County Board | ARLnow.com

Morning Notes

Published December 12, 2012 at 8:55AM

Tejada Named County Board Chair — The Arlington County Board has announced its intent to elect Walter Tejada as its chair for 2013. Tejada, who was first elected to the Board in 2003, served as the chair in 2008 and vice-chair in 2007 and 2012. Jay Fisette has been chosen as vice-chair for 2013. [Arlington County]

Lost Item Found in Library Donation — The library is trying to track down a mystery person who donated items to the Friends of the Library book sale. The donation contained something of “significant value” that the donor must have mistakenly included and likely wants back. In order to make sure the correct person comes forward to identify the item, the library will not release any more details. If you are the mystery donor, call Central Library Manager Margaret Brown at 703-228-5952. The library asks that people do not call with wild guesses in an attempt to claim the item. [Library Blog]

News

Board Passes PPTA Following Heated Debate

By Katie Pyzyk

Published December 11, 2012 at 1:55PM | Updated December 11, 2012 at 2:17PM

Original Columbia Pike streetcar rendering

The Board spent hours discussing and hearing testimony about the Virginia Public-Private Transportation Act of 1995 (PPTA) before ultimately adopting the guidelines in a 4-1 vote. Board member Libby Garvey was the lone dissenter, raising numerous questions about the PPTA and its safeguards. She reiterated previous statements she made about wishing for more time to examine the implications of adopting the guidelines.

“This is an incredibly complex legal document here and I don’t know that we should be doing it on the fly,” Garvey said.

News

Board Nixes All-Electric Cab Fleet

By Katie Pyzyk

Published December 11, 2012 at 10:10AM | Updated December 11, 2012 at 10:39AM

Arlington start-up EV Taxicabs had requested permits for 40 cabs, for which County Manager Barbara Donnellan gave a stamp of approval in October.

The topic has garnered much discussion over the past few months, and was held over from last month’s Board meeting to allow for more time to examine the details.

News

Morning Notes

By Katie Pyzyk

Published December 11, 2012 at 8:40AM

Old Post Office Property Vote Tonight — This evening the County Board is scheduled to vote on the property at 1720 S. Eads Street in Crystal City, which used to be a post office. The proposal before the board is to re-zone the property and build a nearly 211,000 square foot residential building. County staff members recommend the Board approves the measures.

Food Stamp Use Doubles in Arlington — The number of people receiving food stamps in Arlington doubled over the past decade. That’s lower than the number of people in Fairfax County (triple) and the city of Alexandria (quadruple). The spike isn’t just due to the recession, it’s because more people are now eligible for food assistance. With expanded eligibility it’s estimated that half of the food stamp recipients now live above the federal poverty level. [The Arlington Connection]

News

Group Home to Expand Despite Neighborhood Concerns

By ARLnow.com

Published December 10, 2012 at 6:30PM

Since April, a single-family house at 3704 2nd Street S. has been operating as a low-barrier group home for four (4) adults with mental illnesses transitioning from homelessness. New Hope Housing, the Alexandria-based nonprofit that operates the dormitory, has been seeking a use permit to increase the maximum number of adults housed at the dormitory to six (6).

The use permit request drew criticism from neighbors at Saturday’s Arlington County Board meeting.

News

Board Approves Bergmann’s Redevelopment

By ARLnow.com

Published December 10, 2012 at 1:45PM

Last month, the Planning Commission voted against the project, which includes a 10-story apartment building and a retail and residential complex that will include a MOM’s Organic Market grocery store. The development will replace the aging Bergmann’s dry cleaning plant, at the corner of Lee Highway and N. Vietch Street, less than half a mile from the Courthouse Metro station. The Planning Commission voted ‘no’ due to concerns about building height and the precedent the project might set for development on Lee Highway.

The Lyon Village Civic Association, which represents residents across Lee Highway from the proposed development, agreed with the Planning Commission. Civic Association President James Lantelme told the Board that the association supports redevelopment of the Bergmann’s site in theory, but couldn’t support a building higher than 6-8 stories.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published December 10, 2012 at 9:05AM | Updated December 10, 2012 at 9:37AM

Courthouse Office Building Approved — At its meeting on Saturday, the Arlington County Board unanimously approved a redevelopment plan for a new 8-story office building at 2311 Wilson Blvd in Courthouse. [Arlington County]

Goody’s Expansion Plan Foiled by the Fiscal Cliff? — Clarendon pizza restaurant Goody’s was featured on the Friday broadcast of NBC Nightly News. The owners of the restaurant say they’re only making a small profit and they’re worried about having to close due to the impact of the so-called fiscal cliff (primarily the increased taxes that could go into effect if no deal is reached). Goody’s owners were planning to expand next year, but have put those plans on hold, according to the broadcast. [NBC News]

News

Board Members ‘Dismayed’ at Garvey’s Allegations

By ARLnow.com

Published December 8, 2012 at 2:15PM

In a statement released to reporters Saturday afternoon (below), Board Chair Mary Hynes and members Jay Fisette and Walter Tejada said they were “dismayed” that Garvey released an internal email she sent to them regarding what she saw as a possible conflict of interest in Board member Chris Zimmerman’s business dealings.

The Board is set to vote Monday on adoption of Virginia’s Public-Private Transportation Act (PPTA), which would allow the county to seek a public-private partnership for its streetcar project. Garvey asked whether Zimmerman should recuse himself, since he recently started doing consulting work for AECOM, a large planning, design and construction conglomerate that has worked on numerous streetcar and light rail project.

News

Garvey Raises Red Flags About Public-Private Partnership Vote

By ARLnow.com

Published December 6, 2012 at 4:15PM | Updated December 7, 2012 at 2:41PM

Garvey is calling for the Board to delay its scheduled vote on adoption of Virginia’s Public-Private Transportation Act (PPTA). The vote is currently scheduled for Monday, after being deferred at the Nov. 27 Board meeting.

The County Board is considering using a private-public partnership for the design, construction and operation of the planned Crystal City streetcar. The Board would need to adopt the state PPTA in order to enter such a partnership.

News

Staff Recommends Approval of Bergmann Development

By ARLnow.com

Published December 6, 2012 at 2:15PM | Updated December 6, 2012 at 2:36PM

Arlington County staff are recommending that the County Board approve a proposed mixed-use development for the Bergmann’s Dry Cleaning site on Lee Highway.

Last month, the county’s Planning Commission voted against the project, which includes a 10-story apartment tower. The commission said Arlington should have a development plan in place for Lee Highway before any big, potentially precedent-setting developments are approved.

News

Rosslyn Electronic Tourism Kiosk to Be Removed

By ARLnow.com

Published December 6, 2012 at 9:45AM

An electronic tourism kiosk, located at 1919 N. Lynn Street in Rosslyn, is set to be removed.

The Arlington County Board must ultimately approve the removal, but the kiosk already has a sign indicating that it’s out of service. In a report to the Board, county staff say the Arlington Convention and Visitors Service kiosk “requires replacement, due to aging, at significant cost.” Staff recommends removing the kiosk and not replacing it.

News

New Courthouse Office Building Set for Vote

By ARLnow.com

Published December 4, 2012 at 2:05PM

Rendering of the planned Clean Technology Center building at 2311 Wilson Blvd

The Arlington County Board is set to vote on a new office building proposed for the Courthouse neighborhood.

The planned 8-story “Clean Technology Center” building at 2311 Wilson Boulevard will replace two small buildings containing three restaurants, including Listrani’s Restaurant and Bar. It will be located next to a 10-story Archstone apartment building and the two-story “Superstar Tickets” office.