A circuit court judge has overturned Arlington’s Missing Middle zoning changes.
Judge David Schell ruled against the county on four counts this morning (Friday), finding that the county failed to adequately consider localized impacts, failed to follow proper procedure and violated state tree canopy requirements when adopting the amendments.
Controversy is heating up around a proposed six-unit development near the East Falls Church Metro station.
The Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) is scheduled to vote tomorrow (Wednesday) on whether to uphold a decision to approve an Expanded Housing Option permit for the property, located at 2315 N. Tuckahoe Street.
A less restrictive process for home improvement projects at older townhomes and apartment buildings could be coming to Arlington.
By default, townhomes and multifamily properties in Arlington currently can’t receive any “interior structural alterations” unless they are in full compliance with the Arlington County Zoning Ordinance (ACZO). If property owners want an exception to conduct partial renovations like remodeling a kitchen or finishing an attic, they often have to seek approval from the county’s Board of Zoning Appeals.
Certified recovery residences with up to eight people might soon be allowed in single-family Arlington neighborhoods.
With limited exceptions, the Arlington County Zoning Ordinance currently allows no more than four people to live in a single-family home unless they are “related by blood, marriage or adoption.” But a county staff report recommends changing county code to provide explicit support for recovery residences, which offer drug- and alcohol-free housing to people with substance abuse disorders.
Arguments about the way Arlington approved Missing Middle have taken center stage this week in the civil trial over last year’s hotly contested zoning amendments.
Testimony on behalf of the plaintiffs concluded yesterday (Wednesday) as attorneys continue to argue that Missing Middle zoning changes should be invalidated because they say the county improperly advertised the changes and failed to adequately study them, among other allegations.
The first Missing Middle case to be heard in Arlington Circuit Court was dismissed last week, but legal fees in another lawsuit against the county continue to balloon.
The dismissed lawsuit related to a pair of planned six-plexes in Alcova Heights, approved after the Expanded Housing Option changes. A judge struck the suit down on Friday “due to technical defects,” Zachary Williams, an attorney for developer Classic Cottages, told ARLnow.
Looser parking restrictions for businesses have arrived in Arlington.
The Arlington County Board unanimously voted on Tuesday to reduce parking minimums for many commercial establishments, while also removing some red tape around off-site parking and shared parking lots.
Arlington’s Pentagon City Sector Plan has been overturned by a state court.
Reversing a trial court’s decision, the Virginia Court of Appeals ruled yesterday (Tuesday) that the Arlington County Board failed to provide sufficient public notice before adopting a vision for the next 30-plus years of growth in Pentagon City.
As Google plans to funnel $1 billion into Northern Virginia data centers, places such as Arlington may have renewed opportunities to attract tech investment.
Although the data center expansions announced last week are based in Loudoun County and Prince William County, they impact the entire area, said Terry Clower, director of George Mason University’s Center for Regional Analysis.
County government requests for extensive documentation in a Missing Middle lawsuit have expanded to include an outspoken critic who’s helping to fund the suit.
Attorneys representing Arlington County contacted Dan Creedon, one of the founders of the anti-Missing Middle group Neighbors for Neighborhoods (NfN), with a broad subpoena last week. The request includes:
Looser parking requirements could encourage more gyms and shops to fill Arlington’s commercial real estate vacancies, the county believes.
The Arlington County Board on Saturday unanimously voted to have staff research possible changes to the Arlington County Zoning Ordinance and advertise requests to amend it. In addition to slashing parking minimums for gyms, the county is considering whether to allow parking lots to designate more spaces for compact cars.
(Updated at 12:35 p.m.) Even in the era of Missing Middle, some duplex projects in Arlington have to go to the Arlington County Board for approval.
A proposal to build two side-by-side homes for sale at 1129 N. Utah Street, a few blocks from the Ballston Metro station and Washington-Liberty High School, is one such project.
