County Board

County Board hopefuls emerge for 2022 election

By Brandi Bottalico
Independent County Board candidate Adam Theo (courtesy photo)

(Updated at 3:45 p.m.) The race is on for incumbent Matt de Ferranti’s County Board seat.

Independent Adam Theo announced Thursday morning he’s running for County Board, and another familiar independent candidate, Audrey Clement, intends to run. But de Ferranti doesn’t plan to let go of his seat.

This is Theo’s second time running for the County Board in as many years. Last year, he joined Clement and another independent candidates in what became a crowded County Board race for the spot that Democrat Takis Karantonis occupies. Although his bid was unsuccessful, Theo previously told ARLnow that his campaign would set the groundwork for a full run in 2022 or 2023.

In his second run, his announcement has come out strong against the current board.

“The COVID crisis exposed a disastrous lack of leadership on the board that’s been hiding in plain sight for years,” he said. “They are rubber-stamping each other’s bad ideas, spending big on band-aids instead of investing in smarter long-term solutions, and merely copy-catting ideas from neighboring cities and counties instead of making Arlington the regional leader it should be.”

He’s running on a platform of expanding government accountability, prioritizing public safety and making housing affordable.

Incumbent Matt de Ferranti, who was elected as a Democrat in 2018 to the seat, has not officially announced his run for re-election — yet. He tells ARLnow an announcement is coming.

“I’ve focused on COVID response, racial equity and the priorities I identified when I ran in 2018–affordable housing, hunger, funding our schools to support educational opportunity for all students, fighting climate change, and inclusive economic growth,” he said. “Next week, I will officially announce my intention to seek re-election. I take nothing for granted and look forward to listening to our residents’ concerns and working to earn each and every vote.”

Theo describes himself as “a fierce non-partisan free-thinking ‘progressive libertarian.'” He said he was in the Air Force Reserves as a civil engineer and deployed to eastern Afghanistan. He has also worked as a consultant within the Department of Homeland Security.

He’s the vice president of the Ballston-Virginia Square Civic Association, a voting delegate to the Arlington County Civic Federation and co-founder of a regional housing advocacy group.

His campaign website says he is opposed to deals the Arlington County Board has given to Amazon, steep increases in property taxes and the “county’s slow progress on housing affordability.”

The experiences he could bring to the county board are unique, he said. He was incarcerated for four months as a young adult in his home state of Florida, has experienced homelessness and has been a longtime renter in search of a home in Arlington County.

“It is these formative life experiences that make me uniquely suited to empathize with and serve all Arlingtonians, and why I will work so hard to be your next independent member on the Arlington County Board,” his website reads.

In his announcement, Theo invited people to attend a virtual open house at 7:30 p.m. tonight (Thursday).

Audrey Clement tells ARLnow she plans to run for County Board this year as well but will announce later. She wants to reduce taxes, stop up-zoning, and preserve parks, trees and historic places. The Westover resident has been a perennial candidate over the last decade and says she believes once people realize the missing middle housing push will rezone some neighborhoods, they will support a candidate like her.

The primary election will be held June 21 and general election on Nov. 8.

More than 100 residents apply for a seat on Arlington’s new police oversight board

By Jo DeVoe
Police response on Columbia Pike (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

The County Board and the community have a small mountain of applications to Arlington’s new police oversight board to sift through.

Between October and December of last year, more than 100 people applied to sit on the county’s Community Oversight Board,  according to Board Vice-Chair Christian Dorsey.

The County Board created the group last summer to receive complaints of police misconduct. Following the recommendations of the Police Practices Group — convened after 2020’s summer of nationwide racial justice protests — the Board endowed the COB with the power to subpoena for evidence or witnesses if the police department withholds them.

Now, the County Board and a panel of community members have the monumental task of winnowing down the 100 applicants to nine candidates — seven voting and two non-voting members — by mid-March.

“On behalf of all of us, I think we can say thank you, thank you for the tremendous outpouring of interest and support for this initiative in Arlington,” said Dorsey, who is a liaison to the COB along with Board member Matt de Ferranti.

A multi-step interview process is now underway, says Dorsey.

Candidates have been invited to participate in video interviews so they can be screened before they go before a panel, which will largely be composed of people who were engaged in the creation of the COB last year.

This panel will choose who will interview with the County Board.

