Author: Alex Koma

In a Bid to Add More Housing, County Readies New Accessory Dwelling Unit Rules Changes

By Alex Koma

After months of work, Arlington officials are gearing up to advance a new round of regulatory changes designed to encourage the creation of accessory dwelling units around the county.

The county plans to hold an open house on the new regulations tonight (Tuesday), specifically on policies governing how far the homes can be set back from the street.

Commonly known as “ADUs,” or “mother-in-law suites,” the homes can include everything from basement apartments to those located above a house’s garage. The County Board passed a series of revisions to Arlington’s ADU regulations in 2017, in a bid to prompt more people to create those units and beef up the supply of reasonably priced homes in the county.

Those changes were primarily targeted at allowing homeowners to more easily create ADUs within existing structures, rather than building new ones. The rules changes also allowed property owners to create an ADU in an existing structure detached from a single-family home, like a garage, but they could not build any new structures on properties for such a purpose.

Still, the Board vowed to subsequently consider rules changes allowing people to build free-standing ADUs on properties. The homes are broadly seen as a key way to provide “missing middle” housing, or homes that fall in between luxury apartments and subsidized, affordable homes, and advocates have long championed additional ADU rules changes.

But, to allow for any new construction, officials would need to change the “setback” requirements, which stipulate how far the homes can be located from the street. County Manager Mark Schwartz has been developing proposals for such rules changes, but has yet to unveil them in a public setting.

That is set to change later this afternoon. The exact shape of the proposals remains unclear, however — a county spokeswoman could not immediately provide details on the proposed regulations. Michelle Winters, the executive director of the affordable housing advocacy group the Alliance for Housing Solutions, also said she was unsure when the county will release the details of the proposal publicly.

The ADU meeting is set for the Ellen M. Bozman Government Center (2100 Clarendon Blvd) in conference rooms C and D from 4-8 p.m. Any zoning changes discussed there would likely need to be scrutinized by both the Planning Commission and County Board before they go into effect.

Courtesy photo

Arlington Once Again Ranked ‘Best City to Live in America’

By Alex Koma

Arlington has once again been ranked as the “Best City to Live in America” by the online review service Niche.

The website awarded the county with its top marks in part due to its high-quality public schools, low crime rate, abundant nightlife options and walkability. Niche calculates the rankings each year, and last named Arlington to its top spot in 2016.

Niche also previously ranked the county’s school system as the top option in the state and one of the best public school systems in the country last summer. The site has named Arlington among the best suburbs in the country as well.

The county beat out Ann Arbor, Michigan for the top spot, which placed in second after finishing in first last year. Rounding out the top five cities were Berkeley, California; The Woodlands, Texas; and Plano, Texas.

In a new list created this year, Niche also ranked Arlington neighborhoods among the top places to live in Virginia using similar metrics.

In fact, five Arlington neighborhoods claimed the top five spots in the company’s rankings — in order, Bluemont, Colonial Village, Radnor/Ft. Myer Heights, North Rosslyn and Waycroft/Woodlawn topped the website’s list.

Flickr pool photo by Bekah Richards

Bolt Brings Its Dockless Scooters to Arlington, Becoming Seventh Company in the County

By Alex Koma
1/3

Yet another company is now offering dockless electric scooters around Arlington, as Bolt has now becomes the seventh firm operating in the county.

Bolt first began renting out its scooters in Arlington last Wednesday (Feb. 27), county transportation spokesman Eric Balliet told ARLnow. Like its six other competitors, the company is participating in the county’s pilot program for dockless vehicle providers, which is set to run through the summer and help Arlington officials determine the best way to regulate the technology.

February was a busy month for scooter companies in Arlington, with three winning the county’s approval for participating in the program in the last few weeks alone: Skip, Spin and Jump.

Bird kicked off the flood of scooters onto county streets this past summer, when it dropped hundreds of devices around the county. That prompted the County Board to sketch out a more formal pilot program to guide the process, clearing the way for Lime, Lyft and the others to follow suit.

Under the terms of the pilot, the companies are restricted to operating 350 vehicles for their first month in the county, and can then apply for gradual increases each month (so long as they can meet certain ridership targets).

Thus far, county officials haven’t recorded many problems with the scooters, though they remain a bit vexed in how to dissuade younger riders from using them or how to enforce the county’s ban on the scooters on local trails and sidewalks.

The pilot program is set to wrap up in July, when the Board will subsequently consider passing a formal ordinance governing the devices.

No Mardi Gras Celebrations Scheduled in Clarendon This Year, But Others Set Fat Tuesday Plans

By Alex Koma

Clarendon residents will go without any sort of local Mardi Gras celebration this year, but there are still plenty of ways to mark Fat Tuesday around Arlington.

