Author: Chris Teale

Survey: Residents Want to Bike More, Have More Protected Bike Lanes

By Chris Teale

A survey has found that Arlington County residents favor bicycling and support more separate bike lanes.

The survey, conducted by the county’s local transportation research group Mobility Lab and county bicycle education program BikeArlington, found that 89 percent of respondents said they would like to bike more often, and 62 percent said that more separated bikes lanes would help them do that.

More than 1,200 people took the survey at a series of events in August and September, including the Arlington County Fair and Nauck Civic and Community Pride Day. Of those people, 94 percent reported being Arlington residents.

“[The survey] offers yet more evidence that bicycling is becoming a legitimate option for people to get to work in the Arlington and greater Washington, D.C. region,” a Mobility Lab spokesman said. “Mobility Lab recommends that more spending be made available for safer infrastructure – infrastructure that is far easier, faster, and less expensive to get up and running than that for cars and even transit.”

The survey was part of the county’s outreach process for updating the Bike Element of its 2008 Master Transportation Plan.

Staff from the county’s Department of Environmental Services have said previously that the time is right for a revamp given the new “technologies, facilities and best practices” around bicycling.

Courtesy photo

County Board Votes to Encourage More Accessory Dwellings

By Chris Teale
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The Arlington County Board voted 4-1 at its Tuesday meeting to loosen the rules around homeowners adding “accessory dwelling units” to their properties.

The revisions adopted by the Board would, among other things:

  • Put no limit on the size of an ADU located wholly within a basement
  • Require that an ADU take up no more than either 35 percent of the combined floor area of the property, or up to a maximum of 750 square feet
  • Allow detached ADUs in existing accessory buildings (like a garage) and assess more options for setback requirements for new detached accessory dwellings
  • Remove the annual limit on the number of ADUs that can be created in the county
  • Require any requirement for the owner to occupy the property, but if the owner does not occupy one of the dwellings, the entire property may be occupied by no more than one family

Only about 20 ADUs — defined as a second place to live on a property, with a kitchen, a bathroom and a separate entrance — have been approved in Arlington since 2009.

A proposal to relax rules in the county’s Zoning Ordinance had been under discussion since earlier this year as the county looks to encourage more ADUs, also known as “granny flats” or “mother-in-law suites.”

“The ordinance we passed in 2008 failed to generate accessory dwellings,” County Board Chair Jay Fisette said in a statement. “We are committed to creating more affordable housing in our County, and to making it easier for Arlingtonians to age in place. An accessory dwelling could create an additional income stream for those on fixed incomes. These revisions will give homeowners more opportunities to create accessory dwellings, while maintaining the character of our single-family neighborhoods.”

Board member John Vihstadt voted against the plan, citing “anxiety” from residents worried about neighborhoods being taken over by ADUs, as well as the worries of some about the impact on trees, stormwater management and other environmental aspects.

During their deliberations, Board members wrestled with how to direct County Manager Mark Schwartz to study requirements for new detached buildings that could be built to house an ADU. Existing structures are allowed to house ADUs right away.

Vihstadt tried to widen the study beyond setback requirements — how far back the ADU should be from the edges of the property — to look at building height and other aspects, but that brought opposition from Fisette.

“It seems to me you’ve opened up a lot more conversation here that will become far more complicated in the days ahead,” Fisette said, urging his colleagues to keep things simple and just study setback requirements.

“Just because a policy is simple to understand doesn’t make it any more sound than if it’s more complicated,” Vihstadt responded. “These are important characteristics that are taken into account in Arlington and elsewhere.”

Board members voted to direct Schwartz to only study setback requirements, and he is expected to provide his findings to the Board in the coming months. Members agreed that needs more work before a final decision can be made.

“Certainly, I think the desire to make sure we are working with homeowners to allow existing buildings to be used for this purpose makes a lot of sense,” Board member Christian Dorsey said. “But moving forward with new buildings, I’m not sure we’ve considered all options available to us to account for the different uses that we are entitling compared to when the Zoning Ordinance was created and as it’s been refined over the years.”

Electric Car Charger Removed from Clarendon

By Chris Teale
Electric car charging station in Clarendon Walgreens
Electric car charging station in Clarendon Walgreens
Electric car charging station in Clarendon Walgreens
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Drivers of electric cars now have one less place to charge their vehicles in Arlington County.

A tipster reported the car charging station in the parking lot of the former Walgreens Pharmacy at 2825 Wilson Blvd in Clarendon was removed last week.

At the time it was first and only station in the county from EVgo, which owned the ports and installed them in 2013. Anyone interested in using them could buy a monthly subscription.

