County Board

County Board to Hold Meeting on 5G Technology Installation Regulations

By Airey
1/3

(Updated at 2:45 p.m.) Whether or not Arlington County chooses to make a small code change could have a big impact on how quickly the county rolls out 5G wireless technology.

The new technology promises faster mobile data speeds and a network more capable of real-time connections to “smart city” infrastructure like driverless cars, among other benefits. But 5G requires many small devices with antennas be installed throughout an area to work — and that’s where plans hit a snag in Arlington.

The Arlington County Board is set to hold a public hearing during its regular Saturday, July 13 meeting in Courthouse to discuss whether these devices can be placed on publicly-owned structures like light poles and utility poles.

The county has yet to share the agenda for the upcoming July meeting.

Since 2017, small cell telecommunications facilities could be installed on privately-owned structures (like buildings), but not on publicly-owned structures. If the Board approves the code change, the equipment could start being installed on county-owned structures as early as August, per a staff report to the Board.

The staff report also notes that companies would have to pay a $250 application fee plus another, “nominal” annual fee to Arlington for installing the tech on public property.

The County Board unanimously agreed to schedule the hearing during their Board meeting last Saturday, June 15. Beforehand, Board Chair Christian Dorsey noted that an Arlington resident submitted “an extensive letter” listing concerns about the initiative.

Residents in neighboring jurisdictions have opposed the installation of the devices out of concerns about construction and whether the low levels of radio wave emission could be harmful.

“One of the reasons why we wanted to have a hearing is that we haven’t really discussed this in broad circles,” said Dorsey last week. “This is in many ways going to touch on our way of life.”

Board member Katie Cristol said she supported the motion and looked forward to a more “fulsome discussion” next month.

“If we do not have small wireless facilities, we actually can’t deploy the 5G networks, and the differences between 4G and 5G is significant,” said Nate Wentland, the county’s chief business technology officer, during the meeting.

“We’ve been such leaders in a lot of ways nationally,” said Board member Matt de Ferranti, adding 5G was essential for the county to stay competitive.

Amazon may have eyed Arlington for its second headquarters partially because of its access to advanced network technology like 5G, but some say D.C. area jurisdictions needed the next-generation technology anyway to keep up with the region’s growing digital demands.

The antenna devices themselves are about the size of a backpack, Wentland said, and are sometimes installed together with an equipment box the size of a refrigerator.

Upgrading America’s digital highways with 5G faces other roadblocks as well: the tech is currently caught up with President Trump’s trade war with China, as well as the legal battle over T-Mobile and Sprint’s merger.

The next-generation tech is already up and running in several cities depending on your mobile carrier.

Image 1 via Christoph Scholz/Flickr, images 2, 3 via Arlington County.

Electric Scooters to Stay on Arlington Streets for Another Six Months

By Vernon Miles

The Arlington County Board needs a little more time to see how it likes e-scooters and e-bikes.

At a County Board meeting yesterday (Tuesday), the Board voted to extend the e-scooter and e-bike pilot project through Dec. 31. to allow for continued public comment and additional time for analysis.

More than 300,000 trips have been taken on e-scooters and e-bikes since the pilot launched last October, according to a press release, with 21 reported injuries during scooter-related incidents. A total of 307,243 miles have been traveled through April, with the average trip length at little over 1 mile.

The extension will allow county staff to collect data for warmer months, showing year-round usage numbers.

Meanwhile, the County Board is weighing how to regulate the devices, after legislation signed by Gov. Ralph Northam in March authorized local governments to do so. The legislation also authorizes scooter use on sidewalks unless otherwise prohibited, though riding on the sidewalk is currently prohibited under the terms of Arlington’s pilot program.

“Great transportation options are an important feature of life in Arlington County,” County Board Chair Christian Dorsey said in the press release. “On a day-to-day basis, we are learning a lot about what’s working and what isn’t working with dockless scooters and bikes. Before this Board considers how to permanently regulate these devices in Arlington, we need a complete analysis from staff of information from operators, staff experience, adopted plans and policies, and feedback from our community.”

