CHAPTER 319

An Act to provide a new charter for the city of Fairfax und to repeal
Chapter 468, as amended, of the Acts of Assembly of 1962, approved
March $1, 1962, which act provided a new charter for the city of
Fatrfaz.

[S 189]

Approved April 1, 1966

Be it enacted by the General Assembly of Virginia:
CHAP. 1
INCORPORATION AND BOUNDARIES :
1. $1.1. Incorporation.—The inhabitants of the territory comprise
within the limits of the City of Fairfax as the same now are or may here-
after be established by law, shall continue to be a body politic and cor-
porate under the name of the City of Fairfax and as such shall have perpet-
ual succession, may sue and be sued, contract and be contracted with and
may have a corporate seal which it may alter, renew, or amend at its
pleasure.

§ 1.2. Boundaries.—The corporate limits of the City of Fairfax, Vir-
ginia, as heretofore established, are hereby reestablished and the said
corporate limits shall be as set forth in the final order entered on August
seven, Nineteen Hundred Fifty-eight, by the Circuit Court of Fairfax
County, sitting as a duly constituted Annexation Court, in Town of Fairfax
v. County of Fairfax, At Law 7597, Circuit Court of Fairfax County, and
as thereafter lawfully changed.

CHAP. 2
POWERS

§ 2.1. General Grant of Powers.—The City shall have and may
exercise all powers which are now or may hereafter be conferred upon or
delegated to cities under the Constitution and Laws of the Commonwealth
and all other powers pertinent to the conduct of a city government, the
exercise of which is not expressly prohibited by the said Constitution and
Laws and which in the opinion of the Council are necessary or desirable
to promote the general welfare of the City and the safety, health, peace,
good order, comfort, convenience and morals of its inhabitants, as fully
and completely as though such powers were specifically enumerated in
this Charter, and no enumeration of particular powers in this Charter
shall be held to be exclusive but shall be held to be in addition to this
general grant of powers.

2.2. Financial Powers.—In addition to the powers granted by
other sections of this Charter, the City shall have the power:

(a) To raise annually by taxes and assessments, as permitted by
General Law, in the City such sums of money as the Council shall deem
necessary to pay the debts and defray the expenses of the City, in such
manner as the Council shall deem expedient. In addition to but not as a
limitation upon this general grant of power, the City shall have power to
levy and collect ad valorem taxes on real estate and tangible personal
property and machinery and tools; to levy and collect gross receipts taxes
against public utilities; to levy and collect taxes for admission to or other
charge for any public amusement, entertainment, performance, exhibition,
sport or athletic event in the City, which taxes may be added to and
collected with the price of such admission or other charge; to levy and
collect taxes on hotel and motel rooms; unless prohibited by General Law to
require licenses, prohibit the conduct of any business, profession, vocation
or calling without such a license, require taxes to be paid on such licenses
in respect of all businesses, professions, vocations and callings which
cannot, in the opinion of the Council, be reached by the ad valorem system;
and to require licenses of owners of vehicles of all kinds for the privilege
of using the streets, and other public places in the City, require taxes to
be paid on such licenses and prohibit the use of streets, alleys and other
public places in the City without such license.

(b) To budget, borrow, appropriate and expend, without being bound
by other provisions of this Charter, in an amount not in excess of 10%
of the total General Fund Budget of the preceding fiscal year, for the
purpose of meeting a public emergency; provided that any such action
shall require the affirmative votes of two-thirds of the entire Council and
shall be in the form of an ordinance containing a clear statement of the
nature and the extent of the emergency.

§ 2.8. The powers set forth in § 15.1-837 through 15.1-907 of Chap-
ter 18 of Title 15.1 of the Code of Virginia (1950), as amended, as in force
January 1, 1966, and any acts amendatory thereof or supplementary
thereto are hereby conferred on and vested in the City of Fairfax.

§ 2.4. Property Assessments.

(a) The City Council may provide for the annual assessment and
reassessment of real estate for taxation. The Council shall appoint an
Assessor of Real Estate to assess all real estate within the City for taxation.
The Council shall prescribe the duties and terms of his office, may remove
him for cause, shall fix his compensation, which shall be payable out of the
Treasury of the City, and may provide for such technical and clerical
assistance as may be necessary or advisable and for the payment of any
other expenses that may be properly incident to the function of his office.

(b) All real estate shall be assessed at its fair market value and the
taxes for each year on such real estate shall be extended on the basis of
the last assessment made prior to such year, subject to such changes as
may have been lawfully made.

(c) The Assessor shall prepare the land books and extend the taxes
thereon and perform all the duties required by law to be performed in
respect to real estate assessments. The Clerk of the Circuit Court of
Fairfax County, Fairfax, Virginia, shall furnish to the Assessor the list
of real estate transfers within the City of Fairfax.

