Substantial increases to planning, zoning and inspection fees may be coming to Arlington.
County Manager Mark Schwartz says the proposed fee increases will ensure that developers, not taxpayers, bear the full cost of staff time involved in commercial and residential development projects. However, critics argue that the change could hinder attempts to build Arlington’s reputation as a business-friendly environment.
“There is no free lunch,” Greg Hoffman, vice president of Rooney Properties LLC, told ARLnow. “The county manager and County Board have difficult decisions to make.”
Ultimately, Hoffman said, Board members will have to decide “if they want to pass higher costs on directly to the taxpayer in the form of property taxes, or indirectly to renters and buyers of new housing in the form of increased fees.”
At a March 11 work session on the proposed fiscal 2026 budget for the Department of Community Planning, Housing and Development (CPHD), Schwartz and department head Samia Byrd laid out their desire to increase fees to recoup current costs.
“Development projects go through an entire process,” Schwartz said, each step of which requires staff time.
Because administrative costs have outstripped fees charged, the county government’s development fund — which ideally would be balanced each year — has gone into negative territory in recent years.
In the current fiscal year, anticipated revenue is $25.3 million, but projected expenses total $29.1 million.
Making up the deficit “comes from somewhere else on the bottom line,” Schwartz said, acknowledging that the proposal to aggressively bump up fees in the coming fiscal year represents “a strong correction.”
If the proposals are enacted, fees for some planning and zoning services will triple in a single leap starting July 1. Others will not rise quite as much, but increases are significant across the board.
A few examples of likely impacts are below.
- The cost of a minor site plan amendment would rise from $6,087 to $16,009.
- The cost of a live entertainment use permit would rise from $1,844 to $5,295.
- The cost of a use permit for a child-care center is slated to rise about 200%, to as much as $2,086 depending on the facility’s capacity.
New fees would also be established to obtain certificates of occupancy and for cross-connection inspections to ensure drinking water lines do not become contaminated with those handling wastewater.
Despite the increased revenue to be brought in, the budget for CPHD services includes several layoffs among staff focused on planning and inspection issues.
Byrd acknowledged that any staff cuts will likely impact the department’s ability to provide timely services.
“They are all equally important,” she said of the impacted positions. “They are all different, but they all play a role.”
At the budget hearing, Board member Susan Cunningham said the combination of higher costs and less staff to handle planning/zoning/inspection issues would prove “painful” to those seeking to build in the county.
Absorbing it all in a single year, she said, “seems hard.”
Still, with the county government’s budget imperiled by a decline in commercial property values and potential impacts of Trump administration policies, officials warned that more difficult decisions could be on the horizon.
“I’m worried about coming back next year and saying ‘we did all of this and it’s still not enough,'” Board member Maureen Coffey said.
Hoffman said he acknowledges the fiscal stresses on the government’s budget and the policy choices leaders must make.
“The Board is elected to ensure these decisions are made thoughtfully and the outcomes serve the best interest of the residents of Arlington,” Hoffman said.
But, he added, any additional development costs will invariably be passed down the line.
“Higher input costs flow through to higher housing costs for renters and purchasers, with the potential to slow the increase of new housing supply,” Hoffman told ARLnow. “The DMV is now experiencing a slowdown in new project starts as a result of escalating costs and uncertainty. This will lead to higher rents over time.”
Chad Hackmann, regional partner with Alair Homes Arlington, has been an Arlington homeowner since the late 1990s and has operated a home-building and remodeling business since 2006.
He told ARLnow he has concerns about the impact of rising fees on achieving the community’s broader policy goals.
“Increasing permit fees will directly increase the cost of construction, making living in Arlington more expensive, which cuts against our efforts to address the area’s affordable housing crisis,” Hackmann said.
Hackmann fears county decision-makers are unreceptive to views from those in the development world.
“I have often engaged or tried to engage with Arlington County leadership to help create efficiencies in the residential permit process, but unfortunately, with little success,” he said.
In addition, Hackmann said: “I am troubled by the proposed fee increases for several reasons, most importantly because they seem to have no relationship with increased service or efficiency. Instead, these increases appear to be an attempt to cover budget shortfalls in other areas.”
During the March 11 work session, Board Vice-Chair Matt de Ferranti said the development community had not contacted him to express its concerns.
“I haven’t heard from anyone,” he said then.
But that has since changed — organizations such as the Arlington Chamber of Commerce and the local chapter of NAIOP (representing developers of commercial real estate) have begun to mobilize.
Kate Bates, president/CEO of the Arlington Chamber, said certain fee increases “are understandable,” but only up to a point.
In a letter to county leaders, she wrote:
The proposed fee schedule — particularly the increases to the General Land Use Plan (GLUP) amendments, adaptive-reuse amendments and child-care-facility permits — run counter to established county goals and make Arlington a less attractive location for development and investment.
It is important that the county adopt a final budget with the mindset that we must foster, and not hinder, industries and sectors that provide investment and direct economic benefits to our county. To that end, we strongly urge the County Board to adopt a final budget without … significant fee increases.
The county manager pushed back on the notion that development would sputter or come to a halt merely because of increases that are, in the grand scheme of things, relatively minor costs associated with development proposals.
“These increases in fees, though they seem relatively large, are not top of mind for the development community,” Schwartz said.
However, he acknowledged that development in Arlington could be facing a slowdown, at least in the near term.
“We may not see as many of these projects as we’re assuming,” Schwartz said, laying the blame with “chilling” actions coming from the Trump administration.
Board Chair Takis Karantonis accepted Schwartz’s argument that, for large developers, fee increases likely would be seen as annoyances rather than deal-breakers. Nevertheless, he added that not every planned project in Arlington is backed by deep pockets.
“I’m more concerned about the fees paid for permits by small businesses,” Karantonis said.
At the March 14 work session, Board members directed Schwartz to come back with alternatives to his initial proposal.
The county manager agreed, albeit without giving any ground.
“I haven’t changed my opinion what the right option is, but I’ll give you another,” he said.
The time for advocacy and final decisions is growing short. Public hearings on the budget and tax rates will be held tonight (Tuesday) and Thursday, with adoption of the $1.69 billion FY 2026 spending package slated for Wednesday, April 9.
