The chairman of the Arlington County Board is working to assure leaders of the county’s largest civic organization that no steps will be taken to amend existing single-family-home zoning without a robust community-engagement.
But, County Board Chairman Christian Dorsey acknowledged to Arlington County Civic Federation president Sandy Newton, there are discussions taking place on the subject.
“We have no firm plans or proposals in place, and at this time the effort is largely conversational – gauging community opinions, formulating research, etc.,” Dorsey said in a letter to Newton, which she released to the Civic Federation membership.
The Civic Federation in October hosted a meeting on housing options in the community. At the meeting, “it was apparent that there is a disconnect in the information that is reaching citizens across the county,” Newton said in a letter to Dorsey, adding that the county-government’s efforts are perhaps “being misinterpreted as fine-tuning a done deal.”
“Increasing density is a challenging issue, and widespread public acceptance will not be obtained easily,” Newton wrote Dorsey. “Trust issues are getting tenuous as I see it, and although there are tons of information on the county Website, it is a maze that does not always result in transparency.”
Newton asked for a community meeting with the Civic Federation, led by a County Board member, “to dispel or confirm rumors that are circulating.” Dorsey, however, responded only that the Civic Federation would be involved in any broader conversation on the issue.
“We are looking to move forward with a board-led community-engagement process and we welcome your input during that time,” he wrote. (Dorsey will rotate out as County Board chairman at the end of the year, to be succeeded by Libby Garvey.)
For decades, Arlington leaders focused on increasing density in Metro corridors (and areas like Columbia Pike and Lee Highway) while leaving single-family areas and zoning largely sacrosanct. But as the county government has pushed forward with efforts to increase housing, there are fears that single-family neighborhoods may be impacted by future proposals to address housing issues.
Also for decades, residents of single-family neighborhoods held the upper hand in the political component of the issue – they controlled the balance of power and could install, or remove, elected officials who worked for or against their interests.
Today, however, that balance is shifting. As seen in a number of recent political campaigns (the 2018 County Board race and the 2019 Democratic commonwealth’s attorney primary), activists who are able to energize voters in the more urban areas of the county can come away with victory.
The Civic Federation represents a mix of constituencies, with its membership including both single-family homeowners’ associations and countywide organizations.