Dorsey says the goal is to fully impanel the COB by the County Board’s March meeting.

“We are very, very thrilled that this is going to move forward,” he said. “We really thank so many Arlingtonians who are interested in transparency and accountability in law enforcement and working to build trust with our police department and community.”

Dorsey noted that he was pleased the applicant pool reflects Arlington’s diversity.

“This was very much a standard by which we want to establish our Community Oversight Board, and at least from the screening of the applicants thus far, we will absolutely be able to meet that important mandate,” he said.

The COB would be lead by an independent auditor-monitor who can conduct investigations concurrent with internal police department investigations. This position, however, is subject to approval by state legislature, possibly during the 2022 legislative session.

Del. Patrick Hope (D-47) is chief patron of House Bill 670 that would allow Arlington County to appoint the independent policing auditor.

Arlington firefighters union on tight deadline for collective bargaining

By Brandi Bottalico

(Updated at 12:05 p.m.) After decades away from the bargaining table, the Arlington firefighters’ union may have to wait a little while longer to negotiate compensation and benefits.

Arlington Professional Firefighters & Paramedics Association are relying on a recently hired labor relations administrator to work double-time so an election can be held by March and negotiations can begin before April, as required by law.

“The newly appointed LRA appears to be working very promptly and efficiently,” Dustin Drumm with Arlington Professional Firefighters told ARLnow. “However, March 1st is a very tight timeline.”

If the deadlines aren’t met, an agreement can’t take effect for the following year.

Drumm said County Board Chair Katie Cristol plans to propose an amendment to the law at the board’s February meeting that would help ease the tight deadlines. Deputy County Manager Michelle Cowan said the amendment would extend the March 1 deadline, allowing negotiations to begin later this spring but still conclude by Oct. 1.

“It is our sincere hope that all members of the County Board join Chair Cristol in making sure firefighters’ voices are heard and we actually have collective bargaining in Arlington County as opposed to just on paper,” Drumm said.

The county appointed an administrator in late December, months after someone should have filled the role, according to the ordinance the County Board passed, leaving less time to get the required steps complete. By March, the new county labor relations administrator has to issue election rules, determine if enough members are interested in being part of a bargaining unit and then order an election.

If a simple majority votes in favor, the union is certified and bargaining can begin.

The association represented firefighters in collective bargaining in the 1970s before the Virginia Supreme Court ruled collective bargaining illegal. But after the General Assembly in 2021 allowed communities to re-establish collective bargaining, Arlington County Board passed an ordinance in July allowing it.

Within days of Arlington County restoring the ability to collectively bargain, the association sent a letter requesting the election and enclosed a membership roster. It requested the election at the earliest opportunity.

“A voice on the job via collective bargaining has been a stated goal in the union bylaws predating passage of [the county code],” the letter reads. “This shows we have the support of the overwhelming majority of bargaining unit members. This high level of support has been steady for decades.”

Arlington sees bump in vaccinated employees as mandate deadline nears

By Jo DeVoe
The COVID-19 vaccine (via Arlington County/YouTube)

The threat of job loss over vaccination status may have motivated some 104 permanent Arlington County employees to get the shot.

County employees have until next Tuesday (Feb. 1) to get the jab or obtain a medical or religious exemption, otherwise they go on unpaid leave for one month. If they obtain neither before Feb. 28, they lose their jobs.

Since mid-December, when ARLnow last reported on the upcoming deadline for employees, nearly 38% of unvaccinated employees have received the vaccine, according to Arlington Public Health Division spokesman Ryan Hudson.

With less than a week to before the deadline, 174 employees, or 5.5% of the county’s permanent workforce, remain unvaccinated — a number that includes people with religious and medical accommodations.

The uptick over the last 40 days brings the county’s employee vaccination rate to 94.5%, up from 91%, or 2,976 of 3,150 county employees.

Back in August, Arlington County mandated vaccines for all permanent county employees, requiring those who were unvaccinated to submit to weekly testing. A few months later, the county sharpened the teeth behind the mandate by setting the Feb. 28 deadline.

This step prompted a group of first responders and other county employees to launch a petition, asking the county for “more reciprocal ideas” for ensuring employee health and safety, such as continuing testing. Today, the petition has about 350 signatures.

