July 2024 County Board Meeting Agenda Highlights

Published on July 17, 2024

The Arlington County Board will consider and act on dozens of items at its Regular Board Meeting on Monday, July 22, 2024, at 5:30 p.m. and its Recessed Meeting on Tuesday, July 23, 2024, at 3:00 p.m.  

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.  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 is 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. In-person registration is also available on the day of the meetings.  

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.

Monday, July 22nd, 2024 – Regular County Board Meeting 
NOTE: Due to scheduling conflicts, the County Board voted last month to move its July County Regular Board meeting from Saturday, July 20, to Monday, July 22. Public comment will begin at 5:30PM. More details on this are at the end of this release.  

Joyce Motors Project – Item 49
The Arlington County Board will consider approving 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 would allow 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.

Staff finds the currently proposed parking ratio remains consistent with adopted County guidance set forth in the Residential Parking Guidelines, and 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 that the project will be providing on-site.

Virginia Hospital Center – Item 50
The County Board will also consider approving 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 applicant is also requesting to permanently expand the Central Sterile Processing Center into a portion of the VHC “Gold” garage, eliminating nine parking spaces. The Board will also review the status and implementation of the adolescent and adult intensive outpatient behavioral health programs required by conditions of the site plan. 

The County Board heard the site plan amendment at their June 15, 2024, meeting and deferred action to their July 2024 meeting to allow time for additional information to be provided regarding administrative changes approved since 2018 for this site plan, and for the applicant to conduct additional outreach with the community. Since the June County Board meeting, there have been no changes to the request of the proposed minor site plan amendment.

Quincy St. Use Permit Review – Item 51
In accordance with a six-month review approved at the January 2024 Board meeting in response to community feedback, the County Board will consider renewing the 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.

Barcroft Apts Land Use Planning Process – Item 52
The County Board will consider 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. The proposed updates involve multiple policy documents to reflect a cohesive vision accurately and updated priorities established through the

Specifically, these actions are:

• Adoption of the 2024 Updates to the Columbia Pike Initiative – A Revitalization Plan and the Columbia Pike Neighborhoods Area Plan;
  
  
• 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 will also consider 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 is 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.

If these actions are approved, CoStar Group will gain 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.  

Specific items related to the Conversation of the Observation Deck from Public to Private use are: 

• An ordinance to amend, reenact, and recodify Section 7.15 of the Arlington County Zoning Ordinance (ACZO) to provide authority for the County Board to approve additional density above 10.0 FAR in the C-O Rosslyn zoning district in instances with previously approved site plan development projects where the density was either excluded from an approved site plan’s final density calculations or included as gross parking area associated with the development project;
  
  
• An ordinance to approve a site plan amendment to allow for the exclusive private use of the observation deck space in the Central Place Tower office building, subject to all previously approved conditions, with revised and new conditions; and
  
  
• An ordinance to Vacate a Perpetual Permanent Public Use and Public Access Easement for the Observation Deck, areas related to the Observation Deck, the Mezzanine Level of the Observation Deck, the Outdoor Viewing Area of the Observation Deck and related access, including but not limited to elevators, stairs and ramps, on Properties owned by CoStar Central Place HQ, LLC, located at 1201 Wilson Blvd. and 1730 N. Lynn St., Arlington, Virginia. 

Further, the Board will also consider authorization for 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. The Board must also authorize the County Manager to sign the associated agreements among Arlington County, the Authority, Virginia Economic Development Partnership (VEDP), and 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.

Tuesday, July 23, 2024 – Recessed County Board Meeting 

The Recessed Meeting will begin at 3 p.m. with reports from the Board Members and the County Manager. 

Capital Improvement Plan – Item 54
The County Board will adopt the County Manager’s proposed FY 2025–2034 Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). The CIP is the County’s 10-year plan for building, maintaining, upgrading, or replacing County facilities and infrastructure. It is prepared every two years, with any adopted general obligation bond referenda presented to voters in November of even-numbered years.

