Dear Friends, Winter is upon us. I hope everyone is staying warm.  Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) At our December meeting the County Board approved Arlington's first transfer of development rights. In this case the right to build more on the site of The Haven apartments on the west end of Columbia Pike was transferred to the Macy’s site in Ballston where a mixed residential and retail project is planned. The 118 apartments and grounds at The Haven garden apartments will be improved including a new pedestrian pathway with a public access easement. The apartments will be … [Read more...]

Dear Friends, I hope this finds everyone getting ready for a relaxing Thanksgiving.  We have much to be grateful for in Arlington. RANK CHOICE VOTING At our Saturday meeting we discussed rank choice voting which has been under consideration for some time in Arlington and which is used by a number of jurisdictions across the nation. In rank choice voting, voters rank the candidates running for a position and mark their ballots for their first, second and third choices and more for an office. I see several benefits to this. Some years ago in a race for state delegate with 6 … [Read more...]

Dear Friends, Fall weather arrived right on time. I hope everyone had a good summer. I was lucky to have a lot of family visits, which were very nice after the past 2 pandemic years. September’s Board meetings had light meeting agendas with an amendment to the General Land Use Plan (GLUP) for Courthouse West and a discussion of our Restorative Justice grant being the main issues. Also during the month, the Missing Middle Housing (MMH) study took up most of the Board’s time and attention as we held community conversations. COVID-19 Bivalent Booster Vaccines Before I move on to … [Read more...]

Dear Friends: I hope everyone has been staying cool over this last heat wave. The Board’s July meetings included some usual site plan approvals and permitting as well as our Capital Improvement Plan (CIP) adoption. Probably the item of most interest this month, however, was our work session on the Missing Middle Housing Study. Permits & Zoning On Saturday we approved Arlington Public Schools request for below-grade parking with a playing field on top at The Heights building in West Rosslyn. This will provide onsite parking desired by APS for the building which houses the … [Read more...]

Dear Friends, It has been an unusual spring with my trip to Germany with the Northern Virginia Regional Council (NVRC), quarantining with Covid and participating virtually in my May Board meetings from overseas. I appreciate the many expressions of concern and well wishes over that time. Happily, I never felt very sick (being fully vaccinated and double boosted). I seem to have no lingering issues as I know some do. I hope all my readers are staying well! You can watch my trip report here: http://arlington.granicus.com/MediaPlayer.php?view_id=2&clip_id=4114; please … [Read more...]

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...]