Board of Supervisors Approves a Major Initiative to Enhance County Properties with Native Plants!

Members of Audubon Society of Northern Virginia (ASNV) won a big victory on June 9 when the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors unanimously approved an amendment to the county’s comprehensive plan to apply natural landscaping to county properties. This will formalize natural landscaping as official policy for the county and is the culmination of many years of effort, led by ASNV.

The vote was 8 to 0, with Supervisors Dan Storck and Rodney Lusk absent because of a Black Lives Matter march in the Mount Vernon area. Previously, the Planning Commission had voted for it unanimously on May 14.

ASNV believes that Fairfax County is the only jurisdiction in the region to adopt this approach as formal policy in a comprehensive plan. Adoption of this amendment means that natural landscaping, which largely uses native plants and trees, will be used on most county properties, especially as the county builds or remodels buildings and grounds.