South Arlington and North Arlington Schools

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:Doesn't the issue boil down to the fact that Arlington schools are out of room and we keep hearing over and over again that there is no land left to build on? So why would you increase housing density anywhere in Arlington (north or south) until you have figured out how you are going to ensure enough school seats for the new families? I don't oppose AH, but I do think the Board is putting the cart before the horse if they pass that plan before figuring out what they are going to do about the school situation.

I agree with you, but I think that it comes down to how you want to allocate scarce resources. If you don't have school age kids, school issues just aren't at the forefront.

I serve on my little neighborhood association's board in north Arlington, and what I have heard from some older neighbors is that they favor affordable housing generally because they don't like how the character of Arlington has been changing. In their view, it used to be a more collegial, accessible, middle class place, and now it's becoming snobby and out of touch. They like their neighborhoods and they're sick of the ostentatious new builds. They would rather see zoning rules relaxed to permit multifamily dwellings than a neighborhood full of mc mansions. I can't even tell you how much I have heard about this. Even when they're talking to me (I live in a small old house we bought for less than 800k, but I'm fairly new to the neighborhood), there's this undercurrent of animosity against new residents, and an assumption that we're all living in $1.6 million new homes. They're older, they don't have kids in school, and they bought a long time ago, so they don't really mind if property values deflate a bit; they're still sitting pretty. There's also a sense that a ton of money has been spent on gold plated schools to serve the small slice of affluent young families who don't need it. They feel that school populations have peaked, and so it's stupid to keep building- they lived here in the 80's and early 00's when Arlington was closing schools. Anyway, to them, affordable housing is a worthy expenditure, and all these rich new people can either afford higher taxes or private schools on the off chance school overcrowding gets out of control.

Obviously this attitude is troubling to me, but those are the views I have heard expressed. For a lot of long time residents who have the time and inclination to get involved in Arlington planning and politics, schools are just not the number one priority.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Doesn't the issue boil down to the fact that Arlington schools are out of room and we keep hearing over and over again that there is no land left to build on? So why would you increase housing density anywhere in Arlington (north or south) until you have figured out how you are going to ensure enough school seats for the new families? I don't oppose AH, but I do think the Board is putting the cart before the horse if they pass that plan before figuring out what they are going to do about the school situation.

I agree with you, but I think that it comes down to how you want to allocate scarce resources. If you don't have school age kids, school issues just aren't at the forefront.

I serve on my little neighborhood association's board in north Arlington, and what I have heard from some older neighbors is that they favor affordable housing generally because they don't like how the character of Arlington has been changing. In their view, it used to be a more collegial, accessible, middle class place, and now it's becoming snobby and out of touch. They like their neighborhoods and they're sick of the ostentatious new builds. They would rather see zoning rules relaxed to permit multifamily dwellings than a neighborhood full of mc mansions. I can't even tell you how much I have heard about this. Even when they're talking to me (I live in a small old house we bought for less than 800k, but I'm fairly new to the neighborhood), there's this undercurrent of animosity against new residents, and an assumption that we're all living in $1.6 million new homes. They're older, they don't have kids in school, and they bought a long time ago, so they don't really mind if property values deflate a bit; they're still sitting pretty. There's also a sense that a ton of money has been spent on gold plated schools to serve the small slice of affluent young families who don't need it. They feel that school populations have peaked, and so it's stupid to keep building- they lived here in the 80's and early 00's when Arlington was closing schools. Anyway, to them, affordable housing is a worthy expenditure, and all these rich new people can either afford higher taxes or private schools on the off chance school overcrowding gets out of control.

Obviously this attitude is troubling to me, but those are the views I have heard expressed. For a lot of long time residents who have the time and inclination to get involved in Arlington planning and politics, schools are just not the number one priority.

Boohoo go move to Woodbridge if you want affordable mcmansions

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Doesn't the issue boil down to the fact that Arlington schools are out of room and we keep hearing over and over again that there is no land left to build on? So why would you increase housing density anywhere in Arlington (north or south) until you have figured out how you are going to ensure enough school seats for the new families? I don't oppose AH, but I do think the Board is putting the cart before the horse if they pass that plan before figuring out what they are going to do about the school situation.

I agree with you, but I think that it comes down to how you want to allocate scarce resources. If you don't have school age kids, school issues just aren't at the forefront.

