July 2023 County Board Meeting Agenda Highlights
Published on July 11, 2023
The Arlington County Board will consider and act on dozens of items at its Regular Board Meeting on Saturday, July 15, 2023, at 8:30 a.m., and its Recessed Meeting on Tuesday, July 18, 2023, 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.
Saturday, July 15, 2023 – Regular County Board Meeting
Ballston Holiday Inn – Item 56 A-C The Board will also consider amendments, vacating ordinances, and an encroachment ordinance related to the Ballston Holiday Site Plan (SP #57). These items, if approved, would allow the redevelopment of the existing hotel and office properties on this site to build three multifamily residential buildings with a total of 450 units. This redevelopment and construction would advance certain key County goals, including:
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New multi-use trail: Construction of a new multi-use trail to enhance pedestrian and bike connections;
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Improved streetscape: Widening of sidewalk and streetscape along Fairfax Drive with fewer curb cuts to provide pedestrians and cyclists with a safer connection to existing walk/bike trails;
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Enhanced sustainable design: LEED Gold Certification with additional sustainability commitments;
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Reduced impervious surface area: 11.5 percent net reduction in impervious surface area; and
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Improved building height transition: Improved building height tapering to surrounding low-rise residential areas, replacing a nine-story hotel and ten-story office building with one seven-story building and two five-story buildings.
Read the staff reports by scrolling to Item 56 A-C on the agenda.
Arva Motel – Item 57 The Board will also consider a general land use plan amendment, a rezoning, and a new site plan (SP #469) to redevelop the existing Days Inn Motel (known as The Arva) at 2201 Arlington Boulevard. The proposed redevelopment would be an eight-story mixed-use building of 251 residential units and approximately 3,000 sq. ft. of retail or equivalent use. The applicant also requests modifications from the Zoning Ordinance for additional density, residential and retail parking ratios, and to recreate a historic sign. To achieve this density, the applicant offers several public features and benefits, including:
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Funding for the design and construction of a 10,000 sq. ft. public space following a County-led Park Master Plan process;
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Transforming Wainwright Road into a 12-ft. wide multi-use trail with new landscaping, shade trees on both sides, and a berm to buffer users from Arlington Blvd. traffic.
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Providing a landscaped plaza at the northeast corner of the site with a bicycle fix-it station and historical markers; and
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Including seven on-site two- and three-bedroom committed affordable dwelling units at 60 percent Area Median Income (AMI) for 30 years.
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Incorporated sustainable design elements consisting of LEED Gold and Energy Star certifications.
Read the staff report by scrolling to item 57 on the agenda.
Outdoor Cafes, Public Rights-of-Way and on Private Property – Item 58 The Board will consider adopting Arlington County Zoning Ordinance amendments that would establish an administrative approval process for outdoor cafes in public rights-of-way and a use-permit approval process for food establishments to have outdoor cafes on private property. These changes are recommendations from the Outdoor Dining (FOOD) study, which examined aspects of the flexible Temporary Outdoor Seating Area Program (TOSA) administered during the COVID-19 pandemic that could improve Arlington's established regulations for permanent "outdoor" cafes.
Read the staff report by scrolling to Item 58 on the agenda.
Chapter 70, Use of Public Spaces – Item 59 The Board will consider an ordinance to codify a new Chapter 70 of Arlington County Code to authorize certain uses of public spaces (which include public streets, roads, alleys, and rights-of-way) by owners or occupants of property abutting those spaces. To simplify and accelerate the encroachments approval process, Chapter 70 will facilitate an administrative process to allow for the review and approval of certain public space encroachments without County Board approval. Examples of features specified for this administrative review are canopies, awnings, projecting signs, stairs, planters, benches, street furniture, and other architectural features on the face of a building. The ordinance would also apply to outdoor cafés that wish to operate within public property or other spaces dedicated for public use which would require a separate licensing process.
Read the staff report by scrolling to Item 59 on the agenda.
Nomination of Tannia Talento as an Interim County Board Member – Item 60 The Board will also consider appointing Tannia Talento to the Arlington County Board to serve the remainder of former Board member Cristol's term, which expires on December 31, 2023. Ms. Talento is currently U.S. Senator Mark R. Warner’s Northern Virginia Regional Director and previously served on the Arlington School Board from 2017 to 2020. Prior to her public service, she worked in corporate law for 15 years as a legal secretary and was active in numerous commissions, committees, and organizations, many of which support Arlington Public Schools, students, and young professionals. If appointed by the Board, Ms. Talento would be sworn in at the July Recessed Meeting on Tuesday, July 18. On January 1, 2024, this board seat will be filled by a County Board member elected in the November 2023 County Board General election.
Read the staff reports by scrolling to Item 60 on the agenda.
Consideration of establishing Ranked Choice Voting as the election method for the 2023 General County Board Election – Item 61 The Board will decide whether to establish the use of Ranked Choice Voting (RCV) as the election method for the 2023 County Board General Election. The Virginia General Assembly allowed localities to implement RCV in elections of members of a county board of supervisors or a city council in July 2020. Arlington used RCV in its June 2023 County Board Primary election and was the first jurisdiction in Virginia to do so.
Read the staff reports by scrolling to Item 61 on the agenda.
Tuesday, July 18, 2023 – Recessed County Board Meeting
The Recessed Meeting will begin at 3 p.m. with reports from the Board Members and the County Manager.
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.
Arlington Innovation Fund Catalyst Grant Program – Item 62 The Board will consider approving an agreement establishing the Arlington Innovation Fund Catalyst Grant Program to provide financial support for access to capital to Arlington start-ups. Grants would be at least $25,000 and up to $50,000 for qualifying tech businesses to cover costs that include staff salaries and training, research and development, and commercial real estate. Applications will be evaluated by a competitive process, and the program will be administered by Arlington Economic Development.
Read the staff report by scrolling to Item 62 on the agenda.
Signature Theatre - Item 63 A-C The County Board will consider an extension of its long-standing partnership with Signature Theatre. This includes extending its lease through 2057 at its 4200 Campbell Avenue location and approving a deed of lease and related amendments that would permit Signature Theatre to name and alter its production facility, located at 3806 S. Four Mile Run Drive. Signature Theatre is headquartered in Arlington and is a Tony-award-winning live theatre non-profit that hosts youth educational initiatives with Arlington Public Schools and is an economic anchor in Shirlington.
Read the staff reports by scrolling to Items 63 A-C on the agenda.
County Code Chapter 10 Amendments related to Managed Natural Landscapes – Item 64 The Board will consider a request to advertise a public hearing on proposed amendments to Chapter 10 of the County Code, specifically regarding managed natural landscapes. These changes would include new definitions for "foreign growth," "lawn area," and "weeds," clarify a vacant property owner's responsibility for landscaping maintenance, and provide a mechanism to ensure the removal of high or extreme-risk trees or parts of trees that are a danger or hazard to public health or safety.
Read the staff report by scrolling to Item 64 on the agenda.