County Board

Stormwater tax teed up for County Board adoption this weekend

By Jo DeVoe
Examples of impervious area that causes stormwater runoff (via Arlington County)

This weekend, the Arlington County Board is set to consider a new tax based on how much hard surface your property has.

Property owners with more hard surfaces that do not let rain soak into the ground — such as roofs and driveways — can expect to pay larger fees than those with fewer such surfaces. Revenue would support the county’s stormwater management fund, which pays for flooding mitigation projects.

The proposed rate would cost residents $258 per 2,400 square feet of impervious area, though this figure could change annually to support the budget, similar to how the county approves other fees and taxes. Property owners can receive credits for steps they take to reduce stormwater runoff.

Like the current sanitary district tax, the stormwater fee will be billed twice a year on the real estate bill, a county report says. The first bill will be sent to property owners in May, due June 15, 2024, and the second bill will come in September, due Oct. 5, 2024.

Homeowners can get a sense of their bill by plugging their address into an online map, which estimates impervious area using satellite imagery. This can range from $154 for a home under 1,600 square feet to some $19,000 for one local Catholic church.

The rate structure for the stormwater utility (via Arlington County)

If approved, the stormwater utility tax would replace the current sanitary district tax ($0.017 per $100 of assessed value on all taxable property) starting in the new year. The county says this is a fairer approach than using property assessments because there is not much of a correlation between property assessments and impervious areas.

“The rationale for using the amount of impervious area on each property, rather than all taxable real estate, is that it directly correlates with stormwater runoff that contributes to the County’s stormwater system,” a county report says. “Under the stormwater utility model, properties with more impervious area, which are therefore contributing more to the stormwater system, pay a higher fee.”

Following state requirements, Arlington will offer credits to customers who reduce the runoff their properties contribute to the stormwater system. In an informal Q&A last week, county staff said the number of credit applications coming in has kept them busy.

Arlington’s credit program rewards voluntary actions such as adding rain gardens. Now through Jan. 15, all property owners can apply for voluntary credits to offset up to 35% of their bill, or about $80 per 2,400 square feet. Details on credit options are spelled out in this county manual.

Properties where owners have added stormwater facilities mandated by statute, around 1,900, will automatically receive credits. These properties add up to about 1% of projected revenue and the county budgeted a total of 2% of revenue for credits.

Staff said the county will evaluate the amount of credits it dolls out each year, against the amount of revenue it needs to generate, to determine rates, and will study its rates every five years.

Senior and disabled residential property owners as well as disabled veterans and their surviving spouses are eligible for total fee relief, as they currently qualify for real estate tax exemptions and deferrals.

The idea of funding the county stormwater program with a tax on impervious surfaces has been in the works for three years. In May 2020, a consulting firm recommended Arlington transition to a utility funding model after researching how such a fee would affect different types of customers and examining different rate structures.

One year later, the Arlington County Board directed staff to do more analysis, engage the community and provide options for a utility fee by the 2024 proposed budget. In April, the Board adopted a resolution signaling its intent to adopt the stormwater utility ordinances.

County Board mulls more funding for second Pentagon City Metro elevator amid delays

By James Jarvis
1/3

The Pentagon City Metro Station’s second elevator project is now facing yet another delay and a request for more funds.

At its meeting this Saturday, the Arlington County Board is set to discuss adding another $4.4 million in local funds to construct a second Metro elevator on the west side of S. Hayes Street.

If approved, the project’s total cost would jump from $12.8 million to $17.3 million, marking the second budget amendment in less than two years due to construction delays, per a county report. The project is backed with federal, state and local funds.

The new funding is projected to extend the project’s duration by six months. During this time, the county plans to review the construction contract and seek to “recover liquidated damages” for the continued delays, the report said.

The Pentagon City Metro station has one of the highest ridership rates in Northern Virginia, the report says. To access an elevator, however, pedestrians need to cross six lanes of traffic to access one on the east side of S. Hayes Street, opposite the Pentagon City mall. The project aims to provide a safer alternative for pedestrians, particularly those with mobility issues.

Awarded the contract in February 2021, Maryland-based W.M. Schlosser Company began construction on the second elevator later that year. The initial project estimate was $6.4 million and was scheduled for completion in spring 2022.

In November 2022, unforeseen site conditions and supply chain issues prompted the county to increase the project’s budget to $12.8 million, following a request from W.M. Schlosser to extend the deadline to this summer.