The Clarendon Alliance, which normally puts on an annual parade and ball to celebrate the impending start of Lent, says it has no plans for the annual event this year.

The business booster group has gone through a bit of a transition recently, just tabbing a new executive director. Elizabeth Crocker is stepping in for Matt Husmann, the alliance’s longtime leader who retired from the post last year (and accepted a new position as the new manager of the Arlington County Fair).

Crocker urges residents to “stay tuned for information about new events and happenings, coming soon,” but apologized for not being able to put on the events this time around. The alliance even had trouble with Mardi Gras last year, cancelling the annual ball and “jester jaunt” in the face of stiff competition from events elsewhere in D.C.

However, Bayou Bakery will once again be offering its signature king cakes for sale on its website — the Courthouse eatery is also inviting Arlingtonians to a party at The Showroom on 14th Street in D.C.

According to StayArlington, the Heidelburg Pastry Shoppe on Lee Highway is also selling king cake, while Sugar Shack is offering up king cake donuts for a limited time.

The Chasin’ Tails Crawfish restaurant in East Falls Church (2200 N. Westmoreland Street) will also offer food and drink specials for Mardi Gras, including deals on raw oysters.

The Arlington Jaycees, an organization that organizes events for young people aiming for “personal and professional growth, community involvement and social engagement,” is also hosting a Mardi Gras happy hour at the G.O.A.T. in Clarendon.

File photo

ARLnow Weekend Discussion

By Alex Koma

Keep your eyes peeled for another round of snow and wintry mix tonight into tomorrow morning.

It seems March has plenty of cold weather left, with evening an outside shot at some snow Sunday night in the forecast.

But if you feel like braving the cold, you can check out our round-up of popular events around the county. And if you’re driving around Ballston, watch out for a major road closure near Ballston Quarter this weekend.

If you’d rather stay inside, you can always catch up on our most popular stories of the past week:

  1. Students at Rosslyn’s Argosy University Left Without Federal Aid Cash, As School Faces Financial Woes
  2. Ballston Quarter Misses Proposed Opening Date for New Food Court, Targets Early March
  3. Pedestrian Struck in GW Parkway Crosswalk, A Frequent Spot for Dangerous Crashes
  4. In Rare Public Appearance, Amazon Leaders Pledge to Become ‘Good Neighbors’ in Arlington
  5. Redevelopment of American Legion Post into Affordable Housing Complex Wins County Approval

Head down to the comments to discuss these stories, your weekend plans or anything else local. Have a great weekend!

Flickr pool photo via wolfkann

Rosslyn Set to See New Pedestrian Safety Improvements at Busy Road Crossings

By Alex Koma

Rosslyn is set to see a few more pedestrian safety improvement over the course of the next year or so.

The neighborhood’s Business Improvement District, which advocates for Rosslyn businesses by collecting a small property tax, is planning a variety of short-term fixes to make the bustling streets a bit safer for walkers.

In plans delivered to the County Board Saturday (Feb. 23), the BID says it hopes to use some of its tax revenue to work with county police on the fixes, as part of a broader initiative to make the area more walkable. County officials have even contemplated the more drastic step of make certain roads in Rosslyn “car-free,” though they have yet to settle on a precise strategy for the neighborhood beyond some guiding principles.

In the short term, the BID plans to build new “crash-grade planters to help delineate safer pedestrian crossings” at several intersections. Many of the roads crossing Wilson Blvd are often the site of robust crowds in the morning and evening rush hours.

The BID also hopes to expand some of its “wayfinding” efforts “that will eventually encompass not only pedestrian signs, but also traffic signage” to better brand each section of Rosslyn. The BID has already done some work in that department, setting up area maps, and even rolling out efforts to improve green space in the area, including the county’s first “parklet.”

In the long term, the BID plans to continue to work on efforts to someday convert streets like N. Fort Myer Drive, N. Lynn Street and N. Kent Street into two-way roads, though those changes are still a ways off.

Other, more ambitious efforts could someday remove the Fort Myer Drive tunnel under Wilson Blvd, or replace the existing Rosslyn skywalk system in favor of an all-pedestrian and cycling corridor leading up to the area’s Metro station. Some new developments in the area could help spur progress on the latter effort.

But all of these changes won’t be on the way until the new fiscal year, according to the BID’s proposal. The group is also asking the Board to hold its tax rate on local businesses level at $.078, though ever-rising real estate values will send the BID an extra $166,000 in revenue from a year ago.