Arlington County Board members re-endorsed the mandate during their regular meeting on Saturday, after a former Arlington firefighter took the podium during the public comment period to say not getting the shot is an “inexcusable dereliction of duty,” unless there’s a legitimate medical exemption.

“I don’t believe any public safety employee who refuses a vaccine at this time is doing anything other than defying the very essence of their job,” said retired firefighter Mike Staples.

He thanked the 90% of the fire department who’ve received the vaccine for “upholding the longstanding reputation we’ve built of demonstrating a selfless commitment to public safety.”

Staples said the firefighters who are holding out are “in the wrong line of work.”

Despite their controversy, workplace mandates have been shown to increase vaccination rates.

County Board members appeared unfazed by the potential loss of workers come Feb. 28, despite reports of ongoing and predicted workforce shortages among first responders and in other county departments.

“We are at this point talking about a relative few who have either not complied with getting the shots or have not qualified for a legitimate medical or religious exemption,” Board Vice-Chair Christian Dorsey said. “The good news is that is at such a high number there will be no negative or adverse impact on county service delivery with the implementation of this requirement. We do thank everyone doing their part to keep our community safe.”

County honors 78 ‘Covid heroes’ for service to the community

By Matt Blitz
Arlington’s “Covid heroes” (screenshot via Youtube/Arlington County)

Seventy-eight local individuals, businesses and organizations were recognized as “Covid Heroes” at yesterday’s County Board meeting.

More than six dozen locals were honored for having “demonstrated exceptional service throughout the pandemic” in three categories: community resilience, outstanding community service and individual service.

The presentation included a short video with all the honorees’ names, photos and upbeat music. It was followed by comments and thanks from the County Board members.

In all, more than 160 were nominated for the honor, so about half were chosen for recognition.

Chairperson Katie Cristol acknowledged that, under normal circumstances, there would have been an in-person gathering, but even with Covid cases falling, honorees were asked to watch the presentation at home.

Honorees for community resilience include ICU nurse Lee Harper Chen, Rosa Dunkley of the NAACP Arlington Branch and community activist Janeth Valenzuela, who has helped local immigrant communities sign up to get the Covid vaccine and played a part in exposing the unacceptable living conditions at Serrano apartments.

“I’m humbled for this nomination, but it wasn’t only me who worked hard, this was made possible [by] the committed residents who helped me and we worked together as a team,” Valenzuela tells ARLnow. “I am not sure if I will be able to give everything that this community has given me, but I will always do everything that I can to represent them with pride and respect.”

Also recognized was chef David Guas, owner of Bayou Bakery in Courthouse, for his “Chefs Feeding Families” program. He also provided meals to security personnel at the Capitol last January after the insurrection.

“I am humbly honored to be the recipient of the Arlington COVID-19 Hero Award. I accept this accolade not only for myself, but also on behalf of all those who dedicated their time and efforts to the Chefs Feeding Families initiative, including my team at Bayou Bakery, Coffee Bar & Eatery and our chef partners,” he writes to ARLnow. “Together we found a way to restore hope and foster a commitment and connection to the community, one meal at a time.”

More than 30 individuals were given accolades for their service, including Jennifer Toussaint of the Animal Welfare League of Arlington, Susan Thompson-Gaines who ran a “kindness yard sale,” county public health director Reuben Varghese, and Arlington Parents for Education (APE) founder Chris Myers. APE is a bipartisan community group that has advocated for more transparency from Arlington schools.

“The award is quite an honor, but the recognition should not be mine. It goes to all the parents and teachers of Arlington Parents for Education that helped create a unique collaboration that crossed political and social divides to advocate for the needs of our children,” Myers told ARLnow.

Thirty-three local organizations were honored, including the Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization (now, the Columbia Pike Partnership), Arlington Free Clinic, Macedonia Baptist Church in Green Valley, Arlington Food Assistance Center and Freddie’s Beach Bar.

“The superpower of these people and organizations… is to engage the entire community and all of Arlington,” County Board member Takis Karantonis said at the meeting about the Covid heroes. “Their work actually saved lives.”

Board Vice-Chair Christian Dorsey noted that this probably won’t be the last time the board will be honoring those who served the community during the pandemic. He also said that there are plenty of other heroes out there who deserve recognition as well.

