Arlington County has selected a contractor to provide research into change-of-government options, with a preliminary report expected in October.
Denver-based National Civic League has been awarded a contract totaling $25,000, David Barrera, communications manager for the County Board office, told ARLnow.
Arlington Democrats and Republicans will each gather tonight (Wednesday) to dissect last night’s primary results and plot road maps to the Nov. 3 general election.
The meetings follow local primaries that played out mostly as expected.
Plans for a behavioral health facility on S. Carlin Springs Road are raising questions about the future of a nearby county-owned parcel.
Forestry and Natural Resources Commission member Alex Sanders took a moment at a July 23 meeting to ask about the county’s plan for a 4.5-acre site near VHC Health’s proposed behavioral health and rehabilitation center.
County Board candidates say economic uncertainties make it unlikely a new branch library for Columbia Pike is on the horizon.
“I would love to see a [new] library on Columbia Pike,” Julie Farnam said at a July 20 candidate forum sponsored by the Douglas Park Civic Association. “But right now, I think that’s not feasible.”
County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti says he is providing steady leadership in uncertain times, while primary challengers say he has much to answer for.
Julie Farnam and James DeVita are attempting to unseat de Ferranti in the primary next Tuesday, Aug. 4. The winner becomes the odds-on favorite in the Nov. 3 general election against independents Audrey Clement and David Sisson.
A statewide environmental advocacy group has praised Arlington’s recent decision to phase out gas-powered leaf blowers.
The Quiet Clean Virginia Foundation sees the County Board’s vote on July 18 as a model for other localities across the state.
Owners of electric vehicles may have to pay more for a charge at Arlington County facilities starting later this year.
The County Board has directed staff to prepare an ordinance to increase charging rates from the current 17.46 cents per kilowatt-hour (kWh) to 30 cents per kWh.
The vice chair of the Arlington County Board is seeking a new community center somewhere along the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor.
Vice-Chair Maureen Coffey noted at the Board’s July 21 meeting that the corridor is now home to 65,000 residents — more than one in four Arlingtonians — but lacks a dedicated government community center.
Following resistance in the General Assembly this year, a new working group has been appointed to study possible changes to Arlington’s Affordable Housing Ordinance.
County Board members on Tuesday chartered the eight-member, limited-term working group, which will spend the next four months developing proposed revisions. The current Affordable Housing Ordinance outlines ways for developers to gain additional density for projects by building affordable units or contributing to the Affordable Housing Investment Fund.
County Board members have directed staff to move more quickly in considering future uses of the Central Library and Lee Community Center parcels.
In a change from the plan as proposed by County Manager Mark Schwartz, Board members said on Tuesday that staff should hire a consultant in fiscal year 2029 to develop a plan for potential uses of the Central Library site in Virginia Square. That timeline will allow planning to advance on roughly the same timetable as consideration of future uses at the adjacent Quincy Park.
County Board members went into their two-month summer break after 15 minutes of verbal fireworks over Missing Middle housing policies currently tied up in litigation.
Three Board members — Maureen Coffey, Julius “JD” Spain, Sr., and Takis Karantonis — castigated colleague Susan Cunningham for a proposal made without much advance notice at the tail end of the Board’s July 21 meeting.
County Board candidates have varied takes on how the local government should address gaps in neighborhood sidewalks.
Although the local government has a plan to address missing sidewalk links, it “will take years and years” to implement, County Board Chair Matt de Ferranti said at the July 20 forum sponsored by the Douglas Park Civic Association.
