September 2025 Arlington County Board Wrap-up

Published on September 19, 2025

The Arlington County Board considered and acted on 45 agenda items at its September 2025 Regular and Recessed County Board Meetings. These include the following: 

Saturday, September 13, 2025 – Regular County Board Meeting

Item 43A&B – 2500 Wilson Boulevard Site Plan and GLUP Amendments, Rezoning, and Encroachment Ordinance
The Arlington County Board approved several items related to the development of a 14-story mixed-use multi-family building at 2500 Willson Boulevard, including: (1) a General Land Use Plan (GLUP) amendment, (2) a rezoning of the property, and (3) a major site plan amendment to facilitate this development. The Board also approved an ordinance allowing encroachment of an electrical transformer vault into an existing easement for public street and utilities purposes related to the project.  

The existing 5-story office building with ground floor retail and an underground parking garage will be demolished to construct a new 14-story building. This new building will include approximately 343,719 square feet of residential GFA for 316 units, 14,032 of retail GFA, 156 total parking spaces in a below-grade parking garage (12 for retail use).  

These approved items advance several key County goals and objectives, including:  

Affordable housing: Provides 20 on-site CAFs, including 9 one-bedroom and 11 two-bedroom units at 60% of the Area Median Income (AMI), advancing the goals and objectives of the Affordable Housing Master Plan.  

Transportation improvements: Provides streetscape improvements along Wilson Boulevard, North Cleveland Street, Clarendon Boulevard, and North Barton Street, consistent with the Master Transportation Plan. Provides street enhancements on North Barton Street, including traffic signal improvements and a 5-foot wide protected northbound and southbound bicycle lane, consistent with the Master Transportation Plan. 

Public space improvements: Provides an approximately 6,505 square foot public space within public use and access easements and installs and maintains landscaping and pedestrian improvements within the privately owned public space, consistent with the recommendations of the Courthouse West Special GLUP Study, the Sector Plan, and the Public Spaces Master Plan. 

Sustainable design: LEED Gold certification and compliance with the Green Building Incentive Program (GBIP) (0.35 FAR level), supporting the sustainability goals of the Community Energy Plan.  

Public Art: Provides public art in the location recommended by the Courthouse West Special GLUP Study and the Courthouse Sector Plan Addendum.  

Office Building Removal: Replaces an underutilized office building that is approximately 50% vacant with a more productive residential use and site improvements, which is in furtherance of the County’s Commercial Market Resiliency Initiative. 

Items 44A&B – Deferral of Inn of Rosslyn Site Plan Application, Rezoning and Vacation Ordinance
To allow for further study, the Board also voted to defer for consideration several items related to a proposed site plan application for the development of an 8-story multi-family building at 1601 Fairfax Drive (formerly the Inn of Rosslyn site). This deferral was requested by the applicant, and items will be heard at the January 2026 County Board meeting.  

Tuesday, September 16, 2025 – Recessed County Board Meeting  

Item 45 – Initiating Resolution for Amendments to the Arlington County Zoning Ordinance
Last, the Board adopted an Initiating Resolution for one (1) newly identified study that could lead to recommended zoning ordinance amendments for County Board consideration. To comply with a September 2024 Circuit Court ruling, the County has since been using these Initiating Resolutions to announce its intent to adopt zoning amendments. 

This study was recommended by County staff in response to a recently identified inconsistency in how certain district regulations in the Arlington County Zoning Ordinance extend discretion to the County Board in their consideration of proposed special exception site plans. Given this, staff proposes initiating a focused zoning study to explore potential zoning text amendments that would establish consistency in the discretion the County Board has in making land use decisions for sites subject to Special Planning Area Regulations (Article 9), and potentially other place-specific regulations that refer to adopted County sector and area plans. 

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. Visit 2025 County Board Meeting and Procedures on the County website to learn more.