Arlington County Board Wrap-Up for July 2024 Meeting
Published on July 29, 2024
The Arlington County Board considered and acted on many items at its Monday and Tuesday Board meetings. These include the following:
Monday, July 22, 2024 – Regular County Board Meeting
Reeves Farmhouse – Item 22
The Arlington County Board took several actions to convey the historic Reeves Farmhouse to Habitat for Humanity of Washington, D.C., and Northern Virginia. This conveyance is both to preserve and rehabilitate the Reeves Farmhouse and to convert its residential portion into a shared living home for individuals with developmental disabilities. Once the renovations and addition are completed by Habitat for Humanity, L’Arche Greater Washington D.C., a non-profit residential service provider for adults with intellectual disabilities, will act as the long-term owner/operator of the group home.
The Board also voted to allocate and authorize $2.5 million in federal Community Development Block Grant funds to support this farmhouse's rehabilitation and adaptive reuse.
Read more about the Reeves Farmhouse Property Transfer here.
Joyce Motors Project – Item 49
The Arlington County Board approved a site plan amendment (SP#465) to the Joyce Motors project, the 11-story mixed-use residential building planned for development at 1020 North Irving Street. The applicant’s requested amendment allows for an increase of 1,629 square feet to the building’s gross floor area and a reduction of 10 residential units, as well as a reduction in parking by eliminating 37 of the below-grade parking spaces.
This parking ratio remains consistent with adopted County guidance set forth in the Residential Parking Guidelines and is appropriate for this site, which is in Clarendon and accessible by transit and many multimodal transportation options. To achieve the density required by this site’s zoning district for the increase in floor area, the applicant has agreed to contribute additional funds to the Affordable Housing Investment Fund in addition to the nine (9) committed affordable housing units the project will provide on-site.
Virginia Hospital Center – Item 50
The County Board also approved minor site plan amendments to Site Plan #177 regarding the Virginia Hospital Center (VHC), permitting approximately 17,015 square feet of building additions to accommodate expansions of the Emergency Department, Cardiac Cathlab, Intensive Care Unit, and mechanical areas. These additions will primarily be in the “Tower” building on the southeast corner of the site where the applicant is requesting to expand the corner of the building by adding three levels on top of the structure and pushing out the façade of the ground floor within a portion of the existing overhang area. The Board also granted the applicant's request to permanently expand the Central Sterile Processing Center into a portion of the VHC “Gold” garage, eliminating nine parking spaces.
Barcroft Apts Land Use Planning Process – Item 52
The County Board also took several actions to collectively update long-term planning guidance associated with the 60-acre Barcroft Apartments property and its adjacent commercial parcels along South Four Mile Run Drive and South George Mason Drive. These updates involve multiple policy documents to reflect a cohesive vision and priorities established through the Barcroft Apartments Land Use Analysis planning process, which took place between January and July 2024.
Specifically, these actions were:
- Adoption of the 2024 Updates to the Columbia Pike Initiative – A Revitalization Plan and the Columbia Pike Neighborhoods Area Plan;
- Authorizing a request to advertise public hearings by the Planning Commission and the County Board for their respective January 2025 meeting dates to consider proposed amendments to the General Land Use Plan (GLUP) Map and Booklet and proposed amendments to the Master Transportation Plan (MTP); and
- Approval of the Jair Lynch Real Estate Partners (JLREP) Barcroft Apartments Master Financing and Development Plan (MFDP) describing the sitewide affordable housing financing plan, site redevelopment plan, and phasing plan for Barcroft Apartments.
The recommended changes represent a comprehensive framework to guide future redevelopment, renovation, and preservation of the Barcroft Apartments and the adjacent commercial parcels under common ownership. The updated vision for this general area remains consistent with the previously established goals and recommendations of obtaining an improved, walkable form of development along Columbia Pike and sustaining a mixed-income and diverse community with opportunities for affordable housing.
CoStar Group HQ Relocation, Changes to C-O Rosslyn Zoning District, and Private Use of related Observation Deck – Item 53 A-D
The County Board also took several actions associated with CoStar Group’s relocation of its Headquarters to the Central Place Office Building at 1201 Wilson Boulevard in the Rosslyn neighborhood. This was the final step of a major economic development deal that will bring the S&P 500 company to Arlington. CoStar Group purchased the Rosslyn building to be the new face of its U.S. operations due to its prominence and unmatched views, as well as a signal of the company’s confidence in the future of the local office market. CoStar Group is the leading global provider of commercial and residential real estate information, analytics, and online marketplaces.
