Is the missing middle fight over in Arlington?
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Anonymous
| I know there was a court ruling striking it down for procedural reasons, but I’m curious if there’s any active behind-the-scenes activity on either side of the issue. Or when the next steps might materialize. |
Anonymous
| I don’t know that it’s truly DOA and I believe they said they would appeal. However, I noticed that the developer that bought a tear down to make townhomes near me put the lot back on the market so the people who work in the space clearly don’t have high hopes. |
Anonymous
| Lots of Arlington folks gonna be moving since they all just got fired from the DOJ/DOD/DHS |
Anonymous
I don’t know. The people I know with those kinds of jobs are often the smartest people in the room, and have taken career government jobs for the job security not because they wouldn’t thrive elsewhere. I think you’ll see a lot of professionals pivot to the private sector if administrative leave becomes layoffs. |
Anonymous
| I have no connections or inside knowledge about this issue, but I think the County is going to focus on the commercial vacancy rate, building high-rise apartments, and office building to apartment conversions. Those things would produce a higher revenue stream (taxes). I don't know that the juice is worth the squeeze for MM right now. It was a lot of hoopla over a relatively small number of units. |
Anonymous
|
The last I heard, the County tried for an injunction to get the ruling to only apply to new permits issued so those already issued could continue to develop as MM. The judge agreed, with the caveat that there is a notice in the record for each property saying if MM ruling is upheld, the MM builds could be illegal. The county didn't like this either, and motioned to try and get even this little restriction lifted. Not too sure what happened to that motion.
Anyway, the lot near me that was due to be MM is now being built as SFH. So developers are not hopeful for a speedy resolution. |
Anonymous
| Some people felt that there was a bait and switch with what MM in Arlington was initially touted as vs its final incarnation. All the talk about housing for police, firefighters, teachers, etc evaporated and with it critical support for the plan. |
Anonymous
Yes, if it was actually about having the option to build 3 bedroom duplexes or side by side townhouses it would have more support. It was obvious by the end that it was really about building small apartment buildings with 1 bedroom apartments and no parking. There are plenty of 1 bedroom apartments in this county. |
Anonymous
So it will push housing prices up even more? |
Anonymous
We tried to warn you but people accused us of being NIMBY which wasn’t the case. We said developers aren’t going to suddenly appear out of nowhere to build affordable housing for those in the middle when they can make a bigger profit from luxury apartments/townhomes/single family or build a short term rental/air bnb ADU. That’s exactly what they started doing. But “in theory”…… |
Anonymous
| The lot near me that received a MM permit is now proceeding as 2 SFH. I don't think developers are waiting. |
Anonymous
1. Not from north Arlington. You can’t afford to live there working at those places. 2. I highly doubt DOD is going to get rid of anyone. They might get bigger under Trump. 3. I actually saw a law firm was looking for DOJ cast offs on LinkedIn. |
Anonymous
| Does anyone in Arlington even care about this issue anymore? |
Anonymous
Idk if we care but it's a factor for if we buy our move-up house in N Arlington or McLean (currently in 22203 where I have zero issue with density / MM - but I'd feel differently if we paid $3M in CC Hills). So we're watching it but won't get actively involved in any advocacy if that picks back up. |
Anonymous
| So what's happening now that the appeals court gave the green light? Are developers moving forward with their 4-plexes and 6-plexes? |