Seven companies have participated in the pilot program, each paying an $8,000 fee per mode of transit to assist with the cost of program administration. Scooters are capped at 10 miles-per-hour while e-bikes are capped at 20 miles-per-hour.

According to the press release, most trips have been in the Rosslyn-Ballston and Route 1 corridors, though some ambitious riders have taken the scooters out to Columbia Pike and other sites outside of the main transit corridors.

The county has received over 600 emails about the pilot so far, with complaints centering on use of the scooters on sidewalks, scooter parking that blocks pedestrian or vehicle traffic, erratic behavior and riders under 18-years old. Feedback can be submitted via email to [email protected] or by filling out an online form.

“Through June 30, the County is conducting a formal public feedback process for the demonstration project,” the press release notes. “Those who live, work and visit in Arlington are invited to complete the online feedback form to help the County gauge interest, issues and concerns around dockless e-bikes and e-scooters. All feedback is welcome, even if you have never used shared mobility devices in Arlington.”

In October, the analysis of the pilot and a recommendation is scheduled to be presented to the County Board. Ordinance changes are scheduled for November, with potential adoption in December.

Morning Poll: County Board Approves Potential Salary Hike

By ARLnow.com

The Arlington County Board members voted last night to give themselves the ability to raise their pay by more than 50% next year.

Currently, Board members are paid $55,147 annually while the Board Chair is paid $60,662. Board members set a salary cap for their jobs every four years and last night voted for a significant hike.

The Board voted to “set the new cap at 100 percent of the Individual Area Median Income for the Greater Washington Region, or $89,851 for a Board Member and $95,734 for the Board Chair.” The new salary cap will take effect Jan. 1, 2020, but the Board has to take a separate vote to actually set their salaries.

More from a county press release:

“It is important to underscore that the Board’s action today sets a new salary cap, but does not increase Board salaries,” County Board Chair Christian Dorsey said. “The Board will not consider an increase in salaries in this calendar year, and whether we consider an increase in our salaries in 2020 will depend greatly on the overall outlook for the Fiscal Year 2021 Budget. “While it is awkward for the Board to have to vote to increase its own maximum salaries, state law leaves that responsibility to the Board,” Dorsey said. “We have not voted to increase the salary cap since 2011, and if we did not do so today, we would not be able to, under state law, for four more years. I support increasing the salary cap because I believe it will encourage more people, from varied economic backgrounds, to think about serving on this Board.”

Under state law, the Board may set a new maximum salary only once every four years, when 40 percent of the Board (two members) are standing for election. Dorsey and Board Member Katie Cristol are both up for re-election in November 2019. Any increase in salaries under the new cap would require separate Board action.

Board members, in their discussion of the proposed salary cap increase, noted that Board salaries are below the average salaries of jurisdictional comparators, and currently are at the level of 64.9 percent of Individual AMI for the Washington-Arlington-Alexandria Metro Area for a Board Member.

The Board heard from 223 people who took an online survey that asked respondents to indicate what salary level they thought was appropriate for members of the County Board and provide comments on the Board’s consideration of setting a new salary cap. The Board also received messages from more than three dozen residents on the proposed increase in the salary cap. The Chair sent letters to every civic association in the County, and community organizations, seeking their input through the online survey, and the County included a link to the survey in “Inside Arlington,” the County’s weekly e-newsletter, which has 135,000 subscribers.

The Board was considering setting the cap even higher — up to $135,312 for the chair, commensurate with the area median income for a family of four.

Arguments in favor of a pay raise for the County Board center around the belief that being a Board member for a prosperous county of 230,000 residents has become a full-time job, even if the position is technically considered part time. Being a County Board member, proponents argue, shouldn’t just be an option for the well heeled, and even a $90,000 salary isn’t high for leaders of a county with a $1.4 billion budget.

Arguments against the pay raise mostly assert that the Board has willfully made their jobs full time, when really it should function as more of a part-time, decision-making body supported by full-time county staff.

