News

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Online Forums Devolve into Shouting Matches — Falls Church News-Press columnist Charlie Clark writes about how a Nextdoor post about kids not wearing masks during a baseball game erupted into a barrage of insults and debates among neighbors. Nextdoor is not alone in becoming a forum for heated local debates on hot button issues: last month the popular Fairlington Appreciation Society Facebook group shut down after flame wars broke out over issues related to the Black Lives Matter protests. [Falls Church News-Press]

Virtual ‘Arlington Cares’ Event Tomorrow — “This free, virtual event will recognize the 2020 Community Service Award Winners and remind us of the importance of serving others. A heartwarming opportunity for all ages that will celebrate the overwhelming goodness that is within our community.” [Event Calendar]

Reduction in Homelessness Prior to Pandemic — “For the 20th consecutive year, the Metropolitan Washington Council of Governments (COG) Homeless Services Planning and Coordinating Committee has conducted a regional Point-in-Time (PIT) enumeration of the area’s residents experiencing homelessness and those who were formerly homeless. This year’s enumeration and survey occurred on January 22, 2020. Arlington saw a 7-percent reduction in overall homelessness, down from 215 persons in 2019 to 199 in 2020.” [Arlington County]

More Flood Damage in Waverly Hills — “After countless floods in Arlington’s Waverly Hills neighborhood soaked his basement, Tom Reich finally ordered a custom-made waterproof door to protect his home’s bottom level.
On Tuesday, the day before it was scheduled to arrive, yet another storm dumped buckets of rain on the region — and especially on 18th Street North. There, overwhelmed storm water mains sent three feet of water coursing down the street.” [Washington Post]

Beyer Furious at Response to Shooting Inquiry — “‘For nearly three years Bijan Ghaisar’s family and community have sought answers from federal authorities about why these officers killed Bijan and what consequences they will face. This response which tells us nothing after an eight-month delay is an insult to the people we represent,’ said [Rep. Don] Beyer. ‘The contempt such a pathetic answer shows for public transparency and accountability is unacceptable and will further damage the standing of the U.S. Park Police at a time when the region’s trust in them is already at an all-time low.'” [House of Representatives]

Report Businesses Flouting the Rules, Gov. Says — “As Virginia starts seeing an increase in COVID-19 cases, Gov. Ralph Northam reiterated Friday what has become a familiar message about limiting crowds, washing hand frequently and wearing face coverings. But he added a new fourth point: Report businesses flouting the rules to the local health department.” [InsideNova]

Freddie’s Closes Temporarily — “Out of an abundance of caution, we have decided to close temporarily. One of our employees has tested positive for COVID-19. We are actively reaching out to customers and staff who may have been in contact since Wednesday July 8. We are beginning the process to have the restaurant fully sanitized so we may safely reopen as soon as possible.” [Facebook]

Nearby: MoCo Starting School Year Online — “Montgomery County students will begin the next academic year online, with a phased approach to bring them back to school buildings part-time by the end of November, according to the school district’s draft plan released Saturday.” [Bethesda Magazine]

County Board and Staff Push Back Against Stormwater Inequity Claims

By Vernon Miles

Nearly one week after advocates flooded the County Board with concerns that planned stormwater investments in the Capital Improvement Plan favor Arlington’s wealthier neighborhoods, staff returned to the County Board to argue that the proposed investments were addressing important issues below the surface.

The renewed push for improving the County’s stormwater capacity is tied to historic flooding that took place last year and devastated many Arlington homes and businesses. County Manager Mark Schwartz has proposed a $50.8 million stormwater bond, among other bonds, to be sent to voters in the November election.

Some speakers at the earlier meeting criticized the bulk of that investment, $26.9 million, for going to the Spout Run watershed that runs through affluent communities around Lee Highway. The watershed was identified by county staff as a location with some of the highest concentration of recent flood damage to homes.

In a work session with the Arlington County Board yesterday (Thursday) Dept. of Environmental Services Director Greg Emanuel said the stormwater investment was based on the status of pipes below the surface and not the economics of the neighborhoods above.

“As you know, we’re trying to apply an equity lens on all our policy decisions,” Emanuel said. “[For] investments to infrastructure, unlike services with transit, we believe should be based on system-condition and need or identified deficiencies. We believe that should be regardless of demographics or geography, basically who is on the surface.”

Emanuel argued that, just as earlier investments had cut down on flooding around Four Mile Run in South Arlington, the proposed investments in northwest Arlington would provide lasting relief to residents struggling with flood issues. It would also benefit a wider swath of the county, he said.

