Crystal City Development Plan Faces Vote Tonight

The Aurora Highlands Civic Association is asking the Arlington County board to delay a scheduled vote on a sweeping, 40-year development plan for Crystal City, to allow more time for resident review.

The board is scheduled to vote on the Crystal City Sector Plan at its 6:30 p.m. meeting tonight. But Aurora Highlands urban planning committee chairman Ted Saks says the county was unable to deliver an updated version of the plan to the association’s emergency meeting last night, prompting the call for a delay.

Saks says a meeting with County Manager Michael Brown two weeks ago has produced positive changes, including pledges of a traffic monitoring plan, a citizen advisory board, and a study of ways to smooth the transition from the high-density development that will surround Route 1 and the single-family home neighborhood to the west.

However, since the county could not deliver a final version of the plan that includes those changes, the association is requesting more time for resident review.

It’s unclear whether the board will grant the request.

The Crystal City Sector Plan has been in the works for years, and includes such changes as a new entrance to the Crystal City Metro station, a streetcar line to run along Crystal Drive, dense mixed-use development with ground-floor retail, and changes to the street grid that could result in existing apartment buildings being torn down or significantly modified.