zoning | ARLnow.com

Board Votes for ‘Big Box’ Restrictions

Published October 17, 2011 at 1:54PM

On Saturday the board unanimously approved a change to the county’s zoning ordinance that will require new “big box” retail stores to seek a Special Exception Use Permit. Before that, a large retailer could have theoretically built a store in certain areas on a “by right” basis, without the need to obtain board approval.

The amendment will apply to retail stores with a gross floor area of 50,000 square feet or more on any level, or stores with 200 more more dedicated parking spaces. Car dealerships were exempted from the rule.

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published October 13, 2011 at 9:20AM

More on Possible Shirlington Walmart — Three months after ARLnow.com reported exclusively that Walmart was eying a site for a possible store in Shirlington, County Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman is acknowledging that the county is aware of Walmart’s interest in Shirlington. This weekend the County Board is expected to discuss changing the zoning ordinance in order to prevent “big box” stores like Walmart from being constructed without Board approval. When the ordinance change was first advertised, the word “Walmart” was never mentioned. [WTOP]

Fire Station Open Houses This Weekend — Arlington’s 10 fire stations will each be conducting an open house between 10:00 a.m. and 4:00 p.m. on Saturday. The kid-friendly event is organized as part of Fire Prevention Week 2011. [Arlington County]

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published August 31, 2011 at 8:26AM

Car on Fire on I-395 — A car caught fire on southbound I-395 near Boundary Channel around 9:30 last night. The car was fully-engulfed by the time firefighters arrived on scene. No injuries were reported

Sun Gazette: Thumbs Down to Board’s ‘Walmart’ Action — The County Board’s last-minute, unannounced vote at the end of its final meeting before the summer recess is getting a “thumbs down” in the opinion pages of the Sun Gazette. The Board voted to advertise hearings on a zoning ordinance amendment that would prevent large-format retailers like Walmart from building a store without prior Board approval. “County staff so far have been unable to explain what the rush is – they want to get this approved by the County Board later in the month – and exactly what problem they are trying to solve,” the paper opined. [Sun Gazette]

News

County Releases Draft of New Sign Regulations

By ARLnow.com

Published August 24, 2011 at 1:30PM | Updated August 24, 2011 at 3:18PM

After holding sign workshops and promising more business-friendly regulations, the county has come up with a long list of changes to the existing ordinance. The changes are designed to “make the [sign] ordinance earlier to understand and use, and easier to administer and enforce,” while incorporating “best practices in sign regulation.”

Among the proposed changes, the county would allow sandwich board — or A-frame — signs on sidewalks, in direct contrast to the current ban on such signs, which are popular with shop owners in other urban areas. Sandwich board signs would be permitted so long as it doesn’t reduce the clear sidewalk width below six feet. Staff notes that “consideration is also being given to alternatives in areas where a six-foot clear width is not possible.”

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Clarendon Trader Joe’s Receives Building Permit

By ARLnow.com

Published July 14, 2011 at 1:18PM

The store was originally slated to open “mid-2011,” but that hoped-for opening has been pushed back due to an unexplained delay in applying for (and getting) the necessary permits and inspections. In May, a Trader Joe’s rep told ARLnow.com that the store is expected to open by the end of the year.

In addition to the building permit, Trader Joe’s has also received a zoning permit that will allow it to modify the building’s first floor facade (pictured) for use as a grocery store. The only other regulatory hurdles that remain, for now, concern the store’s fire prevention plan.

News

Wag More Dogs Seeks Appeal of Mural Lawsuit

By ARLnow.com

Published June 27, 2011 at 3:26PM | Updated June 28, 2011 at 6:39PM

In February, a U.S. District Court Judge dismissed a lawsuit against Arlington County filed by Wag More Dogs (2606 S. Oxford Street). With the assistance of the the Institute for Justice, a Ballston-based libertarian public interest law firm, Wag More Dogs owner Kim Houghton had claimed that the county’s crackdown on the store’s colorful wall mural, which faced the Shirlington dog park, was unconstitutional.

Today, Houghton and the Institute for Justice announced that they have asked the U.S. Court of Appeals for the Fourth Circuit to take the case — which revolves around the method by which Arlington County decides what is ‘art’ and what is an impermissible commercial sign.

News

Westover Beer Garden Update

By ARLnow.com

Published April 5, 2011 at 9:40AM

Arlington County recently approved a building permit that will allow the market to build Americans with Disabilities Act-compliant bathrooms — one step in the beer garden approval process. The other step will come on May 14, when Westover Market goes before the county board to ask for a live entertainment permit, which is necessary in order for the beer garden to host musical acts.

At the moment, the market is only permitted to seat nine people in the beer garden, which used to host large neighborhood gatherings.

News

Zimmerman Plans Small Business “Listening Session”

By ARLnow.com

Published March 15, 2011 at 11:30AM | Updated March 15, 2011 at 3:32PM

On New Year’s Day, County Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman kicked off the year by declaring that the board wanted to be seen a “facilitator, a partner to small business” in 2011.

The subtext of his comment was that the county was looking to reverse course from 2010, when a series of mini-controversies over enforcement of county ordinances had some entrepreneurs questioning Arlington’s commitment to small business.

News

BREAKING NEWS — Judge Dismisses Dog Mural Lawsuit

By ARLnow.com

Published February 11, 2011 at 4:08PM | Updated February 11, 2011 at 5:13PM

Kim Houghton, the owner of Wag More Dogs (2606 S. Oxford Street), sued Arlington County after zoning officials declared her store’s mural of dogs, bones and paw prints — which faces the Shirlington dog park — to be a form of commercial speech and in violation of the county’s sign ordinance. U.S. District Court Judge Leonie Brinkema dismissed the lawsuit today “with prejudice.”

Undeterred, Houghton vowed to keep fighting.

Around Town

Samuel Beckett’s Aiming for Saturday Opening

By ARLnow.com

Published January 6, 2011 at 10:30AM

After enduring several months of delays and setbacks, Samuel Beckett’s Irish Gastro Pub in Shirlington (2800 S. Randolph Street) is preparing to open its doors on Saturday.

“The day has arrived!!! We will open at 3 p.m. this Saturday, January 8th,” owner Mark Kirwan announced on the pub’s Facebook page. “We will only have a restricted food menu. Please be patient with us as we smooth out the bumps for the first week. We look forward to providing you with a memorable experience.”

News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Published January 5, 2011 at 5:23AM

Westover Beer Garden Saga Continues — Several months into the battle between the county zoning office and the Westover Market beer garden, a final resolution still has not been reached. Tens of thousands of dollars have been allocated to building new code-compliant restrooms, but more must now be spent constructing a restaurant separate from the grocery section. County regulators “are doing their best to make me a Republican,” market manager Devin Hicks told the Falls Church News-Press.

Fun and Games at the Library — The Westover Library will host a game-playing get-together for all ages this afternoon. From 2:30 to 5:00 p.m., players will face off in board games, card games and Nintendo Wii. More from the Arlington Public Library blog.

News

County Prepares to Fight Sign Lawsuit

By ARLnow.com

Published December 8, 2010 at 2:00PM | Updated December 8, 2010 at 2:48PM

County Attorney Stephen MacIsaac says the county has a number of arguments to counter the lawsuit’s claims. The suit argues that regulators are infringing on a small business owner’s free speech by deeming a large mural painted on the side of her building a commercial sign and not artwork.

“I think it should be fairly apparent under the sign ordinance that this is a sign,” MacIsaac said. The mural is “clearly an effort to promote this woman’s business… to depict it as public art, I think, is a bit of a stretch.”