Photo via Rosslyn BID

Arts Advocates Blast Proposed Cuts to Theater, Grant Programs in New County Budget

By Alex Koma

Arlington arts advocates are sounding the alarm about planned cuts in the county’s new budget, arguing that they’ll disproportionately impact the government’s already modest arts programs.

County Manager Mark Schwartz is proposing a total of $5.2 million in spending slashes for fiscal year 2020, in tandem with a tax increase to meet some of the county’s financial challenges. About $500,000 of those cuts will targets arts-focused programs specifically, according to an analysis by the advocacy group Embracing Arlington Arts.

“We all have to sacrifice when budgets are tough,” Embracing Arlington Arts Chair Janet Kopenhaver wrote in a statement. “However, we remain stunned at the very high proportion the small arts budget is being asked to shoulder.”

Schwartz plans to close the Costume Lab and Scenic Studio Program located at the Gunston Community Center (2700 S. Lang Street), which provide scenery construction space and costume rentals for local arts groups. That will involving laying off two employees who staff the programs, a savings of about $180,000 each year.

The manager also expects to cut funding for its arts grant program by a third, dropping it from about $216,000 to $146,000 annually. The program provides some matching funds to support local artists, and both County Board contenders last year pressed for increases to the fund.

Kopenhaver group says that would make the county’s budget for the grant program “the lowest in the region.”

The county would also ditch the use of its mobile performance stage, which is available for rent, under Schwartz’s proposal.

The Cultural Affairs Division of the county’s economic development arm would also lose an audio production specialist who worked on county events, and the facility manager and facility technology services director working at the county’s arts studio at 3700 S. Four Mile Run Drive. Schwartz expects existing staff could absorb the responsibilities of those employees, who are responsible for managing the space as a variety of different arts groups make use of it.

Finally, Kopenhaver’s group is also concerned about the proposed layoff of a supervisor of after-hours building engineers, who supervises building maintenance workers. Many county arts groups rely on county facilities after normal business hours for performance space.

In all, the arts advocates estimate that cultural affairs and arts program take up about one tenth of one percent of the county’s budget — Schwartz’s proposed cuts are much larger than that for arts-related services.

“In the end, the tiny arts program is being held accountable for a share of this year’s budget shortfall that is 62.5 times greater than its share of the fiscal year 2019 county budget,” Kopenhaver wrote. “If the cuts were proportional to the actual budget, then the cuts to the arts would be only $8,000.”

Embracing Arlington Arts notes that a recent study found that the arts generate $18 million in economic activity for the county, meaning that cuts to the arts budget could well have an impact on the county’s tax revenue.

Other proposed cuts in the budget including spending reductions for everything from Arlington Independent Media to the county’s bus service.

The Board will evaluate Schwartz’s proposal over the next few months, while also keeping a close eye on school needs as well — Superintendent Patrick Murphy is already warning that the school system will face painful cuts unless the Board approves a substantial tax hike.

Officials are scheduled to finalize the budget in late April.

Photo via Arlington Arts

Workers Kick Off Four Months of Ballston Quarter Pedestrian Bridge Construction Tonight

By Alex Koma
1/6

Workers might’ve lifted the new Ballston Quarter pedestrian bridge into place over Wilson Blvd, but it won’t be ready for walkers for months yet.

The county announced yesterday (Thursday) that another four months of work are scheduled on the bridge, which is designed to connect the newly revamped Ballston Quarter development with the neighborhood’s Metro station, linked through the Ballston Exchange development at 4201 Wilson Blvd.

That work means that more road closures are underway on a busy Ballston street.

Tonight (Friday), Wilson Blvd will close between N. Randolph and N. Stuart streets starting at 8 p.m. It won’t reopen until Sunday at 6 p.m.

Then, starting Monday (March 4), county officials say they plan to close the eastbound lanes of Wilson Blvd overnight on weekdays for the next eight weeks. The closure will run from 8 p.m. to 6 a.m. each night, and they’re designed to allow time for “glass installation” on the bridge.

Once that wraps up, workers will close the westbound lanes of Wilson overnight for the next eight weeks to allow for the completion of that work.

Ballston Quarter’s developer, Forest City, also recently secured the County Board’s blessing to continue to use Mosaic Park as a construction staging area through March 22. The developer used the space to assemble the bridge, temporarily delaying planned renovations for the park.

Forest City had hoped to have the bridge ready in time for the development to start opening to customers last fall, but quickly realized it would need more time for the project.

It’s one of many delays for the redevelopment of the old Ballston Common mall — not only has the developer missed its own targets for opening stores to customers, but it’s currently unclear just when its new food court may open for business.

Photo 1 via @ArlingtonDES

Los Tios Grill Opens Its Doors in Crystal City

By Alex Koma
1/2

Crystal City now has a new restaurant open on its burgeoning 23rd Street S.

