Group to Protest County Board Meeting Tomorrow

A group that’s pushing for a wider distribution of affordable housing throughout Arlington plans to protest a County Board meeting tomorrow (Tuesday).

The Board will be holding a final work session on its new affordable housing plan at 7 p.m. Tuesday. The draft plan calls for adding 15,800 affordable housing units in Arlington by 2040.

The Coalition of Arlingtonians for Responsible Development says it “organizing a peaceful demonstration opposing the plan” at 6:30 p.m., at the intersection of Clarendon Blvd and N. Wayne Street. The group will also hold signs and “observe the markup process” at the meeting.

CARD says the county has been concentrating affordable housing along Columbia Pike, hurting student achievement. The group says county officials have not been responsive to its concerns.

From a CARD press release:

Over the past decade, Arlington has become socio economically segregated, with pockets of poverty along the west end of Columbia Pike. This area continues to be targeted for even more affordable housing. The second-order effects on schools like Randolph and Barcroft are 80% free-and-reduced-meal rates and an achievement gap. The coalition is dismayed that county leadership is not responding to its concerns and wishes to see affordable housing as an avenue for upward economic mobility for tenants. We want children living in affordable housing to have access to the highest-achieving schools.

September is Affordable Housing Month in Arlington. Public hearings on the affordable housing plan are scheduled for Sept. 8 and 19.