Oct 2021 County Board Meeting Agenda Highlights
Published on October 08, 2021
The Arlington County Board will consider and act on dozens of items at its Regular Board Meeting on Saturday, October 16, 2021, and its Recessed Meeting on Tuesday, October 19, 2021.
The meetings, held in the County Board Room on the third floor of 2100 Clarendon Blvd., are open to the public. Visit the County website for information on speaking at a County Board Meeting.
Virtual participation options are available to the public through Microsoft Teams. All visitors to the Ellen Bozman Government Center at 2100 Clarendon Blvd. must wear a mask or maintain a 6 ft distance from others. If you are sick or experiencing symptoms of COVID-19, please consider watching the meeting’s live webcast or cable broadcast or participating virtually via Microsoft Teams. More information on how to participate or watch virtually provided below.
Comment on Agenda Items and Speak at the Meeting
Send your written comments on agenda items to the County Board at CountyBoard@arlingtonva.us. All comments received by the Board are made part of the public record and are before the Board members as they consider items.
If you wish to comment during the Public Comment period at the start of the Regular Hearing, or on a Regular Public Hearing Item, register in advance on the County Board website, where you can also find more details on public participation in virtual Board Meetings, or call the Board Office at 703-228-3130 from 8 a.m.-5 p.m., Monday-Friday. Online Registration opens once the agenda for the meeting is posted, approximately one week before the meeting.
Watch it Live
County Board meetings are live streamed on the County website and on YouTube and broadcast live on Arlington TV, the County’s cable channel, with live captioning on Comcast 25 & 1085 (HD) and Verizon FiOS 39 & 40. Videos of Board meetings are archived on the County website (with captions and staff reports) and on YouTube.
Saturday, October 16, 2021 – Regular County Board Meeting
View the agenda and staff reports (Note: some reports are posted closer to the meeting date).
Funding for Affordable Housing Projects – The Board will consider loan agreements for three different affordable housing projects in the County. The Board will consider amending the Affordable Housing Investment Fund (AHIF) Loan agreement for Standard Foundation Park Shirlington to extend the existing $6 million loan for a year and approve a subordination agreement for the AHIF loan on the project. To read the staff report, scroll to #40 on the agenda.
The Board will also consider loan documents of just over $19 million to help facilitate the development and construction of Ballston Station, a newly constructed building with 144 affordable apartments located at 4201 Fairfax Drive that will be owned and operated by, Ballston Limited Partnership (the Borrower), an affiliate of Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing (APAH). To read the staff report, scroll to #41 on the agenda.
The Board will also consider a loan subordination agreement to facilitate the refinancing of Columbia Grove Apartments. The agreement would include refinancing of an existing $14.75 million first mortgage loan as well as an interest rate reduction from four percent to two percent on the Board’s $4.74 million loan to Columbia Grove Apartments Limited Partnership. To read the staff report, scroll to #42 on the agenda.
2022 State Legislative Package Review – The Board will consider and hear public testimony on a draft of the proposed General Assembly Session priorities. These issues, which range from human services, healthcare, housing and land use to finance, transportation, the environment, public safety and more, will be discussed and ultimately adopted in November for consideration in the General Assembly in 2022. To read the staff report, scroll to #46 on the agenda.
Columbia Pike Zoning Flexibility – The Board will consider a request to advertise public hearings to consider amendments to the Zoning Ordinance that would allow for greater flexibility for ground floor commercial uses along Columbia Pike. The recommendation would permit a wider range of non-residential uses within both the Columbia Pike Special Revitalization District and the Columbia Pike Neighborhoods Special Revitalization District as designated on the General Land Use Plan. To read the staff report, scroll to #45 on the agenda.
Speed Limit Restrictions/Slow Zones – The Board will consider a request to advertise a public hearing to consider lowering the speed limit and creating permanent 20 mph “slow zones” on residential street segments near 13 schools within the County. This effort is part of the Vision Zero initiative, which supports lowering speed limits near schools, where children—who are vulnerable users—take frequent trips as pedestrians, bicyclists, or passengers. This initial outreach will help the County test proposed signs and collect data to determine the impact on speeds and safety before the County deploys the slow zone guidelines on a larger scale. To read the staff report, scroll to #38 on the agenda.
Ballston Metro West Entrance – The Board will consider a resolution to submit applications for regional transportation funding from the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority for the Ballston-MU Metrorail Station West Entrance. The funding, totaling $80 million, would be submitted for the FY2026-27 SYP update and comes after revised design estimates and updated plans. The project would provide a second entrance to the Ballston-MU Metro stop at North Fairfax and North Vermont Streets in Ballston and is expected to greatly expand multimodal access to the station and provide for greater capacity to and efficiency for Metrorail. To read the staff report, scroll to #26 on the agenda.
Public Art Master Plan – The Board will consider a request to advertise for public hearings on an update to the Public Art Master Plan (PAMP). These updates to the PAMP, which outlines a strategy for how public art will improve the quality of public spaces and placemaking in Arlington, outlines details on the vision and guiding principles for public art in Arlington and sets priorities and themes centered around goals to Integrate, Expand, Connect and Engage through public art throughout the County. To read the staff report, scroll to #37 on the agenda.
Tuesday, October 19, 2021 – Recessed County Board Meeting
The virtual Recessed Meeting will begin at 3 p.m. with reports from the Board Members and the County Manager.
The meeting will be live streamed on the County website, and on YouTube, and broadcast on Arlington TV, the County’s cable channel, with live captioning, on Comcast 25 & 1085 (HD), and Verizon FiOS 39 & 40. Videos of Board meetings are archived on the County website (with captions and staff reports) and on YouTube.
View the agenda and staff reports (Note: some reports are posted closer to the meeting date).
Public Hearings
No earlier than 6:30 p.m. the Board will hold a public hearing and consider items pulled from the Saturday Consent Agenda. Regular public hearings will be held after carryover Consent Agenda items are considered.
The Board will hear presentations of preliminary financial results and close-out for the Fiscal Year that ended June 30, 2021 as well as on preliminary recommendations for the allocation of American Rescue Plan Act (ARPA) funds. To read the staff reports, scroll to #47 and 48 on the agenda.