Budget cuts at Arlington’s historic preservation office could keep services relatively bare-bones, county officials acknowledge.
“We will need to be doing some adjustments — see what other options we have,” said Lorin Faris, the county government’s historic preservation supervisor, at the May 20 meeting of the county’s Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB).
As part of his fiscal year 2027 budget plan, County Manager Mark Schwartz proposed eliminating an associate planner position to save $141,222 in annual salary and benefits.
At the time of the recommendation, the position was vacant. It has remained unfilled, and its elimination will formally take effect July 1.
In making the recommendation earlier in the year, Schwartz acknowledged that the cut “will reduce the program’s capacity to fulfill its mission beyond statutory requirements.”
The bare-bones duties of the office include oversight of local historic districts, support of the HALRB and its meetings, processing “certificates of appropriateness” within historic districts and inspecting properties.
With the position eliminated, there will be three historic preservation staff members: Faris, principal planner Mical Durak and specialist John McNair.
Remaining staff will work to “figure out how to divvy up those responsibilities and really prioritize what we’re going to be working on,” Faris told HALRB members.
Some HALRB members had written to county leaders, asking that the position be retained. In the end, County Board members agreed with Schwartz to eliminate it.
“It’s seen as a permanent change,” Faris said.
Timeline for Nelly Custis preservation
Preservation has become an increasingly hot topic in Arlington in recent years. Community battles have been fought over the future of the Febrey-Lothrop (Rouse) mansion and currently are taking place over the former Nelly Custis School in Aurora Highlands.
Melwood and Wesley Housing have received County Board approval to raze the former elementary school in order to construct affordable housing, but that action is on hold pending determination of the building’s historic status.
HALRB members voted 7-4 in March to recommend approval of a historic designation to the 1920s-30s portion of the building, located at 750 23rd Street S. County staff opposed the designation.
The Planning Commission is set to take up the recommendation on June 1, with final County Board action to follow later in the month, Faris told HALRB members at the May 20 meeting.
In recent years, County Board members have declined to support historic designation of properties in cases where the owner is opposed. Melwood and Wesley Housing have opposed designation of the former school building as a local historic district.
