Arlington County Board Wrap-up for the November 2024 Meetings

Published on November 23, 2024

The Arlington County Board considered and acted on many items at its Saturday and Tuesday Board meetings. These include the following:

Saturday, November 16, 2024 – Regular County Board Meeting

CMRI 2.0: Transformation of Commercial Office Buildings in Arlington – Item 36
The County Board adopted a new Adaptive Reuse Policy, and associated amendments to the Arlington County Zoning Ordinance, on transforming outdated office buildings into vibrant, multi-use spaces. A request to advertise a public hearing at the December 14, 2024, Regular County Board meeting on new fees associated with this new adaptive reuse amendment was also approved.

These items will help address Arlington’s oversupply of obsolete and vacant office buildings. The new policy introduces guidance and a regulatory framework as a public priority to provide streamlined approaches and new incentive tools to leverage market-based solutions for repurposing obsolete office properties.  The Board’s action will allow for a new accelerated and predictable process for the adaptive reuse of office buildings.

This new policy, zoning ordinance amendment, and procedural refinements are part of “CMRI 2.0”, which is a continuation of the Commercial Market Resiliency Initiative (CMRI) launched in 2022. As part of this effort, new investment is anticipated that will redevelop and reinvigorate the local commercial real estate market while ensuring the County remains an attractive hub for businesses, residents, and visitors.

Read the press release on the new Adaptive Reuse Policy

Ordinance Amendments re Deer Management – Item 37
The Board adopted amendments to the County’s Firearms ordinance (Chapter 13) and Miscellaneous Offenses and Provisions (Chapter 17) of the Arlington County Code, to permit the discharge of firearms for county-supervised contracted professional sharpshooting as a method of deer management. This method is anticipated to be used beginning in Winter 2025/2026 in County-owned natural land parks. Harvested deer will be tested for disease and, if appropriate, the venison will be donated to local food banks.

The following is an overview of what professional sharpshooting is:

  • Professional sharpshooting is a lethal technique employing professional sharpshooters using firearms to reduce deer populations;
  • Professional sharpshooting has been shown in peer reviewed literature, as well as operations regionally, such as those on National Park Service Properties, to reduce deer populations sufficiently to support forest regeneration.
  • Professional sharpshooters fire downward at short range, using sound suppressors to mitigate noise and special ammunition that breaks apart upon contact with vegetation;
  • The Deer Management Project found no reported cases of injury to bystanders in professional sharpshooting operations nationwide; 
  • Professional sharpshooting operations will be carried out when parks are closed, under the supervision of Arlington County Police Department and Department of Parks and Recreation staff; and
  • Venison from sharpshooting operations will be donated to those facing food insecurity when feasible.

These adopted amendments were informed by the Deer Management Program, expert recommendations from the project consultant, community feedback, regional benchmarking, peer-reviewed research, and local data.

Legislative Package – Item 38
The Board heard a presentation and public testimony on the 2025 State General Assembly Legislative Package.  The Board will consider and vote on the package at its December 14th Regular County Board meeting.

The package outlines the County’s priorities for the 2025 Virginia General Assembly Session focused on human services, housing and land use, finance, transportation, economic development, criminal justice reform, education and youth, general government, public safety/emergencies, and energy, environment, and climate change. The specific priorities reflect broader principles, such as strengthening workforce resiliency, ensuring state government full funds commitments to local government, and acknowledging the emerging field of artificial intelligence.

The County Board will also host its annual work session with the General Assembly delegation on Tuesday, December 3, from 6-8 pm.

Trust Policy – Item 39
The Board approved clarifying revisions to the Arlington County Trust Policy. The Trust Policy was approved in 2022 to adopt and communicate safeguards so that members of our community can interact with their local government, free from concerns about immigration action by the federal government. The following revisions were made to:

  • Section II, B, Subsection 5, to clarify the forms of identification that Police Officers may rely on to establish a person’s identity; and,
  • Section II, B, Subsection 7, to combine language to clarify the circumstances in which ACPD may initiate contact with federal immigration authorities. 

Tuesday, November 19, 2024 – Recessed County Board Meeting

NOTE: Items 1 & 11 were originally on the Board’s Saturday Regular Consent Agenda and were pulled by members of the public for a public hearing at the Tuesday Recessed meeting.

Crystal Houses 7 & 8 – Item 1 A-C
The County Board approved items 1 A-C regarding the Crystal House 7 & 8 buildings, located at 1900 S. Eads Street in the Aurora Highlands Neighborhood. The site is currently developed with the existing Crystal Houses buildings, which are two 12-story residential towers. It is within the boundaries of the Crystal City Sector Plan.

