Tree canopy in Arlington by neighborhood (via Arlington Tree Action Group)
Tree canopy in North Arlington (courtesy of Green Infrastructure Center)
Tree canopy in South Arlington (courtesy of Green Infrastructure Center)
(Updated at 4:35 p.m.)Tree canopy in Arlington County is lower than it was in 2016, according to a new privately-funded study paid for local residents.
The residents, who are involved in Arlington County Civic Federation, Arlington Tree Action Group and EcoAction Arlington, funded the study to how much tree canopy declined since the last county study in 2017.
Based on imaging from 2021, a consultant found that trees cover 33% of land — excluding the Pentagon and Reagan National Airport — down from 41% on the same land six years ago. Coverage ranges by civic association, from 14% in Crystal City to 66% in the county’s northernmost neighborhood of Arlingwood, compared to 26% and 75%, respectively, in 2011.
“It’s really eye-opening,” one of the residents behind the study, Mary Glass, tells ARLnow. “Ideally, the county would have had this, but they didn’t.”
This updates a 2004 Urban Forest Master Plan and a 2010 Natural Resources Management Plan in one document to address climate change, population growth and threats such as diseases and invasive species, says Dept. of Parks and Recreation spokeswoman Jerry Solomon. It has an eye toward racial equity and environmental justice, to make sure all residents benefit physically and mentally from Arlington’s natural resources.
Combining the plans “allows us to consider Arlington’s ecosystem holistically and craft a more comprehensive set of recommendations for conservation and resource management in the future,” Solomon said.
During this process, and during the Missing Middle housing discussions that concluded with zoning updates earlier this month, preserving trees from redevelopment was mentioned as a top priority for many residents. (The zoning changes approved by the County Board specifies requirements for shade trees on properties redeveloped with Missing Middle housing.)
To help, volunteers from Marymount University and EcoAction Arlington have been planting trees in the hotter, less leafy parts of Arlington.
Marymount University volunteers plant trees in Arlington (courtesy Gaston Araoz)
Now, Glass says, she hopes people will use the new data when the next Forestry Natural Resource Plan draft is published and ready for community input.
“This information is going to be right there so when the next draft comes out, in the next month or so, we’ll be able to make specific comments and recommendations based on the information we have,” Glass said.
The draft could be ready for community feedback this spring or early summer, Solomon said. The parks department spokesperson added that staff have seen the new study and “are excited about the community’s enthusiasm for our urban forests.”
However, she added, “we have not seen the underlying data and don’t have a full understanding of the methodology. As a result, we cannot speak to any discrepancies without adequately assessing it for accuracy, margin of error, or underlying assumptions.”
The department said it felt comfortable starting the plan update based on the overall downward trends in the previous tree canopy studies. Solomon said the current draft acknowledges and has recommendations for reversing the decline in tree canopy.
Despite marginal fluctuations, from a high of 43% in 2008 to a low of 40% in 2011 and a slight uptick to 41% in 2017, the county says tree coverage in parks is offsetting declining tree coverage on residential properties.
“Knowing this, we decided to prioritize the update of the FNRP in order to identify strategies to reverse that trend and address other environmental challenges sooner rather than later,” she said. (more…)
Interpretive exhibit at Fort Ethan Allen Park (via Arlington County)
Before and after photos of a street improvement Neighborhood Conservation project on 7th Street South (via Arlington County)
Before and after photos of a street improvement Neighborhood Conservation project on 23rd Street S. (via Arlington County)
(Updated at 1:25 p.m.) An Arlington County program for neighborhood improvements may be trending towards smaller-scale projects.
After getting a new name and developing new equity criteria, the Arlington Neighborhood Program is taking more steps to reimagine how it supports community projects identified by residents.
A new survey is being conducted — it’s open through next Wednesday, April 5 — asking residents what kinds of projects they would like to see the Arlington Neighborhoods Program, formerly the Arlington Neighborhood Conservation Program, approve.
“Work with churches to reforest their large grounds, which are now typically in lawn grass,” one person said.
“Bird and bat boxes!” suggested another. “Bats eat mosquitoes and finding some places to put bat boxes would benefit the overall population.”
Another popular suggestion included drop-off points for canned food and other basics in partnership with restaurants, supermarkets, food banks, shelters and faith-based groups.
