Arlington Sun-Gazette Article:
County Slows Down Residential Zoning Changes
by SCOTT McCAFFREY
Staff Writer

County officials have decided to postpone, for the time being, plans to revamp residential zoning regulations that some feared would restrict the ability to expand or replace their houses.

County Manager Ron Carlee said Friday that he was putting a stop to efforts that would have had the new policy in front of the County Board in time for an early September vote.

“We do not have adequate data on which to base a recommendation,” Carlee said in a letter to the Arlington Sun Gazette.

“We then need to have a very clear understanding of the actual, rather than the hypothetical, impacts of any alternatives we may consider,” Carlee said.

County spokesman Richard Bridges said Carlee’s decision would likely push back any County Board action until “the end of the year or very early next year.”

The decision is a victory for opponents of changes, notably Concerned Arlington County Homeowners (CACH), a group of local landowners and developers that has waged a media campaign against zoning changes.

At issue was the size of homes that could be placed on Arlington’s mostly small (under a quarter-acre) single-family residential lots.

Some neighborhoods have complained about huge homes being dropped on postage stamp-sized lots, creating an imbalance in the community’s appearance.

Earlier this month, County Board members – all homeowners – fended off criticism that the process was moving too fast and without significant public input.

County Board Chairman Jay Fisette said at the time that the process was an ongoing one, and the public would be heard before any final decisions were made.

In his statement, Carlee echoed earlier Fisette comments that infill development was not, by itself, a bad thing.

“Much of the new development and redevelopment is appropriate and healthy for the sustainability of a mature urban community,” he said.

But county officials have expressed concerns about large homes, dubbed “McMansions,” popping up and radically altering the character of a community.

A delay also has the effect of taking one controversial decision away from the political arena while County Board Chairman Jay Fisette is running for re-election. Board members traditionally have been reluctant to schedule controversial topics in the run-up to election season, usually filling their October docket with innocuous items.

July 26 issue of the Arlington Sun Gazette.
©2001 SuburbanSunGazette.com Inc

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