Through these actions, CoStar Group gained exclusive use of Central Place Tower’s public observation deck by paying nearly $14 million to support the expedited reconstruction of Rosslyn’s Gateway Park. The payment will allow both the east and west sides of the park to be designed together, accelerating the full reconstruction by eight years.
Further, the Board also authorized the acceptance and allocation of $1.25 million from Virginia’s Commonwealth’s Opportunity Fund (COF) to be transferred through Arlington County and the Industrial Development Authority of Arlington County, Virginia to CoStar Group. CoStar Group must satisfy the following requirements of the $1.25M COF grant:
- Make a capital investment of $20 million in the building at 1201 Wilson Boulevard; and
- Create and maintain 650 new full-time jobs at the Arlington Facility, at an average compensation of at least $185,000 per year.
Read more about the details of this item here.
Tuesday, July 23, 2024 – Recessed County Board Meeting
Quincy St. Use Permit Review – Item 51
The County Board also renewed a use permit for a commercial parking lot on a portion of the County-owned property located at 1425 N. Quincy Street. This parking lot temporarily accommodates storage of 29 ART buses while the permanent ART Operations and Maintenance Facility (AOMF) is under construction on County-owned property on Shirlington Road. The AOMF is expected to be fully operational in the first half of 2025 and will provide an updated storage and operational facility for a portion of the County’s ART fleet, which is a vital component of the County’s transportation services and contributes towards the County’s goals of providing safe and efficient transit service.
FY25-FY34 Capital Improvement Plan and Bond Referenda – Items 54 & 55
The Board also voted to adopt a $5.2 billion FY25-FY34 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). The plan was informed by more than 3,100 community members who weighed in on their top priorities.
The CIP is the County’s 10-year plan for building, maintaining, upgrading, or replacing County facilities and infrastructure. The Capital Improvement Plan is prepared every two years, with any adopted general obligation bond referenda presented to voters in November of even-numbered years. The plan includes major infrastructure investments such as community facility infrastructure, environmental resiliency, parks, transportation, stormwater management, utilities, and more.
To accompany the CIP, the Board also approved $272 million of new bond referenda, including $174 million for County projects, $14 million for Utilities fund projects, and $84 million for Arlington Public Schools. The referenda will allow the County to issue general obligation bonds to pay for many of the improvements planned in the CIP over the next few years. Five referenda questions will be put to Arlington County voters in the upcoming November election.
Read the full release on the adopted CIP and approved Bond referenda here.
Additional Items:
The Board also took the following additional actions:
PFAS Opt-Out: The Board authorized the County Attorney to file, sign or submit forms necessary to opt out of the class action settlement agreements with Tyco and the BASF Corporation regarding the use of PFAS substances.
Credit Card Payments Class Action: The Board authorized the County Attorney to file, in a final form approved by the County Attorney, a claim with the Class Administrator in the class action settlement in In Re Payment Card Interchange Fee and Merchant Discount Antitrust Litigation.
Equity Settlement Resolution: The Board authorized the County Attorney to enter into, in a final form approved by the County Attorney, a settlement in Arlington Circuit Court Case No. CL19-1224.
Appointment of Clerk: The Board appointed Mason Kushnir as the Clerk to the County Board. The Clerk to the County Board acts as the Board’s official record keeper, managing all Board meetings, work sessions, and changes to the County Code. The Clerk to the County Board also serves as its principal staff officer, overseeing all day-to-day staff operations of the County Board Office.
Read more about Mr. Kushnir here.
Appointment of County Auditor: The Board appointed Wayne Scott as County Auditor. The County Auditor conducts independent performance and operational audits of County departments, programs, and services, and reports directly to the County Board with additional guidance from the Audit Committee.
Read more about Mr. Scott here.
Registering to Speak at future Public Hearings
Registration to speak on an item with a scheduled public hearing opens approximately a week before the meeting, and members of the public can either register online or call in at 703-228-3130. Those wanting to participate in these hearings can do so in person, virtually, or by phone and will receive instructions on these options once they have completed their registration. Members of the public wanting to speak on a Consent Agenda item must notify the County Board Office before 9 AM at Regular Meetings to request the item be pulled from the agenda. Members of the public must then register to speak on pulled agenda items at the upcoming Tuesday Recessed meeting. Agendas will note which consent agenda items are subject to public hearing requirements and which require Board member consent to be removed.
Members of the public are also strongly encouraged to subscribe to the County Board's News and Updates service to be alerted when meeting agendas are posted. Board meeting and agenda information can be accessed on the County Board's webpage.
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