Representatives with EVgo did not respond to requests for further comment, but on its website, the Clarendon charging location has been removed. Other EVgo charging stations remain at the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City mall.

Other charging stations from other companies are available in other neighborhoods, including Ballston, Rosslyn, Crystal City, Pentagon City and Shirlington.

Arlington’s Envirocab Service Now Closed

By Chris Teale

Local all-hybrid taxi service Envirocab is no more.

A tipster reported calling the Columbia Pike-based company last week, but getting a message on the phone saying they were no longer in service.

Calls to the company this week yielded the same result, while its website is “Temporarily out of service.”

“We are sorry to inform you that this service is no longer in operation. Thank you,” the message said. Arlington County Police Department spokeswoman Ashley Savage said Envirocab closed on November 1.

The 50-cab service was sold in 2013 to transportation conglomerate Veolia Transportation, which operates more than 2,400 taxicabs around the country. It began in 2008, and back then was the first all-hybrid fleet in the country. Since then, hybrid cabs have become more commonplace among local taxi fleets.

A Yelp review of Envirocab posted last month complained that the “service continues to deteriorate” and that “the last two times I attempted to use Envirocab, they failed to show up.”

Board to Vote Next Month on Creating ‘Housing Conservation Districts’

By Chris Teale
Housing Conservation District proposals via county presentation

The Arlington County Board will vote in December on allowing the creation of “Housing Conservation Districts” to protect affordable housing and make it harder to demolish and build townhomes in some areas.

A proposal by staff would help create the districts within the county’s General Land Use Plan, the primary policy guide for new development that also establishes the character and extent of land uses. It would also add the districts to the county’s Affordable Housing Master Plan and the Zoning Ordinance.

Earlier this year, county staff found in a report that affordable apartment buildings and complexes tend to be located in the following nine general areas:

  • Along the edges of the Rosslyn Metro station area
  • Along the edges of the Ballston Metro station area
  • Central Lee Highway
  • East Lee Highway
  • Westover
  • Lyon Park
  • Shirlington
  • Penrose
  • Nauck/Long Branch Creek/Aurora Highlands

If approved, HCDs would be allowed in areas of the county planned for low-medium and medium residential use, and zoned for multi-family homes like apartments. Any proposed district must also contain two or more apartment buildings or complexes, or one large one.

The HCDs would allow for what staff described in a presentation to the Board as “context-appropriate renovation, addition, infill and redevelopment projects in exchange for affordable housing.”

Development of townhouses would be reclassified as a special exception use within HCDs, meaning it would require site plan approval by the County Board on a case-by-case basis. That change comes after a spate of by-right townhouse development to replace affordable apartment buildings, including in Westover.

“The Board is considering this action to encourage the preservation of affordable housing,” County Board chair Jay Fisette said in a statement.

This plan is the first phase of adding HCDs. Subsequent phases could include giving tax- and zoning-based incentives to developers.

The Board will hold a public hearing on the plan at its December 16 meeting, with the Planning Commission also holding a hearing on December 4. In a letter, Joan Lawrence, chair of the Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board, said the group supports the planned HCDs.

Image via county presentation

Arlington Premiere Event to Honor New County Businesses

By Chris Teale

A sold-out reception in Ballston tomorrow will celebrate the new businesses that have moved into Arlington County.

Arlington Economic Development is hosting Arlington Premiere at the Kettler Capitals Iceplex (627 N. Glebe Road) from 5:30-7:30 p.m. on Wednesday, November 29.

Attendees can “welcome new business owners and network with other key business and community leaders as we celebrate our growing business community,” a blurb on the event, which is sponsored by the Ballston Business Improvement District, says. Registration is no longer available as the event has reached capacity.

Also at the event, AED will reveal the winners of the Arlington’s First Four competition. The contest honors locally-based businesses that have shown revenue growth over a three-year period.

“The Arlington Premiere is a great way for you to meet our new businesses and strengthen your relationship with other county and community leaders,” AED director Victor Hoskins wrote in an email to the public.

Christmas Tree Sales Underway Throughout Arlington

By Chris Teale
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With the Thanksgiving holiday over, a number of local Christmas tree sales are now underway.

The Arlington Optimist Club’s tree sale at the Well Fargo bank parking lot on the corner of Lee Highway and N. Glebe Road began last Friday (November 24).

The schedule for the sales will be as follows:

  • Monday to Thursday: 2 to 8 p.m.
  • Friday: Noon to 8 p.m.
  • Saturday and Sunday: 9 a.m. to 8 p.m.

