January County Board Meeting Agenda Highlights
Published on January 16, 2021
The Arlington County Board will consider and act on dozens of items at its January meeting. The Regular Meeting is on Saturday, Jan. 23, 2021, and the Recessed Meeting is on Tuesday, Jan. 26.
To protect public health during the COVID-19 pandemic, the meeting will be held virtually.
Commenting on agenda Items:
Send your 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 Public Comment 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, Jan. 23 — Regular County Board Meeting
The Regular Meeting will begin at 8:30 a.m. with public comment on non-agenda items. If you wish to bring a non-agenda item to the Board's attention, or to comment on a Public Hearing item at the meeting, register on the County Board website to speak.
View the agenda and read the staff reports. (Note: Some reports are posted closer to the meeting date.) Highlights include:
Ames Center redevelopment --- The Board will hold a public hearing and consider a proposed mixed-use redevelopment of a site 1820 and 1830 Fort Myer Drive in Rosslyn, currently home to the Ames Center office building, Arlington Temple United Methodist Church, and Sunoco gas station. Snell Properties proposes building a total of 740 housing units in two residential towers, one 30 stories, and the other 31 stories, along with retail and office space. The towers would achieve LEED Silver certification under the U.S. Green Building Council's green building program. A new Ames Center plaza, with a public access easement, would connect the two towers. The church and the gas station would be rebuilt.
The developer proposes that 24 of the housing units will be affordable, including 10- family-sized units. In addition, the developer proposes contributing $2.4 million to the County's Affordable Housing Investment Fund, or more affordable units on-or-off site; a $5 million contribution for off-site transportation improvements; and achieving Rosslyn Sector Plan goals including the removal of elevated skywalks and completion of a major segment of the 18th Street Corridor. To read the staff report and learn more about the community engagement that informed the staff recommendations, scroll to Item No.41 on the agenda.
Columbia Pike realignment agreement — The Board will consider approving an agreement with federal and state government agencies for joint participation in Arlington National Cemetery's Southern Expansion and Roadway Realignment Project, which will add 40 acres to the cemetery, including the site of the former Navy Annex, to increase burial space. The project's biggest impacts on Arlington will be the realignment of a segment of Columbia Pike near the cemetery, modification of the South Joyce Street intersection and the Columbia Pike/Washington Boulevard interchange, and replacement of Southgate Road with a new segment of South Nash Street.
The agreement, if approved, would delineate responsibilities for realigning segments of Columbia Pike, South Joyce Street, and Washington Boulevard; construction of a new South Nash Street and partial elimination of Southgate Road; the design of a County multi-use trail adjacent to the cemetery, construction of pedestrian and bicycle facilities, and construction of a tunnel between the cemetery and its new maintenance compound. The realignment of Columbia Pike from east of South Oak Street to Washington Boulevard, of S. Joyce Street and elimination of Southgate Road, would be paid for with federal funding. The County would provide $500,000 for the design of the trail. To read the staff report, scroll to Item No. 43 on the agenda.
Key Boulevard water main replacement — The Board will consider approving a $1.4 million contract, including contingency, to replace a 1927 water main under Key Boulevard from North Jackson Street to North Danville St. The new water main, with a larger diameter, will improve fire flow capacity and support the neighborhood's water demands. The project is part of Arlington's ongoing project of replacing old unlined cast-iron pipes. To read the staff report, scroll to Item No. 22 on the agenda.
Boundary Channel Drive-I-395 Interchange project design endorsement — The Board will consider endorsing the major design elements of a VDOT project to upgrade the Boundary Channel Drive-I-395 Interchange. The Board's approval is a prerequisite for the Commonwealth Transportation Board's approval of the project. The proposed project would improve connections for pedestrians and bicyclists, and improve traffic safety along I-395, Boundary Channel Drive, and Long Bridge Drive. Boundary Channel Drive would be reduced from four lanes to two and two crossroad ramps along Boundary Channel Drive would be converted to roundabouts. VDOT would build an eight-foot-wide sidewalk on the south side of Boundary Channel Drive and a 12-foot shared-use path along the north side, with a trail connecting to the Mount Vernon Trail, and a new loop trail around the Arlington County Aquatics and Fitness Center to the Long Bridge Park esplanade. To read the staff report, scroll to Item No. 42 on the agenda.
Pedestrian safety improvements for Columbia Pike Bridge over Four Mile Run -- The Board will consider approving a $1.03 million contract, including contingency, to widen the sidewalk on the Columbia Pike bridge over Four Mile Run between South Four Mile Run Drive and South Dinwiddie Street. The northside sidewalk would be widened from five feet to 10 feet, making the bridge safer and more accessible for pedestrians. The project is part of the County's Columbia Pike Multimodal Street Improvements. To read the staff report, scroll to Item No. 23 on the agenda.
North Highland Street improvements — The Board will consider awarding a $547,000 contract for a Neighborhood Conservation project that would add curbs and gutters on both sides of North Highland Street between 1st Road North and Arlington Boulevard. It also would add a sidewalk on the west side of the street, ADA-compliant ramps at each intersection, and a sidewalk extension to the existing Arlington Boulevard trail. The project was submitted by the Lyon Park neighborhood and approved by the Neighborhood Conservation Advisory Commission and the County Board. To read the staff report, scroll to Item No. 24 on the agenda.
Clarendon Safety and Innovation Zone — The Board will hold a public hearing and consider authorizing the Manager to accept donations of $90,000 in goods and services from US Ignite, a non-profit organization, for a safety and Innovation zone demonstration project in Clarendon. To read the staff report, scroll to Item No. 44 on the agenda.
Tues. Jan. 26 — Recessed County Board Meeting
The virtual Recessed Meeting will begin at 3 p.m. with reports from the Board Members and the County Manager.
View the agenda and staff reports (Note: some reports are posted closer to the meeting date).
The meeting will be live-streamed on the County website, and on YouTube, and live-broadcasted 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.
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.
Temporary reduction of annual taxicab certificate fee — The Board will consider a request from taxicab companies that the County temporarily reduce the annual taxicab certificate fee for a standard taxicab from $150 to $50 and waive the certificate renewal fee for wheelchair accessible taxicabs. Taxicab companies have seen a sharp drop in ridership during the COVID-19 during the pandemic. To read the staff report scroll to Item No. 46 on the agenda.