Los Tios Grill opened its doors in mid-February in a small space at 515 23rd Street S. The location was once home to Cantina Mexicana, which closed last December, after first opening under a different name in 1978.

The menu offers a variety of Tex-Mex favorites, and some Salvadoran specialties, from fajitas to quesadillas and more. The restaurant also boasts a full menu of tequila, margaritas, sangria and draft beers.

Los Tios got its start in Alexandria, where it has two locations. The small chain also recently opened a restaurant in Leesburg.

The eatery will sit adjacent to the newly re-opened Federico Ristorante Italiano, formerly Cafe Italia, and its opening represents the latest in a series of big changes for the popular block.

The neighborhood’s landlords previously cited the expansion of popular Arlington diner Bob and Edith’s on the street as a prime factor in keying the area’s revitalization. Freddie Lutz, who also runs the eponymous Freddie’s Beach Bar, decided recently to help relaunch Cafe Italia to bring more business back to the area.

The former Tortoise and Hare Bar and Grill space at the end of the block will also soon become home to another Alexandria-based bar: Fiona’s Irish Pub.

County Board Sets Plans for Bevy of Amazon-Focused Community Meetings Ahead of Vote This Month

By Alex Koma

Arlington leaders will soon convene more than a dozen town halls to discuss Amazon’s plans for the county in the run-up to a planned vote on the matter later this month.

County Board members plan to spend the next few weeks holding meetings with a variety of civic associations and advocacy groups to discuss the tech giant’s arrival in Crystal City and Pentagon City, and have now released a schedule of the impending gatherings.

Up to two Board members will attend each one, planning them as open forums for community members to discuss all the implications of Amazon’s new headquarters for county residents.

The Board had originally expected to vote on an incentive package designed to lure the company to Arlington in February, but delayed those plans slightly to allow for more time for community engagement. Since the company announced its expansion plans for the county, concerns have bubbled up over the company’s potential impact on everything from housing affordability to traffic congestion.

New Board member Matt de Ferranti was especially insistent on pushing for the extra time, inviting civic groups of all stripes to request meetings with the Board.

The sessions will not, however, include representatives from Amazon itself. County officials and activists critical of the company have been insistent on seeing some engagement from Amazon executives with the broader community — for its part, the company argues that it’s conversations with local business leaders have adequately helped set the stage for its arrival in the county.

The Board already held some meetings last month, holding gatherings with 10 civic associations and the environmental group EcoAction Arlington. Board members now plan to meet with the following:

  • League of Women Voters: Saturday (March 2)
  • Etz Hayim: Sunday (March 3)
  • Civic Federation: March 5
  • Donaldson Run Civic Association: March 6
  • Freedom Is Not Free: March 7
  • Barcroft School & Civic League: March 7
  • Lyon Village Civic Association: March 11
  • Shirlington Civic Association: March 11
  • Columbia Heights Civic Association: March 11
  • Radnor/Ft. Myer Heights Civic Association: March 12
  • Waycroft Woodlawn Civic Association: March 12
  • Leeway Overlee Civic Association: March 13
  • Aurora Highlands Civic Association: March 13
  • Columbia Forest Civic Association: March 13
  • Arlington Mill Civic Association: March 13
  • Northern Virginia Conservation Trust: March 21
  • Arlington Ridge Civic Association: March 21

Anyone interested in attending can check with each group individually for exact times and locations as they’re finalized.

The Board currently plans to vote on the incentive package at its March 16 meeting. Arlington is proposing to send $23 million in grant money to the company over the next 15 years, with the cash drawn from a projected increase in hotel tax revenues driven by Amazon’s arrival.

The Board’s decision is the final domino that has yet to fall in finalizing the company’s plans for the area. Gov. Ralph Northam and state lawmakers have already approved up to $750 million in tax rebates for the company.

Patrons Invited to ‘Get a Buzz and Get Buzzed’ at New Salon in Crystal City Sports Pub

By Alex Koma
1/3

The Crystal City Sports Pub no longer offers just beers and bites to eat — the restaurant now has its own barber as well.

“Crystal City Cuts” opened up on the first floor of the bar in mid-February, with a small salon in the back corner of the restaurant (529 23rd Street S.).

A sign outside the bar invites patrons to “get a buzz and get buzzed.”

The new barbershop, which only has room for one or two customers at a time, is open Tuesdays through Fridays from 10 a.m. to 9 p.m.

Anyone hoping for a trim on Saturday can swing by from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., or from noon to 5 p.m. on Sundays.

The bar is one of the longest tenured watering holes in Crystal City, and even the county as a whole, and has served up beers since 1994.

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