The Arlington County Civic Federation wants county leaders to be more transparent when negotiating with developers on community benefits.
In a comprehensive resolution on planning and zoning issues, delegates overwhelmingly voted last week to ask for a “clear, written, transparent process” for determining what benefits the county seeks when developers pursue rezoning and land-use changes.
“There should be data and there should be discussion of these things,” said Jack Spilsbury, one of those leading the effort.
Spilsbury chairs a Civic Federation subcommittee tasked with looking at the county’s General Land Use Plan (GLUP). He helped craft the resolution adopted at the Tuesday meeting.
Developers seeking county authority to alter existing zoning on a site typically are asked to give something — or many things — in return.
Those community benefits range from transportation improvements and contributions to the Affordable Housing Investment Fund to public art.
Activists and civic associations sometimes complain that a benefits package negotiated by county staff and ratified by the County Board has two shortcomings:
- It doesn’t give nearly county residents as much value as what the developer gets in return, and
- It sometimes doesn’t directly benefit the neighborhood being impacted by new development
County Board members faced debate over both of these issues when considering a major redevelopment project in Green Valley earlier this year, for instance.
Delegates adopted the Civic Federation resolution on a 58-3 vote, with four abstentions. Whether the county government will respond with some of the changes sought in the resolution is an open question.
One longtime Civic Federation leader told ARLnow he wasn’t necessarily expecting much.
“My experiences [with the county government] have made me very cynical,” he said.
Another delegate alleged that county staff, who wield significant power in the planning process, sometimes set out to mislead the public during community-engagement efforts.
“There has to be some kind of way to hold people accountable,” she said.
Spilsbury said the goal of the resolution was not to force action, but to offer food for thought.
“They’re the deciders and we’re not,” he said of county leaders. “They’ve been very clear about that. We’ve tried to do as good a job as we could.”
The five-page resolution touches on numerous planning issues beyond the question of community benefits. After its adoption, Civic Federation president John Ford said the resolution represents the organization being proactive in addressing community concerns.
“A lot of hard work has gone into it,” Ford said of the resolution. “These are hot issues in Arlington.”
New Civic Federation leadership elected
Civic Federation delegates last week also elected Nicholas Giacobbe as president for 2025-26.
Giacobbe will succeed John Ford, who has served as president for three one-year terms.
Giacobbe is a delegate from the Aurora Highlands Civic Association, and for the past year has served as vice president.
He will be joined on the leadership by Jean Henceroth of Leeway-Overlee (vice president), Richard McNamara of Woodmont (secretary) and Ben Watts of Aurora Highlands (returning as treasurer).
Board members elected at the meeting include David Schutz (Ashton Heights), David Smith (Bluemont), Matt Gloudeman (Westover Village), Allan Gajadhar (Cherrydale), Jackie Snelling (Lyon Village), Mike McMenamin (Maywood), Ron Haddock (Columbia Heights), John Snyder (Douglas Park) and Ford.
All will assume office on July 1. The Civic Federation’s 2025-26 year will kick off in September with a forum featuring candidates for local office.