“Within our community, there are untold stories of heroism that occur every single day with neighbors checking in on neighbors [and] parents attending to the emotional well-being of their children,” Dorsey said. “We know that the stories of heroism from the pandemic will be a rich tapestry… we can look at this period as not just as a crisis we endured, but a demonstration of the resilience we all showed.”

The full listing of all the honorees is below.

(more…)

County Board signals support for Arlington schools in mask clash with state

By Jo DeVoe
Board Chair Katie Cristol during the recessed meeting on Tuesday, Jan. 25, 2022 (via Arlington County)

The Arlington County Board says it’s on the side of Arlington Public Schools in the battle with the state over mask mandates.

Arlington and six other Northern Virginia school systems filed a lawsuit Monday challenging Gov. Glenn Youngkin’s executive order on Jan. 15, his first day in office, prohibiting school systems from requiring students wear masks.

The order states parents should be able to “elect for their children not to be subject to any mask mandate in effect at the child’s school or educational program.”

During the County Board’s recessed meeting yesterday (Tuesday), Board Chair Katie Cristol and Vice-Chair Christian Dorsey affirmed masking as an important COVID-19 mitigation strategy and pledged to support APS.

“I think I speak for all of us in saying that we are supportive of Arlington Public Schools, the School Board and superintendent and all of their efforts to keep students and teachers safe and therefore learning in person,” Cristol said.

Dorsey said the Board believes the school system’s actions are lawful and “absolutely the right thing to do.”

“We will figure out how we can support them any way possible,” he said.

He criticized the executive order — which also requires School Boards to marshal up additional resources to mitigate the spread of COVID-19 — as being vague and counter-productive while lacking funding.

“There’s a great question as to whether communities broadly, not just school systems, are going to be held to certain standards of making certain spending to offer COVID-19 mitigation that are currently being met with masks,” he said.

But the County Board stopped short of showing its support with a vote, a step the Fairfax County’s Board of Supervisors took yesterday (Tuesday). The Fairfax County School Board is another plaintiff in the lawsuit, alongside the school boards of Alexandria City, Falls Church City, Hampton City, Prince William County and the City of Richmond.

The lawsuit claims Youngkin can’t make an order that supersedes the right of school boards to enact policy at the local level. It also claims the order contradicts a recently adopted law directing school boards to follow the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention’s health and safety requirements.

Arlington Circuit Court, where the suit was filed, scheduled a hearing in the suit for Wednesday, Feb. 2. While Arlington awaits a ruling from the judge on the complaint, it had already determined it would continue its school mask requirement despite the order, which was set to take effect Monday.

The governor’s press secretary said in a statement they are disappointed in the school boards.

“The governor and attorney general are in coordination and are committed to aggressively defending parents’ fundamental right to make decisions with regard to their child’s upbringing, education, and care, as the legal process plays out,” she said in a statement to FFXnow.

Following the executive order, the Virginia Department of Health issued updated guidance Friday on preventing COVID-19 in schools, which reiterates points made in the executive order emphasizing parents’ rights, keeping schools open and providing a safe environment.

(more…)

County Board approves speed cameras in school, work zones

By Jo DeVoe

New cameras enforcing speeding could be coming to Arlington school and work zones by the end of this year.

The County Board voted on Saturday to have speed cameras installed throughout the county near schools and on public roads where construction work is ongoing.

Board members heralded the cameras as a tool for protecting children, lowering severe and fatal crashes — an initiative known as Vision Zero — as well as reducing race- and ethnicity-based disparities in traffic enforcement and providing relief to overworked Arlington County Police Department officers.

“The idea that we can keep our community safer, address this behavior and then reduce demand on the police and reduce interactions with police is just a really heartening step for us to take,” said Board Chair Katie Cristol.

The vote follows the passage of state law in 2020 allowing municipalities to install speed cameras.

It also coincides with an anecdotal increase in speeding around schools, according to Board member Libby Garvey (although speed-related crashes in school zones have remained relatively constant at 10 per year, per county data).

“Maybe there hasn’t been a huge increase in crashes, but there has been an increase in bad behavior, and that’s pretty worrisome,” she said. “This is about children and safety.”

Last fall, Arlington County took steps to make school zones safer by lowering speed limits to 20 mph around 13 schools.

County staff are reviewing best practices, crash data, equity concerns and other local factors to determine where to place the cameras, Vision Zero project manager Christine Baker told the County Board. School zones encompass a 600-foot radius of a school crosswalk or school access point.