Arlington County Manager Mark Schwartz presented his proposed CIP to the Arlington County Board on Tuesday, May 28, 2024. The plan was informed by more than 3,100 community members who weighed in on their top priorities for major infrastructure investments in streets, parks, and technology.

The proposed CIP focuses on $4.5 billion in investments to advance the County’s environmental and resiliency goals in nearly every area, including:

• $334 million to the Stormwater Fund, with approximately two-thirds designated for stormwater capacity and flood mitigation.
  
  
• $880 million to the Utility Fund with a focus on reinvestment in infrastructure, resiliency, and redundancy.
  
  
• $215 million for ART Fleet Replacement, ART Fleet Expansion, and transition of ART fleet and facilities to support Zero Emission Buses.
  
  
• $309 million to Parks and Recreation, including $10.6 million for Emerging Uses & Natural Resiliency Programs and $20.3 million for the Trail and Bridge Modernization Program.
  
  
• $398 million for Public Government Facilities, including $25.2 million for Energy Efficiency & Resiliency (e.g., EV Charging and the Lubber Run Resiliency Hub).

The CIP also includes investments in priority projects for the Arlington community, including Rosslyn Gateway Park, the Boathouse, Vision Zero street safety improvements, final Columbia Pike improvements, and creation of a situational awareness center for public safety and emergency preparedness.

No further public comment will be heard on this item, as a public hearing with the County Board was held on July 10th. The FY 2025-2034 Proposed CIP Budget, CIP Summaries, and additional resources can be viewed on the County Manager's CIP webpage. (Note: Related staff reports will be available only after the CIP wrap-up work session on Tues., July 16).  

Bond Referenda – Item 55
The Board will also review and approve language for the Bond Referenda that accompanies the adoption of Capital Improvement Plan. The County Manager is seeking $174 million in new bonds to pay for many of the improvements planned in the CIP. The bond request will be put to Arlington County voters in a referendum in the upcoming November election.

The following items are proposed to be included in the referenda:

• Community Infrastructure: $76,150,000 for projects and programs such as the Arlington Neighborhoods Program, Courts/Police building improvements, and other general County infrastructure projects;
  
  
• Metro & Transportation: $72,405,000, which includes $44.3 million for Metro, $22.0 million for paving, and smaller amounts for various transportation maintenance needs;
  
  
• Parks & Recreation: $25,770,000, for construction of Drew Park, the Emerging Uses and Natural Resiliency programs, trail and bridge modernization, land acquisition, and various park renovations and improvements;
  
  
• Utilities: $14,220,000, primarily for the County’s capital contributions to the Washington Aqueduct and for various smaller water and sewer maintenance projects; and
  
  
• Arlington Public Schools: $83,980,00 for the Arlington Public Schools’ own Capital Improvement Plan.

Public Hearings
The Board will hold a public hearing no earlier than 6:30 p.m. and consider items pulled from the Saturday Consent Agenda. Regular public hearings will be held after carryover Consent Agenda items are considered.   

View the agenda and staff reports (Note: some reports are posted closer to the meeting date). 

Change to Regular County Board Meeting Date

As noted above, due to scheduling conflicts, the County Board voted to move its July County Regular County Board meeting from Saturday, July 20, to Monday, July 22.

In line with currently established rules and procedures, the following rules will apply to this meeting on July 22:

• Public comment will begin no earlier than 5:30 PM with registration closing 15 minutes before at 5:15 PM*;
  
  
• Requests to pull items from the consent agenda must be received no later than 6 PM;
  
  
• Regular Hearing items will be called no earlier than 6 PM.

*Out of respect to the fact that Monday is a work night, which is not the usual meeting time the community is used to for a Regular meeting, one exception will be applied to Public Comment; Should any public comment speaker be unable to provide their testimony beginning at 5:30 PM, the Board will allow those speakers to be heard at the conclusion of the meeting. However, only those who register before registration closes at 5:15 PM, will be provided with this exception.