Concrete Walkways in Clifton, VA

What the Town’s Guidelines Say About Walks

The Town of Clifton’s Architectural Review Board approved its guidelines in 1997, and they speak to walks directly. Concrete walkways may be used when required or desired, as long as their width and their scoring or jointing pattern are consistent with the walks that already exist in the town. A new concrete walk in Clifton is judged against its neighbors. Concrete is named there for walks; for driveways, the same guidelines name asphalt or gravel.

A Historic District From Edge to Edge

Clifton was chartered on March 10, 1902, covers a quarter of a square mile, and is listed as a historic district on the Virginia Landmarks Register and the National Register of Historic Places. Its town code places all land within the town in a historic overlay district, where no structure may have its exterior altered until the Clifton Architectural Review Board approves a certificate of appropriateness for the work, and where signs, fences and retaining walls always need one. The town’s pages do not say whether a walk on its own needs a certificate, so ask the board before planning one. An application for a certificate goes to the board’s chairman. The board has five to seven voting members and a consulting attorney, and it meets on the last Thursday of the month at 7:30 p.m.

Front Steps and Larger Work

The town’s FAQ says repairing front steps needs no town approval unless Fairfax County requires a building permit. Larger work runs through three bodies. Before a building in the town is built or renovated, the landowner must obtain a use permit from the Planning Commission and Town Council, a certificate of appropriateness from the ARB, and a building permit from Fairfax County, and the mayor or a designated representative signs the building permit application.

Inside the Town, or Only a Clifton Address?

A Clifton mailing address does not settle which rules apply. The town says an owner can find out by viewing the parcel profile on Fairfax County’s real estate website: for an address inside the town, the District field reads "Springfield Town of Clifton".

Little Rocky Run

Little Rocky Run gives its HOA office address as 6201 Sandstone Way, Clifton, VA 20124. The association asks for an application whenever a resident wants to change the way the home or lot looks, and its standards require an Exterior Alteration Application and the review board’s approval before a sidewalk, walkway or pathway is installed or replaced. A worn walk rebuilt in the same place still goes through that step.

Beyond the Concrete Walk

How we form, pour and joint a walk is on our concrete walkway page. In Clifton we also take on flagstone walkways, stone front steps, flagstone patios and stamped concrete.