County Board | ARLnow.com

New Boundaries Approved as County Board Considers Ashlawn Addition

Published May 17, 2013 at 4:05PM | Updated May 17, 2013 at 5:00PM

The School Board unanimously adopted “Variation B” of Superintendent Dr. Patrick Murphy’s recommended boundaries (left). The new boundaries will help distribute students to a new elementary school on the Williamsburg Middle School campus (see below) as well as to additions at Ashlawn and McKinley elementary schools.

The new schools and additions (there will also be a new choice elementary school near Kenmore Middle School and an addition to Arlington Traditional School) are being undertaken to provide an additional 1,875 seats of capacity by 2017 for Arlington burgeoning student population.

News

Arlington’s Envirocab Service to Be Sold

By ARLnow.com

Published May 17, 2013 at 11:45AM

Owners Hans Hess and Cord Thomas, Hess’ nephew, are planning to sell the 50-cab fleet to Veolia Transportation, which operates more than 2,400 taxicabs around the country. Among Veolia’s local holdings are the SuperShuttle airport transportation service and a third of the Washington Flyer cab fleet. Hess also owns the Ballston-based Elevation Burger restaurant chain.

The Arlington County Board must first approve the ownership transfer, per a condition of Envirocab’s taxi licenses. County staff is recommending that the Board approve the sale at its meeting on Tuesday.

News

Board to Consider Measure to Allow Year-Round Outdoor Cafes

By ARLnow.com

Published May 16, 2013 at 1:15PM

Westover Beer Garden

The Arlington County Board is considering an amendment to its zoning ordinance to allow outdoor cafes on private property to stay open year-round. The county was previously enforcing an uncodified interpretation of the ordinance that requires all outdoor cafes to be seasonal in nature — typically only open from April to November.

Sidewalk cafes located on public property will still be regulated under the seasonality requirement, but will only be required to close for three months of the year.

News

County to Consider Historic Designation, Sale for Cherrydale Home

By ARLnow.com

Published May 15, 2013 at 10:15AM

Fraber House in 2013 (via Arlington County)

The house and surrounding grounds were purchased by the county from the Fraber family in 2002, for $537,000, with the intention of demolishing the yellow Bungalow-style home and using the land to expand adjacent Oakgrove Park.

The latter part of that plan was foiled when the Cherrydale neighborhood included the house and its detached garage in its designation to the National Register of Historic Places.

News

Korean Embassy Offers County Free Land Use

By Katie Pyzyk

Published May 14, 2013 at 1:40PM

The two parcels of vacant land run along Clarendon Blvd, between N. Adams Street and N. Barton Street. The ROK Arlington Embassy Annex building lies adjacent to the land, but faces Wilson Blvd. The land parcels up for grabs currently house nothing but fenced asphalt and gravel lots.

The embassy reports that the space is only used a few times each year during large meetings. It decided to offer the land to the county as a goodwill gesture.

News

Board to Consider Hearings for Energy Plan

By ARLnow.com

Published May 13, 2013 at 3:45PM

District energy system illustration

The Arlington County Board is expected to vote this weekend to hold public hearings on the county’s proposed Community Energy Plan.

A draft of the ambitious plan calls for Arlington to significantly decrease energy consumption and reduce greenhouse gas emissions by 2050 through a series of six goals and 14 policies. The goals include:

Opinion

Peter’s Take: Self Limits Not Term Limits

By Peter Rousselot

Published May 2, 2013 at 1:00PM

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.

Although the letter writer did not say so, his proposal would have to be authorized by a new Virginia law. Current Virginia law does not authorize such ballot proposals, although current law does authorize a petition process that could lead to the recall of an individual County Board member by Arlington’s voters.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published April 29, 2013 at 8:35AM | Updated April 29, 2013 at 9:25AM

Central Library Renovations — Updated at 9:25 a.m. — A number of renovations are in progress at Arlington Central Library. The changes include new carpeting, structural maintenance and a new Digital Projects Lab. The library will remain open during the renovations, but certain parts will be closed, including the parking garage, which is expected to be closed from May 6-10. [Arlington Public Library]

Term Limits for County Board? — In a letter to the editor, one resident argues that term limits for Arlington County Board members may “change Arlington’s oligarchy for the better.” The resident suggests implementing term limits via referendum. [Sun Gazette]

News

County Optimistic About Federal Funds for Streetcar Despite Cost Concerns

By ARLnow.com

Published April 24, 2013 at 1:55PM

Original Columbia Pike streetcar rendering

Officials explained last night, at a County Board meeting, that the Federal Transit Administration rejected its request for $75 million in grant funding because the total project cost was estimated to exceed the $250 million — the cap for projects to receive funding under the FTA’s Small Starts program.

Though pegged by the county at $245.9 million, a contractor hired by the FTA estimated the project cost to instead be between $255.9 and $402.4 million, including contingencies, and thus ineligible for a Small Starts grant. The contractor said $310.1 million was “a most likely cost.”

News

Board Votes to Extend Food Truck Parking Time

By ARLnow.com

Published April 24, 2013 at 10:40AM

Food trucks will now be able to serve customers on local streets for up to two hours. They will not, however, be able to stay longer than the time allocated by the meter zone they’re parked in.

The previous one-hour limit had led to complaints and even legal challenges from food truck owners who argued that an hour doesn’t give them enough time to serve hungry customers in busy parts of the county where parking is at a premium.

News

Board Passes Fairlington-Shirlington Conservation Plan

By ARLnow.com

Published April 22, 2013 at 3:35PM | Updated April 22, 2013 at 7:05PM

The Board unanimously approved the plan, which updates a previous plan that was passed in 1987. The new plan seeks to protect the communities from traffic impacts, maintain public infrastructure and foster a sense of community. It was created over the course of eight years with the help of community input.

“The program reflects the County’s belief that no one understands what a neighborhood needs better than the people who live there,” County Board Chair Walter Tejada said in a statement. “The County Board thanks the residents of Fairlington-Shirlington for working for eight years to produce this thoughtful, realistic plan to help ensure this area of the County will remain a great place to live for decades to come.”

News

County Board Approves New Budget

By ARLnow.com

Published April 20, 2013 at 2:55PM

The Board raised taxes slightly above the 3.2 cent increase recommended by County Manager Barbara Donnellan, citing the need to eliminate proposed cuts to the police and fire departments and the county’s child care office, and the need to increase funding to safety net programs and Arlington Public Schools.

Arlington’s tax rate will now increase to $1.006 per $100 of assessed value.