County Board | ARLnow.com

Morning Notes

Published January 27, 2017 at 9:00AM

First Board Meeting With New Rule — Saturday will be the Arlington County Board’s first meeting with a new public participation rule. Whereas members of the public could previously request that any “consent agenda” item be pulled and discussed individually at the next Board meeting, the new rule requires at least one Board member to concur with the action. [InsideNova]

A Note on InsideNova Links — The desktop version of InsideNova’s website features popup ads and multiple autoplay videos with the audio on. It is not recommended for users in quiet environments or with older computers that may slow down or crash as a result of the videos and ads.

News

County Board to Vote on Easements for ‘Clarendon Circle’ Improvements

By Tim Regan

Published January 26, 2017 at 4:45PM

Rendering of the Clarendon Circle improvements (via Arlington County)

The Arlington County Board is considering giving its blessing to several easements needed for a long-awaited plan to revamp a tricky intersection in Clarendon.

The Board is scheduled to vote this weekend on easements needed to improve the “Clarendon Circle” intersection at Washington, Wilson and Clarendon boulevards.

News

County Board to Vote on Backing I-66 Widening Project’s Goals

By Tim Regan

Published January 25, 2017 at 11:00AM

A Virginia Dept. of Transportation plan to widen part of I-66 could soon get the partial blessing of the Arlington County Board.

Under VDOT’s “Transform 66” plan, an extra lane would be built within the existing eastbound right-of-way from the Dulles Connector Road to the Fairfax Drive exit in Ballston. The lane would stretch about four miles.

News

Va. Bill Would Raise Towing Fees, Override Arlington’s New Regulations

By ARLnow.com

Published January 17, 2017 at 5:15PM | Updated January 16, 2018 at 2:30PM

The House of Delegates bill, HB 1960, was proposed by Del. Tim Hugo, a Prince William and Fairfax County Republican. It would modify Virginia’s existing towing law with a number of provisions that would only apply to Northern Virginia jurisdictions in the state’s “Planning District 8,” which includes Arlington.

Among the proposed Northern Virginia-specific changes:

News

County Board to Consider Allowing Renters to Host Airbnb Guests

By ARLnow.com

Published January 17, 2017 at 10:30AM

That followed the fast-tracked County Board approval of the regulations on Dec. 12, beating the state legislature — which is considering a more lax set of policies that could supercede local rules — to the punch.

With the rules now in place, however, the Arlington County Board is looking to make some changes. Chief among them is allowing renters, not just homeowners, to generate extra income by opening their home to short-term guests.

News

Arlington Secures Final Puzzle Piece for Nauck Town Square Project

By Tim Regan

Published January 6, 2017 at 1:45PM

Rendering via Arlington County Board

Arlington has paved the way to finally break ground on a new public gathering place for the Nauck community.

The Arlington County Board approved the purchase of a one-story property at 2400 Shirlington Road for $803,000 earlier this week.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published January 5, 2017 at 9:00AM | Updated January 5, 2017 at 12:41PM

CEB Being Acquired — Arlington-based CEB Inc., one of the county’s biggest private employers, is being acquired by Connecticut-based Gartner in a $2.6 billion cash-and-stock deal. CEB is set to anchor one of the under-construction Central Place towers in Rosslyn once it is completed. [Reuters, Gartner]

Fisette Still Mulling Reelection Run — Jay Fisette, who is serving as Arlington County Board Chair for 2017, has not yet decided whether he’ll run for another four-year term. Fisette says he’ll make a decision in February, the Washington Post’s Patricia Sullivan reports. [Twitter]

News

Fisette, Cristol Snag Arlington County Board’s Top Spots, Bucking Tradition

By Tim Regan

Published January 4, 2017 at 11:30AM | Updated January 5, 2017 at 9:28AM

Jay Fisette was unanimously elected County Board Chair during the Board’s annual organizational meeting last night. This is Fisette’s fifth time serving as chair since he was first elected to the Board nearly 20 years ago.

It is a long-standing tradition that Board chairmanship rotate among members by seniority, with the vice chair assuming the chairmanship the next year. Often it corresponds with election cycles, with the member who is up for reelection the following year being elected vice chair. But the Board broke with tradition by electing one of its newest members, Democrat Katie Cristol, over independent John Vihstadt.

Around Town

Things We Learned From Arlington’s 2016 Year in Review Video

By ARLnow.com

Published December 20, 2016 at 11:00AM

Arlington County has released its year-in-review video for 2016.

News

County Board Approves $1 Million Public Art Installation in Rosslyn

By ARLnow.com

Published December 15, 2016 at 3:30PM

Lynn Street "Corridor of Light" rendering

Rosslyn is getting a new $1 million, developer-funded public art installation.

The County Board on Saturday awarded a contract $968,000 contract to California artist Cliff Garten to fabricate and install “four stainless steel, LED-lighted Luminous Body sculptures” that will be placed on the four corners of the Lynn Street bridge over I-66, near the entrance to the Key Bridge.

News

Want to Rent Your Place on Airbnb? Get Ready to File Monthly Tax Returns

By ARLnow.com

Published December 15, 2016 at 11:35AM

The move was cheered by Airbnb, which said Arlington is now the “first D.C. area municipality to pass an ordinance creating fair rules for middle class residents and families to continue sharing their homes.”

The regulation officially makes Airbnb legal in Arlington, whereas it might have been technically illegal before, under the local zoning ordinance. But there was one issue not addressed by the county press release that Airbnb hosts will want to consider going forward: taxes.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published December 15, 2016 at 9:30AM

‘Pop-Up Hotel’ Opening in January — “WhyHotel” is the new name of a “pop-up hotel” in the Bartlett apartment building in Pentagon City. Starting in January, the hotel will offer 50 unleased, furnished apartments as hotel rooms. Although most of the building is leased, owner Vornado is experimenting with “WhyHotel” as a way to monetize new apartment buildings during the lease-up period. [Washington Business Journal]

School Board Responds to Student’s Letter — Arlington School Board Chair Nancy Van Doren has responded to an open letter published in the Washington-Lee Crossed Sabres student newspaper. The letter, which was widely shared across social media, took the school board to task for approving high school boundary refinements that were seemingly antithetical to APS’ diversity goals. Without addressing the diversity issue, Van Doren defended the process and encouraged students to participate in future high school boundary decisions. [PDF]