County Board | ARLnow.com

Published September 26, 2013 at 12:15PM

The Right Note is a weekly opinion column published on Thursdays. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

In the past, the Board has ignored the data and input it does not believe fits the narrative that a trolley on Columbia Pike is, well, a big shiny ball of awesome. And, the consensus among people I talk to who are regular “Board watchers” is this study is a play to see if the Board can take another run at federal funding. As Chairman Tejada said, the trolley is “County Board policy.”

News

Arlington Joins National Environmental Campaign

By Ethan Rothstein

Published September 26, 2013 at 11:15AM

With the resolution passed by the Board, Arlington joins the environmental advocacy nonprofit Center for Biological Diversity’s campaign to urge the Environmental Protection Agency to “make full use of the Clean Air Act” to reduce greenhouse gas emissions. Arlington is the 70th municipality to endorse the campaign, a list that includes Washington, D.C., Baltimore, Chicago, and Los Angeles.

From the CBD’s press release:

News

Board Requests Planning Funds for New Ballston Metro Entrance

By ARLnow.com

Published September 25, 2013 at 6:10PM | Updated September 26, 2013 at 9:16AM

On Tuesday, the Arlington County Board approved a funding plan for the county’s share of revenue generated by Virginia’s new transportation legislation. The plan, which will be submitted to the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA), calls for $500,000 to be allocated to planning for the new Metro entrance during the current fiscal year.

The entrance is already partially designed. As proposed, it will be located at the intersection of N. Fairfax and Vermont Streets, allowing easier access to the new developments along Glebe Road in Ballston, the Bluemont neighborhood and other points west. The station will feature two street-level elevators and escalators, connecting to an underground passageway and mezzanine (with an attended kiosk) that will lead to the train platform.

Around Town

W-L, Turnberry Towers Win Landscaping Awards

By Ethan Rothstein

Published September 24, 2013 at 3:30PM

Turnberry Tower exterior

Washington-Lee High School and four Arlington apartment buildings are being recognized with landscaping awards by the Arlington County Board today.

Washington-Lee, Turnberry Towers (1881 Key Blvd), The Lancaster Condominiums (1830 Columbia Pike), The Residences of Lyon Hill Condominiums (2801 Lee Highway) and The Wellington (1850 Columbia Pike) were presented with 2013 Arlington County Landscape Recognition Awards Tuesday afternoon.

News

County Board Approves PenPlace Project Over Neighborhood Objections

By ARLnow.com

Published September 24, 2013 at 1:00PM

Located on a 10.2 acre parcel of vacant land once proposed as a site for the Nationals baseball stadium, the development will include five buildings between 16 and 22 stories high, and more than 2 million square feet of total floor area. The buildings will be mostly commercial office towers — including one secure office building — plus a 300-room hotel and an option for a 300-unit residential building in lieu of one of the office towers.

Despite 25 public meetings on the development proposal, including 17 Site Plan Review Committee (SPRC) meetings starting in February 2012, a vocal group of residents were still not sold on the project. Mostly hailing from Arlington Ridge and other residential neighborhoods around Pentagon City, they listed a variety of objections to the project, including concerns about additional traffic on neighborhood streets and the new buildings blocking monument views of D.C.

News

Arlington to Reline Sewers for $3.7 Million

By Ethan Rothstein

Published September 23, 2013 at 9:30AM

The Board unanimously approved the contracts at its meeting Saturday, funding the renovations to 10,000 linear feet of sewer in three areas: Ballston Pond, at Washington Blvd to Fairfax Drive, S. Eads Street and Army Navy Drive and S. Walter Reed Drive to Shirlington Road.

County staff recommended the new lining to add an estimated 50 years of life to the system, much of which was put in place before 1950s, and to protect the Chesapeake Bay watershed.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published September 20, 2013 at 8:55AM

Reconfigured W. Glebe Road Intersection Considered — Arlington and Alexandria are considering moving the intersection of W. Glebe Road and S. Glebe Road in order to lessen congestion on Glebe near I-395. The proposal is now part of Alexandria’s long-range planning process. [Patch]

New Picnic Shelter for Lacey Woods Park — The Arlington County Board is scheduled to vote this weekend on an enhancement to Lacey Woods Park (1200 N. George Mason Drive). The Board will consider awarding a $341,000 contract to reconstruct the park’s 100-person picnic shelter. [Sun Gazette]

Opinion

Peter’s Take: Time to Finish the Job

By Peter Rousselot

Published September 19, 2013 at 2:45PM

Peter’s Take is a weekly opinion column. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

As the Sun Gazette reported last week, parents at the elementary schools that currently lack FLES demanded again at the Sept. 12 School Board meeting that the School Board follow through on its repeated prior commitments to provide FLES. The School Board Chair re-affirmed that doing so is an APS priority. Parents who support finishing the job now are asking supporters to sign a petition.

News

Ballston Mall Redevelopment Moves Forward

By Katie Pyzyk

Published September 18, 2013 at 1:10PM

A milestone has been reached on the planned revamp of Ballston Common Mall, and the makeover can now move forward. Forest City, the mall’s owner/developer/manager, has purchased the Macy’s Furniture Store.

The purchase has been in the works for months and just recently was finalized. Forest City spokesman Gary McManus said Macy’s never resisted the offer to purchase, but both sides had to devise and agree upon terms for the deal.

News

Board to Examine Permit for New School

By Katie Pyzyk

Published September 17, 2013 at 11:30AM | Updated September 17, 2013 at 2:19PM

Plans for the new school have been in the works for some time, and the Arlington School Board unanimously approved a conceptual design in February. Although a number of concerns from the community have arisen during the planning process, county staff recommends Board approval for the use permit.

One issue that previously prompted a meeting is the traffic impact a new school would have on the surrounding area. A study indicates traffic impacts only occur during a 15 to 20 minute “peak” period during school arrival and departure times. It is therefore suggested that the two schools stagger their start/end times to reduce this traffic impact, with Williamsburg having an earlier start time than the new school. Staff believes the new school’s parking lot has been adequately designed to prevent long lines of waiting cars from spilling into the neighboring streets during drop off and pick up times.

News

County Board to Consider Massive PenPlace Development

By ARLnow.com

Published September 16, 2013 at 4:30PM

As currently proposed, the development will include five buildings and 2.1 million square feet of total floor area. The buildings include a 22-story office building, a 22-story secure office building (for military and/or contractor use), a 20-story office building, an 18-story, 300-room hotel and either a 16-story office building or an 18-story, 300-unit residential building. The project will also feature 50,000 square feet of retail space, a 20,000 square foot “community facility,” and about 2 acres of public open space.

County staff is expected to recommend the Board approve the project, though the official recommendation will not be made until after the county’s Planning Commission weighs in on the project. The commission is holding a carryover meeting to discuss the project at 7:00 tonight (Monday), after the discussion at its meeting on Sept. 11 went too late.

News

Board Considering Time Limits on Tethering Dogs

By Ethan Rothstein

Published September 16, 2013 at 1:30PM

At its Sept. 21 meeting, the board will vote on whether to hold a public hearing on the issue on Oct. 19. Under the ordinance change, dogs would not be allowed to be tethered in a yard for more than three hours in a 24-hour period, or attached to a running cable or trolley system for more than 12 out of 24 hours.

County staff, in its recommendation, said that tethering dogs for an extended period of time “can put the animal’s health at risk if the animal cannot appropriately access food, water or shelter. Tethered animals can also develop aggressive behaviors as a result, which may endanger others.”