County Board | ARLnow.com

A Closer Look at Arlington’s Proposed Flood Mitigation Measures

Published February 27, 2020 at 3:30PM

After last summer’s devastating flash flooding, Arlington is ready to move forward with a new set of changes to try to prevent the same level of flood damage.

Staff said at Tuesday’s Arlington County Board meeting that the trend of increasing intensity and frequency of the storms has forced the county to take flood resilience more seriously. Shorter-term solutions that are in progress include new flood sensors, included in this year’s budget, and plans to change regulations for new developments.

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Three Arlington Streets Tagged With New $200 Speeding Fine

By Vernon Miles

Published February 27, 2020 at 10:00AM | Updated February 27, 2020 at 12:33PM

Arlington County Police cars (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

If you’ve got a lead foot, you should probably slow down, especially — soon — on three particular Arlington streets.

In January the Arlington County Board voted to start imposing an additional $200 fine for speeding on certain residential streets.

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Garvey Floats Potential of Tax Rate Cut

By ARLnow.com

Published February 26, 2020 at 9:00AM

The Arlington County Board voted yesterday to advertise a maximum tax rate that will, at most, keep the current rate steady.

The action comes amid rising property assessments that will buoy county coffers and help support County Manager Mark Schwartz’s proposed 2.9% increase in spending without a rate hike.

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published February 26, 2020 at 7:30AM

Transit Union Gets Its Money Back from Dorsey — “Union verifies (to me, 5 minutes ago) that it has received [embattled County Board member Christian Dorsey’s] repayment of $10,000 campaign donation.” [Twitter]

Board Advances Reeves Farmhouse Plan — “The [Reeves] farmhouse will be preserved and protected as a historic site, the parkland around the house will stay as parkland, and the County will get much needed housing for people with developmental disabilities without our taxpayers footing the bill. It’s a win-win-win.” [Arlington County]

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County Wants to Link Three Major Crystal City Development Projects

By ARLnow.com

Published February 25, 2020 at 3:50PM

Rendering of the towers JBG Smith is proposing to build at 223 23rd Street S., as of 2019 (Image via Arlington County)

A trio of development projects in Crystal City may be linked together in an effort to maximize community benefits.

The Arlington County Board voted 4-0 over the weekend to advertise public hearings on a Phased Development Site Plan for three of JBG Smith’s raft of post-HQ2 proposed projects in the area.

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Plan for Nonprofit to Take Over Reeves Farmhouse to Go to County Board

By Vernon Miles

Published February 25, 2020 at 10:55AM | Updated February 26, 2020 at 12:37PM

Reeve farmhouse (photo via Arlington County)

Three years after Habitat for Humanity of Northern Virginia (HabitatNOVA) first reached out to Arlington County with a plan to reuse the Reeves Farmhouse, the plan is scheduled for review by the Arlington County Board tonight.

The home, built in 1900, is a historic property that is currently vacant and owned by Arlington County. The Reevesland property it sits on is notable for being the last operating dairy farm in Arlington, operating through the Great Depression and World War II until 1955.

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Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published February 24, 2020 at 7:30AM | Updated February 24, 2020 at 8:52AM

Dorsey Steps Down from Transportation Board — “The Arlington County Board forced member Christian Dorsey to step down from a second transit board Saturday over a campaign donation from Metro’s largest union, and he apologized for misleading statements he made last month suggesting that he had already returned the money. Dorsey (D), who was reelected to the board in November, said he has sent back the $10,000 donation to the Amalgamated Transit Union and agreed to resign from the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission.” [Washington Post]

Thousands Attend Buttigieg Rally — Nearly 10,000 people attended Democratic presidential candidate Pete Buttigieg’s campaign rally at Washington-Liberty High School yesterday afternoon. [Twitter, Twitter, The Pete Channel]

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‘Good News Budget’ Gives County Staff Raises, Has No Tax Rate Increase

By ARLnow.com

Published February 20, 2020 at 4:30PM | Updated February 20, 2020 at 8:25PM

(Updated at 5:15 p.m.) Amazon is moving in at a quickening clip and Arlington County’s budget-makers are breathing a sigh of relief.

After a few years of tight budgets, involving tax rate hikes and a handful of county staff layoffs, “this is a good budget year,” County Manager Mark Schwartz said today, ahead of presenting his proposed Fiscal Year 2021 budget to the Arlington County Board.

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Nestle Sponsors Child Care Scholarship in Arlington

By Vernon Miles

Published February 19, 2020 at 10:15AM

Arlington County is planning to partner with Nestlé and the Arlington Community Foundation to create a child care scholarship program.

The Shared Prosperity Child Care Scholarship Program is paid for by a $200,000 donation from Nestlé, the multinational food and drink company that recently expanded its U.S. headquarters in Rosslyn. Nestlé’s baby food subsidiary Gerber is also located in Rosslyn.

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New Agreement Could Bring National Guard Drug Analyst to Arlington Police Department

By Vernon Miles

Published February 19, 2020 at 9:30AM | Updated February 19, 2020 at 9:59AM

Arlington County Police cars (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

The Arlington County Police Department and the Virginia National Guard are planning a new memorandum of understanding (MOU) that could add state-level counter drug support to Arlington’s local law enforcement.

At the Saturday (Feb. 22) meeting, the County Board is scheduled to review the MOU that would add a new National Guard analyst to the police department’s Organized Crime Section.

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Improvements Planned for Edison Park in Arlington Forest

By Vernon Miles

Published February 18, 2020 at 4:45PM

Edison Park planned improvements (via Arlington County)

Good news if you take your kids to play at Edison Park (213 N. Edison Street) in the Arlington Forest neighborhood: Arlington County is planning to put $822,166 of renovations into the park.

On Saturday, Feb. 22, the County Board is scheduled to vote on funding the project. The total proposed allocation is $904,383, with $82,216 set aside as a contingency.

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With Lots of Redevelopment Coming, County Expected to Re-Examine Clarendon Plan

By ARLnow.com

Published February 18, 2020 at 3:45PM | Updated February 18, 2020 at 4:28PM

(Updated at 4:30 p.m.) A bevy of new development is coming to Clarendon and Virginia Square, prompting Arlington County to update its plan for the former.

The county’s busy planning division, which is working its way through a crush of post-Amazon HQ2 development applications, is also gearing up to review and perhaps refine the 2006 Clarendon Sector Plan.