“This decade, our proposed investments are predominately proposed for watersheds in the northwest part of the county based on modeling and actual experience,” Emanuel said. “It’s an interconnected system. Improvements such as detention in upper parts of a watershed will provide benefits to everyone in a system downstream of that, down to Four Mile Run.”

Speakers last week criticized the county for focusing on benefits to low-density neighborhoods, but Emanuel said the County’s modeling indicated that’s where the most severe flooding is.

Arlington is “investing the most where the most flooding is occurring, which is the northwest watersheds,” Emanuel said. “Of course, it’s not just there, we’re doing important things like dredging and important flood controls on the southern end near the mouth of Four Mile Run.”

Emanuel’s assertion that the northwest watershed was the most in need of stormwater investment went mostly unchallenged by the County Board.

County Board member Christian Dorsey questioned why areas like Alcova Heights, Douglas Park, and Aurora Highlands weren’t listed as priorities when data showed flooding calls from those areas. Emanuel said the calls from those areas — Douglas Park in particular — were mostly from sewage backups. While those could be caused by too much water from storms getting into the system, Emanuel said it still left those areas ranked at medium or low severity compared to other places.

(more…)

Planned Changes to Parking Permits Postponed by Pandemic

By Vernon Miles

Amid the pandemic, Arlington County is sifting through which planning processes are ready to continue moving forward and which ones are being delayed.

The County recently announced that it is still moving forward with plans for updating guidelines for development in Pentagon City, a relatively time-critical issue with Amazon’s permanent HQ2 under construction nearby.

The county’s Lee Highway planning process is also moving forward, with public workshops fortuitously wrapping up before the pandemic hit Arlington. Like the Pentagon City plan, the Lee Highway process is endeavoring to shape how new development takes place along the corridor. The central theme is, over time and through land use policies, replacing the car-focused strip malls along the corridor with clusters of mixed-use development that could bring in more housing, particularly affordable housing.

“Since the Plan Lee Highway public workshop in February, the County’s planning team synthesized what they heard and shared those results with the community late March,” Jessica Margarit, a spokesperson for the Department of Community Planning, Housing & Development said. “Using that input, they have been busy developing the Neighborhood Character Report and the Cultural Resources Survey report. They anticipate publishing these by the end of July.”

Those closely following the Resident Permit Parking (RPP) Review project, though, might be disappointed to learn that project has hit some delays. The RPP restricts on-street parking near Metro corridors and other high-demand areas to residents and their guests during certain times of the day. The program has been criticized for favoring single-family homeowners over apartment dwellers, many of whom don’t have access to the same permits.

Staff had started planning for open houses and discussions early this year, but those plans were waylaid by the pandemic.

“The Residential Permit Parking Review project has been delayed due to the pandemic,” said Katie O’Brien, a spokesperson for the Arlington County Department of Environmental Services. “The County had to postpone the deliberative dialogues and open house that were scheduled for early spring 2020. Staff is in discussion with leadership on how best to proceed given the current situation. An update will be posted on the project website once we have more information.”

Image via Arlington County

Four Arlington Transportation Projects to Receive Regional Funding

By ARLnow.com
1/4

Four major transportation projects in Arlington will receive tens of millions in regional funding, the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority announced today.

The projects, all of which are in the planning stages, will bring multimodal upgrades to Crystal City and Rosslyn, as well as to the W&OD Trail. In all, the NTVA is providing more than a half billion dollars in funding to 21 projects around the region.

“On the evening of July 9th, the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority adopted the FY 2020-2025 Six Year Program, the Authority’s fifth funding program and the most competitive to date,” the regional governmental body said in a press release. “$1.44 billion in multimodal transportation funding was requested by 13 Northern Virginia localities and agencies – including Arlington County – with $539 million in Authority regional revenues available.”

“The Authority unanimously voted to fund 21 of the 41 transportation projects submitted for funding consideration,” the press release continues. “Arlington County was awarded $29.874 million in regional revenues on the following projects aimed at reducing congestion and getting people to their destinations faster.”

The projects being funded in Arlington include:

The “CC2DCA” pedestrian bridge from Crystal City to Reagan National Airport, which is envisioned as providing a “High Line“-like experience as it spans the GW Parkway and makes walking to the airport more feasible for those in the National Landing area.

The project is set to receive $18 million from NVTA, of the total estimated project cost of $36.2 million.