Just over a year later, W.M. Schlosser is again seeking to extend its contract to October 2025. The company predicts the construction could be finished by October 2024 but is asking for extra time and funds to cover potential further delays.

County officials, however, allege that the contractor has failed to provide adequate evidence justifying an extension beyond six months, per the staff report. Without adequate justification for further delays, the county says it has notified the contractor of its intention to seek damages for the late completion.

So far, the county has invested about $8 million, which could increase to about $12.4 million if a six-month extension is granted.

W.M. Schlosser disputes the county’s allegations, per the report. The company did not respond to a request before publication.

While construction is set to continue, the county says it will limit its use to a “minimal amount of contingency” funds as the county attorney reviews the terms of the county contract with W.M. Schlosser.

Ranked-choice voting slated to become the way voters decide Arlington County Board primaries

By Jo DeVoe
1/3

Ranked-choice voting could soon become the default for Arlington County Board primaries in Arlington.

This weekend, the County Board is set to approve the voting method, in which residents rank candidates in order of preference. If approved, next year — when one County Board seat is up for grabs — participants in the June primary will fight to secure a 51% threshold to secure a nomination.

Voters got a taste of the voting method during the County Board primary this June, which featured a full slate of candidates jockeying for one of two nominations from Arlington Democrats. The nominees, Susan Cunningham and Maureen Coffey, were the first to secure 34% thresholds after six run-off rounds that eliminated bottom vote-getters.

In an election seen as a referendum on the Missing Middle zoning policies, local elections buffs pointed to the results as proof ranked-choice voting, or RCV, could better reflect a divided electorate, with Cunningham more opposed to it than Coffey, though both had criticism of its roll-out. Both women went on to win their campaigns this November and will be sworn in next month.

Still, County Board members were not totally on board. A month after the primary, after praising Arlington’s Dept. of Elections for how it handled the roll-out, Board members punted on adopting it for the general election. They expressed concerns about how votes are counted when two seats are up and the quality of outreach to voters about the new system, particularly people of color, renters and young people.

The County Board ultimately decided to adopt ranked-choice voting for County Board primaries only. This was an unpopular opinion among the 2,278 people who shared their thoughts on RCV with the county.

Only 7% said it should be reserved for primaries, compared to 47% who said it should be implemented in every election and 32% who said no elections should use the method.

Ranked-choice voting feedback results (via Arlington County)

Overall, most county survey respondents — about 70% — said their experience with RCV was either “positive,” “exceptional” or “fair,” while 29% said it was “negative.” About 75% reported having heard about it and being familiar with how it worked, and those who did report familiarity overwhelmingly said they learned about it through the news.

(An unscientific ARLnow poll found that 75% of readers reported not being confused by RCV.)

Making the change will cost $2 million, as the county intends to buy new ballot machines that allow voters to rank more than the three choices they can rank today. The current machines will be used in the the June 2024 County Board primary but will be switched out in the 2025 fiscal year.

Should the County Board decide to use ranked-choice voting for a general election, it must formally adopt its use at least 90 days before the election.

County Board slated to accept $7M grant to get people to consider driving alternatives

By Jo DeVoe
A cyclist rides in front of the under-demolition RCA building in Rosslyn this past spring (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

The Arlington County Board will consider accepting a $7.1 million grant to encourage people to plan more trips without their cars.

Nearly $5.7 million of the Congestion Mitigation Air Quality Program grant comes from federal funding, with $1.4 million coming from the state. Arlington County is not required to match funding.

“Funds will be used to provide educational and promotional support to… efforts to help facilitate and market alternative commute options such as transit, biking, walking and shared ride options,” per a county report.

The grant would fund efforts by Arlington County Commuter Services to encourage private-sector employers to provide commuter benefits to employees who commute using transit or vanpools. This county agency was formed to reduce traffic congestion, decreasing parking demand and promote driving alternatives.

The funding would also pay for events designed to promote the use of alternative travel modes, such as carpool and vanpool. Lastly, it would help employers, commercial property owners, schools and individuals provide information on telework, parking management strategies and alternative transportation benefit programs.

The cash infusion emphasizing commuting alternatives comes as, regionally, more people are working from the office at least part-time and more people are driving alone.

This year, the remote work rate in the D.C. region dropped to 25% from a high of 33% in 2021, Axios reports.