“We plan to be strategic and intentional about where we place speed cameras to ensure they’re effective in reducing speeds and promoting fairness and equity as well,” Baker said.

Board members said this should reassure motorists who also travel in D.C. and feel that camera locations are chosen to “trap” them and generate revenue rather than correct behavior.

Here’s what drivers need to know.

When will the program start? 

Locations could be selected by this fall and the program could start as soon as cameras and warning signs are installed, either this winter or in early 2023.

Who will get citations? 

Anyone going 10 miles per hour over the speed limit. Every citation will be issued after a sworn ACPD officer reviews the footage.

How much will citations cost? What are the other penalties? 

Citations for the first 30 days of the program will be warnings that carry no fines. After that, they are $50 a fine, the same as red light-camera violations. The fines will go into the general fund.

Violations will be civil, not criminal, meaning they won’t add points to a person’s driver’s license or be considered for insurance purposes. Drivers can contest the violations.

How much will the program cost? 

The program will cost $600,000 a year, and for now, ACPD anticipates the fines will offset the program’s costs, Capt. Albert Kim told the County Board. The costs include the purchase of 10 cameras, which can be moved, camera installation, program operations, ticketing and the salary of the full-time police employee reviewing the footage.

Where can I learn more about speed cameras?

Information in multiple languages will be available on the county website. The county will increase communication about the program through community email lists and the communication channels of APS and ACPD as the start date draws closer.

How will my data be protected? 

State law requires Arlington police and the third-party vendor to delete footage and shred physical documents with personally identifiable information within a certain time frame: 60 days of reviewing the footage and determining the driver wasn’t speeding, or within 60 days of a driver paying a fine, Kim said.

(more…)

Crystal City bowling alley set to have permits renewed amid reports of rowdy behavior

By Jo DeVoe
1/3

It appears that Bowlero — an allegedly rowdy Crystal City bowling alley at the base of apartments — won’t be headed to the gutter this year.

The Arlington County Board this weekend is set to renew use permits for Bowlero (320 23rd Street S.) sparing it from closure, on the conditions that staff will review its operations next January, closely monitor the business in the meantime and review it again in 2025.

But the relationship between the bowling alley and the residents of The Buchanan apartments above it is uneasy. There have been dozens of reports to Arlington County Police Department of fights, drunk and loud patrons, indecent exposure and damaged property.

It reached a point where ACPD hosted an online town hall on March 31 last year to hear tenants’ concerns and discuss the work by officers and Bowlero staff to get crowds under control.

Eighteen months after opening, Arlington County is recommending the Board renew Bowlero’s permits with the one-year review to make sure community concerns about night-time nuisances are minimized. Since it opened in July 2020, there have been nearly 70 calls for service to ACPD.

The county says it supports renewing the permits because the quality-of-life problems caused by rowdy patrons are being addressed through the Arlington Restaurant Initiative (ARI), a partnership between ACPD and restaurants and bars to make Arlington a safe nightlife destination.

Otherwise, it says in a county report, staff found no other problems with the business operating there.

The police department supports the renewal because Bowlero maintains the restaurant initiative accreditation it earned in October 2020, per the report. The alley’s management plays an active role in involving police, ACPD said in the town hall, making half of the 52 calls for service between July 2020 and March 31.

“Bowlero has also implemented proper security measures and best practices, as recommended by Arlington County Police Department (ACPD), for calming and managing crowds, in addition to proactively responding to pending reports on site,” the report said. “The Police Department has not identified any outstanding public safety issues related to the continuation of the subject use.”

These security measures include scanning people with wands and checking bags, the report says. In addition, a neighborhood liaison has been appointed to address residents’ concerns.

Still, members of a nearby civic association have expressed their concerns “about reports of a high volume of late-night noise and potentially dangerous activity related to patrons of the establishment,” the report said.

One former resident, who moved away partially because of the nuisances downstairs, said metal detectors and police’s best practices are “treating the symptoms” but not addressing their root causes: alcohol, prices, promotions and hours.

The permits allow Bowlero to operate from 11 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. Monday through Friday and from 10 a.m. to 2:30 a.m. Saturday through Sunday.

The former Buchanan resident said the calls to police detailed in the report — chiefly calls about fights and loud and drunk patrons — “seem typical of what I experienced.”