I serve on my little neighborhood association's board in north Arlington, and what I have heard from some older neighbors is that they favor affordable housing generally because they don't like how the character of Arlington has been changing. In their view, it used to be a more collegial, accessible, middle class place, and now it's becoming snobby and out of touch. They like their neighborhoods and they're sick of the ostentatious new builds. They would rather see zoning rules relaxed to permit multifamily dwellings than a neighborhood full of mc mansions. I can't even tell you how much I have heard about this. Even when they're talking to me (I live in a small old house we bought for less than 800k, but I'm fairly new to the neighborhood), there's this undercurrent of animosity against new residents, and an assumption that we're all living in $1.6 million new homes. They're older, they don't have kids in school, and they bought a long time ago, so they don't really mind if property values deflate a bit; they're still sitting pretty. There's also a sense that a ton of money has been spent on gold plated schools to serve the small slice of affluent young families who don't need it. They feel that school populations have peaked, and so it's stupid to keep building- they lived here in the 80's and early 00's when Arlington was closing schools. Anyway, to them, affordable housing is a worthy expenditure, and all these rich new people can either afford higher taxes or private schools on the off chance school overcrowding gets out of control.

Obviously this attitude is troubling to me, but those are the views I have heard expressed. For a lot of long time residents who have the time and inclination to get involved in Arlington planning and politics, schools are just not the number one priority.

I've also heard concerns from older residents about affordability of Arlington for their own kids. They want their kids to be able to live here. Unfortunately, AH policies don't actually help their middle class kids. We have a few friends who grew up in our Ashton Heights neighborhood and now are raising their families here, but they are all in their 40s and benefitted by buying property before the prices took off.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Doesn't the issue boil down to the fact that Arlington schools are out of room and we keep hearing over and over again that there is no land left to build on? So why would you increase housing density anywhere in Arlington (north or south) until you have figured out how you are going to ensure enough school seats for the new families? I don't oppose AH, but I do think the Board is putting the cart before the horse if they pass that plan before figuring out what they are going to do about the school situation.

I agree with you, but I think that it comes down to how you want to allocate scarce resources. If you don't have school age kids, school issues just aren't at the forefront.

I serve on my little neighborhood association's board in north Arlington, and what I have heard from some older neighbors is that they favor affordable housing generally because they don't like how the character of Arlington has been changing. In their view, it used to be a more collegial, accessible, middle class place, and now it's becoming snobby and out of touch. They like their neighborhoods and they're sick of the ostentatious new builds. They would rather see zoning rules relaxed to permit multifamily dwellings than a neighborhood full of mc mansions. I can't even tell you how much I have heard about this. Even when they're talking to me (I live in a small old house we bought for less than 800k, but I'm fairly new to the neighborhood), there's this undercurrent of animosity against new residents, and an assumption that we're all living in $1.6 million new homes. They're older, they don't have kids in school, and they bought a long time ago, so they don't really mind if property values deflate a bit; they're still sitting pretty. There's also a sense that a ton of money has been spent on gold plated schools to serve the small slice of affluent young families who don't need it. They feel that school populations have peaked, and so it's stupid to keep building- they lived here in the 80's and early 00's when Arlington was closing schools. Anyway, to them, affordable housing is a worthy expenditure, and all these rich new people can either afford higher taxes or private schools on the off chance school overcrowding gets out of control.

Obviously this attitude is troubling to me, but those are the views I have heard expressed. For a lot of long time residents who have the time and inclination to get involved in Arlington planning and politics, schools are just not the number one priority.

Boohoo go move to Woodbridge if you want affordable mcmansions

^^^ I don't understand who this comment is directed to?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Doesn't the issue boil down to the fact that Arlington schools are out of room and we keep hearing over and over again that there is no land left to build on? So why would you increase housing density anywhere in Arlington (north or south) until you have figured out how you are going to ensure enough school seats for the new families? I don't oppose AH, but I do think the Board is putting the cart before the horse if they pass that plan before figuring out what they are going to do about the school situation.

I agree with you, but I think that it comes down to how you want to allocate scarce resources. If you don't have school age kids, school issues just aren't at the forefront.