What do you think of the pay raise?

The Right Note: Pay Raise, Amazon & George Soros

By Mark Kelly

The Right Note is a weekly opinion column. The views and opinions expressed in the column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

Thumbs Down. After Chairman Christian Dorsey said earlier this year it was not the right time to consider a pay raise, the Arlington County Board will vote to raise its pay cap tonight. Members will choose between three options. Will it be 10%, 63% or 135%?

One can assume the Board would not vote to raise their salaries up to $129,429, but at least one Board Member, Libby Garvey, will almost certainly make the case for it. Garvey believes the County Board is already a full-time job, not a part-time job.

There is a strong case to be made that we benefit from the perspective of people on the Board who continue to hold down another full-time job. And the idea of turning the County Board into a full-time position has not been thoroughly debated with the public. It would raise a number of interesting questions. Would Board Members be allowed to hold outside jobs? If so, would there be a cap on their outside earned income? Would they provide additional services to constituents to correspond with the pay raise?

The staff report laying out the options revealed that an overwhelming majority of Arlingtonians who participated in the survey urged the Board to stay closer to option 1 than option 3. However, the Board has hinted that they were headed for $80,000 more since they released the news that the pay raise would be on the June agenda.

Assuming the County Board opts for a new cap of $89,851, Board Members would not necessarily get a 63% raise all at once. They could incrementally raise it over the next four, or more, years.

Chairman Dorsey should not have said it was not the right time for a pay raise if he did not intend to keep his word, but here we are. So, the Board should stay part-time and choose option 1. Ten percent is enough to provide a COLA for the next four years until the cap could be revisited again.

(more…)

County Board Grants Outdoor Permit with Restrictions for Ballston Bar

By Airey
1/3

The Arlington County Board granted new Ballston bar Bronson a permit for an outdoor patio and live music, following initial wariness from staff and neighbors over bad experiences with its predecessor, A-Town Bar and Grill.

The County Board reviewed a use permit application from Bronson — which is currently under construction atat 4100 N. Fairfax Drive and billed as a German craft beer bar — on Saturday. It unanimously approved the bar’s request to seat patrons along the sidewalk and to host live music.

“There’s not a lot of trust, frankly,” said Board Member Erik Gutshall of the relationship between the neighbors and the bar after years of complaints with A-Town. Bronson is operated by some of the same owners as A-Town.

But Gutshall added that he wanted to give the new establishment an opportunity to prove “you will be good neighbors and you will fit in the community.”

“We don’t even need security here because we’re not bringing that crowd,” said Mike Cordero, one of Bronson’s owners. He acknowledged there was a “stigma” against the bar left over from A-Town.

Bronson originally requested to set up public seating buffered from the sidewalk with a 3-foot-high, removable fence, according to a staff presentation for the Board. Plans indicate that the set up would leave between 7 and 10 feet of sidewalk available for pedestrians.

The Bronson also asked to keep outdoor seating open on Mondays through Thursdays from 5 p.m. to 2 a.m., and on Saturdays and Sundays from 10:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. The nearby Berkeley and Alta Vista condominium associations requested the patio close by 9 p.m. on Sunday, 10 p.m. on Mondays-Thursdays, and 11 p.m. on Fridays-Saturdays.

“If the Bronson is appearing to be a family-friendly restaurant, if they are seating [and] they are looking to bring in a different kind of clientele, the necessity to stay open until 2 a.m. is slightly befuddling,” said a neighbor, adding of nearby residents: “We all really like to sleep.”

Staff recommended Board members approve the permit, but curb the hours, keep sidewalk space clear, and require regular community meetings and permit reviews.

The County Board approved the Bronson’s request to stay open opening from 5 p.m. until 2 a.m. on Mondays through Thursdays and from 10:30 a.m. to 2 a.m. Saturdays and Sundays. The Board also approved staff recommendation to require the bar to close its outdoor patio by 10 p.m. Sundays through Thursdays, and by 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

Lee Austin, who lives in the Alta Vista Condominium near the Bronson, said he appreciated the restrictions but added that he wanted the German bar’s new roll-up doors to also close when the patio does to “help ensure quietude” for the neighborhood.