“They are absurd,” he said. “Gun issue? Street fights? Woman exposing herself? These are not just noise complaints, nor was this U Street [a street in D.C. known for its nightlife] prior to Bowlero opening. It was a calm and pretty safe street that turned into a place to actively avoid.”

Here’s the full list of what residents called for in 2021:

Calls to ACPD for service at Bowlero in Crystal City (via Arlington County)

Guaranteed income pilot program moves forward without any county funding

By Jo DeVoe
Cash (via Pepi Stojanovski/Unsplash)

A local pilot program to give up to 200 qualifying low-income residents $500 a month for two years, no strings attached, will move forward without any public funding.

For a few months last fall, Arlington County was poised to spend either federal or county money on “Arlington’s Guarantee,” a guaranteed income pilot program launched by nonprofit Arlington Community Foundation.

This commitment fell through, however, when the county and ACF realized any infusion of public funding would have put participants at risk of losing their government benefits, such as child care subsidies or food stamps.

“It would put them back instead of putting them forward,” says Anne Vor der Bruegge, ACF’s Director of Grants and Initiatives.

She and Department of Human Services spokesman Kurt Larrick call this income precipice the “benefits cliff.” The little additional income would make the fall particularly painful in Arlington given its high cost of living.

“The issue was that in order to give money to recipients and then not push them off the benefits cliff — where, for example, they lose SNAP because they make too much income — and to make the net effect of receiving the cash zero, we had to get a waiver from the Virginia Department of Social Services (VDSS),” Larrick said.

He added that with the waiver, the monthly stipend “would not count as income in the calculation of benefits, and no one who joined the program would lose benefits by being ‘over income.'”

But this waiver only works if the program is 100% privately funded. Last year, the county and ACF learned that neither the county’s original plan to use American Rescue Plan Act funding nor its revised plan to use unspent funds from the 2021 fiscal year would have worked.

“The County decided to rescind the plan to give ARPA money so as to not negatively impact the recipients,” he said. “Using closeout funds would have created the same issue.”

ACF’s wide donor base ensures this loss of funding won’t impact the program’s trajectory, says Vor der Bruegge, but it may slow it down slightly.

“We had intended all along for it to be privately funded from the get-go: that is, through individual people, philanthropic organizations and corporate dollars,” she said, adding that the ARPA funding “evolved as an opportunity we didn’t plan for or seek out.”

County contributions would have allowed ACF to enroll all 200 participants immediately, she says. Now, ACF will resume its plan to continue accepting donations until it reaches 200 participants.

So far, 105 residents are receiving money directly onto debit cards through the program. ACF will continue expanding enrollment in groups of 25, as funding becomes available, up to 200 people. Donations benefit participants directly, says Vor der Bruegge, as ACF obtained a grant to cover the program’s operating costs.

The “benefits cliff” issue is not exclusive to Arlington.

Vor der Bruegge says it hurt nascent guaranteed income programs across the state and nation that were counting on ARPA funding, she said. These programs are proliferating right now because federal stimulus checks normalized the idea of automatic payments to residents — and many were latching onto ARPA funding.

Now, they’re having to “go back to the drawing board,” she said, adding that some states are introducing legislation to override this unintended consequence.

“It is pretty prevalent across the country,” she said.

Developer to take on transportation projects near construction site in Courthouse

By Jo DeVoe
1/10

As a 20-story apartment building by Greystar takes shape in Courthouse, the developer is poised to agree to take on some county-identified transportation projects around the site.

This Saturday, the County Board is slated to approve an agreement delegating to Greystar the design and construction of light transportation improvements near the “Landmark Block” at 2050 Wilson Blvd. The county will reimburse the developer up to $2.5 million.

These projects add to the streetscape improvements and community benefits that Greystar will provide through its approved redevelopment plans. The “Landmark” site was previously home to brick buildings that housed a handful of restaurants, including Cosi, Boston Market, Jerry’s Subs and Summers Restaurant.

After the County Board approved the project in March, demolition began last summer and construction broke ground in October. Greystar intends to complete the apartment building in the fall of 2023.

The pending agreement would task Greystar with some street repaving, signal upgrades and utility work. County staff say it will be cheaper, easier and more efficient for Greystar to handle these projects concurrent with construction.

“These needed transportation improvements… are either adjacent to, above, or beneath the proposed site plan improvements, and dovetail with the improvements already approved as part of the site plan project’s package of community benefits,” the report said.

