NAACP | ARLnow.com

NAACP alleges current Missing Middle proposal could run afoul of fair housing laws

Published February 3, 2023 at 11:55AM | Updated February 3, 2023 at 6:29PM

A duplex in Halls Hill (via Arlington County)

(Updated at 6:15 p.m.) The Arlington branch of the NAACP — previously a champion of Arlington’s Missing Middle housing proposal — is claiming the proposal now being deliberated is in danger of violating federal and state fair housing laws.

After hearing nearly 200 public speeches and convening three meetings in mid-January, the Arlington County Board approved a request to authorize hearings on proposed zoning changes that would allow small-scale multifamily buildings with up to six homes in districts zoned exclusively for single-family detached homes.

News

Arlington civil rights activist Kent Carter remembered for his leadership, love of family

By Jo DeVoe

Published October 7, 2022 at 10:45AM

Former Arlington Branch NAACP First Vice President Kent Carter at a Black Lives Matter rally in June 2020 (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

On Saturday afternoon, Kent Carter left Arlington to celebrate his 40th birthday on Turks and Caicos, the Caribbean islands southeast of the Bahamas, with his long-time girlfriend.

He was supposed to fly back on Tuesday.

News

Nurse found not guilty of falsifying records after man’s death in county jail

By Jo DeVoe

Published October 3, 2022 at 11:30AM

The family of Darryl Becton with Arlington NAACP President Julius "JD" Spain, Sr. (staff photo)

A man who was charged in connection to the death of Darryl Becton in Arlington County jail in 2020 has been found not guilty.

Antoine Smith was charged in September 2021 with the misdemeanor of falsifying a patient record.

News

Report outlines how Arlington County can prevent another Serrano saga

By Jo DeVoe

Published September 22, 2022 at 3:35PM | Updated September 22, 2022 at 4:42PM

Serrano Apartments (photo via Google Maps)

(Updated 4:40 p.m.) There are more than two dozen steps local affordable housing developers, Arlington County and the state can take to improve quality of life and respect tenants, according to a new report.

Written by a Joint Subcommittee on the Status of Aging Properties (JSSAP), the report walks through the kinds of protections tenants need to live safely in committed affordable dwellings in Arlington, many of which are affordable because they are older and more prone to maintenance issues.

News

Report highlighted by NAACP supports ‘missing middle’ as a response to local legacy of redlining

By Mavis Chan

Published July 26, 2022 at 11:30AM | Updated October 17, 2022 at 10:49AM

Townhomes in the Green Valley neighborhood (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

(Updated at noon) A new report supports Arlington County’s consideration of residential zoning changes as a way to counteract past discriminatory practices. But critics of the changes could harm, not help, the local Black community.

The NAACP Arlington Branch hosted an online discussion last Wednesday (July 20) about the McGuireWoods report in light of local debate around the Missing Middle Housing Study proposal, which would allow small-scale multifamily housing in areas currently zoned only for single-family homes.

News

Local Sierra Club chapter endorses ‘missing middle’ housing plan

By ARLnow.com

Published June 9, 2022 at 10:55AM | Updated October 17, 2022 at 10:49AM

Slide from Missing Middle Housing Study draft framework (via Arlington County)

(Updated at 4:25 p.m.) The draft plan to allow more small-scale multifamily housing in Arlington has picked up another influential enforcement.

The county’s Missing Middle Housing Study draft framework recommends allowing everything from townhouses to an eight-unit apartment or condo buildings on land currently zoned exclusively for single-family detached homes. The lot size would determine the maximum number of units and the structure would be no bigger than what’s currently allowed by-right as a single-family home.

News

Local NAACP tells County Board it supports plan to allow more residential housing types

By ARLnow.com

Published May 24, 2022 at 3:55PM | Updated October 17, 2022 at 11:25AM

Townhomes in the Green Valley neighborhood (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

(Updated at 4:15 p.m.) The Arlington branch of the NAACP has come out in support of the county’s Missing Middle Housing Study draft framework.

The proposal calls for allowing small-scale multifamily housing in the residential areas of Arlington currently zoned only for single-family homes. The new “missing middle” homes — ranging from townhomes to 8-plexes, depending on the lot size — would be limited to the same physical size and footprint currently allowed for single-family homes.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published March 18, 2022 at 7:30AM

Layers of buildings and fog in Rosslyn (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Arlington Ranks in New ‘Best’ Lists — “Niche, a platform for community and school ratings, released its 2022 Best Places to Live rankings this week, and Arlington and its neighborhoods ranked high on the lists. This year, Arlington County ranked No. 3 in Best Cities to Raise a Family in America, No. 4 in Best Cities to Live in America, and No. 5 for Best Cities for Young Professionals in America.” [Patch]

NAACP Asks for Civil Rights Investigation — “The Arlington County, Virginia, jail is the subject of a civil rights complaint by the Arlington Branch of the NAACP. The civil rights agency wrote a letter Monday to the Justice Department’s Civil Rights Division asking for an investigation into the patterns and practices at the Arlington County Detention Facility.” [WTOP]

News

JUST IN: Family of deceased inmate sues Arlington sheriff, jail healthcare provider

By Jo DeVoe

Published March 11, 2022 at 1:55PM

The family of Darryl Becton with Arlington NAACP President Julius "JD" Spain, Sr. (staff photo)

The family of a man who died in Arlington County jail in 2020 has filed a wrongful death lawsuit blaming his death on willfully negligent care by the county and nurses.

Darryl Becton, 46, died in the Arlington County Detention Facility on Oct. 1, 2020. A state coroner determined he died of hypertensive cardiovascular disease, which is caused by sustained high blood pressure, complicated by opiate withdrawal.

News

NAACP: ‘Missing Middle’ not sufficient to integrate Arlington neighborhoods

By Jo DeVoe

Published March 11, 2022 at 10:45AM | Updated October 17, 2022 at 10:49AM

Duplexes in the Arlington Heights neighborhood (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

The local NAACP is calling on the Arlington County Board to do more to encourage affordable homeownership opportunities for residents of color.

Although segregation officially ended last century, the Arlington branch of the NAACP says non-white residents are still effectively excluded from some neighborhoods due to county zoning codes, compounded by rising housing costs.

Schools

School Board member reverses course, speaks out against Democratic caucus process

By Jo DeVoe

Published March 3, 2022 at 11:35AM

Arlington School Board member Mary Kadera during the board's Feb. 17, 2022 meeting (via Arlington Public Schools)

Mary Kadera says she’s had a change of heart about the Arlington’s Democratic party’s School Board endorsement caucus, which helped her to land a School Board seat.

Kadera, who said she initially voted to keep the process after careful study, wrote in a blog post on Monday that it’s time to listen to dissenting voices and try something else.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published February 22, 2022 at 7:30AM | Updated February 22, 2022 at 8:31AM

An aircraft taking off from Reagan National is distorted by raindrops on a windshield (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

W-L Wins District Hoops Tourney — “Sometimes the hardest way to win a championship is being the favorite, as the Washington-Liberty Generals were in the Liberty District boys basketball tournament, with opponents motivated to knock off the top seed. Knowing that, the Generals were ready for the challenge. They played well and hungry, eliminating any chance for upsets with strong starts in winning their two games.” [Sun Gazette, Twitter, Twitter]

NAACP Blasts VLP Pause — From the Arlington branch of the NAACP: “It is a travesty that the educational future of 558 students – the equivalent of an entire school – has been decided based on an unclear budget process and fueled by a myriad of obscure decisions, outright incompetence at times, and mismanagement. Moreover, the VLP experiment was conducted at the expense of the most vulnerable students, which is unconscionable.” [Press Release]