Meanwhile, the region ended 2022 with 78% of commuters driving alone, a 14% increase from 2019, according to the National Capital Region Transportation Planning Board of the Metropolitan Council of Governments

Despite the uptick in single-occupant trips, Metro ridership continues recovering from a pandemic-induced hit. Revenue, however, has not seen the same growth, compounding the budget shortfall WMATA faces, which could trigger significant service cuts.

Locally, Arlington Transit (ART) ridership saw a 50% Covid-era drop, though it was insulated from deeper declines because many essential workers continued taking the bus during the pandemic. Going into 2020, ridership had already been declining, however.

Last year, Arlington County contributed to a regional effort, backed by state funds, to launch a campaign to generate interest in taking transit.

In another bid to encourage ridership, county staff intend to apply for $400,000 in regional transportation funding to increase bus frequency on ART Route 75.

Currently, two buses per hour travel between the Shirlington Transit Center and the Ballston and Virginia Square Metro stations. The grant application, if endorsed this weekend by the County Board and later approved by the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission, would bring that to three buses per hour.

Two announce Democratic bids for Libby Garvey’s Arlington County Board seat

By Jo DeVoe
Arlington County Board candidates Julie Farnam, left (via Julie Farnam/Facebook) and Natalie Roy, right (file photo)

Two women have already announced they are vying for the Arlington County Board seat currently occupied by Vice-Chair Libby Garvey, who faces re-election next year.

First-time candidate Julie Farnam and second-time candidate Natalie Roy announced today (Monday) that they have joined the Democratic primary race, set to culminate next June.

Meanwhile, both Garvey and former County Board candidate Julius “JD” Spain, Sr. tell ARLnow they are biding their time before making a decision about whether to run next year.

Farnam and Roy’s announcements come less than a month after voters picked Susan Cunningham and Maureen Coffey to replace outgoing Board Chair Christian Dorsey and former member Katie Cristol.

Farnam, a current Arlington Ridge Civic Association board member, is campaigning on a platform of improving public safety and taking what she calls a “smart” approach to planning and growth.

“I am proud and excited to announce my candidacy for the Democratic nomination for Arlington County Board,” Farnam said in a statement. “I believe in a community where residents feel safe, where the needs of our community are placed above the desires of developers, and where no resident must wonder if they are being heard.”

Farnam has held leadership positions in both the U.S. Dept. of Homeland Security and the U.S. Capitol Police and has a forthcoming book on her account of the insurrection at the U.S. Capitol on Jan. 6, 2021.

“As a woman who has spent her career in security and law enforcement, I know what it takes to address the unique safety challenges Arlington faces in years and decades ahead,” she said.

On social media, she has decried the Arlington County Board’s “dreadful” handling of the Missing Middle zoning ordinances, calling for more targeted policies to address affordability and racial inequities.

She has also waded into the local discourse about whether crime is rising, pointing to carjacking stats for proof it is on the rise. Farnam also criticized the County Board for spending money on new Metro entrances, saying it should instead direct more to police.

More from her statement:

I am a small business owner and a single mother of students in Arlington. I know just how difficult it is to afford to live and support a family in Arlington, and what needs to be done to ensure Arlington is a place where people of diverse backgrounds can thrive. I am running to ensure our community flourishes into the future for my daughters and for generations to come.

Reprising similar campaign messaging from this year, Roy and Farnam highlight transparency as a key campaign issue.

“I strongly believe that the Arlington County Board needs a voice like mine advocating for more transparency and responsiveness,” Roy said in a statement.

During the 2023 Democratic primary, Roy ran a targeted County Board campaign focused on criticizing the Missing Middle ordinances, which allowed 2-6 unit homes to be built in districts once zoned exclusively for single-family homes.

The ordinances gave rise to community and candidate discussions about transparency this election cycle, whether candidates relitigated the zoning changes or criticized how the county fulfills Freedom of Information Act requests and publishes information.

As for potential competition Farnam and Roy face, ARLnow asked Vice-Chair Garvey and former County Board candidate Spain about their plans.

Garvey said she is “planning to decide by January or early February whether I will run again.”

Spain told ARLnow that he is undecided at this time.

Farnam will be holding a campaign kick-off event next Monday at The Freshman (2011 Crystal Drive) at 6:30 p.m. Other forthcoming events, including one held in English and Arabic, are posted on her website.

Roy will host a pre-holiday campaign launch the day before, on Sunday, from 4-6 p.m., with more details forthcoming.