I serve on my little neighborhood association's board in north Arlington, and what I have heard from some older neighbors is that they favor affordable housing generally because they don't like how the character of Arlington has been changing. In their view, it used to be a more collegial, accessible, middle class place, and now it's becoming snobby and out of touch. They like their neighborhoods and they're sick of the ostentatious new builds. They would rather see zoning rules relaxed to permit multifamily dwellings than a neighborhood full of mc mansions. I can't even tell you how much I have heard about this. Even when they're talking to me (I live in a small old house we bought for less than 800k, but I'm fairly new to the neighborhood), there's this undercurrent of animosity against new residents, and an assumption that we're all living in $1.6 million new homes. They're older, they don't have kids in school, and they bought a long time ago, so they don't really mind if property values deflate a bit; they're still sitting pretty. There's also a sense that a ton of money has been spent on gold plated schools to serve the small slice of affluent young families who don't need it. They feel that school populations have peaked, and so it's stupid to keep building- they lived here in the 80's and early 00's when Arlington was closing schools. Anyway, to them, affordable housing is a worthy expenditure, and all these rich new people can either afford higher taxes or private schools on the off chance school overcrowding gets out of control.

Obviously this attitude is troubling to me, but those are the views I have heard expressed. For a lot of long time residents who have the time and inclination to get involved in Arlington planning and politics, schools are just not the number one priority.

These people would honestly rather see their SFH neighborhoods broken up? They would rather see their areas destroyed, than taken over by yuppies. Huh. So many frowning faces in VOICE t shirts. Wow that is incredibly bitter... For what?

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Doesn't the issue boil down to the fact that Arlington schools are out of room and we keep hearing over and over again that there is no land left to build on? So why would you increase housing density anywhere in Arlington (north or south) until you have figured out how you are going to ensure enough school seats for the new families? I don't oppose AH, but I do think the Board is putting the cart before the horse if they pass that plan before figuring out what they are going to do about the school situation.

I agree with you, but I think that it comes down to how you want to allocate scarce resources. If you don't have school age kids, school issues just aren't at the forefront.

I serve on my little neighborhood association's board in north Arlington, and what I have heard from some older neighbors is that they favor affordable housing generally because they don't like how the character of Arlington has been changing. In their view, it used to be a more collegial, accessible, middle class place, and now it's becoming snobby and out of touch. They like their neighborhoods and they're sick of the ostentatious new builds. They would rather see zoning rules relaxed to permit multifamily dwellings than a neighborhood full of mc mansions. I can't even tell you how much I have heard about this. Even when they're talking to me (I live in a small old house we bought for less than 800k, but I'm fairly new to the neighborhood), there's this undercurrent of animosity against new residents, and an assumption that we're all living in $1.6 million new homes. They're older, they don't have kids in school, and they bought a long time ago, so they don't really mind if property values deflate a bit; they're still sitting pretty. There's also a sense that a ton of money has been spent on gold plated schools to serve the small slice of affluent young families who don't need it. They feel that school populations have peaked, and so it's stupid to keep building- they lived here in the 80's and early 00's when Arlington was closing schools. Anyway, to them, affordable housing is a worthy expenditure, and all these rich new people can either afford higher taxes or private schools on the off chance school overcrowding gets out of control.

Obviously this attitude is troubling to me, but those are the views I have heard expressed. For a lot of long time residents who have the time and inclination to get involved in Arlington planning and politics, schools are just not the number one priority.

These people would honestly rather see their SFH neighborhoods broken up? They would rather see their areas destroyed, than taken over by yuppies. Huh. So many frowning faces in VOICE t shirts. Wow that is incredibly bitter... For what?

I'm the PP you're responding to. I don't think these are people involved in VOICE. And I think they see gigantic new builds populated by pushy people with no interest in investing in the neighborhood as destroying the area. There is a sense that AH would permit more of their kind of people -- and yes, to a PP, their kids -- to afford the area. Again, I don't agree- I'm a working professional mom with little kids who moved here within the last 4 years, I guess I just happen to chat a lot with my neighbors and got roped into this neighborhood board thing. I have been a little surprised at things I have heard and I'm not sure exactly how to bridge the gap.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Doesn't the issue boil down to the fact that Arlington schools are out of room and we keep hearing over and over again that there is no land left to build on? So why would you increase housing density anywhere in Arlington (north or south) until you have figured out how you are going to ensure enough school seats for the new families? I don't oppose AH, but I do think the Board is putting the cart before the horse if they pass that plan before figuring out what they are going to do about the school situation.

