Towns, Independent Cities, and Other Localities
Three incorporated towns, Clifton, Herndon, and Vienna, are located entirely within Fairfax County.
The independent cities of Falls Church and Fairfax were formed out of areas formerly under the jurisdiction of Fairfax County, but are politically separate, despite the status of the City of Fairfax as county seat.
It has been proposed to convert the entire county into a single independent city, primarily to gain more control over taxes and roads. The most recent such proposal was made June 30, 2009.
Other communities within Fairfax County are unincorporated areas. Virginia law dictates that at least 100 members of the proposed municipality must sign a petition, the population of the proposed town must be at least 1,000 persons, and the population density of the affected county does not exceed 200 persons per square mile to begin the incorporation process. As of the 2000 census the thirteen largest communities of Fairfax County are all unincorporated CDPs, the largest of which are Burke, Reston, and Annandale, each with a population exceeding 50,000. (The largest incorporated place in the county is the town of Herndon, its fourteenth-largest community.)
Read more about this topic: Fairfax County, Virginia
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