Specific Board actions on these items were:

  • (Item 1A) Amending, reenacting, and recodifying ACZO Article 7, §7.16 to refine methods for establishing a 35-foot building height maximum that accommodates a 3-story form of development, for a discrete sub area within the Crystal City Coordinated Redevelopment District, as shown on the General Land Use Plan;

  • (Item 1B) Adopting the site plan amendment ordinance for SPLA24-00012 to revise building and site elements for the Crystal House 7 and 8 buildings with modification of zoning ordinance requirements including: residential parking ratio, additional density, density exclusions, and other modifications necessary to achieve the proposed development, subject to all previously approved conditions and amended conditions of the ordinance; and

  • (Item 1C) Enacting the ordinance of vacation to vacate a portion of a 10’ Storm Sewer Easement running generally parallel to the eastern boundary of South Fern Street between 18th Street South and 22nd Street South, located on property of WHC Crystal LLC at 1900 South Eads Street, RPC No. 36-018-014, with conditions.

Amendments to the Trespass Towing Ordinance – Item 11
The Board voted to defer consideration of the proposed amendments to the County’s trespass towing ordinance to the December 14, 2024, Regular County Board meeting, to provide more time to consider the County Manager’s recommendations and public feedback.

The Manager’s recommendations include:

  • Increasing the maximum base towing fee from $135.00 to $150.00;
  • Adding an additional $20.00 fuel surcharge to each tow with an expiration date of July 1, 2025;
  • Increasing the “Drop Fee” from $10 to $20;
  • Implementing a permitting system with an appeal process;
  • Requiring a 48 hours notice to vehicle owners before removal from a multifamily lot based on an expired registration or inspection sticker;
  • Implementing regulations for truck signage, smart payment evidence, and timing of load securement; and
  • Clarifying requirements around vehicle release, receipt production, and photographs.

Financial Results & FY 2024 Close-out – Item 41
The Board also approved several items related to the financial results & close-out for Fiscal Year ending June 30, 2024:  

  • Allocated 95.5% of fund balance ($355.6 million) from FY 2024 to required reserves, restricted funding, allocations already approved by Board action, or for continuing projects that happen to straddle fiscal years.

  • Adopted the County Manager’s recommendations for the use of $8.3 million in discretionary funding with one amendment:
    • $3.9 million to contractual and legal obligations;
    • $2.8 million to safety & service needs;
    • $0.3 million to the analysis and study of future operations/programs;
    • $1.3 million to compensation adjustments; and
    • Via an amendment, $65K and 1.0 FTE to fund a County Board Office Policy Director position beginning in March 2025.
  • Use of the remaining $8.4 million will be considered as a part of the FY 2026 budget process; and

  • Allocated $2.8 million to Digital Equity initiatives, that was received from JBG for the use of dark fiber, including $537,100 for use in FY 2025.

The County Board also received, at the Saturday Regular meeting, a presentation on the financial and economic outlook for FY 2026. The Board will consider budget guidance at its December meeting and the engagement on the budget will begin in December.

To read more about these items, please select item 40 on the November 16 County Board Regular Meeting or item 41 on the November 19 County Board Recessed Meeting agenda.

RTA on Stormwater Utility Credit Program - Item 42
The Board also approved a request to advertise a public hearing at the December 14, 2024, Regular County Board meeting on an amendment to Chapter 26 of the Arlington County Code related to the stormwater utility credit program. The proposed amendment would modify the definitions of two credit types to expand the permeable driveway credit to include other permeable surfaces and to expand the rainwater collection credit to include redirection of rainwater to underground features.

Appeal of Nordgren v. Arlington County Board
The Arlington County Board voted to direct the County Attorney to appeal the ruling in the Expanded Housing Option Development trial (Nordgren v. Arlington County Board). A public webpage with the full trial transcripts and evidence presented by the County is available here.

Watch the Board’s vote and Chair’s statement on the appeal

County Board Extends RCV Feedback Period to End of November
The Arlington County Board has extended its Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) community feedback period to November 30th. Share your experience using RCV in this general election, and additional thoughts on the voting system here. You may also write to countyboard@arlingtonva.us or call 703-228-3130 to submit comments.

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 may do so by notifying the County Board Office before 9 AM at Regular Meetings to request the item be pulled from the agenda. Members of the public may 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.

Visit 2024 County Board Meeting and Procedures on the County website to Learn More.

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