During the 1968 Session of the General Assembly the Fairfax County delegation, at the suggestion of the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors, introduced in the Senate a special bill to change the planning and zoning structure and procedures of the County. The bill had been drawn in accordance with an extensive study and report by a special group, the Fairfax County Zoning Procedures Study Committee, appointed in 1966 by the County Board of Supervisors. Because time was too short to permit careful examination of the bill, the General Assembly adopted a resolution directing the Virginia Advisory Legislative Council to study the bill, Senate Bill No. 455, and other matters related to zoning procedures, and recommend a course of action to the 1970 Session of the General Assembly.

The Council selected Lewis A. McMurran, Jr., of Newport News, member of the House of Delegates and member of the Council, to serve as Chairman of a Committee to make the initial study and report to the Council. Selected to serve as members of the Committee with Mr. McMurran were the following: Thomas A. Cary, President of the Home Builders Association of Virginia, Springfield; Nicholas: E. Gretakis, President of the Virginia Real Estate Association, Norfolk; William B. Hopkins, member of the Senate of Virginia and Chairman of the Senate Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns, Roanoke; Joseph B. Johnson, President of the League of Virginia Counties, Manassas; Roy B. Martin, Jr., Mayor, City of Norfolk and President of the Virginia Municipal League, Norfolk; R. Maclin Smith, member of the House of Delegates and Chairman of the House Committee on Counties, Cities and Towns, Kenbridge; and T. Edward Temple, Director of the Division of State Planning and Community Affairs, Richmond.

Senator Hopkins was elected and served as Vice-Chairman.

A public hearing was held and statements sought from interested parties; as a result, helpful suggestions and valuable information were received. Particularly interesting reports were made by Fred A. Mauck, Consultant to the Fairfax County Zoning Procedures Study Committee; Rosser H. Payne, a former Fairfax County planning official; Senators Omer Hirst and Robert Fitzgerald of Fairfax; and The Virginia Section of the American Institute of Planners.

The Committee did not confine its study to Senate Bill No. 455, which was applicable only to Fairfax County, but also considered the advisability of general legislation on subjects covered by that bill and other matters pertaining to zoning which were brought to its attention by the hearings, correspondence, and discussions of the Committee.