(d) Notwithstanding the provisions of § 58-895 of the Code of Vir-
ginia, the Circuit Court of Fairfax County, Virginia, or the judge thereof
in vacation, shall appoint for the City a Board of Equalization of Real
Estate Assessments, to be composed of three members, who shall be free-
holders of the City, and who shall be selected by the court or judge from
the citizens of the City. Initially one member shall be appointed for a
term of three years, one for a term of two years and one for a term of
one year. Each succeeding year thereafter one member shall be appointed
for a term of three years. All terms shall run from the first day of
December in the year of appointment until the thirtieth day of November
in the year of expiration, the terms of the members first appointed shall
begin on the day of appointment. Members shall hold over until a successor
is appointed and qualifies. Such court or judge thereof in vacation may
reappoint any member upon the expiration of his term and shall fill any
vacancy upon the Board for the unexpired term. The members of the
Board shall receive per diem compensation for the time actually engaged
in the duties of the Board, to be fixed by the Council, and paid out of the
Treasury of the City; provided, however, the Council may limit the per
diem compensation to such number of days as in its opinion is sufficient
for the completion of the work of the Board. Such Board of Equalization
shall have and may exercise the power to revise, correct and amend any
assessment of real estate made by the Assessor in the calendar year in
which they serve and to that end shall have all the powers conferred upon
Boards of Equalization by Chapter 19 of Title 58 of the Code of Virginia,
and any acts amendatory thereof and supplemental thereto. Notwith-
standing such Chapter, however, the Board of Equalization may adopt
any regulations providing for the oral presentation, without formal peti-
tions or other pleading or requests for review, and looking to the further
facilitation and simplification of proceedings before the Board.

(e) The City of Fairfax and any person aggrieved by any correction
or assessment made by the Assessor or the Board of Equalization may
apply for relief in the manner provided by §§ 58-907, 58-1143 and 58-1145
of the Code of Virginia and any acts amendatory thereof and supplemental

(f) This section shall not apply to any real estate assessable under
law by the State Corporation Commission.
(g) All provisions of law relating to the assessment of real estate
in cities not in conflict with the provisions of this section shall apply |
the assessment made pursuant thereto.

§ 2.5. The city of Fairfax shall have the power to receive and acce)
from any federal agency grants of any kind for or in aid of the constru
tion of any project, the procuring or reserving of park land, open space
or any recreational facility and to do all such things or make any covenan
or agreements which may be necessary or required in order to obtain ar
use such federal grants. The City may receive and accept aid or co
tributions from any source or money, property, labor or other things |
value, to be held, used and applied only for the purposes for which su
grants and contributions may be made.

§ 2.6. Contractual Relationships.—The City of Fairfax may ent
into contractual relationships with the Commonwealth and/or its depar
ments, bureaus, boards and agencies, with neighboring political subdiv
sions, with authorities, including regional authorities, and with priva
agencies on such terms and for such periods as the Council may determi
to be in the public interest in order to promote the education, healt
safety, and general welfare of its residents. Such contracts may includ
but shall not be limited to, schools, libraries, sewage collection and dispos:
water supply, police and fire protection, mass or rapid transit, park
playgrounds and open spaces.

§ 2.7. Eminent Domain.—The powers of eminent domain set for
in Title 15.1, Title 25, Chapter 1.1 and Title 33, Chapter 1, of the 19!
Code of Virginia, as amended, and all acts amendatory thereof and supp!
aarp thereto, mutatis mutandis, are hereby conferred upon the City :

airfax.

(a) In any case in which a petition for condemnation is filed by |
on behalf of the City, a true copy of a resolution or ordinance duly adopt
by the City Council declaring the necessity for any taking or damagi!
of any property, within or without the City, for the public purposes |
the City, shall be filed with the petition and shall constitute sufficie
evidence of the necessity of the exercise of the powers of eminent doma
by the City. The City may employ the procedures conferred by the for
going laws, mutatis mutandis, and may, in addition thereto, proceed |
hereinafter provided.

(b) Certificates issued pursuant to §§ 88-70.8 to 38-70.11, inclusiv
Code of Virginia, 1950, as amended, and acts amendatory thereof ar
supplemental thereto, may be issued by the City Council, signed by t
Mayor and countersigned by the City Treasurer. Such certificate shé
have the same effect as certificates issued by the State Highway Comm)
sioner, under the aforesaid laws, and may be issued in any case in whi
the City proposes to acquire property of any kind by the exercise of 1
powers of eminent domain for any lawful public purpose, whether with
or without the City; provided, however, that the provisions of § 33-70
Code of Virginia 1950 as amended shall] not be used for the acquisition |
lands, easements or related interests in property located outside of tl
City except for the acquisition of said interests necessary for streets, wate
sewer or utility pipes or lines or related facilities.

(c) In addition to the powers conferred by the aforesaid laws, su
certificates may be amended or cancelled by the Court having jurisdictic
of the proceedings, upon petition of the City, at any time after the filit
thereof, provided that the Court shall have jurisdiction to make such ord
for the payment of costs and damages, if any, or the refund of any exce
sive sums theretofore paid pursuant to such certificate as shall, upon di
notice and hearing, appear just. The Court shal] have jurisdiction ©
§ 2.8. Old and Historic Districts—The Council shall have power,
in order to promote the general welfare through the preservation and
protection of historic places and areas of historic interest in the City, to
provide for old and historic districts in which no building or structure
shall be erected, reconstructed, altered, restored, or razed until approved
by a Board of Architectural Review which shall have the power to pass
upon the appropriateness of exterior architectural features, including signs,
of buildings and structures to be erected, reconstructed, altered or restored
in any old and historic district established in the City, and to prohibit the
razing of any building in such a district that was erected prior to or
during the year nineteen hundred and is of such architectural or historical
interest that its removal would be to the detriment of the public interest.