The Arlington County Civic Federation on May 10 urged Arlington County Board members to tap the brakes on the latest round of “Missing Middle” housing-policy changes.
By a vote of 35-4, with one abstention, delegates voted to ask the government to extend its four-week public-comment period on the proposal for several additional months.
“This is a complex initiative – civic associations and other county organizations will require additional time to notify their own members, study the likely consequences . . . and develop a membership response in order to provide meaningful feedback,” noted the resolution.
Phase 2 of the Middle Middle study mulls the prospect of scaling back protections on single-family neighborhoods (those zoned R-5, R-6, R-8, R-10 and R-20). Proponents say zoning flexibility in those areas will provide more housing options and reduce the cost of housing in Arlington; opponents said gutting single-family zoning would go against longstanding policy, could damage values of existing homes and, paradoxically, make the cost of housing higher.
The proposal calls on county officials to extend the public-comment period to Sept. 30.