Fairfax County imposes height restrictions on new houses built in old subdivisions to prevent jarring disruptions in scale from one house to the next. So, what are the McMansion builders doing now? According to complaints filed with Fairfax Supervisor Gerald Hyland, “Home builders are artificially elevating lots, as much as nine feet at one house, by moving dirt from the basement, or bringing in fill, and piling it around the lot to disguise the first floor and meet the 35 feet building height limitation.”
The Connection newspapers have the story here.