The recommendations come after the bar formerly occupying the space, A-Town, faced permit scrutiny after neighbors said its outdoor patrons were too loud. Police at one point considered it “to be the most troublesome establishment” in the county, generating fights and drunken drivers. The bar was also cited in 2014 for serving patrons outside from an unlicensed “champagne truck.”

County staff also recommended the Board make the permit subject to:

  • An administrative review in August.
  • Another Board vote in October.
  • Quarterly meetings with the Berkeley and Alta Vista condominium associations.

Courthaus Social (formerly Velocity 5) also faced possible outdoor permit restrictions in 2014 due to noise complaints until county staff recommended leniency.

Images 1-2 via Arlington County

County Board Eases Classroom Trailer Approval Process

By Airey

The Arlington County Board has approved zoning changes to make it easier for county schools to add temporary trailers to school grounds.

After a brief discussion, Board members voted unanimously on Saturday (June 15) to allow Arlington Public Schools administrators to add so-called “relocatable structures” to schools without needing to go through the county’s lengthy use permit amendment process.

The approved proposal also exempted the structures from density calculations that affect things like minimum parking requirements. The new zoning regulations would subject structures to inspection every three years and would also forbid the structures from being parked on or within 15 feet of an athletic field.

The proposal includes trailers used for classrooms as well as other purposes, like cafeterias.

APS has long used trailers as a temporary fix to address overcrowding in schools, where they’ve sometimes been criticized by parents for taking up valued green space and playground space. The school system has struggled to keep up with rising enrollment, despite continued school construction and renovations.

“We are at this place for a variety of reasons” said Board Chair Christian Dorsey. “We haven’t really added significant excess capacity to those [school construction] projects for reasons, I guess, primary to being fiscally responsible.”

Board Member Libby Garvey said she supported eschewing the use permit process, which requires County Board approval, because it was too onerous on schools and “time spent doing that could be better spent planning and figuring out a better solution” to overcrowding issues. Now, schools will go through an administrative process with county staff in order to get new trailers approved.

John Chadwick, assistant superintendent in charge of facilities and operations, said schools often don’t know next year’s capacity needs until April, meaning they have to “scramble” to arrange trailers in time for the new school year in September.

Arlington Park and Recreation Commission Chair Bill Ross expressed concern Saturday that the parking requirement could contribute to the loss of schools’ athletic fields.

“They need their recreation space and we’re very careful about maintaining it as much as we can,” replied Chadwick.

The official also noted APS tries to locate the trailers on paved surfaces to prevent having to install stormwater runoff systems.

Currently, staff said APS uses 132 trailers across 25 schools, with Williamsburg Middle School having the highest number of trailers (11) of any individual school.

County Board Members to Vote on Increasing Their Salaries

By Airey

This week, Arlington County Board members will consider a proposal that would allow them to raise their salaries for the first time since 2012.

Members are scheduled to vote tomorrow (Tuesday) to raise the maximum level at which they can set their salaries, choosing from one of three possible options:

  • Option 1: $61,034 for members, and $67,464 for the chair
  • Option 2: $89,851 for members, and $95,734 for the chair
  • Option 3: $129,429 for members, and $135,312 for the chair

Currently, the salary cap for Board members is $57,337 a year, but members are currently paid $55,147. The member serving as Board Chair (currently Christian Dorsey) is paid $60,662, but the salary cap for his position is $63,071.

A staff report to the Board noted that 223 people responded to an online survey and 210 of those respondents picked a salary level they thought appropriate. The majority (143) chose a salary level between $57,000 and $84,999. The rest (67) chose somewhere between $85,000 and $120,999.

The report also noted that current salary levels are below the regional median income level for a single person ($85,000) and the level for a family of four ($121,300) and are generally below salaries paid to regional legislators in other jurisdictions.

