Missing Middle Housing Study: Documents

Study Documents

Expanding Housing Choice: The Missing Middle Housing Study Phase 3

County Board (March 18, 2023)

Staff Report

Data sources for Racial and Socioeconomic Analysis:

Planning Commission (March 6 and 8, 2023)

Transportation Commission (March 2, 2023)

View a recording

Housing Commission (February 16, 2023)

View a recording

County Board Request to Advertise (January 21, 24, and 25, 2023)

Transportation Commission Request to Advertise (January 5, 2023)

Recording

Planning Commission Meetings (December 12 and 15, 2022)

Staff Report – PC Request to Advertise GLUP and Zoning Ordinance Amendments
Recording – December 12
Recording – December 15

ZOCO Meeting (November 30, 2022)

LRPC/ZOCO Meeting (November 16, 2022)

LRPC/ZOCO Meeting (November 9, 2022)

LRPC Meeting (October 17, 2022)

County Board Phase 3 Engagement (September-October 2022)

Info Session #1: Housing Development and Economics
Info Session #2: History and Future of Zoning and Housing Policy
Info Session #3: Planning and Growth
Community Conversations: Comprehensive Notes

Expanding Housing Choice: The Missing Middle Housing Study Phase 2
County Board Work Session (July 12, 2022)

April-May 2022

View presentation of draft framework
Consultant memo: financial analysis of missing middle housing types
Raw financial analysis spreadsheets (Microsoft Excel, provided in response to a request)
Details of the draft framework (En Español)
Phase 2 FAQs
Phase 2 Q&A Response Matrix

Phase 2 Community Feedback (April - June 2022)

Virtual Q&A on Phase 2 Draft Framework (May 2, 2022)

View a recording

Expanding Housing Choice: The Missing Middle Housing Study Phase 1 Report
Nov. 2021

Virtual Q&A on Phase 1 Report
Sept. 28, 2021

Draft Phase 1 Report
Sept. – Nov. 2021

Draft report(PDF, 26MB)
Staff review with Commissions and Community Groups:
- Sept. 27 – Long Range Planning Committee (Planning Commission)
- Sept. 30 – Transportation Commission
- Oct. 7 – Housing Commission
- Oct. 12 – Civic Federation
- Oct. 18 – Commission on Aging
- Oct. 25 – Climate Change, Energy and Environment Commission (C2E2)
- Oct. 27 – Joint Facilities Advisory Commission (JFAC)
- Oct. 28 – Forestry and Natural Resources Commission (FNRC)
Phase Ib: Housing Typologies Engagement
May – June 2021
Phase Ia Community Engagement
October 2020 – March 2021
- Community Engagement Summary
- Research Compendium Online Engagement Responses
Housing Arlington Listening Tour Stop #5
Spanish-Language Session
February 18, 2021
- Presentation slides
- Digital Whiteboards (Jamboards)
Housing Arlington Listening Tour Stop #4
For Zip Codes: 22203, 22205, 22201 & 22209
February 4, 2021
Housing Arlington Listening Tour Stop #3
For Zip Codes: 22204 & 22206
February 3, 2021
Housing Arlington Listening Tour Stop #2
For Zip Codes: 22205, 22207, 22209, 22201 & 22213
February 2, 2021
Housing Arlington Listening Tour Stop #1
For Zip Codes: 22202 & 22206
January 27, 2021
Kick Off Event
October 28, 2020
Community Partners Organizational Meeting
October 13, 2020
- View a recording of this meeting
- Agenda & Presentation
- Share: Study Overview
- Share: Study Kick Off Flyer for October 28 | en espanol
- Review: Research Compendium
- Review: FAQs: Missing Middle Housing Study Scope
- Review: Study Scope, Charge, and Timeline
- Report Back: Engagement Insight Form
County Board Work Session
September 22, 2020
Missing Middle Research: Ask the Authors Event
September 2, 2020
Missing Middle Housing Study Research Compendium
June – August 2020
- Missing Middle Housing Study: Research Compendium
- Bulletin 1 – Missing Middle Housing Study: A Stakeholder Guide
- Bulletin 2 – Housing Market Pressures
- Bulletin 3 – Arlington’s Existing Housing Choices
- Bulletin 4 – Arlington’s Land Use Policy and Zoning
- Bulletin 5 – Missing Middle Housing Study in Context
- Supplemental Resource – A History of Residential Development, Planning, and Zoning in Arlington County, Virginia
Draft Scope of Work for Review
January 2020
- Missing Middle Housing Study Draft Scope of Work
- Webinar on study background and Draft Scope of Work
- Comment and response matrix (Updated July 23)
- Staff review with Commissions and Advisory Boards:
  - January 16 – Housing Commission
  - January 22 – Long Range Planning Committee
  - February 6 – Transportation Commission
  - February 24 – Commission on Aging
  - February 27 – Urban Forestry Commission
  - CANCELED – March 12 – NCAC
  - March 23 – E2C2
  - TBD – County Board
- County Board review with Civic Associations and Community Groups (begun Feb. 2020)
  - Contact CountyBoard@arlingtonva.us to schedule a meeting with your group
- Public feedback on Draft Scope of Work (raw data)
Housing Arlington and Missing Middle Update to the County Board
December 17, 2019

