On January 27th, the County Board voted 4-1 to advertise zoning ordinance amendments that will remove rules enacted more than 20 years ago, which have limited the size of development next to single-family neighborhoods. The zoning changes are part of the County’s solution to a dispute over the construction of a 10-story affordable housing project to be built at the First Baptist Church of Clarendon (FBCC). The County Board adopted the site plan in 2005; a group of nearby neighbors sued, arguing that it violated zoning rules; and in October 2006, the Virginia Supreme Court ruled unanimously with the neighbors. The Board wants to move the FBCC project forward by removing the rules that were violated earlier.

No matter what your views on the FBCC project, you should be asking how the proposed zoning changes will affect development in other parts of Arlington. The Civic Federation’s Planning & Zoning Committee urges you to consider the following...  continue reading »

If the zoning changes proposed by the County are adopted this month, it will give sweeping powers to the County Board to rezone property at will, including residential property. This will effectively remove the neighborhood safeguards we worked on for four years during the Clarendon Sector Plan Process and will represent the most significant change to Arlington zoning policy in at least the last quarter century.

For updates, please check back to this website.  continue reading »

Due to the issues created in conjunction with the County's intention of changing the zoning regulations to allow the conversion of Residentially Zoned property to Commercial, making possible the construction of ten story buildings immediately adjacent to Residential neighborhoods, the Lyon Village Executive Meeting and General Meeting schedules will change for this month:

7pm on Monday, 2/5/07 at the Community House - Executive Committee Meeting

8pm on Monday, 2/5/07 at the Community House - Emergency General Meeting to discuss strategy for opposing the County's proposed zoning changes.  continue reading »

Coming this Saturday morning, January 27th, shortly after the 9am opening, the County Board will consider a zoning change that is a rather dramatic repudiation of neighborhood-friendly height limits that they have stood for.  The proposed zoning change appears to demonstrate that the County Board is ready to assume the authority to go as high as a developer might want up to 110, or even 125 feet no matter how close to homes.

The intention at the County Board meeting on Saturday is to adopt a resolution authorizing advertisement of public hearings by the Planning Commission on February 12, and the County Board on February 24, prior to their voting on the proposed upzoning.  It is very important that we have a strong showing opposition to this proposal.  continue reading »

Tuesday, January 23, 2007, 7:00 p.m. - 8:30 p.m.
Washington-Lee High School (Cafeteria) 1300 N. Quincy Street, Arlington, VA

Idea-66 is moving from a feasibility study to a spot improvement design study. The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) and the Federal Highway Administration are holding a workshop to provide an update on the study and listen to the public's suggestions and concerns.

http://www.vdot.virginia.gov/projects/resources/Idea_66_FINAL_ad_19D2F0.pdf

Come and participate in the public workshop and provide your comments and ideas. The meeting will begin with a brief presentation, then break into small networks of conversations to foster collaborative thinking and learning.

Visit the study Web site: [http://www.idea66.com] or call the Toll Free INFO line (1-888-643-3266) for more information.  continue reading »

The County recently purchased the Petco site at 3200 North Washington Blvd. This property, located at the intersection Fairfax Dr and Washington Blvd is important to the county’s transportation plans for the improvement of this treacherous intersection where five roads meet.

The county has developed a plan for greatly improving this dysfunction junction as part of the Clarendon Sector Plan. The plan calls for taking some property from the Petco site along with creating additional green space. The acquisition of this property will help the project to move forward. This, along with the purchase of the Bam Bam Auto site (since torn down) at the corner of 13th and Hartford Streets bodes well for future improvements to our community. There are no funds currently budgeted for the intersection or the “dog park,” but at least the necessary property has been acquired.

If you’re interested in some tips for making your backyard wildlife-friendly or if you already have a National Wildlife Federation-certified backyard habitat and want to learn more, join the Arlington Community Wildlife Habitat team and three local experts in native plants, Virginia habitats and wildlife for an educational seminar. It's Wed, Jan 31, 2007, 7-9pm at Arlington Central Library Auditorium, 1015 N. Quincy St.

The program will cover creating residential meadow habitats, tips for a beautiful backyard habitat year round, new and wonderful Virginia native plants, and the strategic importance of backyard habitats to a healthy urban environment.  The program is free and refreshments will be served. For more info: 703-575-7608 or scwilkerson@netzero.net.

Questions keep coming about new homes and renovations in the neighborhood. Recently, a question was received regarding the impact of the lot restrictions enacted by the county not long ago. The question focused on why after the new coverage regulations, the new houses still look so big.

It's a sad fact that the new "restrictions" on home size were not well thought-out. The lot coverage restrictions limit the amount of property on which you can build. For our neighborhood, with its relatively small lots, this can result in an incentive to do teardowns and build taller houses. If people can’t build out and spread the footprint of their home with an addition, the only alternative is to build up. Most homes in Lyon Village are below the maximum zoned height of 35 feet to the MIDDLE of the roofline. This means that houses can be 40 feet or more to the PEAK of the roof. The County is not looking at revising this rule, which in fact was fairly recently revised. After the dubious results of the past year's coverage restrictions, this may be just as well.  continue reading »

There is no General Meeting in January. 

The Executive Committee will meet at 8pm on Mon, Jan 8th at the Community House.