Annandale: District Design Guidelines

SignageThe Volume II: District Design Guidelines for Annandale contains written and visual ideas for the design of streets, site and building form, lighting, signage, and generally provides design direction to enhance the appearance of the Annandale Commercial Revitalization District (CRD).  The Volume II: District Design Guidelines is a companion document to the Volume I: Urban Design Guidelines for Fairfax County Revitalization Districts and Areas.

These two volumes of guidance are to be used together when proposing, designing, or reviewing development projects.

Project Highlights

The Volume II: District Design Guidelines for Annandale were endorsed by the Board of Supervisors on June 22, 2021.

The District Design Guidelines serve as a complement to the existing Comprehensive Plan vision for the Annandale Community Business Center (CBC) through its detailed urban design and streetscape guidance that is to be used by owners, developers, citizens, and Fairfax County: staff, Planning Commission, and Board of Supervisors when proposing, designing, or reviewing development projects.

Whether a development requires zoning or site plan approval or is being developed by right, developers are encouraged to abide by these Guidelines to assist in implementing the community vision for Annandale.

Links to the individual chapters, and the complete document, are available below.

Volume II: District Design Guidelines for Annandale

Complete Document
Chapter 1:
Cover, Table of Contents, and Introduction
Chapter 2: Site and Building Design
Chapter 3: Street Network
Chapter 4: Public Realm Elements

Background: Update of the Annandale Urban Design Guidelines

Creation of the Volume I: Urban Design Guidelines for Fairfax County Revitalization Districts and Areas in 2018 resulted in the need for a redesign and update of the Annandale Urban Design Guidelines, which were originally published in 2011.

Volume I applies to all County CRDs and Commercial Revitalization Areas (CRAs) and includes broad urban design recommendations for streets, parks, landscaping, building exteriors and placemaking features.

Part of the update of the Annandale Urban Design Guidelines into the new Volume II: District Design Guidelines for Annandale included the removal of redundant text covered in Volume I.  The new guidelines retain district-specific recommendations and add elementss related to public art, revised streetscape materials, and complete street sections provided in other design guidelines.

Schedule Status
Redesign of the 2011 Annandale Urban Design Guidelines into draft Volume II: District Design Guidelines for Annandale Completed December 2020
View the Draft Volume II: District Design Guidelines for Annandale

Please note the PDF will open in spread layout, meaning you will see two pages at a time. This gives a sense of how the document would flow in a physical booklet format.
Virtual Community Presentation on the Draft

Held February 11, 2021 at 7p.m.
Watch the Virtual Presentation
Password: SjAeZVe9

Community Feedback Period
Outreach Flyers:  English Korean Spanish
Accepted February 2021
Information Item Presentation at the Mason District Land Use Advisory Committee Virtual Meeting

Presented February 23, 2021 at 7:30 p.m.

Summary of Comments and Changes

As a result of community feedback, revisions were made to the District Design Guidelines

View the Summary

Final version of Volume II: District Design Guidelines for Annandale prepared for Board of Supervisors endorsement

Endorsed by the Board of Supervisors on June 22, 2021
View the Final Volume II: District Design Guidelines for Annandale
The District Design Guidelines will be used to evaluate proposed development projects.