Related Resources

Examples of Missing Middle Housing

Articles

Going, Going…Gone? Escalating home prices have shut middle-class buyers out of Arlington’s real estate market. Is there a solution? (Alison Rice, Arlington Magazine, March/April 2021)
Exclusive Communities Deepen Inequality in Every Metro Area (Jenny Schuetz of the Brookings Institution, July 16, 2020)
“Gentle” density can save our neighborhoods (Alex Baca, Patrick McAnaney, & Jenny Schuetz of the Brookings Institution, Dec. 4, 2019)

Podcasts

Housing Recovery (Freddie Mac Multifamily, Podcast, July 8, 2020)
The Year of Housing Reform (Vox, “The Weeds” Podcast, Feb. 20, 2020)

Housing Arlington

Arlington Comprehensive Plan Elements & Updates

Historic & Ongoing Racial Inequity

Federal Housing Administration Map (1936)

Click to enlarge

Description of residential grades (from Housing Market Analysis, Washington, D.C., July 1937, FHA)
Excerpts from the 1938 Federal Housing Administration Underwriting Manual
Federal Housing Administration Underwriting Manual: Underwriting and Valuation Procedure under Title II of the National Housing Act (1938)

The Color of Law: A Forgotten History of How Our Government Segregated America (Richard Rothstein, 2017)
Rothstein on The Color of Law (Video, May 3, 2018)
Segregated by Design (Richard Rothstein & Mark Lopez, Video, 2019)
Zoning and Segregation in Virginia: Part I (McGuireWoods LLP and McGuireWoods Consulting, 2021)

County History

A Guide to the African American Heritage of Arlington County, Virginia (John Liebertz, 2nd edition)
My Halls Hill Family: More Than a Neighborhood (Wilma Jones, 2018)
Race and Housing in Arlington (Alliance for Housing Solutions, Video, Oct. 3, 2020)

Regional Housing Supply and Affordability

Regional Map Resource

Zoning

Zoning Matters: How Land Use Policies Shape Our Lives (Urban Institute, Video, June 12, 2019)
How Communities Are Rethinking Zoning to Improve Housing Affordability and Access to Opportunity (Jorge González & Solomon Greene of the Urban Institute, June 12, 2019)

Meetings & Engagements

CanceledCANCELED: Zoning Ordinance Committee (ZOCO) Meeting (Hybrid)

20 Jan 2026 The Zoning Ordinance Committee of the Planning Commission reviews and provides comments and recommendations on Zoning Ordinance amendments.

Conference Room 216, 2100 Clarendon Blvd., Arlington, VA 22201

Related , Advisory Groups & Commissions, Public Meeting, Adults

Fair Housing Today: Source of Funds Protections in Arlington, VA

21 Jan 2026 A virtual fair housing training focused on Source of Funds compliance.

Related , Housing

Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) Hearing (Hybrid)

21 Jan 2026 The Arlington County Board of Zoning Appeals (BZA) has powers, duties, and procedures as set forth in broad terms in the Code of Virginia and in the Arlington County Zoning Ordinance

2100 Clarendon Boulevard, Room 307, Arlington, VA 22201

10 more dates

Related , Advisory Groups & Commissions, Public Meeting, Adults

Contact Us

housingarlington@arlingtonva.us

Coordinator
Richard Tucker
703-228-0069

Communications & Engagement
Rachel LaPiana
703-228-0059

Quick Links

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The Missing Middle Housing Study is an element of Housing Arlington and its Land Use Tools initiative.

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