair business or sell food out of your house.

Keep sidewalks clear.  Close any gates, and pull cars up your driveway so that they do not block the sidewalk.  Shrubs or items for special trash pick-up should not extend partway over the sidewalk, and trim any low-hanging tree branches that hang over the sidewalk.  If you want a hedge along the sidewalk, plant your shrubs far enough back so that they have plenty of space to grow without crossing over the sidewalk.

Shovel snow off sidewalks.  Always shovel a path on the sidewalk in front of your house.  Children use the sidewalks to walk to school, and many residents take walks, too.

Storm drains are not trash cans.  Trash should be recycled or thrown out in the gray trash containers that the county provides.  Oil, antifreeze, and other toxic chemicals must be disposed of properly at service stations or other locations.  Do not throw them down the storm drain and into our drinking water.

Use your trash containers.  Set your weekly trash containers out by the curb less than 24 hours before pick up, and then return the containers back to your storage area the same day after the trash is picked up, if possible.

Pick up unwanted newspapers.  Recycle newspapers, and don't let them decompose slowly at the bottom of your driveway.

Call for special trash pick-up.  The county will pick up oversized trash and large piles of branches from your curbside several times a year with no charge, but you must call 703-802-3322 or the trash will just sit there.

Park your cars appropriately.  Park on your driveway, in back of your house, or on the street in front of your house, but not on the front yard, and do not park on the wrong side of the road.  Do not park closer than 10 feet to a stop sign or the entrance to your neighbor's driveway.  However, you may park in front of your own driveway if you want.  And respect the fact that your neighbors prefer to park in front of their own property.

Carry dog poop bags.  When walking your dog, keep the dog off other's property and carry several bags for picking up any poop your dog makes.

No live farm animals allowed.  Live chickens and other farm animals are not allowed in houses or yards.

Slow down near the school.  Parents in a rush to drop off or pick up their children speed sometime, but the few seconds saved is not worth endangering others.

County Laws and Regulations

Fairfax County's Zoning Ordinance is intended to promote orderly and controlled development, and to create and maintain conditions under which people can exist in a safe, productive, and harmonious manner.  The Ordinance establishes specific zoning districts (such as residential, commercial and industrial) and regulates the kinds of uses and structures that will be acceptable on particular lots.

Within the residential districts, the Ordinance regulates the densities at which those uses can be developed (from low density housing, such as single family detached, to high density apartment dwellings), as well as setbacks, heights, and parking.  It helps to ensure compatibility with the surrounding area and provides for a healthy quality of life by protecting against the overcrowding of land and undue density in relation to a community’s infrastructure and facilities.  The more common Zoning Ordinance violations found in the county:

1. The number of dwelling units permitted on a lot in Westlawn is one, although the Board of Zoning Appeals may approve an accessory dwelling unit under certain limited circumstances.
2. Occupancy of a home is limited to either: (A) one family consisting of one or more persons related by blood or marriage with any number of children and up to two roomers or boarders; (B) four unrelated persons; or (C) two single parents or guardians with not more than a total of six children.
3. Items stored outside other than firewood must be located on the rear half of the lot and screened from the view from the first story window of any neigh-boring dwelling.  The total storage area cannot exceed 100 square feet.
4. Construction supplies and equipment may be kept on residential property if there is a valid building permit and work is in progress.
5. Any inoperable vehicle on a lot must be stored in an enclosed structure.
6. The number of commercial vehicles that may be parked on residential property is limited to one.
7. The parking of garbage trucks, tractor-trailer trucks, dump trucks, cement-mixer trucks, or construction equipment on residential property is prohibited.
8. No more than 25% of the front yard of homes in Westlawn may contain a surfaced area for a driveway and/or parking.
9. All vehicle or trailer parking in the front yard must be on a surfaced area, although temporary parking on an unsurfaced area for no more than 48 hours for loading, cleaning, or repair is permitted.
10. Certain businesses are permitted in a dwelling provided there are no clients or customers; no signage; no display, storage or sale of stock in trade on the premises; and no more than one nonresident employee between 8AM to 5PM Monday-Friday.  The one exception is a school of special education, such as a piano or dance class, wherein the class size cannot exceed more than four pupils at any given time and not more than eight pupils in any one day.

The Property Maintenance Code is a set of regulations related to the upkeep and maintenance of residential dwellings.  The regulations are designed and implemented to promote the health, safety and general welfare of the public.  The more common Property Maintenance Code violations found in the county:

1. Each sleeping area must be provided with an emergency access window of a minimum area of approximately 6 square feet and a smoke alarm.
2. All residences must be kept in a clean and sanitary manner, with no hoarding.  Mass accumulation of trash, garbage, and debris in a dwelling constitutes a safety hazard to the resident as well as the public and public safety staff, such as firefighters.
3. Landlords must provide adequate heating and cooling to tenants throughout the year.  Common problems include broken furnaces and air conditioning units.
4. All structures must be kept in good repair and in sound condition both on the exterior and interior of the structure.  Common problems include broken windows, falling gutters, and missing siding.
5. All electrical fixtures such as electrical outlets and panels must be kept in good repair and in sound condition both on the exterior and interior of the structure.  Common problems include broken outlets and improper wiring.
6. All plumbing fixtures such as toilets, water lines, and sewage lines must be kept in good repair and in sound condition.  Common problems include broken water lines, malfunctioning toilets, and sewer backups.
7. Any structural damage done by insects and rodents must be repaired, but the presence of insects such as roaches or rodents is not regulated.