mobanmarketARLINGTON, VA — Arlington residents showed up in large numbers at the county board meeting on Saturday to express their opinions on zoning changes that could radically change the county’s single-family neighborhoods.
Nearly 250 people signed up to speak about the effort to create expanded housing options, a process that started in 2020 when Arlington County began its Missing Middle Housing Study to explore how new housing types could address the county’s shortfall in affordable housing.
The Arlington County Board was able to get to the 224th speaker shortly before 6 p.m. on Saturday, when Arlington Board Chair Christian Dorsey called the board meeting into recess until Tuesday, when the remaining speakers will get to comment.
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Board members heard a variety of reasons why they should adopt the most expansive version of the Missing Middle Housing plan, and many arguments why they should bring the process to a halt and go back to the drawing board.
In their comments, supporters of the Missing Middle Housing proposal thanked the county board and Arlington County staff for pushing the housing proposal forward, with the expectation that the board will vote to approve the proposal on Tuesday or Wednesday.
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Many opponents of the proposal said they expect the board will vote to approve the Missing Middle proposal in the coming days but felt it was their duty to explain why they believe creating more housing density in single-family neighborhoods will not produce more housing options that middle- or lower-income people could afford.
READ ALSO: Missing Middle Plan Wins Unanimous Approval From Planning Commission
“This is an incredible day,” Adam Theo, an official with YIMBYs of Northern Virginia and former candidate for Arlington County Board, said in his comments to the board. “Finally, after one year, we’re getting close.”
YIMBYs of Northern Virginia is a pro-development group that supports eliminating zoning ordinances in counties and cities that place restrictions on housing density.
Theo accused opponents of the Missing Middle Housing proposal of relying on “mistruths, complaints about the name, accusations of corruption, dismissiveness of younger generations and conspiracy theories.”
In his comments, Theo told the board that the proposal has the “power to help solve the housing crisis.”
Meredith Miller, a member of Arlington Young Democrats and a supporter of the Missing Middle proposal, emphasized that homeownership “is currently unattainable for many Arlingtonians.”
The Missing Middle proposal, if passed by the county board, offers the “unique opportunity here to love our neighbors and start to heal the scars of racism and exclusion,” she said in her comments.
Echoing other pro-Missing Middle proposal supporters, Miller dismissed concerns about potential unintended consequences of allowing multifamily dwellings in areas currently zoned for single-family homes.
“I would rather that the county tried and adjust as we go than to not try at all,” she said.
Gillian Burgess, another Missing Middle supporter, said the proposal represents a great first step. But she urged the board not to seek compromise with Arlingtonians who showed up at the hearing who believe the county should take a slower approach.
Some opponents, for example, urged the county to conduct a pilot project to see how the construction of multifamily dwellings in areas zones for single-family homes would affect tree canopy and county infrastructure.
“Maintaining the pastoral ideal of a home and spacious backyard — to quote from The Washington Post — only makes it worse,” Burgess said, referring to a view that building denser housing will help to address climate change. “We don’t have the luxury of incrementalism.”
Tracy Gabriel, president and executive director of the National Landing Business Improvement District, where the first phase of Amazon’s second headquarters is scheduled to open this summer, told the county board that her group and the businesses it represents strongly support the Missing Middle proposal.
Arlington needs to see the production of “smaller, more affordable homes,” Gabriel said.
“As a thriving urban downtown and employment center, our success is dependent upon creating a strong economy, a well-balanced and competitive district and an inclusive community,” she said. “Our continued success as a business district depends on the ability to increase housing production and offer more types of housing and choices for more people throughout Arlington County.”
The Arlington County Board voted unanimously on Jan. 25 to move into this final phase of crafting its Missing Middle Housing plan.
When it votes in a few days, the board will likely decide whether to approve a proposal that allows the construction of up to three townhouses; two-family dwellings such as duplexes; and multifamily buildings with two to six units. Each of these multifamily dwellings would be allowed to be built by-right on lots currently zoned for single-family housing throughout Arlington.
Arlington County’s decision to move forward with the plan followed a survey released by the county in July 2022 that found significant opposition to the Missing Middle proposal among homeowners.
Asked whether any housing types, from townhouses to 8-plexes, should be removed from the proposal, 75 percent of homeowners who provided feedback said yes, indicating opposition to the current proposal, while 77 percent of people who rent their homes in Arlington said no, indicating support.
Missing Middle Opponents Frustrated With Board
Richard McNamara, a long-time resident of Arlington who opposes the Missing Middle Housing proposal, accused the county of not doing “enough homework” on the plan.
By providing attractive financial incentives to encourage Amazon to pick Arlington as the site for its second headquarters, McNamara also argued Arlington County contributed to the housing affordability crisis.
“You invited 25,000 Amazon employees here at $150,000 per, and you wonder why it’s expensive to be here,” McNamara told the board. “Just think about what you did.”
Monique Bhalla, a Clarendon resident, also expressed frustration with how the county board has handled the Missing Middle proposal and other housing issues.
“Seeing horrifying plans to bring Amazon into an already-overdeveloped and densified Arlington while pushing out people of color, I’m sad to say that I lost complete and total confidence in the Arlington County Board,” Bhalla said. “Even with my total loss of confidence in you as a board, I’m still shocked by the Missing Middle plan.”
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Bhalla said it’s obvious to her that the plan, if adopted, will worsen the quality of life in Arlington, lift property values even higher, push more people out of the county, and make housing even more out of reach for most people.
Cherrydale resident Maureen Ross urged the board and supporters of Missing Middle to stop labeling people who disagree with them as racists
“I am the Missing Middle. The Missing Middle is already here,” Ross told the board.
The reason why she left Georgetown in the 1980s to live in Arlington, Ross said, was because of the lower density of housing and the promise of more open space. “Aren’t we, the people who already live here, the people you represent?” she asked.
County Board Candidates Differ On Missing Middle
Three candidates for the Arlington County Board also offered their opinions on the Missing Middle proposal, with two opposing it and one supporting it.
Board Chair Dorsey and member Katie Cristol, who both are strong supporters of Missing Middle, are not seeking re-election in 2023 after serving two terms on the county board. Their decisions to step down at the end of the year caused a rush of residents to announce their candidacies.
Susan Cunningham, a 25-year Arlington resident who is seeking the Democratic nomination for one of the two seats opening on the county board, said the county needs to pause the Missing Middle proposal.
“Missing Middle, in my view, is a mess. The goals have been unclear and shifting,” Cunningham said.
Instead, the county needs to develop a comprehensive approach to housing that looks at lot coverage, tree ordinances and property tax relief for residents who are aging in place, she said.
Natalie Roy, who is also seeking the Democratic nomination for county board, asked why the board is making the county do something that an overwhelming majority of neighborhoods are against.
“A vote in favor of densifying Arlington, already one of the most densely populated jurisdictions in the country, will not result in homes being any more affordable than what is already available today,” Roy told the board. “In fact, it will accelerate the gentrification already occurring in Arlington’s historically Black neighborhoods and on Columbia Pike.”
Speaking remotely, fellow Democratic candidate Julius (JD) Spain Sr., who supports the Missing Middle proposal, commended the county board and county staff for their work on the plan. “History, I’ll remind you, will show who was on the right side of this measure at this moment,” he said.
The Arlington County Board’s recessed meeting will begin at 3 p.m. on Tuesday. The public is welcome to attend the meeting in person in the County Board Room on the third floor of 2100 Clarendon Blvd., or view the meetings online.
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