Arlington’s slow process for approving and permitting new development came under fire from County Board candidates, including the incumbent, at a recent forum.
“It’s a problem, no question about it,” incumbent Board Chair Takis Karantonis said at the event hosted by the Arlington Chamber of Commerce on Thursday.
About 75 people turned out at VHC Health to hear Karantonis, his Democratic primary opponent James DeVita and independents Audrey Clement and Jeramy Olmack discuss business issues.
Cumbersome requirements and a lengthy public-engagement process have been acknowledged as a challenge for years, making the issue’s dominance at last week’s debate no great surprise.
Karantonis, who has served on the County Board since winning a mid-2020 special election, said that county leaders believe that the permitting process for projects is too complicated and too lengthy.
“We are paying a lot of attention,” he said. “We have already improved a lot.”
Clement, making her 14th bid for County Board and 16th run for office overall, said the all-Democratic County Board showed its true colors during the budget season by considering substantial hikes in permit fees.
Some of the staff proposals were scaled back later, but Clement called adding another burden on developers “inexcusable.”
“The net impact is draconian,” she said.
DeVita said county leaders are talking about process improvements but seem incapable of carrying them out.
“I just can’t believe it can take a full year to get a permit,” said the candidate, who in 2023 sought the Democratic nomination for state Senate and last year ran in the party’s primary for County Board.
He said county officials should assign a planning and zoning staffer to each new application, with the responsibility of “taking them the whole way through the process.”
Olmack, who is running as an independent with a largely progressive agenda, summed up his view of the current process in two words — “simplify it” — and said the county government should work to support small- and medium-sized projects as well as large ones.
The county’s growth trajectory has been a major point of debate between Karantonis and DeVita.
“It’s just going to overwhelm single-family neighborhoods,” DeVita said of increasing densification. “We don’t have to live like sardines in a can.”
Karantonis said that, if re-elected, he will continue supporting evolutionary change on issues like housing.
“I’m here to guarantee stability, predictability and focus,” he said.
All the candidates seemed to support the concept of repurposing office buildings for residential use.
Clement began raising this issue in political races a decade ago. Changing circumstances, including a whopping 22.4% office-vacancy rate in the county, have brought many to her point of view.
Democrats will select between Karantonis and DeVita in the Tuesday, June 17 primary. Clement, Olmack and any other non-Democratic candidates who may file by then will take on the Democratic nominee on Nov. 5.
The forum looked at many business-related issues, most at least partially related to current and future economic conditions.
The event was moderated by Scott Pedowitz of the Apartment & Office Building Association of Metropolitan Washington. It clocked in at the announced 60 minutes following an on-time 6 p.m. start.
“We run an efficient ship here at the Chamber,” said Kate Bates, the organization’s president and CEO.
The business organization holds its County Board forum each spring, inviting all candidates who have qualified for the primary- and general-election ballots. It typically does not hold a debate in the fall.