I agree with you, but I think that it comes down to how you want to allocate scarce resources. If you don't have school age kids, school issues just aren't at the forefront.

I serve on my little neighborhood association's board in north Arlington, and what I have heard from some older neighbors is that they favor affordable housing generally because they don't like how the character of Arlington has been changing. In their view, it used to be a more collegial, accessible, middle class place, and now it's becoming snobby and out of touch. They like their neighborhoods and they're sick of the ostentatious new builds. They would rather see zoning rules relaxed to permit multifamily dwellings than a neighborhood full of mc mansions. I can't even tell you how much I have heard about this. Even when they're talking to me (I live in a small old house we bought for less than 800k, but I'm fairly new to the neighborhood), there's this undercurrent of animosity against new residents, and an assumption that we're all living in $1.6 million new homes. They're older, they don't have kids in school, and they bought a long time ago, so they don't really mind if property values deflate a bit; they're still sitting pretty. There's also a sense that a ton of money has been spent on gold plated schools to serve the small slice of affluent young families who don't need it. They feel that school populations have peaked, and so it's stupid to keep building- they lived here in the 80's and early 00's when Arlington was closing schools. Anyway, to them, affordable housing is a worthy expenditure, and all these rich new people can either afford higher taxes or private schools on the off chance school overcrowding gets out of control.

Obviously this attitude is troubling to me, but those are the views I have heard expressed. For a lot of long time residents who have the time and inclination to get involved in Arlington planning and politics, schools are just not the number one priority.

I've also heard concerns from older residents about affordability of Arlington for their own kids. They want their kids to be able to live here. Unfortunately, AH policies don't actually help their middle class kids. We have a few friends who grew up in our Ashton Heights neighborhood and now are raising their families here, but they are all in their 40s and benefitted by buying property before the prices took off.

I've heard this too. Maybe their precious millenial offspring should consider SOUTH ARLINGTON!!!! Oh, that's right... The schools aren't great. Maybe we should fix that!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Doesn't the issue boil down to the fact that Arlington schools are out of room and we keep hearing over and over again that there is no land left to build on? So why would you increase housing density anywhere in Arlington (north or south) until you have figured out how you are going to ensure enough school seats for the new families? I don't oppose AH, but I do think the Board is putting the cart before the horse if they pass that plan before figuring out what they are going to do about the school situation.

I agree with you, but I think that it comes down to how you want to allocate scarce resources. If you don't have school age kids, school issues just aren't at the forefront.

I serve on my little neighborhood association's board in north Arlington, and what I have heard from some older neighbors is that they favor affordable housing generally because they don't like how the character of Arlington has been changing. In their view, it used to be a more collegial, accessible, middle class place, and now it's becoming snobby and out of touch. They like their neighborhoods and they're sick of the ostentatious new builds. They would rather see zoning rules relaxed to permit multifamily dwellings than a neighborhood full of mc mansions. I can't even tell you how much I have heard about this. Even when they're talking to me (I live in a small old house we bought for less than 800k, but I'm fairly new to the neighborhood), there's this undercurrent of animosity against new residents, and an assumption that we're all living in $1.6 million new homes. They're older, they don't have kids in school, and they bought a long time ago, so they don't really mind if property values deflate a bit; they're still sitting pretty. There's also a sense that a ton of money has been spent on gold plated schools to serve the small slice of affluent young families who don't need it. They feel that school populations have peaked, and so it's stupid to keep building- they lived here in the 80's and early 00's when Arlington was closing schools. Anyway, to them, affordable housing is a worthy expenditure, and all these rich new people can either afford higher taxes or private schools on the off chance school overcrowding gets out of control.

Obviously this attitude is troubling to me, but those are the views I have heard expressed. For a lot of long time residents who have the time and inclination to get involved in Arlington planning and politics, schools are just not the number one priority.

These people would honestly rather see their SFH neighborhoods broken up? They would rather see their areas destroyed, than taken over by yuppies. Huh. So many frowning faces in VOICE t shirts. Wow that is incredibly bitter... For what?

