Letter: A long road awaits Missing Middle legal action

'No one is “winning” the lawsuit until the final court renders its final verdict.'

Published in the Gazette Leader on May 15

To the editor: With the Arlington Missing Middle lawsuit coming to trial soon, it is time to reflect on the news coverage of the lawsuit to date.

It seems that whenever a hearing is held on preliminary matters, it is the folks from anti-Missing Middle groups that are being quoted. It is for this reason that I am supporting the newly formed Arlingtonians for Welcoming and Inclusive Neighborhoods (ArlWINs), a coalition of individuals that provides a voice for diverse housing options throughout Arlington.

The motivation for my involvement in ArlWINs can be traced to a postcard I received from Arlingtonians for Our Sustainable Future in early 2023, when the zoning ordinance amendments were being considered. The big print on the postcard screamed out: “Unlimited density is coming.”

This obviously false statement pushed me off the sidelines, and I have worked with various groups (such as VOICE, the NAACP, the Sierra Club, the YIMBY’s, NVAHA-Arlington and others) in their advocacy efforts to increase the range of housing stock, including support of the Langston Boulevard Plan, and of the Expanded Housing Options Ordinance (EHO).

It is my hope that the Gazette-Leader, and other media groups, can begin to broaden their reporting on the MM lawsuit. Do people even know that the county “won” its motion to dismiss the Planning Commission as a defendant? One wonders why the plaintiffs increased everyone’s legal costs by naming the Planning Commission as defendants in the first place, and then requiring the county government to file a motion to dismiss. Do people even know that on the one claim filed by plaintiffs that was heard by the judge on its merits, the count was dismissed?

Lawsuits are complicated. And in the ebb and flow of decisions by judges (including appellate judges), I always harken back to the wisdom of Yogi Berra: It ain’t over ’til it’s over.

No one is “winning” the lawsuit until the final court renders its final verdict – which could be years away. In the meantime, it makes sense to obtain a broad range of views on the many intricate issues at play.

Bill Fogarty, Arlington

New Group Celebrates First Anniversary of Expanded Housing Options

 Supporters of Arlington's landmark Expanded Housing Options (EHO) zoning ordinance are celebrating the first anniversary of its approval on March 22, 2023, with the creation of a new community group, ArlingtonWINs (Arlingtonians for Welcoming and Inclusive Neighborhoods). 

The new group's purpose is to support diverse housing options throughout Arlington County, including the continuation of, and future improvements to, the EHO ordinance. ArlingtonWINs believes that we win as a community when we welcome new neighbors, and that fighting to keep people out is a regrettable attempt to take us back to the exclusionary values and policies of the past. EHO is an important tool to help make a more welcoming and inclusive community a reality by providing a wider range of housing sizes, types, and prices within our lower density neighborhoods.

The housing provided through EHO will benefit a broad cross-section of Arlingtonians, whether they are aging and downsizing seniors, younger households seeking to enter the housing market, or singles in search of housing options in more areas of our community. EHO housing types provide an alternative to the very large and increasingly out-of-reach single-family homes being built throughout Arlington, with the average detached home selling for over $1.3 million in 2023 according to data from the Northern Virginia Association of Realtors. 

About Expanded Housing Options

Arlington made history in 2023 when the County Board voted unanimously to adopt EHO as an amendment to the Arlington Zoning Ordinance. The ordinance, which went into effect on July 1, 2023, allows development of up to six units on most residential lots in the county that were previously limited exclusively to single-family detached homes.

EHO provides an optional by-right development path that property owners can use to build or renovate homes to meet the growing demand for housing in Arlington and throughout the region. These developments must meet the same minimum setbacks, maximum lot coverage and height as single-family detached homes in these areas. EHO developments are subject to additional requirements that do not apply to single-family detached homes such as design and screening features, maximum gross floor area and tree planting.

In the year since the EHO ordinance was adopted, 30 developments have received zoning approval for a total of 117 units, and 13 additional projects are under review. The projects range from duplexes and townhomes to small multifamily buildings with up to 6 units, and are located in most zip codes and residential zoning districts across the county. 

About ArlingtonWINs

ArlingtonWINs is a broad coalition of Arlingtonians – individuals and organizations – that supports diverse housing options throughout Arlington County. ArlingtonWINs wants to ensure that policies such as EHO zoning remain in place to help create more welcoming and inclusive neighborhoods and to help achieve Arlington’s vision of being a “diverse and inclusive world class urban community.”

For further information visitwww.ArlingtonWINs.org or contact us here.