Arlington Missing Middle Housing Q&A

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any lawyers know if it will be possible to tie up MM in court?

Sort of like Lyon Village’s lawsuit to block affordable housing at the church? Lyon Village lost and there is no meaningful difference in that neighborhood. Lots of hysteria for nothing. MM is the same.

The church is on the edge of Lyon Village. MM housing can be built on the H streets which are the most valuable in Lyon Village. BCN can now squeeze 3 townhouses on a lot rather than on house. Six cars instead of two and rental rather than owner occupied

Except they won’t because the only townhouses north of a million have a double garage underneath and you can’t fit 3 townhouses with double garages on the average Lyon Village lot. BCN’s model is the SFH and they are crushing it.

No garages in missing middle housing. Only a half a parking space per unit. Under missing middle housing, a builder can construct 3 townhouses on an 8,000 sq ft lot. You think some striver associate won’t pay $1.5 M to be on Hartford St with all the swells?

G*d, I hope so. But no, I don’t think that will happen. Missing Middle parking standards are minimums. The market will still dictate what gets built. You need a garage for a townhouse at that price point. The luxury townhomes in Arlington top out at 1.3-1.4 and they are larger than what could get built on most LV lots.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any lawyers know if it will be possible to tie up MM in court?

Sort of like Lyon Village’s lawsuit to block affordable housing at the church? Lyon Village lost and there is no meaningful difference in that neighborhood. Lots of hysteria for nothing. MM is the same.

The church is on the edge of Lyon Village. MM housing can be built on the H streets which are the most valuable in Lyon Village. BCN can now squeeze 3 townhouses on a lot rather than on house. Six cars instead of two and rental rather than owner occupied

Except they won’t because the only townhouses north of a million have a double garage underneath and you can’t fit 3 townhouses with double garages on the average Lyon Village lot. BCN’s model is the SFH and they are crushing it.

No garages in missing middle housing. Only a half a parking space per unit. Under missing middle housing, a builder can construct 3 townhouses on an 8,000 sq ft lot. You think some striver associate won’t pay $1.5 M to be on Hartford St with all the swells?

G*d, I hope so. But no, I don’t think that will happen. Missing Middle parking standards are minimums. The market will still dictate what gets built. You need a garage for a townhouse at that price point. The luxury townhomes in Arlington top out at 1.3-1.4 and they are larger than what could get built on most LV lots.

^^^ Slight correction- there are a handful of N Arlington townhomes that sold over 1.5M. They had garages and were close to 3000SF and up. Those won’t fit in LV. Lyon Park and Ashton Heights have bigger lots- maybe there?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

They were disrupting a government meeting and harassing public officials. Those other examples are not that.

It’s cool if you draw the line at a two minute nonviolent disruption (in the form of a chant) during a meeting of the government agency planning to pass the opposed legislation. You can think that makes someone an uncivil buffoon.

But maybe consider that you are shaped by the content rather than form of the protest if you don’t keep the same energy for students that engage in a similar protest before a state congress liberalizing gun laws, code pink protesting in the visitor section of the capitol, a Texas representative filibustering abortion laws, or BLM protesting outside a building and making it difficult for officials to enter and do their job.

None of your examples is the same. Do statehouses or Congress allow people to protest in the chamber where voting and debate occur? No they do not. Arlington NIMBYs are free to protest outside the government building as long as they’d like. They were given an opportunity to speak during a public comment period before a board session and did not follow the rules. I doubt it helped their case. Maybe if they scream louder next time, the board will understand what they’re saying.

Not pp but There are dozens of Instances of folks protesting at government proceedings inside the building all the time. Security makes them leave and that’s that. Very common form of protest that you’re making sound like is some sort of insurrection against Arlington County 🤣

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

They were disrupting a government meeting and harassing public officials. Those other examples are not that.

It’s cool if you draw the line at a two minute nonviolent disruption (in the form of a chant) during a meeting of the government agency planning to pass the opposed legislation. You can think that makes someone an uncivil buffoon.

But maybe consider that you are shaped by the content rather than form of the protest if you don’t keep the same energy for students that engage in a similar protest before a state congress liberalizing gun laws, code pink protesting in the visitor section of the capitol, a Texas representative filibustering abortion laws, or BLM protesting outside a building and making it difficult for officials to enter and do their job.