Board members are required to wait to raise their pay caps until at least two members are running for re-election, which happens every four years. Currently, Board Chair Dorsey and member Katie Cristol are up for re-election.

The Board has until July 1 to vote on the raise, otherwise they’d have to wait another four years for a chance to vote again.

Option 1 ($61,034) added annual 2.27 percent increases to the existing salary base ($57,337). Options 2 and 3 ($89,851 and $129,429, respectively) factored in a starting point based on area median income for individuals (Option 2) and a family of four (Option 3) and increased that by 2.27 percent each year for the next four years.

Serving on the County Board is intended to be a part-time position, though in practicality the schedules of Board members leave little time for other jobs.

Board member Libby Garvey previously said her colleagues needed higher salaries to keep up with the work involved in attending the county’s many local and regional group meetings.

“I talk to people about how we’re a five-member basketball team with no back-ups so we have to play the entire game all the time,” she said.

New salary caps would go into effect Jan. 1, 2020 if the Board approves them tomorrow, and would last until Dec. 31, 2023. Members would be able to decide after January whether to raise their salaries, up to the the maximum amount they set.

Image via Arlington County

Morning Notes

By ARLnow.com

Police Nab Sex Assault Suspect — “Following a tip from a member of the public, the suspect has been identified as Wondimagegn Azemach, 19, of Riverdale, Maryland. He has been charged with Abduction with Intent to Defile and Sexual Battery.” [Arlington County]

Fire at Ambar in Clarendon — A small fire temporarily closed Ambar restaurant in Clarendon during prime brunching time on Saturday. [Twitter, Twitter]

Board Approves Va. Square Development — “The Arlington County Board today approved a plan to replace aging commercial buildings on the northwest corner of Washington Boulevard and Kirkwood Road, in the Ballston-Virginia Square neighborhood, with a seven-story apartment building that will include 16 affordable units and achieve LEED Silver energy efficiency.” [Arlington County]

GW Parkway Sinkhole Work Continues — “The repairs to a crumbling section of the George Washington Parkway between Turkey Run Park and the Capital Beltway are now expected to continue through most of the summer. The long-term repairs to a failed drainage inlet will keep at least one right lane on the parkway closed for 10 weeks once the contractor is ready for work, the National Park Service said Friday. Engineers have determined that a 60 year old brick drainage structure buried deep under the parkway needs to be replaced.” [WTOP, Press Release]

Fire Victim Identified — The person killed in an apartment fire in the Ashton Heights neighborhood last week “has been identified as Brian Green, 50, of Arlington. The cause of the fire remains under investigation.” [Arlington County]

Football Team Joins Arlington Chamber — “Welcome new member @Redskins! We are thrilled to have you as part of our membership at the Arlington Chamber of Commerce.” [Twitter]

County Kicks Off Census Effort — Arlington County and its Complete Count Committee (CCC) are gearing up for the 2020 Census – working toward the goal of counting every Arlingtonian… It’s not too early to get acquainted with the Census and what to expect next year.” [Arlington County]

Flickr pool photo by Erinn Shirley

New Arts Space Coming to Virginia Square

By Vernon Miles

A new arts space, paid for in-part by Arlington County and run by George Mason University, is coming to Virginia Square.

The Latitude Arts Space is an art installation planned for the southeast corner of Latitude Apartments (3601-2625 N. Fairfax Drive). The site will be operated by the GMU College of Visual and Performing Arts.

The County Board is scheduled to vote this weekend on a $150,000 grant to partially fund interior construction at the project as part of the consent agenda. A county staff report said the goal of this and similar projects is to provide active, publicly accessible spaces that can be flexible in their programming with limited financial commitments from Arlington County.

When the site plan for Latitude Apartments was approved by the Arlington County Board in 2013, it included a provision for an arts space. The goal of the provision was to fulfill goals in the Virginia Square Sector Plan. The Latitude Apartments project was completed in 2016, after which Arlington Economic Development staff worked to help find a new tenant.

