The Arlington County Board has re-approved the Pentagon City Sector Plan, restoring a document that a state court declared void for procedural reasons earlier this year.
The Board’s unanimous vote on Tuesday reaffirmed the county’s original February 2022 decision to plan for substantial Pentagon City development in coming years, particularly at the RiverHouse apartment complex. Developer JBG Smith proposes to build over 1,500 new units on the expansive property, across from the Westpost shopping center and home to three apartment towers.
“I’m actually sorry that people had to move to go to court on this issue, but I’m happy to find that [in] the substance, there was no flaw in… the decision that the Board took back then,” County Board Vice-Chair Takis Karantonis said.
The Virginia Court of Appeals determined in May that the county had failed to provide sufficient public notice before adopting the sector plan back in 2022.
Notices prior to the County Board’s unanimous vote failed to specify that the sector plan included RiverHouse and would increase height and density limits within affected areas, the court ruled. The public advertisements, according to an opinion by Judge Dominique Callins, “were not descriptive enough to inform the public in any meaningful way about the nature of the proposed changes.”
The ruling found no fault with the substance of the plan itself. It rejected legal arguments that the plan violated a uniformity requirement in Virginia zoning law.
A handful speakers urged Board members not to adopt the sector plan on Tuesday, arguing that the county should do more to inform the public about the plan and reach an agreement with Pentagon City residents.
“When did reaching consensus go out of style in Arlington? That’s supposed to be the Arlington Way,” one speaker said.
Board member Matt de Ferranti noted that some residents’ concerns may be addressed through the site plan review process for RiverHouse — although in the end, he admitted, some people probably won’t be satisfied with the outcome.
“What is consensus?” he asked. “Is consensus 90% of people agreeing on something? Is it 60%? Is it 55%? I think we try to listen, and I try to listen and incorporate as many comments as we can, while also trying to balance what we see as the right planning and public interest of the medium to long term.”
JBG Smith, meanwhile, has revised the RiverHouse plans somewhat in recent months.
Its current proposal includes a total of 3,191 new and existing units — a few hundred units short of the 3,554 units previously proposed. This reduction stems from modifications to the townhome unit types within one land bay and the elimination of a planned building.
“As a result of this feedback, we made a number of substantive changes to our plan,” JBG Smith said in a statement last month. “While these revisions will result in a reduction of density, they will increase the amount of open space, enhance viewsheds, and improve pedestrian connections in and through the neighborhood. We think these changes have strengthened the plan for RiverHouse and we look forward to advancing this project.”