Photo 1 via Julie Farnam/Facebook

Arlington to move forward with pickleball courts at Walter Reed after mulling a pause

By Jo DeVoe
1/3

Arlington County will continue with plans to build dedicated pickleball courts at the Walter Reed Community Center.

The county had mulled pausing the project, putting the question to community members in a survey this spring.

“Respondents were slightly more in favor of continuing the project, though it should be noted that respondents who identified as players are more in favor of continuing and those self-identifying as neighbors were more in favor of pausing,” Dept. of Parks and Recreation planning director Erik Beach told the Board on Tuesday.

DPR will forge ahead because the sport has health benefits and the center needs renovations either way, he said.

“The county firmly believes in the benefits of providing places for its residents to receive the physical and mental health benefits of being outside, recreating and socializing,” Beach said. “DPR has observed in real-time and validated through professional literature the opportunity provided by pickleball to be a catalyst for those physical and mental benefits.”

The county has selected designs that would:

  • increase the distance between future courts near 16th Street S. and residential homes to a distance of about 170 feet
  • add acoustic fencing to both sets of courts and landscaping in between
  • add a deck to protect a large existing tree and provide respite space
  • improve circulation for people with disabilities
  • increase parking spaces by four
  • resurface the basketball courts

An online survey about the proposal is open now through Dec. 8 and could inform tweaks DPR makes before selecting a contractor by the third quarter of 2024.

Columbia Heights Civic Association President Ron Haddox, meanwhile, is skeptical of the most recent survey. In a letter to the Board, he said the survey circulated in pro-pickleball online forums nationally and internationally, attaching screenshots.

He says pickleballers recommended people submit responses multiple times across platforms and identify as county or 22204 residents, “even if they were not.”

“This obviously concerns us and calls into question the genuineness of at least some portion of the feedback received,” he said.

Beach told the Board that DPR tried to improve the quality of the data by removing several hundred comments from people at least 10 miles away from the community center. In the age of virtual private networks, Haddox says, this may not have done much.

“The use of DPR’s anonymous survey methodology and subsequent efforts to enhance its usefulness have very likely resulted in skewed results that have limited usefulness other than to let the county know that nearly EVERYONE on BOTH sides of this issue is against the idea of permanent courts at WRCC,” he said in a letter to the County Board.

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County Board allocates closeout funds to tackle public safety staffing shortages and teen substance use

By Jo DeVoe
Maritza Orihuela tells the Arlington County Board to do more for youth programming (via Arlington County)

Arlington County is doling out leftover funds from the 2024 fiscal year toward tackling youth substance abuse, public safety and behavioral health challenges it is facing.

Those are three of several buckets that will benefit from the $46.3 million in discretionary close-out funds — almost double what the county had to spend after last fiscal year, $26.9 million. The County Board approved County Manager Mark Schwartz’s spending plan last night (Tuesday).

Some of the bigger-ticket line items are as follows:

Use of discretionary balances (via Arlington County)

As for public safety, to combat staffing shortages and small recruit sizes for the Sheriff’s Department and the Police Department, deputy sheriffs would get bonuses and ACPD would get money for hiring bonuses that compete with neighboring jurisdictions.

In response to allegations of years of harassment gone unaddressed, levied by several female Arlington County Fire Department employees, the county proposes funding for an Office of Professional Standards, as well as training while an outside law firm conducts interviews about the allegations.

The Dept. of Human Services will get $150,000 for bonuses for hard-to-hire positions. For instance, it has had a hard time finding someone to handle jail diversion programs for adults with serious mental illnesses.

The jail would get an independent medical staff member, as requested by Sheriff Jose Quiroz. Schwartz said the medical staffer would be an independent voice when there are disagreements between state or local clinicians and the jail-based, private medical provider, Mediko.

Sources have previously told ARLnow that the contractor and other jail-based clinicians have disagreed over appropriate drug treatments for inmates, for instance.

Time-sensitive program needs getting closeout funds (via Arlington County)

Most discussion centered around $500,000, increased to $750,000, to augment existing teen resources and programs the county, Arlington Public Schools and community partners offer. The parks department and the schools, for instance, have long lists of programs but advocates say many are not marketed to or are unaffordable to the very families hit hardest by the drug epidemic.

The extra funding — responding to community advocacy — would fund work to review and tailor these programs to the substance use and mental health issues teens are facing. In putting forward this suggestion, Schwartz was complimentary of how the schools and the county are working together on the issue.