“The proposed grant is critical to realizing the opportunity to occupy the Latitude Arts Space with an active and appropriate use that Mason will be able to deliver,” the staff report said. “The grant funds from Arlington County to Mason will be used to offset costs of interior construction of the space and are essential in removing a hurdle for Mason to absorb this previously unbudgeted expense.”

The grant funding only accounts for 25-30 percent of the total interior construction costs, the rest of which will be covered by the property owner and the university.

I-395 and I-66 Projects Causing Contractor Shortages, Higher Costs

By Airey

A proposed streetscape improvement project has revealed rising construction costs in Arlington County due to ongoing work to add new lanes to I-66 and I-395 — and associated projects.

“We believe the shortage of qualified contractors resulting from the abundance of work generated by the I-66 & I-395 Express Lanes projects is contributing to the higher than expected bid prices,” according to a county staff report.

The project in question — which “will reconstruct curbs and sidewalks to install [Americans With Disabilities Act] compliant curb ramps and sidewalk areas,” mostly along the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor — will be considered by the Arlington County Board at its Saturday (June 15) meeting.

The county selected Fort Meyer Construction Corporation, which submitted the lowest bid for the project at $718,580.97.

“We have observed a high volume of construction in the region because of many projects, including major ones such as the I-66 and I-395 Express Lanes, and this work is distributed over a limited number of qualified contractors,” Ramzi Awwad, the engineering bureau chief at the Department of Environmental Services, told ARLnow today (Thursday).

“Contractors have indicated they are paying more to compete for qualified laborers, and we have observed less competition in the form of lower numbers of bidders for some projects,” Awwad said. “The result is higher than expected costs in comparison to estimates.”

He added that this trend has affected other recent projects, especially in the last six months.

VDOT does not provide funding to offset the rising construction costs in Arlington, according to Awwad.

On Saturday, the Board will vote to accept Fort Meyer’s bid and could approve an additional $107,787 for the project in case costs rise further.

For now, the pedestrian proposal is still within the $2.02 million budget set for the two-phase project.

The pedestrian project aims to make eight areas in Rosslyn and Ballston ADA compliant by extending curbs, widening sidewalks, repainting crosswalks, and building new curb ramps. One of the sites is the intersection of 36th Street N. and N. Kensington Street, which aims to make students walking to Discovery Elementary School safer.

The seven other intersections slated for improvements are:

  • N. Nelson Street & 9th Street N.
  • Washington Blvd & N. Nelson Street
  • Washington Blvd & Jackson Street N.
  • Washington Blvd & 9th Street N.
  • Clarendon Blvd & N. Barton Street
  • Wilson Blvd & N. Barton Street
  • N. Troy Street & 14th Street N.

County Board to Vote on Paving New W&OD Trail Connection in Barcroft

By Airey
1/2

Arlington County Board members are scheduled to consider paving a connection between the W&OD Trail and 9th Street S. in Barcroft by the Buchanan Community Garden.

The proposal is to put an asphalt connection and a stop sign between 9th Street and the trail, crossing an area on the side of the trail currently used by Dominion subsidiary Virginia Electric Power Company.

County staff wrote in a report to the Board that they hope paving and providing signage to formalize the path will “improve mobility for pedestrians and cyclists between nearby neighborhoods and the W&OD Trail.”

The W&OD Trail was recently designated as a “primary route” for cyclists during this year’s update to the county’s Master Transportation Plan, while 9th Street S. is a key bicycle route that runs parallel to Columbia Pike.

The Board is scheduled to discuss the 9th Street S. connection during its meeting this Saturday, June 15. The proposal is currently on the meeting’s consent agenda, a place members usually reserve for items expected to pass without debate.

If members OK the proposal, County Manager Mark Schwartz will sign a letter with the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority, which owns and operates the W&OD Trail, giving the county permission to build and maintain the connection.

Arlington has recently been working on adding new connections to the W&OD Trail.

In April, the county opened a new connection between the W&OD Trail and 7th Street S., and last month the county secured a $680,000 grant to study ways to better connect the W&OD and the East Falls Church Metro station.

Images via Arlington County

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