Possibly dovetailing off the humorous bulletin board in Penrose Park, one user suggested more neighborhood bulletin boards for posting announcements, offers to share surplus garden produce and other free stuff. Others suggested more shade and water features in parks for hot days, community murals and sidewalk art.
Some suggested larger-scale safety improvement projects, such as traffic calming measures, pedestrian bridges over Route 50 and better walking conditions, including more trees and smoother sidewalks, between Columbia Pike and Pentagon City.
The pivot is one fruit of soul-searching by a work group, which began in 2019, to figure out how the program could better serve residents, resulting in a report published in 2021.
At the time, ANP was supporting fewer, more expensive projects, which were causing participation rates to decline. The Fort Ethan Allen interpretive project, pictured above, cost nearly $500,000, and the four most recently approved projects, including street lights and new sidewalks, cost between $268,700-$985,000.
“The Program spent four times more in the last ten years than it did in the 1990s, yet it produced fewer than half the number of projects due to substantially higher median project costs,” the report said, noting that funding for the program has not kept up with the increased cost of delivering infrastructure.
It also faced accusations of inefficiency and bias toward wealthier, predominantly white neighborhoods.
“This disparity exists despite very few projects proposed from several neighborhoods in the northernmost reaches of the County with predominantly White households and where a few of these neighborhoods do not participate,” the report says. (more…)
Looking down at Freedom Park and its blossoms in Rosslyn (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Battle Brewing Over Broyhill — “The 70-year-old hilltop mansion built by area home builder M.T. Broyhill is set to be torn down, the News-Press has confirmed. The required signage for demolition permits were recently posted in front of the spacious white-brick home at [2561] N. Vermont St., angering neighbors, though the new owner says the plans of himself and his wife are still taking shape. The mansion, once considered as a potential residence for the U.S. vice president, has 10 bedrooms and 11 bathrooms on 9775 sq. ft., and was owned in recent years by the Woodlawn Foundation of the Catholic Prelature of Opus Dei.” [Falls Church News-Press]
New Portrait for Beyer — From Rep. Don Beyer: “I didn’t know this until recently, but Members of Congress are allowed to update their official portrait. I look a bit different now from how I looked nearly a decade ago, so I asked the House photographers to retake it, and they did. Here’s the new portrait.” [Twitter]
More on Key Bridge Marriott — “The building, which previously housed Marriott’s longest-operating hotel, sold in early 2018 and the new owners received county approval for redevelopment in March 2020 before shutting down the Key Bridge Marriott hotel the following year. But now the development team appears close to giving up on it. The developers — Los Angeles real estate investors Woodridge Capital Partners and Oaktree Capital Management — stopped paying their property taxes late last year, public records show.” [Bisnow]
GOP Tiptoes Around Prosecutor Race — “Is the Arlington County Republican Committee encouraging its members to vote in the June 20 Democratic primary for commonwealth’s attorney? Technically, no, but both at recent Arlington GOP meetings and in e-mail missives to the rank-and-file, some in the party leadership seem to be walking right up to the line.” [GazetteLeader]
BID Partnering with Trail Group — “The Rosslyn Business Improvement District (Rosslyn BID) is excited to announce that it has teamed up with the Friends of the Mount Vernon Trail (FoMVT) to advance their shared goal of improving the Mount Vernon Trail for folks walking, biking, and rolling. Through this partnership, the BID will sponsor the FoMVT’s cleanup events and volunteer activities starting this April.” [Rosslyn BID]
It’s Thursday — Clear throughout the day. High of 53 and low of 37. Sunrise at 6:57 am and sunset at 7:31 pm. [Weather.gov]
Police are investigating the first reported homicide of the year in Arlington.
According to Arlington County police, a man was found dead in an apartment on the 100 block of N. Thomas Street yesterday (Tuesday) morning. He was suffering from “upper body trauma,” police said.
More from an ACPD press release:
The Arlington County Police Department’s Homicide/Robbery Unit is investigating a homicide in the Buckingham neighborhood.
At approximately 11:25 a.m. on March 28, police and fire were dispatched to the 100 block of N. Thomas Street for the report of trouble unknown. Upon arrival, it was determined a maintenance worker entered the apartment and located the unresponsive adult male inside. Arlington County Fire Department medics pronounced the male deceased on scene.