None of your examples is the same. Do statehouses or Congress allow people to protest in the chamber where voting and debate occur? No they do not. Arlington NIMBYs are free to protest outside the government building as long as they’d like. They were given an opportunity to speak during a public comment period before a board session and did not follow the rules. I doubt it helped their case. Maybe if they scream louder next time, the board will understand what they’re saying.

Not pp but There are dozens of Instances of folks protesting at government proceedings inside the building all the time. Security makes them leave and that’s that. Very common form of protest that you’re making sound like is some sort of insurrection against Arlington County 🤣

I agree. That poster is very out of touch. The MM “protest” was downright mild compared to literally any other protest activity I have seen, ever!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any lawyers know if it will be possible to tie up MM in court?

Sort of like Lyon Village’s lawsuit to block affordable housing at the church? Lyon Village lost and there is no meaningful difference in that neighborhood. Lots of hysteria for nothing. MM is the same.

The church is on the edge of Lyon Village. MM housing can be built on the H streets which are the most valuable in Lyon Village. BCN can now squeeze 3 townhouses on a lot rather than on house. Six cars instead of two and rental rather than owner occupied

LV should be up zoned to multifamily, but expanding the number of units under current zoning is a step in the right direction. Unfortunately most of the neighborhood has already been redeveloped into McMansions so I doubt much missing middle will even be constructed.

Everyone likes to come for this neighborhood because it’s one of the priciest in Arlington- if not the priciest, on a square footage basis. There is plenty of multi family housing on the R-B corridor and across Langston from LV. There are also plenty of neighborhoods along the R-B corridor that are also SFHs. Why single out LV? My theory is that this comment nearly always comes from renters who live in Clarendon and have no idea what kind of housing diversity Arlington actually already offers.

It’s the priciest because people want the benefits of density without having to share walls, but anything within .5-.75 mile of a metro station really should be zoned at least R8-18.

There are lots of neighborhoods just as close to transit and businesses that aren’t as pricey. Don’t get me wrong, they are all expensive, but LV isn’t “special.” Plenty of SFH neighborhoods exist that close to transit but everyone always calls out LV. Why?

It’s the only Arlington neighborhood with SFHs a block or two from the metro (& main drag). East falls church also has SFHs but it’s suburban with limited walkability near the station. There are several blocks of tall apartments or townhomes/duplexes from the other stations before you reach SFHs.

Not true. Lyon Park has SFHs within 2 blocks of Clarendon Blvd and other homes literally backing up to restaurants like GPB.

How far from metro?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any lawyers know if it will be possible to tie up MM in court?

Sort of like Lyon Village’s lawsuit to block affordable housing at the church? Lyon Village lost and there is no meaningful difference in that neighborhood. Lots of hysteria for nothing. MM is the same.

The church is on the edge of Lyon Village. MM housing can be built on the H streets which are the most valuable in Lyon Village. BCN can now squeeze 3 townhouses on a lot rather than on house. Six cars instead of two and rental rather than owner occupied

LV should be up zoned to multifamily, but expanding the number of units under current zoning is a step in the right direction. Unfortunately most of the neighborhood has already been redeveloped into McMansions so I doubt much missing middle will even be constructed.

Everyone likes to come for this neighborhood because it’s one of the priciest in Arlington- if not the priciest, on a square footage basis. There is plenty of multi family housing on the R-B corridor and across Langston from LV. There are also plenty of neighborhoods along the R-B corridor that are also SFHs. Why single out LV? My theory is that this comment nearly always comes from renters who live in Clarendon and have no idea what kind of housing diversity Arlington actually already offers.

It’s the priciest because people want the benefits of density without having to share walls, but anything within .5-.75 mile of a metro station really should be zoned at least R8-18.

There are lots of neighborhoods just as close to transit and businesses that aren’t as pricey. Don’t get me wrong, they are all expensive, but LV isn’t “special.” Plenty of SFH neighborhoods exist that close to transit but everyone always calls out LV. Why?

It’s the only Arlington neighborhood with SFHs a block or two from the metro (& main drag). East falls church also has SFHs but it’s suburban with limited walkability near the station. There are several blocks of tall apartments or townhomes/duplexes from the other stations before you reach SFHs.

