The civic association representing residents living adjacent to the planned Melwood development project near Crystal City is taking a last stab at slowing down the approval process.
“It is time to take a pause and do better for this neighborhood,” said Stacy Meyer, vice president of the Aurora Highlands Civic Association, in a letter to County Board members. “We need the County Board to listen to its residents who have been very clear about opposing this project.”
It likely is a Hail Mary pass, as Board members are slated to consider a request by Melwood and Wesley Housing to raze the existing building at 750 23rd Street S. this Saturday. County staff are recommending the project’s approval.
In its place would rise a mixed-use building consisting of 105 100%-affordable housing units, supplemented by ground-floor space for job training and support programs for people with disabilities.
In its last-minute efforts, the Aurora Highlands association has brought up issues including historic preservation and the county’s overall development regulations, from the General Land Use Plan (GLUP) to neighborhood-conservation guidelines.
The organization has attempted to rally other civic associations across the county to its cause.
The Melwood project “is not just about one site — it is about the integrity of Arlington’s land-use policies and the county’s relationship with its residents,” the association said in a letter to Board members circulated to other civic groups.
The redevelopment proposal on Feb. 10 earned support of the Planning Commission and on Feb. 13 was supported by the Housing Commission. Both votes were unanimous among members in attendance.
“This is the exact type of project we are looking for,” said Housing Commission chair Kellen MacBeth.
It is a property that can be “really integrated into the fabric of the community,” Housing Commission member Jason Schwartz added before that body’s 9-0 vote.
But Suzanne Sundburg, a veteran civic activist, believes the county government went out of its way to avoid tackling tough issues related to this project.
“As far as I can determine, staff has addressed none of residents’ concerns nor adopted any of Aurora Highlands’ recommendations for adjustments,” she said in a letter to government officials.
“One-sided ‘public engagement’ isn’t engagement,” she wrote. “It’s a farce, wholly lacking in substantive, true community engagement — we are at the mercy of wealthy and powerful/politically well-connected special interests who dictate outcomes.”
But the Housing Commission’s chair, MacBeth, said he believed the project and its residents ultimately will be accepted by its broader community.
“I think a lot of the neighbors who oppose it now will learn to live with it, and hopefully in time will come to appreciate all of their new neighbors,” he said.
But before MacBeth’s hope is put to the test, there are at least two other wrinkles that may have to be dealt with.
The next step after likely adoption of the proposal could be the courtroom.
Virginia’s Supreme Court and its subsidiary courts in recent years have taken a closer look at whether local governments have adhered meticulously to all the legal requirements in decision-making.
In some cases, such as Fairfax County’s massive rewrite of its zoning ordinance, courts have tossed out local-government actions and required them to be done over.
County officials also will have to contend with a proposal to designate the parcel as a local historic district.
That effort may slow down the redevelopment timeline, but as the County Board is the final arbiter of whether a site receives historic-district protections, it is unlikely to be a permanent impediment to moving forward.
