UNDA Development · Fairfax County, Virginia
Fairfax County, case by case.
Three decades of Board of Zoning Appeals decisions and twenty years of building permits, read and joined by parcel. This is what the public record shows across the county, and one recent case in full.
Precedent, not prediction.
1022 Shipman Ln., McLean · side setback reduction
Every decision, in plain English
Three pages of resolution. Five lines you can use.
Each Board resolution runs to pages of findings, conclusions of law and conditions. UNDA reads the resolution with AI and writes it up the same way every time: what was asked, what was decided, why, and the conditions attached. Every summary links back to the source.
The Board's resolution · minutes, 16 Sep 20263 pages
SPECIAL PERMIT RESOLUTION OF THE BOARD OF ZONING APPEALS … SP-2025-DR-00143 to permit certain additions to existing single-family detached dwellings to permit an addition 7.1 ft. from the southern side lot line and to permit a reduction in setback requirements to allow an open deck 11.2 ft. from the southern side lot line. Located at 1022 Shipman Ln. on approx. 30,234 sq. ft. of land zoned R-2. Dranesville District.
WHEREAS, the Board has made the following findings of fact: … 4. The Board agrees with staff’s findings and adopts rationale in the staff report. 5. The Board finds this addition will not impact any of the adjoining or adjacent properties. …
THAT the applicant has presented testimony indicating compliance with the standards for the Reduction of Setback Requirements as contained in Sect. 5100.2.D(11)(e) of the Zoning Ordinance … 5. The proposed reduction represents the minimum amount of reduction necessary to accommodate the proposed structure on the lot. … 2. No portion of the proposed addition extends closer to the lot line than any portion of the existing dwelling. …
NOW, THEREFORE, BE IT RESOLVED that the subject application is APPROVED, with the following development conditions: 1. These conditions must be recorded by the applicant among the land records of Fairfax County for this lot prior to the issuance of a building permit … 4. The addition and open deck must be generally consistent with the design as depicted in the architectural elevations … 6. … this special permit automatically expires, without notice, 36 months after the date of approval unless construction has commenced …
UNDA summarySP-2025-DR-00143
Side mudroom and carport addition 7.1 ft, and an open deck 11.2 ft, from the side lot line: approved 6–0.
Source: Board of Zoning Appeals minutes, 16 Sep 2026, pp. 5–7
Summaries are written by AI from the public record and link to their source. Names of property owners and applicants are never shown. NSW data is to May 2026.
The Board of Zoning Appeals
How 5,343 cases ended.
Every Board of Zoning Appeals case UNDA holds for Fairfax County, decided between July 1995 and October 2026. The Board's minutes are read for Jul 1995–2013 and 2023–26.
Cases
Variances, special permits and appeals heard by the Board.
Decisions Jul 1995 – Oct 2026Approved
In whole or in part, usually with conditions attached.
Including 95 approved in partDenied
Denials are kept in the record, so you see both sides of the precedent.
Board of Zoning AppealsWithdrawn
Requests the applicant pulled before a decision. A further 205 have another or unrecorded outcome.
Board of Zoning Appeals| Request | Cases | Approved | Denied | Withdrawn |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Setback or building location | 3,236 | 2,844 | 192 | 119 |
| Church, school or day care | 494 | 429 | 23 | 11 |
| Home business or home child care | 336 | 292 | 19 | 17 |
| Accessory living unit | 190 | 151 | 14 | 15 |
| Lot width or lot area | 93 | 63 | 17 | 8 |
| Other requests | 994 | 772 | 74 | 78 |
How past cases ended, not a forecast: each case turns on its own facts, and the Board decides on the evidence in front of it. Approved includes approved in part.
Around one site
Half a mile around 1022 Shipman Ln., McLean.
Before the September 2026 decision, the Board had heard nine setback cases within half a mile. This is the precedent an applicant on that street would want in front of them.
| Decided | Address | Request | Distance | Outcome |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| Mar 2023 | 6817 Churchill Rd | Other yard relief | – | Withdrawn |
| Jul 2021 | 6791 Father John Ct | Fence or wall | – | Approved |
| Jun 2020 | 6899 Churchill Rd | Deck, asking before building | 8.0 ft side | Approved |
| Mar 2017 | 6885 Melrose Dr | Shed | – | Approved |
| Sep 2016 | 6885 Melrose Dr | Fence or wall | – | Withdrawn |
| Jan 2007 | 1109 Shipman Ln | Dwelling, built too close | 11.2 ft side | Approved |
| Sep 1998 | 1103 Sharon Ct | Addition, built too close | 7.0 ft side | Approved |
| Dec 1997 | 7006 Elizabeth Dr | Addition | 4.6 ft side | Approved |
| Aug 1996 | 1044 Douglass Dr | Addition | 29.0 ft | Approved |
Addresses are from the Board's public record. UNDA does not publish the names of property owners or applicants.
After approval
How long the permit took.
Approval is not the finish line. UNDA joins Fairfax building permits to the same parcels, so you can see the time from submission to issue.
Permits with timing
Submission, acceptance and issue dates for each permit.
Issued 2006–2026Additions and alterations
Median time from submission to issue, across 71,761 permits.
Fairfax County, 2006–2026New buildings
Median time from submission to issue, across 15,368 permits.
Fairfax County, 2006–2026Recorded setbacks
Front, side and rear distances recorded on permits, so you can see what was built.
Fairfax permitsCoverage map · Northern Virginia
Every case and permit we index, where it happened.
- Fairfax County · Board of Zoning Appeals cases5,193
- Prince William County · planning cases7,118
- Loudoun County · new-home permits, 2010–202446,666
Records with a location. Each dot totals the records in a square about 2 km across; larger dots hold more. 5,193 of Fairfax’s 5,343 cases carry a location.
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