County Board member Takis Karantonis carried a motion 3-2 to increase the funding to $750,000 so that these activities can happen in the next six months if needed, without staff having to draw from resources somewhere else.

Arlington County Board Chair Christian Dorsey and Vice-Chair Libby Garvey dissented.

“I hate how that could be misinterpreted as not desiring to spend more money on this initiative. It’s not that at all,” Dorsey said of his vote. He noted the extra $250,000 is not earmarked for something specific and that this effort has generated a lot of ideas but no specific plan, yet, deeming the increase “more symbolic than substantive.”

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County legislative priorities include more speed cameras, more funding for prosecutions

By Jo DeVoe
Arlington County courthouse on Tuesday, Sept. 19, 2023 (staff photo by James Jarvis)

Widespread speed cameras and more funding for prosecutors are two emerging priorities for Arlington County during the upcoming legislative session.

The Arlington County Board got a first look at its legislative priorities during a meeting last night (Tuesday). They cover a range of topics, from funding for improving public transportation to tackling the behavioral health crisis crippling Arlington and the state.

The new priorities come one week after elections for both chambers of the state legislature. Democrats retained control of the Virginia State Senate and obtained a slim majority in the House of Delegates, previously controlled by Republicans. Still, policymakers — who will meet with the Board on Tuesday, Nov. 28 to discuss their priorities — will have to contend with a divided government, as the GOP controls the executive branch.

Going into the session, which begins Jan. 10, 2024, Arlington County is looking to state legislators to introduce bills granting local authority for automated speed enforcement beyond work and school zones, per a county report.

More speed cameras are part of the county’s Vision Zero initiative to reduce serious injury and fatal crashes, as well as a recommended way to reduce potentially adverse interactions between officers and civilians during traffic stops. In January 2022, the County Board approved their installation in school and work areas to reduce speed-related crashes in these areas.

Since then, however, the process of installing these cameras in these zones has stalled. In March, Police Chief Andy Penn said a contract could be ready this spring but, nine months later, police and Vision Zero Coordinator Christine Baker told ARLnow this week that the contract is still in the “procurement” phase and tied up in negotiations.

Moving from the streets to the county courthouse, Arlington County says it would like legislation to “ensure there is adequate funding for the prosecution of misdemeanors, civil duties, and the creation of diversion services.”

This responds to several issues that have arisen within the local criminal-legal system and others across the state, with the introduction of body-worn cameras, contracted staffing levels and mounting pressure for programs diverting from jail people who commit nuisance crimes or have an addiction or serious mental illnesses.

“The work of prosecution has changed considerably over the past years, and arguably decades, and in some respects, our office has failed to keep pace or appropriately adjust expectations about the services our office could reasonably provide with limited resources,” Commonwealth’s Attorney Parisa Dehghani-Tafti said in a 2020 memo to County Manager Mark Schwartz.

Reviewing body-worn camera footage, for instance, became a deciding factor for Dehghani-Tafti to pull prosecutors from jailable misdemeanor offenses such as driving without a valid operator’s license, driving on a suspended license, reckless speeding and numerous registration offenses.

In the memo to Schwartz, the top prosecutor said she did not come to this decision lightly. Rather, she first sought counsel from a state agency that trains prosecutors and the Virginia State Bar Ethics Counsel. Both said prosecutors would need to review thousands of hours of body-worn camera footage to meet their obligations to share all exculpating or incriminating evidence.

“Unfortunately, at present we have neither the staff nor resources to review, process and disclose camera footage and other evidence from 40,000 cases,” Dehghani-Tafti said in the memo.

To that end, Arlington County says it is also wants to see state funding for additional positions to review body-worn camera footage “to increase transparency and accountability with law enforcement.”

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County Board passes Plan Langston Blvd with several tweaks intended to respond to community concerns

By Jo DeVoe
Arlington County Board on Nov. 11, 2023 during their discussion of the Plan Langston Blvd document (via Arlington County)

(Updated at 4:55 p.m.) A plan guiding the future of Langston Blvd was approved on Saturday.

After hearing from some three dozen speakers, the Arlington County Board passed the plan — with some broad wording changes and neighborhood-specific tweaks that respond to months of public comments, including those made in the days leading up to the vote.

The county said in a press release that the newly adopted plan will help turn the 4.5-mile-long, car-oriented commercial and residential corridor into a “green, mixed-use main street that provides safe and multimodal access and is rooted in environmental resiliency, economic sustainability, and equity.”