I'm the PP you're responding to. I don't think these are people involved in VOICE. And I think they see gigantic new builds populated by pushy people with no interest in investing in the neighborhood as destroying the area. There is a sense that AH would permit more of their kind of people -- and yes, to a PP, their kids -- to afford the area. Again, I don't agree- I'm a working professional mom with little kids who moved here within the last 4 years, I guess I just happen to chat a lot with my neighbors and got roped into this neighborhood board thing. I have been a little surprised at things I have heard and I'm not sure exactly how to bridge the gap.

Yeah , I get it... They've got dual income big law Aholes in a giant McCrapsman next door and they hate it. They are however totally dreaming if they think AH is gonna help their kids. It's not for the middle class.
They got some language in the plan - trying to get some residents at 80% income on the Pike. That's closer...
Still not gonna get their kids, that they encouraged to do not for profit work, into country club hills. They will get to sell their house for a fortune though .... You can't have it all.

[Anonymous]

Old timers in north arlington are free to sell their small original homes to middle class families for 350k. Ohh I guess they won't if it's their money.

[Anonymous]

But there's really NO WAY the republicans will push for affordable housing that is geographically diverse and pushing up into areas like 22207 and 22213, is there? Conservatives may be less willing to push affordable housing, but I can't believe they'll push for ANY of it to go so far North. Would they really?

Why wouldn't they? The idea about the SFH turned duplex/triplex seemed to have been tossed around... Not sure, if they want to put that on it near Lee Highway or further north? The higher price of the land per square foot is the only difference - but since they are throwing hundreds of millions at this plan - what does it matter?

I really think they should only grandfather in current renters, let the market take over, and not build any new units for this purpose.
They can give assistance to public service families, cops and firefighters, teachers, etc. that would serve the county so much better.

FIX THE SCHOOLS and overcrowding first, without the whining that they can only build additions at two schools, not three, because that is too expensive, that they have to use parkland, because underground garages are to expensive, etc. etc. pay the teachers more... The list goes on.
THEN you can look at the situation again.

If market forces were allowed to take over, South Arlington would thrive just like North Arlington did not too long ago.
It IS thriving in parts with new businesses coming in, and a lot of new nice buildings.... The Eastern end of the Pike is really nice.
....a former colleague of mine still remembers the time when North Arlington had crappy schools, was run down, and her parents would not send her there.
All parts of this county could easily become very nice and desirable..... With the right leadership.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

But there's really NO WAY the republicans will push for affordable housing that is geographically diverse and pushing up into areas like 22207 and 22213, is there? Conservatives may be less willing to push affordable housing, but I can't believe they'll push for ANY of it to go so far North. Would they really?

Why wouldn't they? The idea about the SFH turned duplex/triplex seemed to have been tossed around... Not sure, if they want to put that on it near Lee Highway or further north? The higher price of the land per square foot is the only difference - but since they are throwing hundreds of millions at this plan - what does it matter?

I really think they should only grandfather in current renters, let the market take over, and not build any new units for this purpose.
They can give assistance to public service families, cops and firefighters, teachers, etc. that would serve the county so much better.

FIX THE SCHOOLS and overcrowding first, without the whining that they can only build additions at two schools, not three, because that is too expensive, that they have to use parkland, because underground garages are to expensive, etc. etc. pay the teachers more... The list goes on.
THEN you can look at the situation again.

If market forces were allowed to take over, South Arlington would thrive just like North Arlington did not too long ago.
It IS thriving in parts with new businesses coming in, and a lot of new nice buildings.... The Eastern end of the Pike is really nice.
....a former colleague of mine still remembers the time when North Arlington had crappy schools, was run down, and her parents would not send her there.
All parts of this county could easily become very nice and desirable..... With the right leadership.

I generally agree. And I am old enough to recall when n Arlington was a joke--a scruffy place of computer stores, car dealers, and houses occupied by government drones and cat ladies thought of as too poor to move to a proper burb. The govt types and cat ladies tortoised it out, flipped the script and sit on gold mines.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Doesn't the issue boil down to the fact that Arlington schools are out of room and we keep hearing over and over again that there is no land left to build on? So why would you increase housing density anywhere in Arlington (north or south) until you have figured out how you are going to ensure enough school seats for the new families? I don't oppose AH, but I do think the Board is putting the cart before the horse if they pass that plan before figuring out what they are going to do about the school situation.

I agree with you, but I think that it comes down to how you want to allocate scarce resources. If you don't have school age kids, school issues just aren't at the forefront.

