A lawsuit brought by residents charges the county with failing to follow statutory procedures and provide accurate information about recently passed ‘missing middle housing’ reforms.
After Arlington County, Virginia loosened zoning restrictions to encourage more ‘missing middle housing’ construction in March, becoming the first jurisdiction in the D.C. region to end exclusive single-family zoning, ten residents banded together to sue the county in an effort to reverse the decision.
As Amanda Michelle Gomez writes in The Washington Post, “The lawsuit against Arlington’s county board and planning commission alleges local lawmakers failed to initiate upzoning in accordance with the law and seeks to halt reforms that are set to begin in July.”
The approved plan would allow for buildings of up to six units on previously single-family lots as part of an effort to create more badly needed affordable housing, but critics expressed concerns about strain on parking and stormwater infrastructure, lost trees, and school overcrowding.
According to Gomez, “The 162-page lawsuit accuses the board of not being ‘forthright’ with residents when explaining the purpose of missing middle, including inaccurately characterizing the proposal as limited in scope, as well as not conducting detailed studies on impact.” Residents of Fairfax County successfully sued to void zoning reforms in that county this year under similar claims.
FULL STORY: Ten Arlington Residents File Lawsuit Against County’s ‘Missing Middle’ Zoning Change
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UCLA Lewis Center for Regional Policy Studies
Mpact (formerly Rail~Volution)
Chaddick Institute at DePaul University
City of Piedmont, CA
Great Falls Development Authority, Inc.
HUDs Office of Policy Development and Research