Hayfield Citizens Association

Part of our robust history includes the creation of the HCA, as well as the practices that were created in order to ensure that the funding provided from membership is used appropriately. This page is dedicated to some of the current and historical documents that outline this process.

By default, the first box will be open, but click on the plus sign to expand.  Each hyperlink will open to the referenced document.

By-Laws

The bylaws are currently being reviewed by the HCA, please review the draft bylaws to provide input.  You can check out the current by-laws or refer to the Archives to see previous versions of the HCA by-laws.

Officer Committee Information
This document explains each of the volunteer Officer Committees and associated tasks related to each position (archives here).  This booklet contains reference materials to aid Officers and Committee Chairpersons in conducting the business of the HCA.

Here are specific documents to help aid in the Officer positions:

Monthly meetings take place at Hayfield Elementary School.  As an HCA, we are not required to pay liability insurance, check here for more information.

Meetings

HCA general membership in-person meetings are held in the Hayfield Elementary School Cafeteria on the third Wednesday of the month from September through November and January through May. However, these meetings may be held electronically, e.g., via zoom instead, as decided by the HCA Board. HCA Board meetings are held either remotely or at a Board member’s home. Electronic meetings allow Board members to communicate electronically, via telephone, conference calls, video, or other audio or combined audio and video electronic communication methods where the member(s) is/are not physically assembled with the other members of the Board.

Voting
During Covid-19, in-person meetings were not held due to government guidelines for health reasons. To provide continued participation in voting, the HCA Board adopted electronic voting. This was found to provide significantly more inclusive voter participation. The newsletter provides both a printed form that can be mailed to the HCA mailbox, and a link that allows members to vote electronically.

The Board notifies HCA members of meetings and ballots via normal methods (HCA newsletter, HCA email distribution list, physical signs).

Covenants
A resident asked about building a fence on property in Hayfield Farm, possibly in the front yard. Here is a brief discussion of covenants that existed at one time. Those covenants, such as they were, are superseded by current Fairfax County ordinances.

Covenants originated with the builder, Wills & Van Metre and were probably continued in some fashion, possibly by the Hayfield Farm Community Association or HFCA. But the HFCA organization no longer exists; it was replaced by HFCA-II and HFCA-II was subsequently dissolved. The covenants in sections 6 and 7 were probably never enforceable. HFCA-II was dissolved after Fairfax County took over some flood plain land and paid owners in sections 6 and 7 for that land. An attorney was involved to help ensure that owners received a fair price for the property.

The HCA (Hayfield Citizens Association) still exists and is very active but the HCA does not enforce any covenants. Fairfax County is responsible for enforcing their ordinances. The HCA is not a Home Owners Association (HOA); the HCA does not enforce any laws or ordinances.

For details of these past covenants, Dick Belt provided this document. From a cover page in that document:  “(this) document was produced by optically scanning documentation made available at the 22 Jan 96 meeting of the Hayfield Farm Community Association.”

Other sources of information:

Some fence references from Fairfax County ordinances as of 03/13/2021:

The county’s Zoning Ordinance regulates the location of fences and walls on a lot based on the height of the fence or wall. On most residential lots, the Zoning Ordinance only allows a fence or wall of 4 feet or less in the front yard. Remember that on corner lots, the two yards which lie between the principle building and the intersecting streets are both deemed to be front yards. In a side or rear yard, a fence or wall of not more than 7 feet is generally allowed. There are some limited exceptions to these rules for particular types of lots that abut or are in close proximity to major thoroughfares. For specific information regarding your property and designation of the yards on your lot, please contact the Zoning Permits Branch of the Department of Planning and Development at 703-222-1082, TTY 711. In many instances, a Building Permit is not required for a fence. For information regarding building permit requirements, please contact the Permit Application Center of Land Development Services at 703-222-0801, TTY 711.