I serve on my little neighborhood association's board in north Arlington, and what I have heard from some older neighbors is that they favor affordable housing generally because they don't like how the character of Arlington has been changing. In their view, it used to be a more collegial, accessible, middle class place, and now it's becoming snobby and out of touch. They like their neighborhoods and they're sick of the ostentatious new builds. They would rather see zoning rules relaxed to permit multifamily dwellings than a neighborhood full of mc mansions. I can't even tell you how much I have heard about this. Even when they're talking to me (I live in a small old house we bought for less than 800k, but I'm fairly new to the neighborhood), there's this undercurrent of animosity against new residents, and an assumption that we're all living in $1.6 million new homes. They're older, they don't have kids in school, and they bought a long time ago, so they don't really mind if property values deflate a bit; they're still sitting pretty. There's also a sense that a ton of money has been spent on gold plated schools to serve the small slice of affluent young families who don't need it. They feel that school populations have peaked, and so it's stupid to keep building- they lived here in the 80's and early 00's when Arlington was closing schools. Anyway, to them, affordable housing is a worthy expenditure, and all these rich new people can either afford higher taxes or private schools on the off chance school overcrowding gets out of control.

Obviously this attitude is troubling to me, but those are the views I have heard expressed. For a lot of long time residents who have the time and inclination to get involved in Arlington planning and politics, schools are just not the number one priority.

I've also heard concerns from older residents about affordability of Arlington for their own kids. They want their kids to be able to live here. Unfortunately, AH policies don't actually help their middle class kids. We have a few friends who grew up in our Ashton Heights neighborhood and now are raising their families here, but they are all in their 40s and benefitted by buying property before the prices took off.

I've heard this too. Maybe their precious millenial offspring should consider SOUTH ARLINGTON!!!! Oh, that's right... The schools aren't great. Maybe we should fix that!

Maybe they should get a life and move away. For a period at least.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

But there's really NO WAY the republicans will push for affordable housing that is geographically diverse and pushing up into areas like 22207 and 22213, is there? Conservatives may be less willing to push affordable housing, but I can't believe they'll push for ANY of it to go so far North. Would they really?

Why wouldn't they? The idea about the SFH turned duplex/triplex seemed to have been tossed around... Not sure, if they want to put that on it near Lee Highway or further north? The higher price of the land per square foot is the only difference - but since they are throwing hundreds of millions at this plan - what does it matter?

I really think they should only grandfather in current renters, let the market take over, and not build any new units for this purpose.
They can give assistance to public service families, cops and firefighters, teachers, etc. that would serve the county so much better.

FIX THE SCHOOLS and overcrowding first, without the whining that they can only build additions at two schools, not three, because that is too expensive, that they have to use parkland, because underground garages are to expensive, etc. etc. pay the teachers more... The list goes on.
THEN you can look at the situation again.

If market forces were allowed to take over, South Arlington would thrive just like North Arlington did not too long ago.
It IS thriving in parts with new businesses coming in, and a lot of new nice buildings.... The Eastern end of the Pike is really nice.
....a former colleague of mine still remembers the time when North Arlington had crappy schools, was run down, and her parents would not send her there.
All parts of this county could easily become very nice and desirable..... With the right leadership.

I generally agree. And I am old enough to recall when n Arlington was a joke--a scruffy place of computer stores, car dealers, and houses occupied by government drones and cat ladies thought of as too poor to move to a proper burb. The govt types and cat ladies tortoised it out, flipped the script and sit on gold mines.

Yep, I remember the first time I ever came to Clarendon. I'd signed up for a volunteer thing to help out at a homeless shelter and when I came up out of the Clarendon metro I was a little uncomfortable because the area seemed pretty sketchy. When I met my team at the shelter, we took the kids over to the neighborhood park to play, down the street past a lot of rundown houses. There weren't other kids there. Now, years later, my kids play in that same park, which is teeming with kids, and Clarendon is definitely not sketchy!

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Doesn't the issue boil down to the fact that Arlington schools are out of room and we keep hearing over and over again that there is no land left to build on? So why would you increase housing density anywhere in Arlington (north or south) until you have figured out how you are going to ensure enough school seats for the new families? I don't oppose AH, but I do think the Board is putting the cart before the horse if they pass that plan before figuring out what they are going to do about the school situation.

