October 2023 County Board Meeting Agenda Highlights
Published on October 06, 2023
The Arlington County Board will consider and act on dozens of items at its Regular Board Meeting on Saturday, October 14, 2023, at 8:30 a.m., and its Recessed Meeting on Tuesday, October 17, 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.
New Agenda Management Platform – Agenda Online
Arlington County is currently transitioning its County Board agendas, live and archived videos, and minutes to the new “Agenda Online” platform. The Planning and Transportation Commissions, as well as the Board of Zoning Appeals, will also be moving to this new platform.
Until data has been fully migrated to the Agenda Online site, meetings before October 14 will remain on their current landing pages. Any County Board, Planning Commission, Transportation Commission, or Board of Zoning Appeals meetings held after October 14 will be accessible via the following new webpages.
County Board: https://meetings.arlingtonva.us/CountyBoard
Planning Commission: https://meetings.arlingtonva.us/planning
Transportation Commission: https://meetings.arlingtonva.us/Transportation
Board of Zoning Appeals: https://meetings.arlingtonva.us/BZA
If you experience any issues assessing agendas, recordings, minutes or other materials on Agenda Online, please contact the County Board Office at countyboard@arlingtonva.us or 703-228-3130.
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, October 14, 2023 – Regular County Board Meeting
View the agenda and staff reports (Note: some reports are posted closer to the meeting date).
RTA on Historic and Cultural Resources Plan – 20
The Board will consider a request to authorize public hearings on an update to the Historic and Cultural Resources Plan (HCRP), an element of Arlington County’s Comprehensive Plan. The HRCP is the primary policy document guiding Arlington’s historic preservation goals and actions and has not been updated since its original adoption in 2006. After a multi-year planning process, updates to the plan recommend establishing 5 main focus areas—Community Engagement, Incentives, Partnerships, Regulations, and Technology, Information, and Tools—to provide a renewed framework that will advance the mission and effectiveness of the County’s Historic Preservation Program.
If approved, public hearings will be held by the Planning Commission on October 30, 2023, and by the County Board on November 11, 2023.
Read the staff reports by scrolling to Item 20 on the agenda.
Sunrise Senior Living (716 South Glebe Road) – Item 22
The Board will also consider approving an application to rezone the property at 716 South Glebe Road and an associated new site plan that would allow for the redevelopment of an existing church building, vacant single-family residence and surface parking into a new four-story assisted living facility operated by Sunrise Senior Living. The proposal is for a 24-hour facility that will include:
- Development of 99 assisted living and memory care units;
- Provision of the base affordable housing contribution (applicant’s choice of $225,895 or one affordable dwelling unit on or off-site.)
- Construction of streetscape improvements along South Glebe Road between 7th Street South and 8th Street South; and
- Commitment to LEED Silver Certification.
To facilitate this redevelopment, the applicant is requesting a rezoning from “R-6” One-Family Dwelling District and “R-5” One-Family and Restricted Two-Family
Dwelling District to “S-D” Special Development District. The proposed “S-D” zoning district corresponds with the existing “Semi-Public” General Land Use Plan (GLUP) designation and permits the development of assisted living facilities by special exception.
Read the staff report by scrolling to item 22 on the agenda.
RTA on Plan Langston Boulevard – Item 23
The Board will also consider a request to advertise public hearings to consider adoption of the following elements associated with the Langston Boulevard Planning Study:
- The Langston Boulevard Area Plan;
- General Land Use Plan (GLUP) Map and Booklet Amendments;
- Master Transportation Plan (MTP) Map Amendment; and
- Arlington County Zoning Ordinance Amendments, Section (§) 6.1, §7.12, and §12.3.
The Langston Boulevard Planning and County Public Engagement process began in response to a community grass-roots effort led by the Langston Boulevard Alliance advocating for guided long-term public and private investment in the Langston Boulevard corridor through a comprehensive plan and vision as an alternative to by-right development.
The Langston Boulevard corridor is Arlington’s northernmost commercial corridor in Arlington that connects east to west between Rosslyn and East Falls Church. The plan recommends a land use framework and guiding principles intended to shape the form of new development and other benefits, including diverse housing supply, environmental resiliency, economic sustainability, and safe and equitable access for all users on Langston Boulevard.
If approved, public hearings will be held by the Planning Commission on October 30, 2023, and by the County Board on November 11, 2023.
Read the staff report by scrolling to item 23 on the agenda.
RTA on Draft Forestry and Natural Resources Plan – Item 24
The Board will also consider a request to advertise public hearings on the draft Forestry and Natural Resources Plan (FNRP), an element of the Comprehensive Plan. The FNRP updates and replaces the Urban Forest Master Plan (2004) and the Natural Resources Management Plan (2010) as a unified plan that lays out recommendations and actions on how to achieve the sustainability of public and private trees, conservation of natural assets, implementation of biophilia in Arlington.
After a three-year community engagement process, the draft FNRP is intended to be a comprehensive, long-term planning tool and outlines over 80 policy recommendations organized into four interconnected Strategic Directions: Conservation; Climate Mitigation, Adaption, and Resilience; Biodiversity and Operations.
If approved, public hearings will be held by the Planning Commission on December 4, 2023, and by the County Board on December 16, 2023.
Read the staff report by scrolling to item 24 on the agenda.
Tuesday, October 17, 2023 – Recessed County Board Meeting
The 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).
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.