The preliminary investigation indicates the victim suffered upper body trauma. The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will determine cause and manner of death. The identity of the decedent is being withheld pending notification of next of kin.
This remains an active criminal investigation and anyone with information that may assist the investigation is asked to contact the Arlington County Police Department’s Homicide/Robbery Unit at 703-228-4180 or [email protected]. Information may also be reported anonymously through the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).
The apartment building is located on the same block at the Cathedral of St. Thomas More, as well as the Catholic church’s PreK-8 school.
The last reported homicide in Arlington happened in February 2022 on Columbia Pike.
Update on 4/1/23 — ACPD has identified the victim in this case.
The deceased has been identified as Sean Bowman, 28, of No Fixed Address. This remains an active criminal investigation and anyone with information related to this case is asked to contact the Arlington County Police Department’s Homicide/Robbery Unit at 703-228-4180 or [email protected]. Information may also be reported anonymously through the Arlington County Crime Solvers hotline at 1-866-411-TIPS (8477).
Duplexes along Washington Blvd in Westover (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
An anti-Missing Middle sign in front of a house in Westover (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
The following in-depth local reporting was supported by the ARLnow Press Club. Join today to support local journalism and to get an early look at what we’re planning to cover each day.
Last week, the Arlington County Board voted unanimously to allow homeowners, builders and developers to convert or build new 2-6 unit homes throughout the county.
Those changes will not go into effect until July 1 and it will be even longer before such buildings actually spring up.
“Nothing will be built a year from now. It may be permitted, but it won’t be built,” Arlington County Board Chair Christian Dorsey predicted to ARLnow after the vote last Wednesday. “We’re really going to have to wait, I think, 18 months before we actually have anything we can sink our teeth into.”
Dorsey seemed confident that county staff have sufficient direction to prepare for the first “Missing Middle” housing applications.
“[Staff] are already going to work on ‘What are we going to do with permitting? What are we doing to set up a structure?’ but then, also, ‘What are the technical, advisory resources that we’re going to make available to allow people to navigate through it?'” he said.
For staff and for builders, the county is entering uncharted waters.
“It’s really new,” Dorsey said. “The existing duplexes, triplexes and townhouses are fairly matured in this county, but the other forms, we haven’t really seen them in recent history,” he said.
While it will be at least a year and a half before there is anything to see, behind the scenes, activity is already humming.
County staff are working on educational materials and getting Permit Arlington, the county’s online permitting system, ready. A few local developers have put out feelers regarding where to build townhomes. County Board members are already directing planning staff to study other aspects of the zoning code to see how standards can be strengthened to prevent tree canopy loss.
Staff gets to work
The next three months will be busy for county staff.
Staff will put out educational materials for property owners and building industry professionals explaining possibilities and requirements.
County planners will study up for meetings with people who want to build EHO units — Arlington’s term of art for what it just allowed is “Expanded Housing Options” — which are being encouraging so people can go over code requirements and their applications with staff before submitting them. Lastly, they will add a zoning permit application for EHO development to Permit Arlington.
ARLnow recently reported on issues with the online permitting system. Builders and architects blame these issues, along with the need for pre-construction meetings, for construction delays and more expensive projects. They tell us that the staffing level dedicated to reviewing applications will determine how successful Arlington is in encouraging EHO construction.
“Having a consistent plan review process would be the most helpful way that the county could support this new type of initiative,” David Tracy, the president of local home-building company Classic Cottages, tells ARLnow. “The permitting piece in Arlington is rigorous already [for single-family detached homes]. This is supposed to go through more or less the same process and that is a months-long process.”
What will be built and where?
While 2-6 unit buildings are broadly allowed in all districts previously zoned only for single-family detached dwellings, some lots will be too small for certain kinds of projects and others are ineligible because the county says they could be assembled with other properties for bigger development projects.
A cap of 58 approved projects per year for five years, distributed geographically, will to some degree dictate where these buildings go.
Some in the home-design and building industry predict that despite the nearly blanket allowance, EHO homes will likely be concentrated around walkable amenities.
“My own personal view is that there need to be walkable amenities around in order for people to want to live in this type of house,” Tracy said. “If there’s a condo building in the western part of the county where the zoning is R-10 and R-20, the head-scratcher is why would you buy a condo or townhome, which I associate… with a more urban existence.”
