Temporary storage of county buses at a Virginia Square parking lot could continue for another year.
A use permit for 1425 N. Quincy Street, currently used as a storage site for 29 ART buses, was previously renewed in January and scheduled for a six-month review. Now, a county report recommends renewing the permit until July 31, 2025 — at which point work on the permanent ART Operations and Maintenance Facility in Green Valley should be complete.
“This use permit will no longer be necessary once the AOMF becomes fully operational in the first half of 2025 following completion of construction and a commissioning period, which is expected to occur by the end of July 2025,” the report says. “Rather than continuing with further reviews prior to the expiration of this use permit by December 31, 2025, staff proposes that the use permit be renewed and discontinued at the end of July 2025, which is earlier than expected.”
The Arlington County Board, which is scheduled to vote on this item at a Monday meeting, approved plans to begin storing buses at the Quincy Street site, near Washington-Liberty High School, back in May 2022. That decision came despite arguments from the Ballston-Virginia Square Civic Association that this would be contrary to the site’s zoning and disruptive to the neighborhood.
“Our neighborhood — like any other in Arlington — should shoulder its fair share of uses that benefit the broader community, even if that sometimes means greater noise, traffic, and pollution,” BVSCA President James Rosen said in a statement at the time. “But placing buses on the Quincy site fails to meet the standard for a good — let alone lawful — use of land the County paid over $30 million to acquire in 2017, of which the County has since written off $5 million.”
Legal wrangling between the county and some residents of adjacent properties ensued. In January, ARLnow reported that the county dropped litigation against three neighbors and the Ballston-Virginia Square Civic Association, after local residents tried to use the Board of Zoning Appeals process to block the bus parking.
Amid the bus parking, the county received a notice of violation from the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality related to bus idling times at the property, the latest county report notes.
Following a response from the county, the department wrote in a June 10 letter, “DEQ has reviewed your letter and concurs with your suggested actions to limit bus idling. We appreciate your continued cooperation. DEQ considers this enforcement action as closed.”
The county says it has not received any pushback from the community about the current proposal.
“No comments from members of the public have been received as of the date of this report,” the report says. “Per staff’s assessment of the use during this review period, no outstanding issues have been identified with the operation of this use permit.”