“I am proud of the new vision for a resilient and equitable Langston Boulevard that was developed through years of work with the community,” Board Chair Christian Dorsey said in a statement after the vote.

“The plan’s land use framework and design guidelines will shape the new development in this corridor by helping expand the housing supply and its commercial base, improving its transit network and the connectivity of its public spaces, and strengthening the overall climate resiliency of the corridor by managing stormwater effectively, adding quality green spaces, and improving energy efficiency,” he continued.

Board members added and removed language in an attempt to firm up commitments to more aggressive affordable housing goals and county investments in better infrastructure. They added language intended to ensure privately owned public spaces — the bedrock of new green space envisioned on the boulevard — feel as accessible as their government-owned counterparts.

Some changes were tailored to specific neighborhoods and sites, made by individual community members and property owners. For instance, height transitions were lowered from five stories to four along 22nd Road N., a narrow road populated with single-family homes that abut commercial properties along Langston Blvd, including Moore’s Barber Shop.

Board members also lowered maximum heights from five stories to four, and transitional heights from four stories to three near the Calloway United Methodist Church in the historically Black neighborhood of Halls Hill/High View Park. For some supporting Board members, this vote was done with the neighborhood’s history in mind, as it was once segregated from a development for white residents by a wall.

Interim Board member Tannia Talento says lot size and street widths increase on the formerly “white” side of the segregation wall.

“What [the Halls Hill neighborhood is] asking for is not to feel locked in again,” she said. “Based on the history and recognizing and acknowledging mistakes made in the past, it’s important to hear the community, respect our history, respect what the request is, recognize that we have generational families who experienced that segregation.”

Board member Matt De Ferranti said he listened to John M. Langston Civic Association president Wilma Jones explain the rationale for her request in a recent ARLnow podcast. He said these concerns led him to support the amendment.

“Until I have next to me a 7-Eleven, I shouldn’t over-talk about [density],” he said.

Dorsey opposed the vote on the grounds it could create unintended consequences.

“We have made it more likely to develop by-right, providing no community benefits,” he said. “While I know you are all quite sincere to bring an equity lens and support historically Black communities, I don’t think they’re asking us at this point to deny them the opportunity to receive community benefits from redevelopment, which could be a consequence of this action.”

Board members also softened tree canopy requirements around the Lyon Village Shopping Center, which requested relief, saying the 35% canopy requirement would be impossible to meet if the property owners were to redevelop. They struck a recommendation to extend 25th Road N. west to connect with N. Harrison Street, instead adding language to suggest increasing pedestrian and bicycle connectivity between these two streets.

The Board also included a directive to the County Manager ensure that conversations move forward with the Virginia Dept. of Transportation and WMATA about redeveloping land these agencies own near the East Falls Church Metro station. De Ferranti says he would like to see staff directed to assess “re-zonings that lead to more affordable housing as fast as we can reasonably and appropriately do so.”

More about the plan’s passage, below, from a county press release.

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‘Plan Langston Blvd’ nears finish line, though some resident concerns linger

By Jo DeVoe
1/8

Plan Langston Blvd — a sweeping document outlining the future development of the corridor — is teed up for a vote by the Arlington County Board on Saturday.

The vote would culminate years of grassroots activity, followed by a county planning process that included about a year of public engagement. Despite the long lead time, the plan was recently criticized during County Board campaigns and commission meetings for introducing too many last-minute changes, which the county maintains were largely technical.

Although these tweaks have had time to settle, longstanding concerns continue to arise, pertaining to affordable housing, retail, building heights and park space. The Planning Commission addressed some of these earlier this month when, after voting to recommend the Board adopt the plan, members added in a few recommended changes.

On affordable housing, the Planning Commission, residents and community groups asked the County Board and staff to push for more committed affordable units.

“We don’t ask enough of our developers,” Commissioner Elizabeth Gearin said, per meeting minutes. “I hope we’re looking at how to get more on-site units. We should identify tools to where the County doesn’t need to outlay money. We haven’t fully exhausted this issue.”

Plan Langston Blvd projects to create 2,500 committed affordable units along the corridor by 2075, while the county’s 2015 Affordable Housing Master Plan previously called for the creation of those units by 2040. A sticking point for affordable housing advocates, the breakdown is because the Affordable Housing Master Plan, or AHMP, “was a projection, not necessarily a goal,” county planner Natasha Alfonso-Ahmed said, per meeting minutes.

