Editor: Geographically speaking, Arlington is a small county. Why this urge to cram more people in?
All the things that make it so livable will change when you try to increase the population by half. There will be major repercussions.
Can the county government provide enough water, sewer and trash services? What about police and first-responders, when their numbers are already down? How much more will it cost to provide all this? How many more millions will the School Board demand? What extra burdens will you load on the taxpayers?
Look in the mirror, County Board. YOU are responsible for the “Missing Middle” housing problem, due to raising real-estate assessments and taxes every year, wasting money on unnecessary projects and giving free rein to developers.
When garden apartments are replaced by “luxury” complexes with maybe five or six “affordable” units, where are these displaced people to go except outside Arlington? The middle class and seniors are being driven out, yet the County Board continues its merry ways. It talks a good game but only blows smoke.
I’m not against affordable housing at all. But solutions exist without placing mini-units everywhere and altering the nature and landscape of our neighborhoods forever.
Carolyn Clemente, Arlington