I agree with you, but I think that it comes down to how you want to allocate scarce resources. If you don't have school age kids, school issues just aren't at the forefront.

I serve on my little neighborhood association's board in north Arlington, and what I have heard from some older neighbors is that they favor affordable housing generally because they don't like how the character of Arlington has been changing. In their view, it used to be a more collegial, accessible, middle class place, and now it's becoming snobby and out of touch. They like their neighborhoods and they're sick of the ostentatious new builds. They would rather see zoning rules relaxed to permit multifamily dwellings than a neighborhood full of mc mansions. I can't even tell you how much I have heard about this. Even when they're talking to me (I live in a small old house we bought for less than 800k, but I'm fairly new to the neighborhood), there's this undercurrent of animosity against new residents, and an assumption that we're all living in $1.6 million new homes. They're older, they don't have kids in school, and they bought a long time ago, so they don't really mind if property values deflate a bit; they're still sitting pretty. There's also a sense that a ton of money has been spent on gold plated schools to serve the small slice of affluent young families who don't need it. They feel that school populations have peaked, and so it's stupid to keep building- they lived here in the 80's and early 00's when Arlington was closing schools. Anyway, to them, affordable housing is a worthy expenditure, and all these rich new people can either afford higher taxes or private schools on the off chance school overcrowding gets out of control.

Obviously this attitude is troubling to me, but those are the views I have heard expressed. For a lot of long time residents who have the time and inclination to get involved in Arlington planning and politics, schools are just not the number one priority.

This is really interesting to me, and I'm glad you posted this, because these are the EXACT same sentiments and phrases from elderly neighbors at my South Arlington neighborhood association! My neighborhood has a lot of elderly homeowners that would rather keep it quaint and low key.
Not realistic of course! Our well regarded neighborhood school has ever increasing enrollment- breaking a record now every year, since we've lived here.

[Anonymous]

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Doesn't the issue boil down to the fact that Arlington schools are out of room and we keep hearing over and over again that there is no land left to build on? So why would you increase housing density anywhere in Arlington (north or south) until you have figured out how you are going to ensure enough school seats for the new families? I don't oppose AH, but I do think the Board is putting the cart before the horse if they pass that plan before figuring out what they are going to do about the school situation.

I agree with you, but I think that it comes down to how you want to allocate scarce resources. If you don't have school age kids, school issues just aren't at the forefront.

I serve on my little neighborhood association's board in north Arlington, and what I have heard from some older neighbors is that they favor affordable housing generally because they don't like how the character of Arlington has been changing. In their view, it used to be a more collegial, accessible, middle class place, and now it's becoming snobby and out of touch. They like their neighborhoods and they're sick of the ostentatious new builds. They would rather see zoning rules relaxed to permit multifamily dwellings than a neighborhood full of mc mansions. I can't even tell you how much I have heard about this. Even when they're talking to me (I live in a small old house we bought for less than 800k, but I'm fairly new to the neighborhood), there's this undercurrent of animosity against new residents, and an assumption that we're all living in $1.6 million new homes. They're older, they don't have kids in school, and they bought a long time ago, so they don't really mind if property values deflate a bit; they're still sitting pretty. There's also a sense that a ton of money has been spent on gold plated schools to serve the small slice of affluent young families who don't need it. They feel that school populations have peaked, and so it's stupid to keep building- they lived here in the 80's and early 00's when Arlington was closing schools. Anyway, to them, affordable housing is a worthy expenditure, and all these rich new people can either afford higher taxes or private schools on the off chance school overcrowding gets out of control.

Obviously this attitude is troubling to me, but those are the views I have heard expressed. For a lot of long time residents who have the time and inclination to get involved in Arlington planning and politics, schools are just not the number one priority.

This is really interesting to me, and I'm glad you posted this, because these are the EXACT same sentiments and phrases from elderly neighbors at my South Arlington neighborhood association! My neighborhood has a lot of elderly homeowners that would rather keep it quaint and low key.
Not realistic of course! Our well regarded neighborhood school has ever increasing enrollment- breaking a record now every year, since we've lived here.

And then they will gleeful sell their unrenovated 1000 sq ft south Arlington cottage, with a cracked foundation and water damage for 650k. This thread is making me want to throw stuff.