Map of the General Land Use Plan (GLUP) area. Photo contributed
Neighborhood by neighborhood, block by block, the density of the Metro corridor is creeping further and further into the surrounding residential neighborhoods. The latest development frontier is along Washington Boulevard behind George Mason University’s Arlington Campus. A corner of the small residential development currently inhabited by a YMCA and an American Legion is undergoing the first stages of redevelopment, and the neighborhood is pushing back.
At its Nov. 18 meeting, the County Board approved a General Land Use Plan (GLUP) to allow greater development at the site, but not until after three hours of public testimony from local residents and representatives from the sites seeking redevelopment.
A GLUP is the primary policy guide for future development in the county. It establishes the character, extent, and location of various land uses. Three individual requests were received by the county to review the GLUP for a corner of a neighborhood tucked away between Virginia Square and Clarendon. The three GLUP requests came in from the YMCA, American Legion, and a development site within the area of the study, to allow for greater density in the area.
The new designations set forward in the GLUP limits building height to six and seven stories closest to Washington Boulevard, then down to four and three stories on the buildings closest to the residential neighborhood. Future public hearings will consider the redesignation of the three parcels into new zoning classifications.
Residents of the local neighborhood emphasized their neighborhood’s suburban residential lifestyle and said large new developments, particularly the new traffic they would bring, could compromise their way of life.
“Our neighborhood is under pressure from four initiatives,” said Michael Levitin, a local resident, pointing to other developments planned around the borders of the neighborhood. “These four collectively could materially and adversely affect our neighborhood. Every part of Arlington must bear its fair share of development, we welcome our new neighbors, but our neighborhood should not be asked to bear more than it’s fair share. Amendments that would increase density … would ask our neighborhood to bear more than its fair share.”
But others — from the groups requesting the expansions — said they need the added density. Dan Donahue, finance officer with the American Legion, spoke on behalf of the group at the meeting. Donahue said the non-profit organization exists to serve veterans and the community, and said added building space would allow them to continue to do so. The American Legion is planning a partnership with the Arlington Partnership for Affordable Housing to bring a new 161 multifamily residential affordable housing building to the site, with American Legion occupying the ground floor.
But even setting aside the benefits to the county from the new developments, County Board members said allowing for greater density on a site so close to the Metro corridor makes planning sense.
“It’s really important to keep coming back to this framing: it’s not about what’s optimal for the program that will come forward, it’s about what’s good planning,” said County Board member Katie Cristol. “In this case, this is based on really sound planning.”
County Board member Christian Dorsey agreed.
“As many residents have come before us to testify today, there are other impacts going on in this surrounding area,” said Dorsey. “Things developed in the near term and over the long term that could have a huge difference on how this neighborhood works. As we identify how to assess land use plan or this particular block, there’s a great deal of anxiety associated with that. I would just like to say generally, our ability to actually do a GLUP study is a wonderful thing for the community. At some point, these parcels will change, and you have no idea that it will be for the better. The idea that they will stay as is, with that level of impact … there is absolutely no way that will happen. So the idea that we can manage that change is in all of our best interest.”
Dorsey noted that this is the beginning of the development process, establishing the tone and guidelines for developments to come. To the residents that were concerned about the size of new buildings and their impacts on the neighborhood, Dorsey encouraged them to keep an eye on developments and continue to make themselves heard at the County Board if they see anything that doesn’t fit with the planning principals of the study.
“We can’t keep things the same,” said County Board member Libby Garvey. “They are not staying the same. But these two nonprofits on this site are providing incredible services, they are wonderful members of our community, and we are trying to make it possible for that to continue for the next 70 years. This is what we need to do to make that happen.”
The County Board approved the GLUP plan in a unanimous 5 - 0 vote.