Dear Friends, April was an important month. The County Board approved the Amazon site plan and park master plan; updated the Clarendon sector plan; and passed our budget among other items. Amazon Site Plan Amazon continues to be a good resident for Arlington. After about a year of planning and working with various commissions and our staff, the new park and buildings, including the signature Helix building (PenPlace site), was presented to the Board. We heard nearly total support from labor groups, environmental groups, and our commissions. This site will be transformative for … [Read more...]

Dear Friends, As most years in March, my Board colleagues and I have spent much of our time and energy on the FY23 budget which we will adopt next month, but we also had a fairly busy regular meeting. Residential & Commercial Buildings On Saturday we approved “The Elliott” which will be 247 residential units and ground floor commercial space at 2601 Columbia Pike. This replaces the Fillmore Gardens shopping Center. I think the building will be an attractive development and our Economic Development staff have been working to assist the six businesses tenants there … [Read more...]

Dear Friends, I hope everyone has had a good President’s Day holiday. Our board meeting this month featured one extremely long public hearing and the presentation of the Manager’s FY’23 Budget. Proposed FY 2023 Budget The last two budgets have been “bridge” budgets to get us through the worst of the pandemic.  This year the Manager's proposed budget focuses beyond getting through the pandemic and to important issues for the County’s long-term health and stability, especially regarding our workforce. I imagine we have all been reading about “the great resignation.” And, I have … [Read more...]

Our January agenda was the lightest I think I’ve ever had as a Board member. There was only one regular item: permitting the use of speed cameras near our schools, which really was a “no-brainer.” Speed is the major factor in many traffic accidents. The CDC estimates that speed cameras can reduce all crashes by 49% and serious-injury crashes by 44%. We needed permission from the General Assembly to use speed cameras and were finally allowed to use them near schools and on highway work zones (this last does not really apply to us). It is good that we were earlier awarded technical … [Read more...]

Dear Friends, Tuesday evening we had the County Board’s organizational meeting and then met virtually with the Civic Federation for our annual discussion, which worked pretty well. Our meeting was one day late because of the snow. We elected Katie Cristol as our new Chair for 2022 and Christian Dorsey as our Vice Chair. I know they will provide excellent leadership for the Board. My thanks go to Matt de Ferranti for his leadership last year. Besides electing our leadership and other organizational items, we heard an update on Omicron and vaccine clinics. I believe we are … [Read more...]

Dear Friends, Given the significant spike in Covid cases here and everywhere, I wanted to send along the information below from Arlington County just before the holidays.    This is mostly not new information for any of us, but it is a reminder to get vaccinated, boosted and to wear masks. Also, please help our contact tracers if you do get Covid. We are all inclined to be more relaxed during the holidays, and I want everyone to have a great holiday season and be able to see friends and loved ones, but….  please be mindful of these cautions and reminders. Wishing … [Read more...]

Dear Friends, I hope this email finds everyone enjoying the holiday season despite the continuing need to be cautious about Covid.  We held our final monthly Board meetings of the year and will be back January 3 for our organizational meeting when we elect our new chair and vice-chair.  We had few, but important, items this month. COVID  As I’m sure everyone is aware, the Omicron variant of Covid is rapidly spreading everywhere, including in Arlington. Despite this, we have come a very long way since March of 2020, which seems strangely not long ago to me. 83% of … [Read more...]

Dear Friends, I hope this finds everyone looking forward to the Thanksgiving holiday. COLUMBIA PIKE NEW ZONING ALLOWANCES At our November meeting, the Board adopted amendments to the zoning for Columbia Pike  which added much needed flexibility to the uses that are allowed along the Pike. We now allow activities like craft breweries, museums, animal boarding, micro manufacturing, indoor agriculture, and commercial kitchens either by right or by permit. In the past these activities were forbidden or only allowed with special permits. We find more and more that zoning … [Read more...]

Dear Friends, It’s important to our democracy to Get Out The Vote tomorrow! If you have not already done so, the polls in Virginia are open from 6:00 am to 7:00 pm. Please encourage your friends and neighbors to vote, and see if anyone needs a ride to the polls. It will be fast and easy tomorrow because so many, including yours truly, have already voted.  I had the honor of laying a wreath on the Tomb of the Unknown Soldier recently. It was another reminder of the sacrifices of our soldiers for generations which call on us to vote. I have always felt it my duty to vote and … [Read more...]