The project will create a pedestrian connection between Crystal City and Ronald Reagan Washington National Airport (DCA). It would provide an additional transportation access point to the airport, which is less than one-half mile away from Crystal Drive, but is practically inaccessible by foot today. In addition to the potential reduction in vehicular traffic between the two destinations, the project is located roughly two blocks from the under-design Crystal City Metrorail Station East Entrance and provides a direct connection to bus service on the Crystal City-Potomac Yard Transitway. The CC2DCA Intermodal Connector is intended to connect to the future relocated VRE commuter rail station. The CC2DCA Intermodal Connector project builds upon a recently completed feasibility study prepared by the Crystal City Business Improvement District (CCBID). This project will further evaluate alternatives, complete environmental documentation and approvals, engineering design, and ultimately construct a pedestrian connection between Crystal Drive and the terminals of DCA. The NVTA funding would be leveraged with both State and local funds to completely fund design and construction of the project; the Commonwealth has committed $9,500,000 to the CC2DCA Intermodal Connector.

Rosslyn Multimodal Network Improvements, which is an extension of the Core of Rosslyn study. The study, which was completed last year, calls for major changes to Rosslyn’s road and pedestrian network, including removal of the Fort Myer Drive tunnel under Wilson Blvd and upgrades to crosswalks, sidewalks and bike lanes.

The project is set to receive $11.9 million from NVTA, its full estimated cost, though the project description does not mention the tunnel removal.

Design and construct a suite of complementary bicycle and pedestrian improvements largely taken from the recommended implementation projects in the draft Core of Rosslyn study. Collectively as a package, the projects significantly improve access to employment, housing, and transit within the Rosslyn regional activity center, and improve regional connections between Rosslyn and Georgetown, DC.

The long-planned VRE Crystal City Station Improvements project, which would building a new, upgraded Virginia Railway Express station in Crystal City, the last VRE stop before D.C.

The project is set to receive $15.8 million of its estimated total $49.9 million cost.

(more…)

ACPD Annual Report: Crime Rises While Police Force Shrinks

By ARLnow.com
1/6

(Updated at 10:55 a.m.) The Arlington County Police Department has released its annual report, which paints a mixed picture of rising overall crime with decreases in certain types of offenses and a shrinking police force.

ACPD’s 2019 Annual Report says that crime in Arlington “remains historically low,” but the county “experienced an overall increase in 2019 which was marked particularly by vehicle-related property crimes.” Over the past year police have responded to a string of vehicle break-ins around the county, but have also been making arrests.

“The work of officers to proactively patrol Arlington’s neighborhoods to identify and prevent criminal activity and conduct follow-up investigations resulted in a number of significant arrests,” the report says.

Crime, grouped into “Group A Offense Totals” and the more minor “Group B Arrests,” rose to 7,985 and 1,324, respectively, from 7,313 and 1,209 the year prior, according to the report

The year saw increases in the number of reported simple assaults, motor vehicle thefts, larcenies, robberies and public drunkenness charges. There were decreases in sex offenses, abductions, prostitution charges, and DUIs. Murders fell from four in 2018 to two in 2019.

The police force shrunk, albeit slightly, from 2018 to 2019 amid recruiting challenges. The new report lists a sworn police force of 343, down from 353 the year prior. Both figures are below the authorized sworn force of 370.

In the report, the police department notes that it is working towards a goal of a more diverse police force. As of 2019, 10.8% of officers were Black, 8.7% were Hispanic, and 74.1% were white.

In order to provide the best professional law enforcement services to the Arlington Community, we strive to hire personnel that reflect our community’s demographics. Our Personnel and Recruitment Unit works diligently to seek individuals from all backgrounds who possess the necessary qualifications to serve Arlington. While we recognize the police department’s demographic data does not perfectly match that of the Arlington community, recent hires since January 2018 show a positive trend towards aligning more closely with our demographics. The Department requires sixty semester hours of college credit or prior military or law enforcement service, however, a significant majority of our sworn staff hold a Bachelor’s degree or higher.

Written amid nationwide protests over police killings, as well as local calls for police reform, the report contains a letter from Chief M. Jay Farr pledging to do more to win the trust of Arlingtonians.

While the department has a longstanding history of proactively engaging with the community, we recognize there is still more work to be done to ensure the trust and confidence of those we serve. The tragic death of Mr. George Floyd has sparked a national conversation around policing in America. We are committed to continuing to work with the community to hear your concerns, build a diverse workforce, train our officers to de-escalate situations, and ensure accountability and transparency. I can assure you that each and every day, our officers work to provide the level of service that is not only expected but reflected by this community.

Farr is planning to retire by the end of the year.

Arlington Coronavirus Cases Continue Upward Trajectory

By ARLnow.com

Arlington’s rate of new coronavirus cases continues to rise.