The Clarendon United Methodist Church (607 N. Irving Street) started its tree sale on Saturday (November 25). All proceeds go towards Rise Against Hunger (formally Stop Hunger Now), the Arlington Food Assistance Center and other ministries that help those in need.

The hours of the sales are as follows:

  • Saturdays: 11 a.m. to 7 p.m.
  • Sundays: Noon to 6 p.m.
  • Weeknights: 6-9 p.m.

The South Arlington Lions Club’s sale was forced to move this year from the intersection of Columbia Pike and S. George Mason Drive due to development at the site.

Now, the sale is located at American Legion Post 139 (3445 Washington Blvd) in Virginia Square, and began last Friday too.

And Our Lady of Lourdes Catholic Church (830 23rd Street S.) in Aurora Highlands is hosting a tree sale by the local chapter of the Knights of Columbus. When an ARLnow reporter dropped by the church on Monday afternoon, trees were in the church’s front yard, but there are no details available online about hours.

Other usual Christmas tree sale locations include Whole Foods stores, local farmers markets, the Cathedral of St. Thomas More (3901 N. Cathedral Lane), the Dominion Hills shopping center (6000 Wilson Blvd) and the Unleashed by Petco parking lot (5400 Lee Highway).

Arlington Agenda: Nov. 27-Dec. 3

By Chris Teale

Arlington Agenda is a listing of interesting events for the week ahead in Arlington County. If you’d like to see your event featured, fill out the event submission form.

Also, be sure to check out our event calendar.

Tuesday

Talking to Your Teens About the Tough Stuff *
St. Mary’s Episcopal Church (2609 N. Glebe Road)
Time: 7-8:30 p.m.

Dr. Heather Tedesco, a McLean-based applied psychologist, discusses how to improve family life and to support the long-term development of happy, authentically successful children, teens and adults in times of stress.

Code Girls
One More Page Books (2200 N. Westmoreland Street)
Time: 7-8 p.m.

Washington Post reporter Liza Mundy will share from her new book “CODE GIRLS: The Untold Story of the American Women Code Breakers of World War II,” revealing the previously hidden history of the women who worked in secrecy.

Wednesday

The Future of Saving Energy *
Arlington Central Library (1015 N. Quincy Street)
Time: 8 a.m.

Join county staff and industry leaders for a community discussion on the impact that the Digital Revolution will have on energy in Arlington, featuring architect David Peabody, Anna Buglaeva of Aquicore and Adam Segel-Moss of AIRE.

Thursday

Frequent Travelers’ Happy Hour
Tortoise & Hare Bar and Grille (567 23rd Street S.)
Time: 6-9 p.m.

Talk travel and help some children have a brighter holiday at this happy hour in aid of Toys for Tots. Bring an unwrapped toy, which should not contain any food nor resemble a weapon. Ask for travel advice and meet other travelers.

Friday

World AIDS Day Breakfast
Stambaugh Human Services Center (2100 Washington Blvd)
Time: 9-10:30 a.m.

An annual event organized by the Arlington Department of Human Services as a reminder that HIV/AIDS is still a problem in Arlington. The panel of speakers will address the concern, as well as more about the current opioid epidemic in Virginia.

Saturday

CWP Annual Holiday Bazaar *
Children’s Weekday Program (716 S. Glebe Road)
Time: 9 a.m. to noon

An event featuring seasonal treats, a silent auction, holiday gifts from crafters and local vendors, children’s activities and a visit with Santa. Money raised will support local nonprofit Children’s Weekday Program and its work.

Washington-Lee High School Holiday Bazaar
Washington-Lee High School (1301 N. Stafford Street)
Time: 10 a.m. to 4 p.m.

Over 70 local artisans will be selling handcrafted and other gift items including jewelry, ceramics, glassware, pet items, accessories and more. Shoppers can also sample multi-ethnic food and live entertainment from school groups.

BalletNova presents The Nutcracker
Kenmore Middle School (200 S. Carlin Springs Road)
Time: 1-3 p.m.

An annual interpretation of The Nutcracker for the Northern Virginia community by BalletNova, choreographed by Nancie Woods and Caroline Frankil Warren. Performances are on November 30 and December 1, 2 and 3.

*Denotes featured (sponsored) event

Voting Underway in Fairlington on New I-395 Sound Walls

By Chris Teale

Voting is underway among some Fairlington residents on whether new sound walls should be added as part of the I-395 Express Lanes project.

