Creating a compassionate Fairfax for ALL humans
THANK YOU to all who supported the social services zoning text amendments. City Council passed the measure on January 23rd.
3,840
residents with substance use disorder
4,800
residents with mental illness
3,100
residents with disabilities
1
city to Change
About the issue
On January 23rd, 2024, city council voted 4-3 to amend city zoning code to allow low impact social services to obtain occupancy permits in commercial zones without the lengthy and costly special use permit process. The amendment also removed language that previously banned services aimed at people with drug addiction.
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This is a step towards equitable care for Fairfax City residents in need of help for a substance use disorder, mental health issues, homelessness, or other vulnerable conditions.
We had a choice. To be a city that allows stigma and barriers to care to continue causing record-breaking deaths from overdose, suicide, disease, and despair. Or to can be a city that takes action to help and save our friends and neighbors in need.
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THANK YOU FOR HELPING US TO BUILD A HEALTHIER, MORE COMPASSIONATE CITY!
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What are social services?Services provided for the benefit of the community, such as education, medical care, and housing. Here are some examples: -An after school educational program for disadvantaged youth -A food pantry -Addiction recovery support and education for families and individuals -An employment and career center -A housing assistance organization -A counseling and support center for people with mental illness
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Why is a zoning text amendment needed?Social services for people with drug addiction are flat out banned in the city while our loved ones are dying in an ongoing addiction and overdose epidemic. Social services proposed in commercial zones aimed at serving other vulnerable populations must go through a prohibitively arduous special use permit process that is not required for business providing the same services to different populations. This process allows city council members to reject social service nonprofits at their sole discretion, opening the door to all manner of personal prejudice and discrimination. This kind of exclusionary zoning has been used for decades to allow local officials to "zone out" marginalized people while hiding behind seemingly neutral zoning code. This change is needed because EQUITY matters. For far too long, policies have failed the people most in need. For far too long, people who fear anyone that is different than them have been allowed to drive these policies. It's time for us to put that to an end.
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What will the zoning text amendment accomplish?It will allow organizations providing low-impact social services like counseling, employment and housing assistance, wellness workshops, computer lab services, and support groups to open in commercial zones without being delayed or potentially denied in the special use permit process. High impact services like hot meals, showers, and shelter would still require a special use permit. This will make it easier for new services to be offered in the city to assist with the health, welfare, and safety needs of the community. This is in line with the American Planning Associations recommendation to have a broad range of health and social services in a wide variety of zoning districts without being subjected to public hearings or development standards that are not also applied to other types of outpatient facilities.
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Will allowing more social services in the city attract more people and more crime to the city?Research shows that increasing the number of nonprofits in a city actually decreases crime.
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Will the proposed zoning amendment allow methadone clinics or needle exchanges to open where they previously couldn’t?Those medical services are regulated by the state and there is nothing in local zoning code to prevent them. Organizations providing these services could do so already if they wanted to. The proposed text changes regarding social service delivery will not change this in any way. Misinformation on this matter has been spread around claiming that the changes will allow methadone clinics and syringe exchanges, but the mayor, multiple members of city council, and zoning department staff have spoken publicly about this being a falsehood.
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What is the pushback to this amendment?The same pushback that always exists around efforts to help stigmatized people. Arguments like: "We don't want those people in our community." Those people ARE our community, our neighbors, family, homeowners, and coworkers, whether you know it or not. "People who are addicted, mentally ill, or unsheltered are criminals who need to be punished. If we help them we will enable them and crime will grow." A meta-review of 116 studies found that incarceration doesn't prevent future crime and, in fact, it can increase it. It also found that community intervention programs DO decrease crime. The proposed amendment would make such programs easier to start in the city. These arguments are rooted in fear and shame. There are always going to be people that fear change. We must not look to them, but instead to scientific data and qualified experts to craft effective public policy.