Not true. Lyon Park has SFHs within 2 blocks of Clarendon Blvd and other homes literally backing up to restaurants like GPB.

How far from metro?

2-3 blocks. This is the same area as Lyon Village but it’s off Clarendon instead of Wilson. There are homes less than one block from that Starbucks. And right behind Green Pig Bistro and that whole strip (screwtop, bake shop, etc).

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any lawyers know if it will be possible to tie up MM in court?

Sort of like Lyon Village’s lawsuit to block affordable housing at the church? Lyon Village lost and there is no meaningful difference in that neighborhood. Lots of hysteria for nothing. MM is the same.

The church is on the edge of Lyon Village. MM housing can be built on the H streets which are the most valuable in Lyon Village. BCN can now squeeze 3 townhouses on a lot rather than on house. Six cars instead of two and rental rather than owner occupied

LV should be up zoned to multifamily, but expanding the number of units under current zoning is a step in the right direction. Unfortunately most of the neighborhood has already been redeveloped into McMansions so I doubt much missing middle will even be constructed.

Everyone likes to come for this neighborhood because it’s one of the priciest in Arlington- if not the priciest, on a square footage basis. There is plenty of multi family housing on the R-B corridor and across Langston from LV. There are also plenty of neighborhoods along the R-B corridor that are also SFHs. Why single out LV? My theory is that this comment nearly always comes from renters who live in Clarendon and have no idea what kind of housing diversity Arlington actually already offers.

It’s the priciest because people want the benefits of density without having to share walls, but anything within .5-.75 mile of a metro station really should be zoned at least R8-18.

There are lots of neighborhoods just as close to transit and businesses that aren’t as pricey. Don’t get me wrong, they are all expensive, but LV isn’t “special.” Plenty of SFH neighborhoods exist that close to transit but everyone always calls out LV. Why?

It’s the only Arlington neighborhood with SFHs a block or two from the metro (& main drag). East falls church also has SFHs but it’s suburban with limited walkability near the station. There are several blocks of tall apartments or townhomes/duplexes from the other stations before you reach SFHs.

Not true. Lyon Park has SFHs within 2 blocks of Clarendon Blvd and other homes literally backing up to restaurants like GPB.

How far from metro?

Green Pig Bistro is like 0.2 miles from Clarendon Metro (but is in Clarendon-Courthouse, not Lyon Park)

But both Lyon Park and Ashton Heights have SFHs very, very close to metro. Like 1,00-1,200' from the metro. Look at Highland St and its proximity to Clarendon and Lincoln and Monroe St's proximity to Virginia Square.

I've always thought of Lyon Village, Lyon Park, and Ashton Heights as the three SFH neighborhoods with very close metro proximity and LV being the most expensive because of school zoning. LP and AH are zoned for TJ middle school on *gasp* the south side of 50. Maybe the same is true of elementary school zoning - Long Branch has a bit higher % of low income students than Arlington Science if that sort of thing matters.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any lawyers know if it will be possible to tie up MM in court?

Sort of like Lyon Village’s lawsuit to block affordable housing at the church? Lyon Village lost and there is no meaningful difference in that neighborhood. Lots of hysteria for nothing. MM is the same.

The church is on the edge of Lyon Village. MM housing can be built on the H streets which are the most valuable in Lyon Village. BCN can now squeeze 3 townhouses on a lot rather than on house. Six cars instead of two and rental rather than owner occupied

LV should be up zoned to multifamily, but expanding the number of units under current zoning is a step in the right direction. Unfortunately most of the neighborhood has already been redeveloped into McMansions so I doubt much missing middle will even be constructed.

Everyone likes to come for this neighborhood because it’s one of the priciest in Arlington- if not the priciest, on a square footage basis. There is plenty of multi family housing on the R-B corridor and across Langston from LV. There are also plenty of neighborhoods along the R-B corridor that are also SFHs. Why single out LV? My theory is that this comment nearly always comes from renters who live in Clarendon and have no idea what kind of housing diversity Arlington actually already offers.

It’s the priciest because people want the benefits of density without having to share walls, but anything within .5-.75 mile of a metro station really should be zoned at least R8-18.

There are lots of neighborhoods just as close to transit and businesses that aren’t as pricey. Don’t get me wrong, they are all expensive, but LV isn’t “special.” Plenty of SFH neighborhoods exist that close to transit but everyone always calls out LV. Why?