“We’ve done extensive analysis of development capacity, and at the end of the day, the building envelope is set,” she said. “The result based on the recommended building envelopes is somewhat less than the AHMP projection.”

Planning commissioners approved a motion articulating their support for a countywide effort to “identify new tools and strategies to preserve and achieve more affordable housing related to a review of the Affordable Housing Master Plan,” according to the minutes.

Rev. Ashley Goff and Pat Findikoglu, representing VOICE — Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Engagement — wrote that the Board has a vested interest in doing this.

“You have consistently shown your support for housing affordability for Arlingtonians across the income spectrum in many other areas of the County,” they said in a letter to the Board. “Now you have a chance to make clear that the North Arlington Langston Boulevard corridor, like all the other areas, also has a significant role to play in ensuring future housing opportunities for a broad range of residents.”

Attachment to the Lee Heights Shops — a one-story retail strip that includes an independent wine store, a salon, restaurants and a toy store with distinct colored awnings — also generated buzz.

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County weighs tentative wage increases for trades workers against predicted 2025 budget gap

By Jo DeVoe
County workers fix a valve in Ballston (via Arlington Dept. of Environmental Services/Flickr)

Unionized trade workers have tentatively negotiated with Arlington County for wage increases and safety protections for the next four years.

Predicting a budget gap in the 2025 budget, however, the county says it will have to raise taxes or make budget cuts to pay for these provisions, according to a fiscal analysis the Arlington County Board is set to hear about during its Saturday meeting.

If the county opts to raise taxes, residents could see their bill go up $5-9 on average. This would be in addition to a predicted 1.8% increase in real estate values, which works out to an average increase of $146. For reference, property values increased 4.5% for 2023.

Higher taxes or budget cuts would cover most of the increases. The rest would be covered with a nearly $3 utility fee increase and a new stormwater utility fee that residents will begin paying in 2024 in lieu of the current sanitary district tax.

Arlington County held steady residential real estate taxes this year, at $1.013 for every $100 in assessed value. Arlington County Board Chair Christian Dorsey has foreshadowed this could go up next year, however. To cover the tentative wage increases, county officials are suggesting raising the rate to $1.0136 or $1.0141.

County government and the Service, Labor, And Trades (SLT) Bargaining Unit have tentatively agreed to 55 provisions, of which only a handful, including higher wages, have financial impacts, according to the county. Another would ensure employees do not end up getting less weekly pay after responding to emergencies.

“Crews work on emergency situations, like water main breaks, often outside of the normal workday schedule and can be scheduled outside of their normal hours to complete such work,” Director of Management and Finance Maria Meredith says.  “In cases where this occurs and impacts the normal work schedule, this premium ensures that staff will receive at least 40 hours of pay in the week if such a situation arises.”

SLT union members also requested more subsidized parking for unionized employees and the ability to do union-related work without forfeiting docked pay or paid time off.

This works out to about $1 million in additional expense in the 2025 fiscal year budget: $511,000 from the General Fund, $401,000 from the Utility Fund and $94,000 to other funds. Budgets through the 2028 fiscal year will be affected, too, and the county is now looking for funding sources.

“Given the projected budget gap in the FY 2025 General Fund budget, the $0.5 million FY 2025 impact of this potential agreement cannot be absorbed within estimated revenue growth without taking service reductions, increasing taxes, or a combination of these options,” per a county report.

The following chart shows two scenarios for how the tax bill could go up to cover the tentative agreement:

Scenarios for paying for wage increases for service and trades workers (via Arlington County)

If the Board opts not to raise taxes, it could pay for the $511,000 General Fund obligation with across-the-board cuts to the tune of 0.1% or eliminating about four full-time employees who earn $125,000 each, including benefits.

Any reductions “would be considered with input and engagement from the community,” the county says.

“In prior years, similar FTE reductions have been taken across a variety of agencies, including planning, public safety, human services and environmental services,” the county says.

Arlington County proposes a modest increase to the water-sewer rate to cover the $401,000 in increased costs coming from the utility fund.

On average, residential customers would see their water bill go up $2.85 per year. A $0.20 per thousand gallon rate increase to cover expenses to the Stormwater Utility Fund will be included in next year’s new stormwater utility fee.

In December, the County Board “can resolve to make a good faith commitment to appropriate funding to meet the obligations under the tentative agreement,” the report says. If the Board does not, either the County Manager or the union may reopen negotiations.

Photo via Arlington Dept. of Environmental Services/Flickr

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