Tracy said the cap has benefit and trade-offs. It might help regulate the review process but it could create a “false scarcity” that dissuades people from undertaking EHO projects.
“The worst thing you can do for a builder is create uncertainty,” he said, adding that they cannot afford to wait a year if the cap is hit and their project misses the boat. “You’re going to distort the market.”
County Board member Katie Cristol tried to make that point during the rezoning approval, arguing that uncertainty will keep Missing Middle units from being built, but her motion to double the cap was voted down.
County Board Vice-Chair Libby Garvey told supporters in an email this week that she pushed for these two measures.
“I have consistently worked to make these changes more of a pilot than sweeping changes,” said Garvey, who for a while led the charge against the never-built Columbia Pike streetcar. “While the final adoption is not quite as limited or as dispersed as I would like, I think it will allow us to see how this works out over time and over different portions of the County.”
Architect Ethan Marsh expects Missing Middle-type homes will pop up near transit, such as in Lyon Village and Lyon Park, which flank the Clarendon and Courthouse neighborhoods along the Orange and Silver lines.
But the building might extend to neighborhoods a bit further afield from transit, like Marsh’s former neighborhood of Penrose.
“In those areas, you can walk to Columbia Pike and catch a bus, which I did often, or get to Clarendon on a scooter,” he said. “Those areas lend themselves better to Missing Middle because you can increase density without increasing parking, because you have walkability… This area sort of markets itself.”
It seemingly already has. In a conversation in a local neighborhood email listserv, shared with ARLnow, someone who owns a property in Lyon Village explained how he would make more money replacing his $1.2 million house with a 3-unit townhouse, with each unit listed around $1.5 million, over one large, $2.7 million single-family home. Citing concerns of overcrowding in the neighborhood school his kids attend, the individual said he would not build a 6-plex.
Meanwhile, a speculative development brochure shared with ARLnow seeks investors for a similar development planned for a single-family colonial home, built in 1947, in Lyon Park.
The home, described as “in disrepair” and on an “under-utilized” site, was sold for around $950,000 this February to a registered LLC named for the home’s address, according to county property records. The investment pitch proposes envisions building three townhouses, which would sell for just over $1.22 million each, which would still be less expensive than many older single-family homes in the area.
A page from a brochure seeking investors for a planned townhouse development in Lyon Park (courtesy anonymous)
Over the last couple of years, people have debated how attainable these units would be, particularly to people making less than $100,000 per year. ARLnow asked a few local nonprofit affordable housing providers if they would be building Missing Middle-type homes to provide homeownership opportunities to lower-income residents.
Two said they would not be, but they support the changes because of how they will expand housing. The local Habitat for Humanity chapter, however, indicated interest.
“This change opens up large portions of the County where we were effectively priced out before, and we will be working hard to make the new policy a successful reality,” Director of Donor Engagement & Communications Liz Salter told ARLnow.
She said Habitat has “considerable experience” building stacked flats, two-over-twos and smaller multifamily structures in D.C. for homeownership units.
“And we have successfully built 3+ bedroom units within the smaller envelopes that would be characteristic of an [EHO] multiplex,” she said.
Planning for growth
Missing Middle critics often predicted overcrowding at schools, some of which already have not-so-temporary trailers offsetting enrollment increases.
For the part of Arlington Public Schools, it says the rezoning adoption will have impacts small enough not to significantly affect enrollment planning in the near term. APS believes Missing Middle will add roughly nine to 13 students per year, spread across elementary, middle and high schools.
“The Missing Middle housing growth should be similar to what to the growth in accessory dwellings, which were approved in 2017,” APS spokesman Frank Bellavia says, noting that 99 parcels across Arlington have ADUs.
He did say that the annual cap on projects would be beneficial.
“The caps established for the first five years of the MM makes it more manageable for APS to absorb any increase in new students,” he said. “APS closely collaborates with Arlington County staff on projections and any changes to the pace of development will be on our radar.”
Addressing overcrowding, Bellavia said APS has a few planning processes through which it can address growth by expanding existing schools, repurposing current space or collaborating with the county on other types of expansions.