It’s the only Arlington neighborhood with SFHs a block or two from the metro (& main drag). East falls church also has SFHs but it’s suburban with limited walkability near the station. There are several blocks of tall apartments or townhomes/duplexes from the other stations before you reach SFHs.

Not true. Lyon Park has SFHs within 2 blocks of Clarendon Blvd and other homes literally backing up to restaurants like GPB.

How far from metro?

Green Pig Bistro is like 0.2 miles from Clarendon Metro (but is in Clarendon-Courthouse, not Lyon Park)

But both Lyon Park and Ashton Heights have SFHs very, very close to metro. Like 1,00-1,200' from the metro. Look at Highland St and its proximity to Clarendon and Lincoln and Monroe St's proximity to Virginia Square.

I've always thought of Lyon Village, Lyon Park, and Ashton Heights as the three SFH neighborhoods with very close metro proximity and LV being the most expensive because of school zoning. LP and AH are zoned for TJ middle school on *gasp* the south side of 50. Maybe the same is true of elementary school zoning - Long Branch has a bit higher % of low income students than Arlington Science if that sort of thing matters.

Aurora Highlands is also very close to metro. People forget about that one.

[Anonymous]

Even after you said Aurora Highlands I'm scanning my map along the RB corridor going where the #$@# is Aurora Highlands??

Good point. I should go walk around there sometime. I imagine that area is going to boom as HQ2 hiring continues.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any lawyers know if it will be possible to tie up MM in court?

Sort of like Lyon Village’s lawsuit to block affordable housing at the church? Lyon Village lost and there is no meaningful difference in that neighborhood. Lots of hysteria for nothing. MM is the same.

The church is on the edge of Lyon Village. MM housing can be built on the H streets which are the most valuable in Lyon Village. BCN can now squeeze 3 townhouses on a lot rather than on house. Six cars instead of two and rental rather than owner occupied

Except they won’t because the only townhouses north of a million have a double garage underneath and you can’t fit 3 townhouses with double garages on the average Lyon Village lot. BCN’s model is the SFH and they are crushing it.

No garages in missing middle housing. Only a half a parking space per unit. Under missing middle housing, a builder can construct 3 townhouses on an 8,000 sq ft lot. You think some striver associate won’t pay $1.5 M to be on Hartford St with all the swells?

G*d, I hope so. But no, I don’t think that will happen. Missing Middle parking standards are minimums. The market will still dictate what gets built. You need a garage for a townhouse at that price point. The luxury townhomes in Arlington top out at 1.3-1.4 and they are larger than what could get built on most LV lots.

Missing Middle is not about replicating existing townhouses but creating townhouses in single family neighborhoods . You may not be able to sell a townhouse at $1.3M without a garage in Ballston, but if someone can but a $1.3M townhouse in the heart of Lyon Village without a garage, you think they won’t buy it?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Even after you said Aurora Highlands I'm scanning my map along the RB corridor going where the #$@# is Aurora Highlands??

Good point. I should go walk around there sometime. I imagine that area is going to boom as HQ2 hiring continues.

“Going to boom?” Where have your been for the last four years. The boom is here

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any lawyers know if it will be possible to tie up MM in court?

Sort of like Lyon Village’s lawsuit to block affordable housing at the church? Lyon Village lost and there is no meaningful difference in that neighborhood. Lots of hysteria for nothing. MM is the same.

The church is on the edge of Lyon Village. MM housing can be built on the H streets which are the most valuable in Lyon Village. BCN can now squeeze 3 townhouses on a lot rather than on house. Six cars instead of two and rental rather than owner occupied

Except they won’t because the only townhouses north of a million have a double garage underneath and you can’t fit 3 townhouses with double garages on the average Lyon Village lot. BCN’s model is the SFH and they are crushing it.

No garages in missing middle housing. Only a half a parking space per unit. Under missing middle housing, a builder can construct 3 townhouses on an 8,000 sq ft lot. You think some striver associate won’t pay $1.5 M to be on Hartford St with all the swells?

G*d, I hope so. But no, I don’t think that will happen. Missing Middle parking standards are minimums. The market will still dictate what gets built. You need a garage for a townhouse at that price point. The luxury townhomes in Arlington top out at 1.3-1.4 and they are larger than what could get built on most LV lots.

