Wrap-up Media Release for June 2024 Meeting

The Arlington County Board considered and acted on many items at its June 15th Regular and June 18th Recessed Board meetings. These include the following: 

Saturday, June 15, 2024 – Regular County Board Meeting 

Virginia Hospital Center SP#177 Site Plan Amendment – Item 36 
The County Board deferred consideration of minor site plan amendments to Site Plan #177 regarding the Virginia Hospital Center (VHC) at a Board meeting to be determined sometime in July. 

These site plan amendments would permit 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.

Board meeting and agenda information can be accessed on the County Board's webpage.

Solid Waste Management Plan/Zero Waste Plan – Item 37 
The County Board also adopted the proposed 2024 Arlington County Solid Waste Management Plan/Zero Waste Plan, with amendments to its resolution.  

In 2001, the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality required every city, county, or town in the Commonwealth to develop and maintain a Solid Waste Management Plan (SWMP) covering 20-year planning horizons. The County adopted its current SWMP in 2004. This new draft plan replaces the 2004 plan and covers the next 20-year planning horizon.   

This new plan contains two major components:  

• DEQ Regulatory Requirements: The first section of the document is structured to meet State requirements for solid waste planning. This includes the County’s waste management strategy for the next 20 years; goals, objectives, and an implementation schedule; how the County plans to meet state-mandated minimum recycling requirements; a strategy for public education; updated demographic and waste generation projections; and a funding strategy for solid waste programs. 

• Voluntary Initiatives: In addition to the state-mandated elements, the County identified 19 additional program and policy areas to potentially pursue over the next twenty years to progress toward the 90 % waste diversion goal. These voluntary programs and policies have been categorized by those recommended for consideration within the initial 5 years after plan adoption, and those recommended for consideration during the following 15 years. 

The amendments to the plan’s associated resolution (full resolution available here(PDF, 70KB)) include:  

• Requiring, as part of state-mandated five-year reviews of certain portions of the SWMP, review of the Zero Waste components of the plan; 

• Advocating for legislative proposals that promote diversion and extended producer responsibility efforts and increase authority to enhance diversion efforts;  

• Encouraging Arlington Public Schools to reduce waste generation and enhance recycling efforts;  

• Studying and developing recommendations to encourage recycling and reduce and divert construction and demolition waste; and 

• Developing the Zero Waste Dashboard by the end of FY 2025. 

Board meeting and agenda information can be accessed on the County Board's webpage.

Tuesday, June 18, 2024 – Recessed County Board Meeting 

Tyndale Christian School Use Permit – Item 12
The Board also voted to approve the use permit for a private school (elementary and middle) located at 712 and 716 N. Barton St, with several amendments to the original County Manager’s recommendation. These amendments revise:  

• Condition #2 of the permit, to reduce the maximum enrollment from up to 80 students, to up to 40 students;  

• Condition #3 of the permit, to change an improvement to the parking area on-site from a 10-foot-wide landscape strip to a parking setback with a fence; and  

• The timeline of a County Board review of the permit, from one year (June 2025) to 6 months (December 2024).  

Members of the public interested in viewing the exact language approved at the Board meeting for this item can view the recording here (timestamp: 5:47:29). The referenced staff presentation in the motion is available here.  

Board meeting and agenda information can be accessed on the County Board's webpage. 

Clarendon Live Entertainment Group Use Permits – Items 11 and Items 13
The Board considered items 11 (regarding the use permit for Mister Days) and 13 (regarding the use permit for Layli Restaurant) together as part of the Clarendon Live Entertainment Group (CLEG). The Board approved item 11 allowing live entertainment at Mister Days, with a revision to the County Manager’s original recommendation by revising Condition #1 of the use permit to reflect the applicant no longer requesting “dancing” as a component of their live entertainment in the use permit application. The Board approved item 13 with no revisions, allowing for the following at the Layli Restaurant: more seats in the outdoor cafe than inside the restaurant; a kiosk to be operated within the plaza area; and live entertainment within the interior portion of the restaurant. Both use permits will be returned to the County Board for review in 11 months (May 2025).  

CLEG was established in 2002 to connect members of the community and county staff on issues related to live entertainment within the Clarendon Neighborhood. Members of CLEG include the four civic associations in Clarendon, restaurant operators with live entertainment use permits, and various related departmental county staff. CLEG meets twice yearly, and all CLEG establishments are reviewed annually with County Board review occurring in odd years and administrative review by staff in even years.  

The referenced presentation in the approved motion for item #11 is available here.  

Board meeting and agenda information can be accessed on the County Board's webpage. 

Additional Items
The Board also voted to approve or adopt the following items:  

Resolution Approving Settlement with Kroger 
The Board passed a resolution to approve the County’s participation in the proposed settlement of opioid-related claims against Kroger and its related corporate entities.  

Read the entire adopted resolution here(PDF, 88KB).  

Amicus Brief in the Matter of Garland v. VanDerStok 
The Board voted to authorize the County Attorney, or her designee, to sign onto an Amicus brief in a U.S. Supreme Court Case, Garland v. VanDerStok, involving ghost guns and the scope of the federal Gun Control Act, in support of new regulations against ghost guns promulgated by the Bureau of Alcohol, Tobacco, Firearms and Explosives (ATF).  

CY2024 County Board Meeting Amended
Due to scheduling conflicts, the County Board also voted to move the 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.  

*Because 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.  

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 must notify the County Board Office before 9 AM at Regular Meetings to request the item be pulled from the agenda. Members of the public must 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. 

Visit 2024 County Board Meeting and Procedures on the County website to Learn More.