February 2025 Arlington County Board Meeting Wrap-up

Item #20 – Ranked Choice Voting  
The County Board approved extending the pilot use of Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) for the 2025 County Board general election, to continue to monitor its implementation and public reception. This passed by a vote of 4-0, with Board member Julius “JD” Spain Sr. abstaining.  

RCV allows voters to rank candidates in order of preference, with a threshold of 50 percent plus one vote required to determine a winner in elections with a single open seat under Virginia state law. The Board previously approved RCV for the June 2023 County Board primary, adopted it for all future County Board primaries in December 2023, and piloted its use in the 2024 general election. 

Learn more about Ranked Choice Voting 

Item #21 – Melwood Site  
The County Board approved several items associated with the Melwood Site by a vote of 4-0 with Board member Susan Cunningham abstaining. These approvals allow for the redevelopment of the current 2-story building located at 750 23rd Street South to construct a new 5-story mixed-used building. This new building will consist of multiple-family residential units (100% committed affordable units or “CAFs”) and ground-floor institutional space for a nonprofit providing job training and support programs for people with disabilities.  

The approval of this project advances several key County goals and objectives, such as:  

• Affordable housing: Provides 105 CAFs at 30-80% of the Area Median Income (AMI), advancing the goals and objectives of the Affordable Housing Master Plan.  

• Transportation improvements: Provides street, streetscape, and transit infrastructure improvements on 23rd Street South and South Grant Street, consistent with the goals of the Master Transportation Plan.  

• Sustainable design: Achieves National Green Building Standard (NGBS) Silver certification with minimum energy optimization performance, ENERGY STAR appliances and WaterSense fixtures, as well as providing 10 years of energy reporting, supporting the sustainability goals of the Community Energy Plan.  

The Board also approved by a vote of 5-0 a new use permit to allow a community service use within the approved site plan project for a nonprofit organization providing job training and support programs for people with disabilities at 750 23rd Street South.  

Item #22 – County Manager’s FY26 Proposed Operating Budget Presentation  
The County Board received the County Manager’s proposed operating budget for Fiscal Year (FY) 2026. The proposed $1.69 billion budget is a 2.1% increase over the adopted FY 2025 budget, and recommended nearly $13 million in budget reductions, no increase in the real estate tax rate, and an increase, from 4 to 5 percent, in the meals tax, along with increased fees across many service areas.   

The County Manager's proposed budget reflects the Board’s guidance to the Manager approved in December 2024.  

Read more about the County Manager's Proposed FY 2026 Budget 

Tuesday, February 25, 2025 – Recessed County Board Meeting  

Item #6 – Barcroft Apartments
The Board approved several items related to the Barcroft Apartments Land Use Analysis planning process, which include:  

• Item A: The Board approved amendments to the Columbia Pike Commercial and Neighborhoods Form-Based Codes, the General Land Use Plan Map and Booklet, and the Master Transportation Plan Map. These changes establish a comprehensive framework for the redevelopment, renovation, and preservation of the Barcroft Apartments and adjacent commercial parcels. 

• Item B: The Board approved a use permit for the development of a six-story, 110-unit multi-family building on part of the Barcroft property. 

• Item C: The Board approved the reallocation of $3.28 million from the original $150 million Barcroft County Acquisition Fund loan to support the redevelopment and construction of these 110 units. 

The Barcroft Apartments community consists of 1,335 apartment homes across 52 multi-family buildings built between 1941 and 1951. In 2021, the property was placed on the market for sale. To prevent demolition and displacement of the 1,100 families living there, Jair Lynch Real Estate Partners, in partnership with the County, purchased the apartments. This purchase was supported by an original $150 million County Acquisition Fund loan and a $160 million loan from the Amazon Housing Equity Fund. These rental units are preserved for 99 years for households earning up to 60% of the area median income, the longest affordability term in the County’s affordable housing portfolio. 

Item #23 – FY2026 Proposed Budget Advertisements 
The Arlington County Board also voted to advertise public hearings on several items related to the Fiscal Year 2026 Proposed Budget. Included in those advertisements was a real estate tax rate of $1.043 per $100 of assessed value, a 1-cent increase from calendar year 2024.  

This advertised real estate tax rate increase was approved 4-1, Board member Julius “JD” Spain, Sr. voting against it. The remainder of the advertisements were approved 5-0.  
 
"The advertisement of a 1-cent tax rate increase does not mean there will in fact be an adoption of an increase,” said Arlington County Board Chair Takis Karantonis. “This provides the Board with some flexibility during the Budget Process, as we monitor the impending impacts of the current administration and Congress’ decisions that will disproportionally impact our regional economy. The Board initial focus on reductions and efficiencies remains the highest priority for this year’s budget process.”  

If adopted in April, this advertised tax rate would result in a real estate tax payment increase of $398 based on the average home value of $854,900. By law, the Board can adopt a tax rate no higher than the advertised rate, although it may adopt a lower rate.  
 
To view the staff presentation on the proposed FY 2026 budget and reports on the requests to advertise tax and fee rates, visit this meeting’s agenda and scroll to item No. 23 A – S. 

Budget Work Sessions & Hearings
The public is invited to attend any of the Budget work sessions, either in person or via the county’s livestream. The public will also have the opportunity to provide testimony at the Budget (3/25) and Tax Rate (3/27) Public Hearings.  

The schedule is as follows:  

Feb. 27 – 1PM, Operating & PayGo Budgets for Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR), Department of Technology Services (DTS) Work Session. (*This session has already been held by the time of this publication. Those interested in watching the recording can do so here.)  

Mar. 4 – 1PM, Department of Environmental Services (DES) Work Session 

Mar. 6 – 2PM, Constitutional Offices, Courts, and Judicial Services Work Session   

Mar. 11 – 1PM, Human Services, Housing/Safety Net, Community Planning, Housing and Development (CPHD) Work Session 

Mar. 14 – 1PM, Arlington Public Schools (APS) Work Session 

Mar. 20  

• 1PM, Public Safety Work Session 

• 5PM, County Board Advisory Commissions Commission Hearing 

Mar. 25  

• 1PM, Economic Development, Libraries, Business Improvement Districts (BIDs), Alliances, Partnership, & Compensation Work Session 

• 7PM, Budget Public Hearing  

Mar. 27 

• 1PM, Pay-As-You-Go Capital, Short-term Finance, GO Bonds, Transportation Capital Fund, CC TIF, Debt Service, Metro Work Session 

• 7PM, Tax Rate Public Hearing 

Mar. 31 – 2:30PM, Budget Wrap-up 

Apr. 3 – 2:30PM, Final Budget Decisions/Mark-up 

Apr 9 – 1:30PM, Recessed Board Meeting (Budget to be adopted later in Board meeting) 

Visit the County’s Agenda and Meetings webpage to view the schedule of the work sessions, materials, agenda, and livestream.  

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 10 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.