Missing Middle is not about replicating existing townhouses but creating townhouses in single family neighborhoods . You may not be able to sell a townhouse at $1.3M without a garage in Ballston, but if someone can but a $1.3M townhouse in the heart of Lyon Village without a garage, you think they won’t buy it?

I really don’t. If you squeeze 3 garage-less townhouses onto the average LV lot, you’re going to be below 2000 SF without parking. I don’t think someone will pay 1.3M for that. You can pay 1.3 for a TH on the edge of LV- but still IN LV, and get more square footage plus a double garage.

I could be wrong, we won’t know until it happens. But I don’t see more than a duplex being feasible on those size lots.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any lawyers know if it will be possible to tie up MM in court?

Sort of like Lyon Village’s lawsuit to block affordable housing at the church? Lyon Village lost and there is no meaningful difference in that neighborhood. Lots of hysteria for nothing. MM is the same.

The church is on the edge of Lyon Village. MM housing can be built on the H streets which are the most valuable in Lyon Village. BCN can now squeeze 3 townhouses on a lot rather than on house. Six cars instead of two and rental rather than owner occupied

Except they won’t because the only townhouses north of a million have a double garage underneath and you can’t fit 3 townhouses with double garages on the average Lyon Village lot. BCN’s model is the SFH and they are crushing it.

No garages in missing middle housing. Only a half a parking space per unit. Under missing middle housing, a builder can construct 3 townhouses on an 8,000 sq ft lot. You think some striver associate won’t pay $1.5 M to be on Hartford St with all the swells?

G*d, I hope so. But no, I don’t think that will happen. Missing Middle parking standards are minimums. The market will still dictate what gets built. You need a garage for a townhouse at that price point. The luxury townhomes in Arlington top out at 1.3-1.4 and they are larger than what could get built on most LV lots.

Missing Middle is not about replicating existing townhouses but creating townhouses in single family neighborhoods . You may not be able to sell a townhouse at $1.3M without a garage in Ballston, but if someone can but a $1.3M townhouse in the heart of Lyon Village without a garage, you think they won’t buy it?

I really don’t. If you squeeze 3 garage-less townhouses onto the average LV lot, you’re going to be below 2000 SF without parking. I don’t think someone will pay 1.3M for that. You can pay 1.3 for a TH on the edge of LV- but still IN LV, and get more square footage plus a double garage.

I could be wrong, we won’t know until it happens. But I don’t see more than a duplex being feasible on those size lots.

I have at 50 ft wide lot in LV, at about 5800 sq ft. Width of house is about 32 feet. Even with no driveway I don’t think you can build three townhouses unless you make them less than 15 ft wide (which is narrow even by NYC standards). Duplexes seem more likely.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any lawyers know if it will be possible to tie up MM in court?

Sort of like Lyon Village’s lawsuit to block affordable housing at the church? Lyon Village lost and there is no meaningful difference in that neighborhood. Lots of hysteria for nothing. MM is the same.

The church is on the edge of Lyon Village. MM housing can be built on the H streets which are the most valuable in Lyon Village. BCN can now squeeze 3 townhouses on a lot rather than on house. Six cars instead of two and rental rather than owner occupied

LV should be up zoned to multifamily, but expanding the number of units under current zoning is a step in the right direction. Unfortunately most of the neighborhood has already been redeveloped into McMansions so I doubt much missing middle will even be constructed.

Everyone likes to come for this neighborhood because it’s one of the priciest in Arlington- if not the priciest, on a square footage basis. There is plenty of multi family housing on the R-B corridor and across Langston from LV. There are also plenty of neighborhoods along the R-B corridor that are also SFHs. Why single out LV? My theory is that this comment nearly always comes from renters who live in Clarendon and have no idea what kind of housing diversity Arlington actually already offers.

It’s the priciest because people want the benefits of density without having to share walls, but anything within .5-.75 mile of a metro station really should be zoned at least R8-18.

There are lots of neighborhoods just as close to transit and businesses that aren’t as pricey. Don’t get me wrong, they are all expensive, but LV isn’t “special.” Plenty of SFH neighborhoods exist that close to transit but everyone always calls out LV. Why?