Specifically, Greystar would relocate existing — or install new — traffic signal poles, traffic signal cabinets and other traffic-related items in the public right-of-way at three intersections: Wilson and Clarendon Blvd and N. Courthouse Road; N. Courthouse Road and 15th Street N.; and N. Uhle Street and Clarendon Blvd.

It will also add a “bike island” at the intersection of 15th Street N. and Clarendon Blvd in the westbound direction and install about 250 feet of a new 12-inch water main within N. Courthouse Road.

As part of the approved project, Greystar agreed to make the following streetscape improvements along Clarendon Blvd, Wilson Blvd and N. Courthouse Road:

  • widen sidewalks and improve street crossings for pedestrians
  • widen or add protected or dedicated bike lanes
  • widen the center median for Wilson and Clarendon Blvd
  • relocate the county parking lot entrance from 15th Street N.
  • screen in or buffer the 15th Street N. frontage of the county parking lot

Greystar also agreed to build part of a pedestrian promenade along N. Uhle Street and a shared street along 15th Street N. These community benefits were envisioned seven years ago as part of an effort to plan the next 30 years of development in Courthouse.

County seeks more funding for Ballston Metro western entrance project

By Jo DeVoe

Arlington County is applying for a $4.5 million grant to further offset a proposed west entrance to the Ballston Metro station.

On Saturday, the County Board is set to approve this request for funding from the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (NVTC), which would come from I-66 toll revenues.

This is the latest application from the county, which is trying to offset the $140 million project with regional and state dollars even as some of these sources have dried up due to the pandemic.

The entrance would be located at N. Fairfax Drive and N. Vermont Street, almost a quarter of a mile west of the existing entrance. The county previously said this second entrance would greatly expand access to the station, increase Metro’s capacity and make it more efficient.

Map showing potential location of new Ballston Metro entrance (via Google Maps)

If all the funding comes through, designs could be completed next year and construction could start in 2024 and end in 2027, Department of Environmental Services spokeswoman Claudia Pors tells ARLnow.

“The team is looking to finish the 35% design update this year and procure design-build services in 2023, pending funding from NVTA,” Pors said. “Construction is projected to start in 2024 and we anticipate a construction period of 3 years.”

The $4.5 million represents a revised request to the NVTC. Arlington had previously applied for $10 million from the same program in January 2020 but — despite being “the top scoring project” — the project was cut from the funding round due to a drop in toll revenue caused by COVID-19.

“Following a request from NVTC staff, the County withdrew its application for the Ballston-MU West Entrance in August 2020,” the report said. “I-66 Commuter Choice Program revenues have still not fully recovered from the effects of the pandemic, and so for Round Five the County has lowered its funding request from $10 million to $4,500,000.”

And while available funding is scarce, the cost to build the second entrance is increasing. A 2019 estimate put the project at $130 million; a 2021 estimate puts the project at $140 million.

“The use of the known information on items such as station entrance layout and elevator location from the design updates instead of previous assumptions in the 2019 cost estimate, along with the impact of inflation, are the two drivers of the cost increase,” the report said.

More than half of the project’s costs could come from a pending application with the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (NVTA) for $80 million. The county says this sum would cover the rising costs as well as the loss of funding from NVTC and the Virginia Department of Rail and Public Transportation, which also lost revenue for new projects during the pandemic.

Pors said the NVTA will make a funding decision later this spring or in the early summer months.

Meanwhile, Arlington County intends to increase how much it’s budgeting for the project, from $25 million to $30 million.

Arlington’s Transportation Commission — while supportive of the project — is sounding the alarm on the $5 million increase at the local level.

“The Commission is concerned specifically about: 1) The appropriateness of making a change this large in how capital funding is being allocated completely outside of the CIP process and seemingly hidden within grant applications,” chairman Chris Slatt said in a letter to the County Board. “2) The high overall cost of the project and whether it still represents a good ‘bang for our buck’ in increasing access to transit for Arlington residents.”

He said $30 million could be used locally to bring every bus stop in Arlington into full compliance with the Americans with Disabilities Act, increase Capital Bikeshare’s 10-year capital budget or cover the costs to design and build more local projects intended to lower traffic congestion and improve public transit.

Map via Google Maps

View More Stories