The Paradigm proposal for the Davies Property cannot be built under current Fairfax City Zoning laws unless the following special zoning exceptions requested in the Applicant's Statement of Support pursuant to § 6.17.1 of the Zoning Ordinance are approved by City Council.  The number of zoning exceptions required has been reduced since the previous version of the proposal.  The Applicant's justifications for the exceptions are included below:  

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​1.  A modification of § 3.5.1.D to permit less than 75% ground floor nonresidential use in a mixed use building.
 

"75% ground floor nonresidential use, which would be approximately 24,473 square feet for the two buildings and would entail more retail than the surrounding area could support, particularly given the large amount of retail already present in the Old Town area to the north and declining population needed to support a thriving retail corridor. Building A has 23,355 square feet of ground floor space. Building B has only 9,275 square feet of ground floor space. The amount of retail, commercial and nonresidential space for Building A has been increased to 10,796 square feet which equates to 46.2% overall (and 62% of the required amount). There is also an additional 6,548 square feet of lobby, lounge and amenity space for the resident on the ground floor of Building A. No retail or commercial is proposed for Building B to be in keeping with the Small Area Plan and the wishes of the residential communities to the east of University Drive."
 

2.  A modification of § 3.6.2 to permit more than 24 dwelling units per acre. 

 

"The proposed density is simply a product of the Property’s relatively small site area of 2.69 acres and the proposed height, which is recommended by the Small Area Plan. The proposed 276 units and 10,796 square feet of retail, commercial and nonresidential space, however, is reasonable given the major street access on either side of the Property for vehicular parking. The density now proposed represents a twenty-two percent (22%) decrease from the previous proposal by TDC Acquisitions, LLC."
 

3.  A modification of § 3.7.3.C.2 for the Old Town Fairfax Transition Overlay District to permit height greater than forty-eight (48) feet.

"The proposed height relief is necessary to achieve the vision for the area specified in the Small Area Plan for the Property. The project will be a maximum of five stories as recommended in the Plan."
 

4.  A modification of Section 3.7.3.E to eliminate the requirement for a landscape strip and street trees along the internal access drive.

"There is insufficient land for the landscape strip and street trees in the internal access drive. Especially, after widening the drive to 26 feet and adding a five foot wide walkway. The internal access drive is not classified as a “street” itself and is therefore not required to provide street trees. Additionally, in comparison to previous applications, the required widening of the access drive from 23 ft. to 26 ft., providing an ADA compliant adjacent walk, and providing an additional 11 foot planted buffer along the southern property line, while maintaining the minimum building programming requirements, prevents the ability to provide space for street trees along this access drive aisle. Due to these site constraints and the fact that there is no street tree requirement for an access drive, the Applicant feels the internal access drive as designed with this submission is adequate. See GDP Sheet 32."
 

5.  A waiver of § 4.3.3.B to eliminate the requirement to provide vehicular access to abutting non-residential properties.

"Neither abutting property, as currently developed, would benefit from interparcel access. The grading of the Greenway has been adjusted to allow future pedestrian and vehicular connections with the adjacent properties. Proposed access easements are also shown on the GDP."
 

6.  A modification of § 4.4.4 to eliminate the requirement for a sidewalk on the northern side of the proposed access drive while providing it on the southern side.
 

"The Applicant is providing more than its fair share of the proposed access drive and southern sidewalk. The northern sidewalk can be provided when the property to the north is redeveloped."
 

7.  A modification to the Transitional Yard required in §4.5.5 for Buffer A-B and C-D (as depicted on GDP Sheets 32 and 33).

"The Applicant proposes to provide a six foot fence for Buffer A-B only because by increasing the access drive width from 23 feet to 26 feet and providing a five foot wide sidewalk on the southern side of the drive there is insufficient room available to include the TY 1 buffer of 7.5 feet without disrupting the program of uses and amenities. For Buffer C-D, the Applicant is proposing a buffer of 11 feet in width when the TY 3 standard is 15 feet. Also, 25 small deciduous trees and 12 evergreen trees will be planted, and a six foot fence will be installed. The Applicant believes this is an adequate buffer considering the existing vegetation and buffer for the abutting Inns of Court property. See the table labeled “Transitional Yard Calculations” on GDP Sheet 33. In addition, the Applicant and the Applicant’s arborist met with the adjacent owners to the south on January 30, 2025 to discuss additional plantings on the southern property (i.e., Inns of Court). Once agreements have been reached, further documentation shall be provided. A note regarding replacement trees for offsite tree removal has been added to Sheet 31. Additionally, replacement trees are conceptually shown on the adjacent property on the Landscape Plan, noted that they are subject to approval by offsite owners. See Sheet 32."​​