It’s the only Arlington neighborhood with SFHs a block or two from the metro (& main drag). East falls church also has SFHs but it’s suburban with limited walkability near the station. There are several blocks of tall apartments or townhomes/duplexes from the other stations before you reach SFHs.

Not true. Lyon Park has SFHs within 2 blocks of Clarendon Blvd and other homes literally backing up to restaurants like GPB.

How far from metro?

Green Pig Bistro is like 0.2 miles from Clarendon Metro (but is in Clarendon-Courthouse, not Lyon Park)

But both Lyon Park and Ashton Heights have SFHs very, very close to metro. Like 1,00-1,200' from the metro. Look at Highland St and its proximity to Clarendon and Lincoln and Monroe St's proximity to Virginia Square.

I've always thought of Lyon Village, Lyon Park, and Ashton Heights as the three SFH neighborhoods with very close metro proximity and LV being the most expensive because of school zoning. LP and AH are zoned for TJ middle school on *gasp* the south side of 50. Maybe the same is true of elementary school zoning - Long Branch has a bit higher % of low income students than Arlington Science if that sort of thing matters.

My b- I started this subtopic to educate people that LV is hardly the only neighborhood with SFHs near metro. I didn’t realize the Courthouse Clarendon Civic Association included the SFHs in the GPB block. I should have known that after all these years here. I thought it was LP.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Any lawyers know if it will be possible to tie up MM in court?

Sort of like Lyon Village’s lawsuit to block affordable housing at the church? Lyon Village lost and there is no meaningful difference in that neighborhood. Lots of hysteria for nothing. MM is the same.

The church is on the edge of Lyon Village. MM housing can be built on the H streets which are the most valuable in Lyon Village. BCN can now squeeze 3 townhouses on a lot rather than on house. Six cars instead of two and rental rather than owner occupied

LV should be up zoned to multifamily, but expanding the number of units under current zoning is a step in the right direction. Unfortunately most of the neighborhood has already been redeveloped into McMansions so I doubt much missing middle will even be constructed.

Everyone likes to come for this neighborhood because it’s one of the priciest in Arlington- if not the priciest, on a square footage basis. There is plenty of multi family housing on the R-B corridor and across Langston from LV. There are also plenty of neighborhoods along the R-B corridor that are also SFHs. Why single out LV? My theory is that this comment nearly always comes from renters who live in Clarendon and have no idea what kind of housing diversity Arlington actually already offers.

It’s the priciest because people want the benefits of density without having to share walls, but anything within .5-.75 mile of a metro station really should be zoned at least R8-18.

There are lots of neighborhoods just as close to transit and businesses that aren’t as pricey. Don’t get me wrong, they are all expensive, but LV isn’t “special.” Plenty of SFH neighborhoods exist that close to transit but everyone always calls out LV. Why?

It’s the only Arlington neighborhood with SFHs a block or two from the metro (& main drag). East falls church also has SFHs but it’s suburban with limited walkability near the station. There are several blocks of tall apartments or townhomes/duplexes from the other stations before you reach SFHs.

Not true. Lyon Park has SFHs within 2 blocks of Clarendon Blvd and other homes literally backing up to restaurants like GPB.

How far from metro?

Green Pig Bistro is like 0.2 miles from Clarendon Metro (but is in Clarendon-Courthouse, not Lyon Park)

But both Lyon Park and Ashton Heights have SFHs very, very close to metro. Like 1,00-1,200' from the metro. Look at Highland St and its proximity to Clarendon and Lincoln and Monroe St's proximity to Virginia Square.

I've always thought of Lyon Village, Lyon Park, and Ashton Heights as the three SFH neighborhoods with very close metro proximity and LV being the most expensive because of school zoning. LP and AH are zoned for TJ middle school on *gasp* the south side of 50. Maybe the same is true of elementary school zoning - Long Branch has a bit higher % of low income students than Arlington Science if that sort of thing matters.

My b- I started this subtopic to educate people that LV is hardly the only neighborhood with SFHs near metro. I didn’t realize the Courthouse Clarendon Civic Association included the SFHs in the GPB block. I should have known that after all these years here. I thought it was LP.

No worries - this PDF map of Arlington's Civic Associations takes an age to load but I think it's interesting to look at

https://gis.arlingtonva.us/maps/standard_maps/civic_associations/civic_association_map.pdf