“The most recent APS Capital Improvement Plan and bond is investing in a new facility that will expand the number of students served by the Arlington Career Center,” he said. “The next CIP will also include a schedule and funds to begin renovating and modernizing existing APS facilities. We believe that the combined initiatives will help absorb any increases in enrollment due to Missing Middle.”
Meanwhile, those who like crunching numbers can eventually expect a lot of data tracking growth related to Missing Middle.
Permit applications and approvals will be published in real-time and likely added to interactive map promoted through newsletters. Annual reports will include data on:
EHO types, unit numbers and locations
New construction vs. renovations
Owner and renter-occupation rates
Lot size and coverage and impervious surface coverage
Tree planting and retention
Parking spaces provided per unit
Number and location of requested and approved parking reductions
Demographics of residents living in EHO development, if possible
APS student generation
In the cases where new EHO construction replaces a dwelling, for interest, the county is also interested in tracking whether the owner or renters live inside.
The data would provide a clearer picture of whether predictions from critics are coming to pass, including one that the changes will yield more 1-2 bedroom rentals than family-sized, 3-4 bedroom units for sale.
The future of McMansions
The foil to EHO development has long been the so-called McMansion, a pejorative for new single-family homes derided by critics as oversized, cookie cutter and cheaply built.
Some proponents have reasoned that if the zoning code can allow for these buildings housing one family, it should allow structures with the same footprint to house multiple families. Now, the question is whether large single-family homes might see additional county scrutiny.
The Arlington County Board has encouraged staff to prioritize studying lot coverage and building placement standards to find ways to preserve trees from being cut down. The new zoning code requires between four and eight trees per unit on properties developed with EHOs.
Members and Planning Commissioners are also interested in adding to the zoning code a standard for floor area ratio, or the ratio of a building’s base to the size of the lot it is built on.
“We’re hearing a lot about this, I’d love to move it forward faster,” Garvey said during a budget work session with the Department of Community Planning, Housing and Development.
Planning Director Anthony Fusarelli responded that staff may be overextended and that work could not begin until other studies wrapped up in 2024.
Cristol recommended implementing “quick-strike” rule changes for lot coverage that could come out of an update to Arlington’s Forestry and Natural Resources Plan, a final draft of which is expected to be ready this spring or summer.
This will, she said, “really serve this strongly held desire to protect trees in development of low-density properties.”
She warned that without determining community priorities for lot coverage, the county could end up in another contentious policy debate.
“I’m very eager to take up this conversation and I think there are a lot of interesting ideas,” she said. “I hope we can find a little capacity to pursue that goal overall.”
Police arrested a man after a somewhat unusual burglary in Ballston yesterday evening.
The burglary happened shortly before 7 p.m. Tuesday, on the 900 block of N. Stuart Street, which corresponds with the Meridian at Ballston Commons apartment building.
Police say a sleeping resident woke up to find someone rummaging through his bedroom.
“The victim yelled at the suspect [who then] fled the scene on foot with the victim’s backpack and alcohol,” said today’s Arlington County police crime report. “Responding officers located the suspect in the area and took him into custody without incident. During a search of the suspect’s person incident to arrest, credit cards and other personal belongings of the victim were located.”
A 19-year-old D.C. man was arrested and charged with burglary and four counts of credit card theft, police said.