Ballots have been mailed out to some neighborhood residents on whether sound barriers should be installed to mitigate the noise from the extended High Occupancy Toll lanes. The toll lanes will be extended for eight miles north from Turkeycock Run near Edsall Road to the vicinity of Eads Street in Arlington, near the Pentagon.

The first round of ballots went out to residents in the north of the neighborhood in late September.

But Guy Land, president of the Fairlington Citizens Association, told ARLnow it was his understanding that a second round of ballots were mailed out earlier this month as less than 50 percent of the first round were returned. The results of the second round of balloting will be final, regardless of turnout.

AECOM Engineering Company is the contractor behind the sound walls, and is running the vote. An AECOM spokesman did not respond to a request for comment.

In a presentation to FCA last year, the Virginia Department of Transportation said approximately 4.7 miles of highway in Arlington is eligible for the sound barriers, in addition to 3.4 miles in Alexandria.

Residents are eligible to vote based on their proximity to the proposed walls, and the noise the highway creates. Renters vote as well as homeowners, although the votes of owners have a higher weight.

FCA’s November newsletter detailed some of the concerns residents have with the sound barriers.

“The proposed walls are 25 feet high, which will impact sight lines and sunlight for residents on lower floors,” the newsletter reads. “The walls also require 10 feet of clear space on either side, which will require the destruction of a fair number of trees and shrubs around the neighborhood perimeter. And the walls themselves may only provide five decibels of noise reduction, according to designers.”

Image via VDOT presentation

Middle Schooler’s Business Hires Youth to Help Residents With Chores

By Chris Teale

Sponsored by Monday Properties and written by ARLnow.com, Startup Monday is a weekly column that profiles Arlington-based startups and their founders, plus other local technology happenings. The Ground Floor, Monday’s office space for young companies in Rosslyn, is now open. The Metro-accessible space features a 5,000-square-foot common area that includes a kitchen, lounge area, collaborative meeting spaces, and a stage for formal presentations.

A student at Swanson Middle School launched a business earlier this year where young people can be hired to help residents with various simple chores.

Charlotte Cunningham, 13, launched Youth Neighborhood Care in May. So far, she is the only young person available for chores, from 3:30-6 p.m. Mondays through Fridays and by appointment at the weekends.

It currently operates in the Tara-Leeway Heights neighborhood, but Cunningham said she hopes to expand in the New Year to hire more youths and maybe go into more neighborhoods.

“I definitely want to go to the civic association meetings and talk about the power of youth and get that out there to tell people how youth are so critical to things and their capabilities,” Cunningham said. “I want to maybe create a podcast or something like that to get awareness out as much as I can, and that’s towards the end of the year. Then when I pick up again in the new year, I’m going to try to start getting more youth involved.”

Services provided to residents, for a fee, include babysitting, dog-walking, performing outside chores like raking leaves and running local errands. And Cunningham said that not only will hiring youth make a positive impact on the community, it will benefit residents who hire them.

“I’m really trying to show people that instead of hiring company after company, you can hire youth and they can get the job done more efficiently,” Cunningham said.

YNC got its business license earlier this year, and Cunningham participated in the Arlington Chamber of Commerce’s Young Entrepreneurs Academy to develop her business plan, pitch to investors and launch the company.

She said she also enjoyed the networking aspect of YEA! — meeting other local small business owners and learning more about something she had aspired to do for a while.

“I’ve always wanted to run a business or do something like that,” Cunningham said. “When I found out about the program, I was very excited. I knew this was it, that this was going to help me make my dream come true. I’ve always wanted to start a business, and at least run something. That really helped me out.”

And while it might appear to be challenging to balance running her own business with the demands of going to school full-time, Cunningham said she is doing fine and is confident she can handle the coming expansion.

“It’s manageable, because I’m not working with any products. I’m not communicating with any manufacturers, so it’s just me communicating with people,” she said. “What I do is I come home from school, I check my emails and then towards the weekends or days off I do stuff that I wouldn’t have time to do during the day. It’s actually fairly manageable, but some days it can get tough. But that’s just business.”

Courtesy photo

Signs Up for New Verizon Store in Clarendon

By Chris Teale
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The planned Verizon store in Clarendon is expected to open in mid-December, according to the company’s website.

Signs are up for the store at 2930 Clarendon Blvd, and Verizon said the store should be open on Monday, December 11. Originally, it had been planned to open late last month, but that has been pushed back.

It replaces the former Pinkberry froyo shop, next to Cava Mezze. Verizon stores offer wireless plans, smartphones, cases and other products and services. The only other Verizon-operated store in Arlington is in the Fashion Centre at Pentagon City mall.

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