County Board | ARLnow.com

Earthquake Repairs Planned for Fire Station No. 2

Published July 17, 2012 at 10:15AM

The contract will cover stabilization of the entire building’s foundation, in addition to repairing cracks in the bunk rooms. Some of the bunk rooms in the 15-year-old building already had cracks due to shifting of loose foundation soil under the building. But the earthquake last August 23 caused damage to spread to another two rooms, and to the entrance of the truck bay. In addition to repairing the existing damage, the work is designed to prevent future wall cracking.

Some of the work includes demolishing and replacing walls, repairing cracks and slab jacking to raise and stabilize the foundation. New structural steel columns, metal panels and windows will be installed. There will also be some utility relocation and the roof drain will be moved.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published July 17, 2012 at 9:15AM

Mystery Surrounds Eden Center Shooting — Questions still surround the murder and suicide that occurred at the Eden Center in Falls Church on Saturday night. The victim, meanwhile, has been identified as 51-year-old Tai Phan, of Annandale, who at the time of the shooting was on his way to a gig as a bass player at a restaurant. [Washington Post]

Board May Drop Retail Requirement for Condo Complex — The Arlington County Board is poised to reverse a requirement it set 9 years ago for the Woodbury Park condo complex to reserve interior space for a convenience store. The store would have been located inside the 364-unit complex, with no outside signage and no easy access for non-residents. Nobody has stepped up to rent the space, so county staff is recommending the Board drop the retail requirement and allow Woodbury Park to build a condo unit in its place. [Sun Gazette]

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published June 29, 2012 at 9:44AM | Updated June 29, 2012 at 11:41AM

Bishop O’Connell Grad Selected in NBA Draft — Bishop O’Connell High School standout Kendall Marshall has been drafted by the Phoenix Suns in the first round of the NBA Draft. Marshall, a point guard, is being touted as a possible replacement to Steve Nash. [Washington Post, Bleacher Report]

Citizens Ask for Farmhouse Restoration — A group of residents is urging the Arlington County Board to spend some $1 million to restore the county-owned Reevesland farmhouse and convert it into a nature and sustainability learning center. At the moment, the county is attempting to find a commercial tenant to foot the bill for the pricey restoration. [Sun Gazette]

Schools

County Board to Consider New W-L Softball Field

By ARLnow.com

Published June 28, 2012 at 2:30PM

The Arlington School Board approved the $1 million softball field project at its Nov. 15, 2011 meeting. According to a project timeline published earlier this year, construction on the new field is expected to begin as soon as next month, and should wrap up by late winter or early spring 2013.

Arlington Public Schools spokesman Frank Bellavia confirmed that the new field is expected to be ready by the next softball season. The $1 million cost will be split between the school system and Arlington County, he said.

News

Residents Voice Opposition to New Glencarlyn School

By ARLnow.com

Published June 26, 2012 at 9:30AM

To address school capacity issues, Arlington Public Schools is planning to build a number of new schools, including a new 600-seat “choice” elementary school on the site of the existing Kenmore Middle School/Carlin Springs Elementary School campus.

The Citizens’ Association says the new school, slated to be built by 2017, would bring the total number of students attending schools in the Glencarlyn neighborhood to 2,600, including at Kenmore, Carlin Springs and nearby Campbell Elementary School. That, the association says, presents major traffic, parking and open space issues that will degrade the quality of life for residents.

News

Hearings Planned for Latest Sign Ordinance Revision

By Katie Pyzyk

Published June 20, 2012 at 2:55PM

The unanimous approval set one public hearing on the Zoning Ordinance changes for July 9, and another for July 24. Both will be in the third-floor Board Room at 2100 Clarendon Blvd.

One issue residents consistently raised at public workshops last year, and continue to contact the county about, is that of signs in the public right away — on road medians and the like. Currently, only two types of signs are allowed in the right of way — political and directional real estate signs. The real estate signs are allowed on weekends, typically to identify open houses, and political signs can remain for 31 days prior to an election.

News

Fate of WJLA Jumbotron Uncertain After Vote

By ARLnow.com

Published June 18, 2012 at 3:25PM

While the Board approved a request to replace the screen at 1100 Wilson Boulevard with a more modern, high definition video display, it also voted against a request that 8 percent of the screen space be used for a static commercial sponsorship message.

