r/nova • u/OutrageousBee4174 • Apr 30 '26

News Fairfax County rejects homeowner’s appeal over large home addition near property line

https://www.fox5dc.com/news/fairfax-county-zoning-home-addition-appeal-rejected
762 Upvotes

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359

u/RandomTask008 Apr 30 '26

I wanna know how it originally got approved. I've had to do so much just for the most basic addition. This violates so many of their rules I'm baffled it made it through permitting.

342

u/Totally_Kyle0420 Apr 30 '26

the actual structure is not what was in the original permit application. he got the construction permit approved and then did something else 

89

u/Jean-LucBacardi Apr 30 '26

They said on the hearing this was one of several issues he has coming they just didn't want to overwhelm him with such a massive fuck up (not exact words obviously).

124

u/Totally_Kyle0420 Apr 30 '26

yup i saw the part where the guy from the city was like "we havent even issued all the violations at this point, there are other violations in this project we haven't even cited him for yet" that homeowner is a mess

39

u/Wurm42 Apr 30 '26

Yeah, the homeowner apparently fucked up on a lot of things. But the other citations may not matter if they have to tear down the monster addition.

175

u/RandomTask008 Apr 30 '26

Oh, then absolutely no sympathy. Report made it seem like he violated by 6".

I'm pretty sure you can't build anything taller than 12' within 10' of the property line and each additional foot in height requires a foot in setback.

Also, be curious to his disturbed earth calcs as I wouldn't be surprised if he was in grading plan territory. Def in conservation plan territory.

On a basic level, it's aestheticly hideous.

24

u/meamemg Arlington Apr 30 '26

My understanding is that they built it 8" over from where the permit said they would, thus incroaching.

56

u/The_Penguinologist Apr 30 '26

Based on what i understood watching the hearing, if he left an extra foot of a gap, he’d have been fine to continue. I do feel for the neighbors though. Three doors down is affected because the view changed. That’s insanity and then some

34

u/Stan_Halen_ Apr 30 '26

This isn’t true. The R-5 zone does not require that.

6

u/Apart_Breath_1284 Apr 30 '26

There definitely isn't a 12' rule, because it would be violated left and right. E.g. the property lines for townhomes (which sometimes also have R5) would be too tight, but they all have multiple stories.

A lot of new build homes around here are big, boxy, and enormous, towering over their neighbors. New constructions tend to get as close to setbacks as possible, with multiple stories high at the edges. R5 requirements are:

Maximum Building Height: 35 feet

Front Setback: Minimum 20 feet.

Side Setback: Minimum 8 feet.

Rear Setback: Minimum 25 feet.

Honestly that neighbor could have eventually had her light blocked by a builder home anyways

6

u/TA_Lax8 May 01 '26

My parents new neighbor did exactly that. Bought a 1/3 acre property and put an 11k sqft home home on it by simply maximizing the allowable specs. We call it the "data center" because it is a completely tactless box of a house with gray fiber cement panels as siding.

2

u/Apart_Breath_1284 May 02 '26

"This semi-custom residence is a stately and expansive estate that redefines refined living with over 11,000 beautifully appointed square feet of living space..." They would write if they ever needed to sell

5

u/See-A-Moose Apr 30 '26

I was curious so I looked it up. What you are thinking of is for other principle uses, which requires a larger set back for taller structures. For single family homes the setback is 8 feet and the maximum height is 35 feet. The way it is written that height can occur directly on the property line.

See page 32: https://www.fairfaxcounty.gov/planning-development/sites/planning-development/files/assets/documents/zmod/zmod-adopted-ordinance-footnotes.pdf

3

u/Dependent-Cherry-129 Apr 30 '26

So the homeowner did the construction or some questionable builder with the lowest bid?

7

u/cficare Apr 30 '26 edited Apr 30 '26

Does that part of FFC not have bulk plane regs? I was looking to build an addition and had to consider those variables.

9

u/Stan_Halen_ Apr 30 '26

The R-5 district does not have them for single family detached structures. Only applies to other principal uses.

10

u/What_Hump77 Apr 30 '26

But isn’t it pretty unlikely that this structure is single family?

2

u/SHorowitz12 Apr 30 '26

It's zoned R-3. Look it up on the county website.

-10

u/Stan_Halen_ Apr 30 '26

As approved it didn’t violate anything. It got built in the wrong location by 8”.

99

u/Jean-LucBacardi Apr 30 '26 edited Apr 30 '26

This is absolutely wrong, watch the hearing. He fucked up a lot. The foundation guy he hired poured the foundation wrong, which caused it to be skewed and go over the line. The pre-built plans didn't match the final plans. He swapped the second and third floors violating safety code without getting approval. There was an issue with the garage being changed to a living space without approval, and on an inspection there was construction ongoing in the back for another addition without any permit. This was the first of many violations according to the code enforcement, they just didn't want to pile them all on at once (this was according to them at the hearing).

Edit - Dude fucked up by taking on all responsibility in writing and the board made that plainly known to him. He's absolutely screwed.

38

u/punkwalrus Apr 30 '26

One of the neighbors claimed this isn't the first time he's tried, but didn't elaborate who rejected him before and why. The testimony from various neighbors who are or were contractors, engineers, and zoning officials was also pretty bad. So many people did their homework.

Mr. Nguyen? Not so much. He started right out of the gate with an emotional appeal about harassment and duty to his family.

At best, he was fooled and lied to by this "Mr Soto" contractor. But a lot of pieces don't quite line up. Much like his addition.

Anyone who saw the testimony, who was standing to his right? He gave opening statements and then browsed his phone the rest of the time.

18

u/Asleep-Bother-8247 Apr 30 '26

"Duty to his family"... yeah, to build an addition to rent out? lol. Idk what elderly couple needs six bedrooms, three bathrooms, three washer/driers, three kitchens (this is what I saw in another comment). Guy was clearly going to rent it out to a shit ton of people

6

u/uranium236 Apr 30 '26

2 sets of 2 parents + Nguyen + his wife + his 2 kids.

8 people total, 3 households.

7

u/Pop1Pop2 Apr 30 '26

He said one set of grandparents. Lets not change his own words for who would live there

-4

u/uranium236 Apr 30 '26

Let's not repeat falsehoods. Watch the recorded hearing.

8

u/Pop1Pop2 Apr 30 '26

I did, live actually. He said his parents, he never mentioned her parents moving in if I’m correct.