Arlington's Missing Middle Plan Wins Unanimous Approval From Planning Commission

ARLINGTON, VA — The Arlington County Planning Commission voted 8-0 Wednesday night to recommend approval of the county's Missing Middle Housing plan, increasing the likelihood that the county board will approve the proposal after holding a final public hearing on March 18.

The planning commission voted unanimously to undo the county’s single-family zoning, despite a large portion of county residents expressing opposition to the Missing Middle Housing proposal and warning about the unintended consequences of allowing developers to tear down homes and build duplexes, townhomes and small apartment complexes on single-family lots.

YIMBYs of Northern Virginia, a group that advocates for denser housing and infill development, celebrated the planning commission’s vote, noting it is the “penultimate step in a years-long process to end exclusionary zoning and broaden housing options in Arlington.”

The planning commission recommended option 2A of the Missing Middle Housing proposal, which would allow 5- and 6-unit buildings on the largest possible number of lots in Arlington.

“Having 50 speakers in favor of the most expansive Missing Middle reform, compared to only 22 who oppose any change, is an astonishing show of support for Missing Middle housing reform,” YIMBYs of Northern Virginia President Jane Green said in a statement Thursday about Monday's planning commission hearing.

The Arlington County Board voted unanimously on Jan. 25 to move into the final phase of crafting its Missing Middle Housing plan. As part of this final phase, the county's planning commission was required to hold a public hearing and then issue a recommendation.

After the county board's March 18 public hearing, a final vote on the Missing Middle Housing plan is expected at the board’s March 21 meeting.

Among the plan's opponents who testified at the planning commission public hearing on Monday, civic association presidents and others argued that the county’s own studies show that the proposed housing will not promote homeownership nor be affordable to low- and moderate-income households. They shared concerns that the costs of greater density and more demands on infrastructure and services will lead to higher taxes for residents.

READ ALSO: Arlington's Missing Middle Plan Moves Forward After County Board Vote

Arlington County Board candidate Natalie Roy, who is seeking the Democratic nomination, said in a statement Wednesday that she believes everyone who has participated in the Missing Middle Housing process wants the best for Arlington.

"We want to provide affordable homes for essential workers and the most vulnerable members of our community. We also welcome and embrace diversity in our neighborhoods.," she said. "What many of us do not embrace is the Board’s current sweeping, haphazard housing approach that has no clearly stated goals or guardrails against unintended consequences."

Roy said the county's current approach is akin to the emperor’s new clothes.

"There is nothing there other than the hope that the trickle-down theory of more 'by-right' density will magically increase Arlington’s stock of affordable and missing middle housing and produce more diversity countywide," she said. "It is pinning its hopes on the free market and developers to solve the County’s housing needs with no consideration for the environment, infrastructure, schools, transportation, parking or fiscal consequences. That is not a credible or responsible approach."

Roy argued that the county board’s Missing Middle Housing plan is "a gift to developers and will accomplish nothing other than density in a haphazard and irresponsible way."

"A vote in favor is purely symbolic. It will not result in actual homes being any more affordable than what is available today. In fact, it will accelerate the gentrification already occurring in Arlington’s historically Black neighborhoods and on Columbia Pike."

A pilot project approach, according to Roy, is an alternative path that the county should adopt because it would create more home-buying opportunities without any unintended consequences.

RELATED:

• Missing Middle Housing Supporters Rally To End Single-Family Zoning
• Housing Reparations Policy Viewed As Better Option Than Missing Middle
• Missing Middle Opponents Urge Planning Commission To Withhold Support