Fifteen new COVID-19 cases were reported overnight, bringing the county’s seven-day trailing infection rate to 82, the highest point since June 20.

Two new hospitalizations were reported in Arlington overnight, though the trailing seven-day hospitalization total remains just four. One additional COVID-related death was reported, bringing the total to 133.

Total confirmed infections in Arlington are now 2,582, while cumulative hospitalizations stand at 425, according to the latest Virginia Dept. of Health data.

Arlington’s testing rate, excluding mass testing events, has remained fairly steady, around 250 reported PCR-based tests per day. The test positivity rate has risen from a low of 2.5% to, as of Friday morning, 5.2%.

Nearly 60,000 new coronavirus cases were reported in the U.S. on Thursday, the sixth single-day record in 10 days, the New York Times reported.

Arlington County is planning a virtual town hall today from 12:30-1:30 p.m. to provide an update on the county’s response to the pandemic.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Arlington Gets Federal Arts Grant — “Arlington Cultural Affairs will receive a $35,000 Art Works award from the National Endowment for the Arts (NEA)… [Arlington] will use the grant to support a multi-cultural artist residency project serving the Columbia Hills and Columbia Grove affordable housing communities.” [Arlington County]

Justin Trawick to Play ‘Secret’ Show — “We just got approval from Arlington County to present ‘Common Good on The Block’ benefiting the Arlington Food Assistance Center. Join ‘Justin Trawick and The Common Good’ for a secret street show with the full band on August 1st. This will be a socially distanced event and there are only 60 tickets available.” [Twitter]

Armed Robbery Near Ballston — “At approximately 11:45 p.m. on July 7, the victim was outside his residence when he was approached by two male suspects, one of whom was displaying a firearm. The suspects forced the victim back inside of his apartment, assaulted him, and demanded money. The victim was forced into the bathroom while the suspects ransacked the residence, then stole the victim’s vehicle, a 2005 Chevrolet Equinox with Virginia tags, and other items of value.” [Arlington County]

APS Superintendent to Hold Virtual Town Hall — “Dr. Durán will be hosting a community virtual Town Hall on Tuesday, July 14, from 6:30 to 8 p.m., to address the family selection process for choosing an instructional model for students. The Superintendent will address questions already received and take questions during the live event using Microsoft Teams or Facebook Live. The event will provide simultaneous interpretation in 5 languages (more details to come), including ASL, and closed captions in the streamed video.” [Arlington Public Schools]

Power Outage Reported in East Falls Church Area

By ARLnow.com

About 1,750 Dominion customers are without power on a steamy July afternoon due to an outage in the East Falls Church area.

Dominion lists the reason for the outage as an “equipment problem” and estimates restoration between 7-10 p.m. tonight (Thursday).

Portions of the East Falls Church neighborhood, as well as some neighborhoods to the east along Lee Highway, are currently affected as of 4:30 p.m.

Update at 5:15 p.m. — The number of homes and businesses without power is now down to less than 250.

https://twitter.com/RivetGang/status/1281317723646066693

Arlington Starts Planning Effort to Guide the Future of Pentagon City

By Vernon Miles

(Updated at 4:1o p.m.) Arlington County is launching a new planning study to determine how best to shape the new density coming to Pentagon City.

As nearby Crystal City and Potomac Yard undergo new development spurred by Amazon’s second headquarters, the new study is intended to shape development around Pentagon City, where the permanent HQ2 campus will be located.

“For over four decades, the Pentagon City Phased Development Site Plan (PDSP) has successfully guided growth in the area, resulting in a diverse mix of residential uses, hotels, offices, and retail,” the County’s website said. “Building upon this commitment to planned development around a Metro station, recent events have placed a greater focus on ensuring this approach continues into the future.”

The 12-month planning process is broken into four phases, which will examine the existing conditions and look at varying scenarios for how to shape density could shape the area, “including urban design and streetscape elements, building heights, transportation infrastructure, and public realm recommendations.”

“Arlington County is initiating a new study to help guide future development for Pentagon City, with coordinated planning and transportation components,” the county’s website says. “The study will help define Pentagon City’s capacity for future growth by evaluating alternative redevelopment scenarios and their resulting impacts on the capacity of the existing, committed, and planned transportation system, infrastructure, public spaces and community facilities.”

An ongoing traffic analysis of the area started last year, examining bicycle and pedestrian traffic patterns in addition to car traffic. A preview of the plan in January put the total estimated cost of the study at $1.5 million, including the transportation analysis, staffing hours and consulting for the planning study.