WJLA and landlord Monday Properties requested a sponsorship logo be allowed in order to help fund the new pricey new screen. The logo would have taken up 8 percent of the screen, while another 15 percent of the screen would have been used for community and cultural messages. As we reported last week, county staff recommended against the sponsorship request, saying it could set a bad precedent.

News

Board Approves Increase in Standards for Green Buildings

By Katie Pyzyk

Published June 18, 2012 at 12:00PM

The move is designed to encourage higher levels of energy efficiency in Arlington buildings that go above and beyond the LEED minimum requirements. It also addresses the building energy efficiency and greenhouse reduction goals listed in the Community Energy Plan, which was launched in 2010. The Green Building Bonus Density Initiative was last updated in 2009.

Under the new guidelines, commercial office projects interested in participating in the incentive program must be at least 20 percent more energy efficient than the baseline, and achieve LEED Silver certification or higher. Multi-family residential buildings interesting in participating must be 18 percent more energy efficient than the baseline, and achieve at least LEED Silver certification. Previously, the county did not have its own standards, but required buildings to comply with the LEED standard of being 10 percent more energy efficient than the baseline.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published June 18, 2012 at 8:45AM | Updated June 29, 2018 at 3:25PM

Rush Plus Starts Today — This morning marks the start of Metro’s “Rush Plus” modified rush hour rail service. So far, via Twitter, numerous problems and crowded trains have been reported on the Blue Line. Initial reviews have been mixed on the Orange and Yellow lines.

Hearing Set for Pike Neighborhoods Plan — A public hearing about the new Columbia Pike Neighborhoods Plan will be held on Saturday, July 21. The plan envisions the addition of 6,000 new rental apartments (to the existing stock of 9,000 apartments) along the Columbia Pike corridor over the next 30 years. Arlington County says the goal of the plan is to “Preserve affordable housing… encourage private investment… create a more pedestrian-friendly community… [and] strengthen the Pike corridor’s transit network.” [Washington Post, Arlington County]

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published June 14, 2012 at 9:15AM

Could New Theater Become a Financial Drain? — As a condition of its site plan for a new nine-story office building on the site of the old Arlington Funeral Home in Virginia Square, developer Crimson Partners agreed to build a new $3.7 million black box theater inside the building, at the request of the county. But given the financial problems at Artisphere, some are questioning whether the theater will be a financial “black hole” for Arlington County. [Arlington Connection]

Army Celebrates Birthday — The U.S. Army is celebrating its 237th birthday today. On June 14, 1775, in the midst of the Revolutionary War, the Continental Congress authorized the creation of the Continental Army. To mark the occasion, Army Secretary John McHugh will participate in a wreath-laying ceremony at Arlington National Cemetery at 9:30 this morning. [Associated Press]

News

WJLA Seeking Permission to Replace Jumbotron

By ARLnow.com

Published June 13, 2012 at 12:15PM

June 2012

WJLA is asking the County Board to approve a site plan amendment that would allow the station to install a new high definition screen in place of the existing standard definition Jumbotron. The new screen would be smaller: 164 square feet compared to the current screen’s 172 square feet. It would also have a rectangular 16:9 aspect ratio, as opposed to the more square 4:3 aspect ratio of the current screen.

County staff is recommending the Board approve the new screen, but deny a separate request from WJLA to dedicate a portion of the screen to “commercial sponsor messages” unrelated to the normal WJLA programming.

News

Arlington to Vote on Streetcar Agreement with Alexandria

By ARLnow.com

Published June 12, 2012 at 10:00AM

The Arlington County Board is expected to vote Saturday on the agreement, which would implement the streetcar as a two-phase project. County staff has recommended it be approved.

Under the proposed agreement, Arlington would proceed with the construction of a streetcar line in Crystal City while Alexandria focuses on building a new Potomac Yard Metro station. Arlington would complete an Environmental Assessment for the streetcar project in late 2013, while Alexandria would begin an Alternatives Analysis and environmental studies for its potential extension of the streetcar line in early 2014, after the final location of the Potomac Yard station has been decided.