County Board | ARLnow.com

Developers Could Soon Send County Cash to Help Fund Long-Stalled New Ballston Metro Entrance

Published March 12, 2019 at 1:30PM

Ballston Metro station

Some local developers are now set to hand over more than $6.8 million to help the county afford a second entrance to the Ballston Metro station, a project officials have hoped to finish for years in order to open up access to the subway stop for people living and working along N. Glebe Road.

The newfound cash stems from the long-stalled redevelopment of an office building at 4420 Fairfax Drive, which sits above the county’s planned spot for the new Metro entrance. The project’s backers are now offering up the money to help fund the entrance’s construction, in exchange for the County Board agreeing to extend deadlines for the redevelopment through end of 2022.

News

County Proposes Additional $12,000 for Undocumented Immigration Legal Aid

By Airey

Published March 12, 2019 at 11:00AM | Updated March 13, 2019 at 9:37AM

Arlington officials are proposing a $12,000, mid-year funding bump for a program aiding the county’s undocumented residents.

Last week, County Manager Mark Schwartz published his recommendation to the County Board that they give an extra $12,250 from the county’s current budget and transfer the funds to the Legal Aid Justice Center (LAJC). The Board is set to the weigh the issue this Saturday at its monthly meeting.

News

Amazon Could Avoid Paying Any Business License Taxes in Arlington, Even Without Incentive Program

By Alex Koma

Published March 11, 2019 at 1:30PM | Updated March 11, 2019 at 1:53PM

Arlington officials have pitched Amazon on a program to help the company slash its business license tax burden when it sets up shop in Pentagon City and Crystal City — but the county is also admitting that Amazon could avoid that particular tax altogether.

Should an incentive package designed to bring the tech giant’s new headquarters to Arlington win county approval this weekend, Amazon will still be subject to all manner of local levies. In particular, officials are counting on real estate tax revenues from the company to generate an extra $342 million for county coffers over the next 16 years.

News

Digital Screens Displaying Local Artwork Set to be Installed at Five Arlington Metro Stations

By Alex Koma

Published March 11, 2019 at 9:00AM

Passengers board at the Rosslyn Metro station (file photo)

Arlington Metro riders might soon notice some digital screens displaying local artwork popping up at five stations sometime this spring.

WMATA plans to install the new screens at a dozen stations across the Metro system over the coming weeks, including several stops in Arlington itself: Crystal City, Ballston, Pentagon City, National Airport and Rosslyn.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published March 11, 2019 at 7:30AM

Residents Support HQ2 in Letters — “Many Arlingtonians want Amazon.com Inc. to set up HQ2 in Crystal City and Pentagon City — or at least that is what a slew of letters and emails to the [Arlington County Board] seems to indicate… ‘I would say the theme of the emails is: ‘Don’t blow it,” [Libby] Garvey said.” [Washington Business Journal]

Expect Fireworks at County Board Meeting — “Board Chair Christian Dorsey (D) said he has ‘no interest’ in postponing [this weekend’s Amazon] vote and has heard no suggestions to do so from other board members. He expects the measure to pass, but he also said anywhere from 100 to 400 speakers could show up for the public hearing before the vote.” [Washington Post]

News

County Board Chair Dorsey Kicks Off Re-Election Bid, Joining Cristol in Run for Another Term

By Alex Koma

Published March 7, 2019 at 4:30PM

County Board Chair Christian Dorsey is making a run for re-election, joining fellow Board member Katie Cristol in a bid for another four years in office.

Dorsey formally announced his bid at the Arlington County Democratic Committee’s monthly meeting last night (Wednesday), according to the group’s website. The county’s elections office also now lists Dorsey as a candidate for the Board, which has two seats on the ballot this fall.

News

New Open Space Plan Sparks Bruising Fight Over the Future of Arlington’s Athletic Fields

By Alex Koma

Published March 7, 2019 at 3:30PM

People playing soccer at a field at Barcroft Park (via Arlington County)

Arlington’s lengthy, detailed public space planning documents might seem dry and technical at first glance, but an impending update to those plans has sparked a bitter fight in the county.

Though the sparring centers largely around reams of statistics and data, the debate cuts to the heart of a key question for leaders in the 26-square-mile county: how should Arlington divvy up its limited amount of public land?

News

County Readies Zoning Changes to Encourage Construction of New, Detached Accessory Dwelling Units

By Alex Koma

Published March 7, 2019 at 11:00AM | Updated October 17, 2022 at 11:27AM

Proposed setback standards for accessory dwelling units (image via Arlington County)

Arlington officials now look set to further loosen rules around the creation of “accessory dwelling units” sometime this spring, changing some zoning standards to allow more property owners to build the homes on their land.

County staff are now circulating a draft policy recommending that local leaders allow property owners to build the homes, commonly known as “mother-in-law suites,” with a five-foot setback from the street and property lines.

News

Crystal City Civic Association Urges Swift Approval of Amazon Incentive Deal

By Alex Koma

Published March 7, 2019 at 10:00AM

Some of Amazon’s future neighbors in Crystal City now say that they’re eager to see the County Board approve an incentive package to bring the company to Arlington.

The Crystal City Civic Association penned a letter of support Monday (March 4) for the company’s arrival in the neighborhood, encouraging the Board to give the green light to a plan to hand over $23 million in grant money to the tech giant over the next 15 years. The Board is set to consider the deal, publicly revealed for the first time this week, later this month.

News

Amazon Could Take Advantage of a Tech Incentive Program to Generate Hefty Tax Savings

By Alex Koma

Published March 6, 2019 at 3:30PM | Updated March 7, 2019 at 9:37AM

The office building at 241 18th Street S. that Amazon plans to occupy in Crystal City.

(Updated at 4:45 p.m.) Once Amazon starts to move into Arlington, the company could take advantage of a little-used county incentive program for tech firms to substantially slash its local tax burden.

Documents released in late January show that Arlington officials explicitly pitched the tech giant on the prospect of scoring major tax savings through the county’s “Technology Zone” program, back when they were still wooing Amazon last year. Created in 2001 and last updated in 2014, the program was designed to provide incentives for high-tech businesses to move to Arlington by offering significantly reduced rates for the county’s “Business, Professional and Occupational License” tax in certain neighborhoods.

News

County Board Signals Support for Library Collections Budget Increase

By Airey

Published March 6, 2019 at 11:20AM | Updated August 20, 2019 at 10:31AM

Arlington Central Library

The County Board is moving closer to approving the first increase in the Arlington Public Library’s (APL) collections budget since 2014.

The proposal is part of the FY2020 budget sketched out by County Manager Mark Schwartz, which allocates $300,000 to APL’s budget for books and other materials for rent. The Board expressed broad support for beefing up the library’s budget during a work session Tuesday.

News

County Unveils Amazon Incentive Deal, Sketching Out How Company Can Earn $23 Million in Grants

By Alex Koma

Published March 5, 2019 at 3:45PM

Arlington officials have, at last, unveiled a detailed version of the county’s proposed incentive package designed to bring Amazon to the county.

A draft copy of the county’s “Economic Development Incentive Grant Agreement” posted online for the first time today (Tuesday) sketches out the exact amount of office space Amazon will need to occupy in Arlington in order to win $23 million in incentive cash over the next 15 years.