More county staff will be deployed on weekends to keep the nightlife scene in Clarendon lively for patrons while more proactively addressing concerns of those who live nearby.
Upcoming efforts likely will include having code-enforcement and fire-marshal personnel on hand to immediately respond to issues that arise, officials say.
“We want to build on the successes we’ve had. We want to promote a safe and vibrant experience,” Aaron Miller, a deputy county manager with public-safety oversight, told County Board members at the body’s Tuesday (Oct. 22) meeting.
As many as 6,000 people descend on Clarendon some weekend evenings. While there is a coordinated police presence, there has not, to date, been a similar effort to have code-enforcement personnel alongside them in the real-time environment to address concerns and complaints.
That is about to change, County Manager Mark Schwartz said.
“We simply can’t go any longer pretending that we can have our code-enforcement staff not be there on weekends,” he said.
Police, Schwartz said, already “have their hands full.”
How the proposed changes will go over with county staff who may have to give up their weekends remains to be seen, Schwartz said.
“People have expectations and they have lives,” he said. “I’ve asked the departments involved their take on whether they need overtime hours, whether they need to reconfigure schedules, or whether they need additional staff.”
It’s been more than two decades since the Arlington government created the Clarendon Live Entertainment Group, a collaborative effort to address issues surrounding safety, noise and other zoning matters in the restaurants and bars of the corridor.
The civic associations of Clarendon-Courthouse, Lyon Village, Ashton Heights and Lyon Park are part of the effort, along with county staff and businesses. And while the consensus is the effort has paid dividends, there also seems to be a desire to regroup and take stock.
“A lot has changed — now is the time for us to catch up,” Board member Maureen Coffey said.
Board members seemed amenable to finding the cash needed to fund additional staffing sought by Schwartz.
“It’s not easy to fix this,” Matt de Ferranti said. “We have to invest.”
Expectations for a degree of serenity among nearby residents sometimes conflicts with the high-energy vibe of the corridor.
“We have created an identity for the neighborhood, but it comes with down sides,” Coffey said.
At several times during the discussion, Board member Takis Karantonis made a pitch for creation of a “night mayor” (known in London as the “night czar”) to lead the promotion of safe and economically viable evening activities.
The District of Columbia has had such a position since 2018, and “there is a lot of benefit in going this way,” Karantonis said.
Schwartz is expected to be back in front of elected officials next month with an update.
Miller said the county government plans to “take some lessons learned” in Clarendon as the changes play out, then potentially apply them to Ballston, Crystal City and Pentagon City, which also are seeing more dining, drinking and entertainment venues sprout up.