With Story Hour over, the cherry blossoms in front of Central Library caused a traffic jam of strollers and photoshoots (photo courtesy CG Liacouras)
ACPD: No Sexual Assault Along Pike — From Arlington County police: “Detectives conducted a thorough investigation which ultimately determined a sexual assault had not occurred at Columbia Pike and S. Four Mile Run Drive on the morning of March 6, 2023. The investigation into this incident has concluded and there is no ongoing threat to the community.” [ARLnow]
New Local GOP Chair — “The Arlington County Republican Committee has someone new in the driver’s seat, but is still running on empty when it comes to candidate recruitment. The GOP rank-and-file on March 27 selected Matthew Hurtt, the party’s communications director, to serve out the remaining year of the term of GOP chair Lori Urban, who is moving to Arizona.” [GazetteLeader, Twitter]
DJO Softball Team Dominating — “The defending Division I state private-school champion Bishop O’Connell Knights girls softball team has started the season with a 5-0 record, outscoring opponents, 76-0. The Knights have been led by Katie Kutz. On the mound, the right-hander has 68 strikeouts in 25 innings pitched, has allowed just one hit (a bloop single) and has walked six in those high-school contests.” [GazetteLeader]
‘Caesar’ at Gunston Closing This Week — “Avant Bard’s retelling of Shakespeare’s Julius Caesar is a mind meld of ideas that take shape in front of your eyes, shift through time and space, and pull messages out of a deconstructed script. In other words, it’s total Kathleen Akerley, the playwright and director known throughout the metro region for her fearlessness in bending the time-space continuum through original, absurdist-leaning scripts.” [DC Theater Arts, Broadway World]
Hope’s Sub-Minimum Wage Bill Advancing — “It still has one final procedural hurdle to surmount, but a measure ending an 80-year-old disparity in minimum pay levels for Virginians with disabilities is likely to become law. The measure, patroned by Del. Patrick Hope (D-Arlington), would end the 1940s-era measure allowing those employing workers with disabilities to pay less than the minimum wage – sometimes as low as $3 per hour.” [GazetteLeader]
Rising Fungus Threat in Va. — “Virginia health officials are warning of a ‘concerning increase’ in cases of a deadly fungus spreading in health care facilities. What’s happening: Candida auris is emerging as a threat worldwide because of its resistance to antifungal treatments.” [Axios]
It’s Wednesday — Clear throughout most of the day, with clouds later. High of 58 and low of 41. Sunrise at 6:59 am and sunset at 7:30 pm. [Weather.gov]
A single-family home in Cherrydale abutting parking identified for infill development (via Google Maps)
While last week‘s landmark zoning decision legalized 2-6 unit homes throughout Arlington’s lowest-density neighborhoods, about 136 properties will be ineligible for such projects.
The exemption applies to certain 5,000-6,000 square-foot lots — the county’s smallest standardized residential lot size, dubbed R-5 and R-6, respectively — located near transit and within planning districts in East Falls Church, Cherrydale and Columbia Pike.
In the nearly 150-page long report on the zoning ordinance changes, Arlington County says the three properties in East Falls Church, 49 properties in Cherrydale and 82 near the Pike could be assembled with other properties that previous planning efforts have identified for redevelopment.
“Within these planning districts, there are locations where reinvestment has not yet occurred and assembly of the R-5 and R-6 zoned parcels with parcels along the corridor frontage could realize identified plan goals for the revitalization district,” per the county report outlining the approved Missing Middle zoning changes.
Assembling these properties with nearby lots could allow developers to realize the vision for these corridors, the report says.
This includes “mixed use development, improvements to the public realm, walkability, increased housing supply, housing affordability, and creation of coordinated buffer or transition zones to lower density residential areas,” the county says.
In East Falls Church, transit-oriented development near the Metro station has languished and many planning goals from a 2011 East Falls Church Area Plan remain unrealized. While there are some new townhouses within walking distance, an empty parking lot and a standalone parking garage are two examples of “prime real estate” awaiting redevelopment.
This includes two single-family homes — across the street from the “Kiss and Ride” lot — identified for potential redevelopment in the 2011 plan, which faced strong opposition from some who said it encouraged too much development, despite the proximity to a Metro station.
Two homes across the street from a Metro station parking lot possibly slated for redevelopment in East Falls Church (via Google Maps)
The other exempted property, though zoned as residential, is home to a telecommunications building owned by Verizon and a parking lot. The back of this surface parking lot is across the street from the East Falls Church Metro station; some commuters use it to cut through the block north of the station, per the 2011 plan.
“The Verizon building is anticipated to remain in use for the foreseeable future,” the 2011 plan notes. “However the rear portion of the lot, which is a largely unused parking lot, has potential for redevelopment.”
The plan envisions townhouses or low-rise multifamily development of three to four stories. Verizon did not return a request for comment about plans for the site.
Such development “should accommodate a dedicated pedestrian path through the entire site from Lee Highway to Washington Boulevard that would formalize this vital connection,” the plan says.
If the Virginia Dept. of Transportation and WMATA move forward with plans to redevelop a commuter lot across the street, the connection could also get a new signalized crossing between the — potentially — redeveloped lots. Around this time last year, neither agency indicated progress toward redeveloping the site, citing barriers such as restrictive zoning.
At the time, a county planner told ARLnow that without higher building heights, there may not be much of an incentive to build.
