Developer Backs Out Of Missing Middle Project After Neighbors Protest

ARLINGTON, VA — A local developer backed out of plans to build a two-unit, semi-detached residential property in Arlington after neighbors informed the developer they may use “legal remedies” to try to stop construction of the residential building.

McLean-based BeaconCrest Homes wanted to build the two-unit building on the site of a single-family home on N. Harrison Street in the Tara-Leeway Heights/Larchmont neighborhood under Arlington County’s new Expanded Housing Options zoning. The lot, at 1313 N. Harrison Street, is currently the site of a single-family detached home.

In early August, BeaconCrest told the neighborhood that it hoped to build a two-unit, semi-detached residential property on the lot. The developer noted that the deed to the home had an existing covenant that stated, "not more than one house shall be constructed upon the lot."

BeaconCrest said in its Aug. 3 letter to the neighborhood that it did not believe the covenant precluded the construction of a two-family house on the property, EHO Watch, a newsletter published by Natalie Roy, a local Realtor and former candidate for Arlington County Board, reported in its latest issue.

In response to the letter from BeaconCrest, neighbors in the Tara-Leeway Heights/Larchmont neighborhood wrote a letter in which they said they believe the developer’s interpretation of the covenant — "that not more than one house shall be constructed upon the lot" — was fundamentally flawed.

“Under any reasonable interpretation of this language, the term ‘one house’ does not mean ‘one structure’ with any number of units you wish to include,” the neighbors wrote. "We also note that even if one part of a deed is deemed unenforceable, as you allude to in your letter, the remaining elements remain enforceable."

Along with covenants that stated the type of home and fence height that could be built on a lot or in a subdivision, many homes were also built in Arlington in the first half of the 20th century with racially restrictive covenants as a way to limit the use of properties on the basis of a person’s race, ethnicity, or religion, thereby creating communities of exclusion. It wasn't until the passage of the Fair Housing Act of 1968 that racially restrictive covenants became illegal and unenforceable.

BeaconCrest had not responded to Patch's request to see a copy of the deed for the home at 1313 N. Harrison Street, which was built in 1938, to determine if it originally included a racially restrictive covenant.

In their letter to BeaconCrest, neighbors also alerted BeaconCrest that the Larchmont neighborhood "has a history of successfully halting developers’ attempts to ignore similar existing deeds and covenants (e.g., 1320 Greenbrier and 1500 Harrison, among others)."

On Aug. 25, BeaconCrest wrote in a letter to the neighborhood it had decided against building a two-unit, semi-detached property on the lot and would instead build a single-family home.

“The takeaway from this win is that neighborhood covenants — where they exist and are germane — can be effective in promoting Arlington County's stated Comprehensive Goals of having a diversity of densities while preserving existing neighborhoods,” she wrote.

Roy also stated that it “takes considerable volunteer time, energy, and organizing prowess by neighbors, to not only be vigilant but to act fast,” as shown by the neighbors of the N. Harrison Street home.

“The County will not lift one finger to assist in situations such as these,” she said. “For example, the County recently reaffirmed that permits for multi-million EHO structures will continue to be free to developers, but neighbors must pay fees to see the permits and what might be built next door.”

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