A couple of major redevelopment proposals, including some 1,000 new housing units on the RiverHouse property and a new mixed-use development at the current TSA headquarters, are effectively on hold pending the outcome of the study.

The second phase of Amazon’s permanent HQ2 project — currently an vacant plot of land after a series of abandoned development proposals — is within the study boundaries. A major redevelopment of the Pentagon Centre shopping center — where Costco is located — is also planned but remains years away and outside the scope of the study.

The eventual goal, according to the study preview, will be the establishment of new urban design guidelines, implementation strategies, and guiding documents for Pentagon City.

“The study will last approximately 12 months, starting with a mid-2020 kick-off to mid-2021 completion,” the County said. “County Board briefings or a work session are anticipated to happen at the midway point.”

Photo via Arlington County

Plan for Complete Street Changes Includes Lane Removals in Dominion Hills, Potomac Yard

By ARLnow.com

The final plans are in for a trio of road projects in Arlington, and two out of three involve the removal of travel lanes.

The projects — in Rosslyn, Dominion Hills and Crystal City/Potomac Yard — are all part of the county’s 2020 road repaving schedule. Each has been singled out for changes to the lane striping via the county’s Resurfacing Projects for Complete Streets program, which aims to make streets safer for drivers, cyclists and pedestrians via inexpensive means during the regular repaving cycle.

The first project is planned in Rosslyn along Clarendon Blvd, from N. Rhodes Street to N. Oak Street, near the standalone Starbucks. The plans call for new sections of buffered and protected bike lanes, green paint for bike lanes through intersections, upgraded signage, and no reduction in travel lanes — though it will remove seven of 78 on-street parking spaces.

The Clarendon Blvd project is set to start construction this month.

The second project will reconfigure Potomac Avenue in the Potomac Yard area of Crystal City, from Crystal Drive to the county line. The project calls for upgraded bike lanes, an interim on-street pedestrian zone along a construction site, new turn lanes, and 34 new parking spaces. One of two travel lanes in each direction will be removed, though the road has relatively light traffic.

The Potomac Avenue project is also set to start construction this month, and is reportedly now underway.

Finally, the last project will make changes to Wilson Blvd through the Dominion Hills neighborhood, from Bon Air Park to the county line. It calls for the addition of turn lanes, dedicated school and transit bus stop lanes, curb extensions for shorter crossing distances, buffered bike lanes, and marked bike lanes through intersections. It adds one parking spot to the stretch but removes one of two travel lanes in each direction.

The removal of lanes follows a prior, similar project along sections of Wilson Blvd from Bluemont to Bon Air Park, which was somewhat controversial at the time but only resulted in minimal traffic impacts for the average rush hour commuter.

The Wilson Blvd project is set to start construction later this summer or in the early fall.

The design process for the three projects involved two virtual open houses and rounds of public feedback, through which a number of modifications to the plans were made.

File photo (top). Street view images (1) (2) and (3) via Google Maps.

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Seattle Tax Could Advantage Arlington — “It wouldn’t shock us if Amazon started encouraging more of its executives to up and move their teams to HQ2, or a neighboring city in Washington state, now that the Seattle City Council has passed a progressive tax targeting the wealthiest companies in the city.” [Washington Business Journal]

Analysis of County Board Special Election — From @A_Hendel on Twitter: “Takis Karantonis received most of his share of the vote from South Arlington… In fact, almost no precincts north of I-66 cast 50% or more of their votes for Takis.” [Twitter]

Organizations Getting Big PPP Loans in Arlington — The American Diabetes Association, tech company ByteCubed, American Service Center, Bishop O’Connell High School and the Catholic Diocese of Arlington are among the Arlington-based organizations to reportedly receive $2+ million federal Paycheck Protection Act loans. [Patch]

Another Local Tech Firm Gets PPP Help — “Amazon.com Inc. may have posted record sales during the pandemic, but many third-party sellers on the platform foundered… Some of those sellers — like the Arlington-based Amify Inc. and Etailz Inc., based in Spokane, Washington — received millions of dollars worth of help from the Small Business Administration’s Paycheck Protection Program.” [Washington Business Journal]

Water Main Repairs Today in Bluemont — “Thursday Emergency Water Main Repairs: Crews will replace 3 valves in separate locations tomorrow in Bluemont area. Some 100 customers have been notified of potential service interruptions 8 a.m.-5 p.m.” [Twitter]

Letter: W-L Renaming Happened at a Good Time — “The Arlington School Board’s renaming of Washington-Lee High School was autocratic, manipulative, adversarial and punitive. In retrospect, though, they unwittingly did the W-L community a favor.” [InsideNova]

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