“Those costs are real,” Natasha Alfonso said. “There has to be enough density to justify that kind of improvement on those sites. If the community wants walkable, transit-oriented development, those are things we have to consider.”
The parking lot behind the Verizon switching station in East Falls Church (via Google Maps)
Police are investigating the death of a man found in a vehicle on a quiet residential street near Marymount University.
Police say the man’s death “does not appear to be suspicious” but they’re still looking into the circumstances.
“At approximately 6:56 a.m. on March 27, police and fire were dispatched to the 2700 block of N. Wakefield Street for the report of a cardiac arrest,” Arlington County Police Department spokeswoman Alli Shorb tells ARLnow. “Upon arrival, the unresponsive adult male was located inside a vehicle. Medics pronounced him deceased on scene and ACPD is conducting a death investigation.”
“Based on the preliminary investigation, the death does not appear suspicious and there is no ongoing threat to the community related to this incident,” Shorb continued. “The Office of the Chief Medical Examiner will determine cause and manner of death. The investigation is ongoing.”
The man was in his 30s, Shorb said.
A local tipster told ARLnow that the man had crashed into a parked car in the early morning hours but was not discovered deceased until later in the morning. The tipster added that the man was not a resident of the immediate neighborhood.
Police have so far declined to confirm those additional details.
A man walking along Columbia Pike at 8 p.m. on Friday was punched and robbed by a trio of suspects, two of whom were armed.
That’s according to the latest Arlington County Police Department crime report.
The incident happened on the 5000 block of Columbia Pike, just west of the Arlington Mill Community Center. It was reported to police about 50 minutes after it happened, according to ACPD.
“The victim was walking in the area when he was approached by the three unknown male suspects,” the police department said. “Two of the suspects displayed firearms in their waistbands while one of the suspects struck the victim with his fist, stole an undisclosed amount of cash and fled the scene on foot. The victim sustained minor injuries and was treated by medics.”
The Potomac River and Tidal Basin while cherry trees are blooming, as seen from Rosslyn (staff photo by Jay Westcott)
Rental Car Changes at DCA — “Avis and Budget, both owned by Avis Budget Group Inc. (NASDAQ: CAR) in Parsippany, New Jersey, recently notified customers in an email that they are relocating from the on-airport rental center on the first floor of the airport’s main parking garage to a stand-alone facility in Crystal City. Taking their place will be Sixt, a German car-rental company that has been rapidly expanding in the U.S. in recent years.” [Washington Business Journal]
Online Missing Middle Survey — “A survey of Patch readers conducted after the county board’s March 22 vote found that nearly 63 percent of respondents did not agree with the board’s decision to approve the Missing Middle Housing plan. And among the 942 responses to the Patch survey, 65 percent said they do not believe the board’s decision to eliminate single-family zoning will create more affordable housing in Arlington County.” [Patch]
Update on ARLnow Poll — As of 5 p.m. Monday, about 58% of the more than 2,500 respondents to ARLnow’s morning poll on the Missing Middle decision expressed support for some degree of rezoning. Just over 42% were totally opposed to any rezoning. [ARLnow]
Local LGBT Group Changes Name — “It’s a new name for a local organization, as the Arlington-Alexandria Gay and Lesbian Alliance (AGLA) morphs into ‘Equality NoVa.’ The switch will take place over coming months, and is designed in part to show the organization’s growth into the broader local region.” [GazetteLeader]
Teen Police Academy Applications Open — “Due to the popularity of last year’s inaugural Teen Police Academy, the Community Engagement Division’s Youth Outreach Unit (YOU) is pleased to announce the expansion of the Summer Teen Police Academy for Summer 2023. The application has opened for two sessions being held in the months of July and August focused on education, relationship-building and positive youth development.” [ACPD]
Amazon Job Training Event — “Amazon Web Services is hosting a free, two-day fiber optic training program April 4-5 in Arlington in partnership with Northern Virginia Community College. The program is open to the public and will be held at the AWS Skills Center at 1550 Crystal Drive in Arlington. The AWS Skills Center in Crystal City is a free cloud education resource for the community.” [Patch]
It’s Tuesday — Mostly cloudy throughout the day. High of 56 and low of 44. Sunrise at 7:00 am and sunset at 7:29 pm. [Weather.gov]
