'Exclusionary Zoning' Discussed At NAACP Candidates Forum In Arlington

ARLINGTON, VA — With Arlington residents continuing to debate the effects of the county's new Missing Middle zoning ordinance, housing issues were a major topic of discussion at the NAACP Arlington Branch's candidates forum Monday night.

Moderated by Sean Perryman, former candidate for Virginia lieutenant governor and former president of the Fairfax County NAACP, candidates for Arlington County Board and the Virginia state Senate and House of Delegates were asked questions prepared by the NAACP Arlington Branch.

Candidates for all the offices were asked to answer a carefully worded question from the NAACP Arlington Branch on the topic of housing.

In a “yes or no” question, Perryman asked the candidates, “Do you support removing exclusionary zoning laws in Arlington that have been used as a tool of discrimination?”

In a preface to the question, Perryman cited a passage from a 2021 letter released by the Biden administration titled “Exclusionary Zoning: Its Effect on Racial Discrimination in the Housing Market,” which stated: “Exclusionary zoning laws place restrictions on the types of homes that can be built in a particular neighborhood. Common examples include minimum lot size requirements, minimum square footage requirements, prohibitions on multifamily homes, and limits on the height of buildings.”

Barbara Favola, a Democrat who is seeking a fourth term in the state Senate representing the newly redrawn 40th District, emphasized she is not in favor of exclusionary zoning at all.

But Favola also said she believes Arlington needs "a community conversation" on zoning issues.

“I do think neighbors have a right to articulate their view on how the community should be planned," she said. "These are grassroots kinds of issues. They impact everybody, and I think there has to be a community conversation on it.”

READ ALSO: Clement Favors Public Hearing In Early 2024 To Review Missing Middle

After she stated she does not support exclusionary zoning, Perryman then came back and asked Favola about the kinds of exclusionary zoning laws that she believes are appropriate vs. the types of exclusionary zoning laws that are inappropriate.

“Again, I am not in favor of exclusionary laws,” Favola reiterated. “I am in favor of doing community planning. … I am in favor of identifying where we should have tall buildings. I’m in favor of identifying mass transit routes where we should have perhaps more multifamily housing. I’m in favor of protecting our wetlands that are close to the Potomac. That’s planning.”

“So, I oppose exclusionary zoning, but I am in favor of community planning,” she said.

Sophia Moshasha, a Republican who is challenging incumbent Sen. Adam Ebbin in the newly redrawn 39th Senate District, said she agreed completely with everything that Favola said in response to the question.

“I am not in favor of exclusionary zoning, and I hope nobody would be in favor of exclusionary zoning,” Moshasha said. “With any growth, we need to keep in mind and prioritize our current residents and the quality of life that they came for and work with our community and our organizations like yours to understand what it means to grow and what we need to be cautious of when we do because we have to prepare for demand and strains on infrastructure.”

Ebbin, a Democrat, responded that he opposes exclusionary zoning and agrees with Favola’s emphasis on planning.

Mike Webb, who is running as an independent for the Virginia House of Delegates to represent District 3, said the question posed by Perryman comes down to the question of what is de jure discrimination and what is de facto discrimination.

“Black people go to Black church. Are they being segregated? Well, they’re segregating themselves. This is kind of a choice thing,” Webb said. “When the law comes in and says, 'Only Black people can go to Black church,' then it becomes unlawful discrimination.”

Webb added that he agreed with Favola about opposing exclusionary zoning and having a conversation about how a community should be planned.

Del. Alphonso Lopez, a Democrat who is running as the incumbent in the newly redrawn 3rd district of the House of Delegates, simply answered “yes” to Perryman’s question.

David Henshaw, a Republican who is running against Favola, also answered “yes” to Perryman’s question and emphasized he supports “removing all zoning regulations.”

The four candidates on the ballot for the two seats on the Arlington County Board were asked the same question, worded in the exact way it was posed to the General Assembly candidates.

Like Lopez and Henshaw, Maureen Coffey, one of two Democratic candidates for the county board, answered “yes” to Perryman’s question.

Juan Carlos Fiero, a Republican candidate for county board, said if there are racial or other types of discrimination in housing, “Of course, I would not support it.”

Susan Cunningham, the other Democratic candidate for county board, responded that she would “definitely exercise caution in how quickly we are changing things because I think we can have unintended consequences.”

“While I would not support new exclusionary zoning that actively supports racial discrimination, I think we can inadvertently cause racial discrimination in how we undo past wrongs," Cunningham said. "And so, we need to make sure we are supporting, especially our historic African American communities, in homeownership. And it’s a longer question than ‘yes or no.’”

Audrey Clement, who is running as an independent for Arlington County Board, said she agreed with Cunningham’s response to the question. Clement added that she believes Missing Middle Housing will inflate land values and will be "a new form of de facto discrimination that will have drastic consequences on Arlington’s minority communities and is already affecting the senior component of the minority communities."

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