Could a boardwalk for visitors one day encircle the Roaches Run Waterfowl Sanctuary adjacent to Gravelly Point?
And could there be better accessibility to the site, which today is effectively restricted to vehicular traffic?
environment
Arlington property owners next year likely will have a number of new ways to claim rebates against the government’s new stormwater fees.
County staff have proposed two additions to existing opportunities to lessen the annual stormwater fee, which is based on a property’s impermeable surface and for residential properties averaged $258 this year.
A recently released analysis may provide the fuel to rekindle ongoing debate about the state of Arlington’s treescape.
“We don’t know if we trust your data. We trust our eyes,” said Elizabeth Grossman of the Arlington Tree Action Group (ATAG), who used the County Board’s Nov. 16 public-comment period to encourage county leaders not to take a victory lap over the new figures.
Arlington’s tree canopy may be on a slight upswing, according to county officials.
But that doesn’t necessarily mean there are more trees in the community.
The first update in five years to Arlington’s Green Building Incentive Program is likely to have more stringent rules but also more pathways for developers to meet them.
The Arlington government in 1999 began providing incentives for developers willing to go beyond minimum requirements in environmentally friendly design. The program was updated in 2014 and again in 2020.
Extra emphasis on road safety, environmental resiliency and facilities upgrades is included in the final draft of Arlington’s latest 10-year Capital Improvement Plan.
The Arlington County Board yesterday (Tuesday) approved a $4.5 billion Fiscal Year 2025-2034 CIP, outlining planned investment in county infrastructure and assets. Changes between the original proposal presented in May and the final draft include:
The Paris Olympics start later this month and tomorrow (Saturday) in Arlington, a new competition will emerge: the Grabber Olympics, for Northern Virginia’s litter-picker-uppers.
The inaugural event will begin at 11 a.m. by the Clarendon Metro station for a two-hour community cleanup with volunteer nonprofit NOVA Cleanups, sister of District Cleanups. Anyone is welcome to sign up and participate.
Arlington plans to develop a new tool to encourage energy-efficiency upgrades among disadvantaged communities.
The Arlington County Board last week approved a $980,350 grant award from the Environmental Justice Government-to-Government Grant Program at the Environmental Protection Agency (EPA). With the money, the county plans to build a tool to model green improvements in building types common to low-income disadvantaged communities (LIDACs).
Go to Nearly $1M EPA grant to fund efficiency upgrades in disadvantaged parts of Arlington
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A new recycling facility and more food scraps collection could be coming to Arlington as the county revamps its waste-reduction strategy.
A proposed Solid Waste Management Plan seeking to divert 90% of Arlington waste away from landfills and incineration by 2038 is slated to go before the Arlington County Board on Saturday. Replacing the current plan adopted in 2004, the new document would guide initiatives in Arlington for the next two decades.
Arlington Public Schools is set to add several new all-electric school buses to its fleet next year.
Last week, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency announced that Arlington is among 18 Virginia school districts awarded the 2023 Clean School Bus rebate to purchase five new all-electric (or low-emission) buses.
The D.C. area’s council of governments wants to get at least half of the region covered in trees.
After years of shrinking tree cover, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) adopted a goal earlier this month of maintaining a minimum canopy of at least 50% throughout the D.C. area. It is calling on local governments including Arlington to commit to a similar goal.
Arlington is receiving nearly $300,000 in federal funds to help clean up the Chesapeake Bay.
The money is part of a much larger $206 million federal grant given to the National Fish and Wildlife Foundation and Chesapeake Bay Trust to help protect and restore the largest estuary in the U.S.