ARLINGTON, Va. — A major update in a fight over housing and zoning in Arlington County happened Friday, when Judge David Schell ruled that missing middle home zoning rules should not stand.
Back in 2023, the Arlington County Board amended zoning to allow more multifamily homes in areas zoned for single-family homes. The idea was to create more housing, that appealed to a young, diverse set of residents in the county.
However, neighbors who already lived in those areas struck back. Several plaintiffs filed a lawsuit against the county to throw out the initiative. Their chief concerns were overpopulation, devaluing their properties and sewage and runoff issues.
Schell ruled in favor of the plaintiffs on four of six counts, meaning missing middle zoning changes will not happen in Arlington. He cited several failures that led to his ruling, including the Arlington County Board failing to pass the missing middle zoning amendment in accordance with Virginia law; failing to consider factors like sewage influx; unlawfully delegating authority of expanded housing options (EHO) to staff; and failure to act within the scope of duties delegated from the General Assembly.
The ruling followed a five-day trial in July during which multiple witnesses testified and hundreds of pages of documents were introduced into evidence.
“Arlington County underestimated the power of neighbors coming together to fight for the rule of law,” Marcia Nordgren, the lead plaintiff in the trial, said.
Arlington Neighbors for Neighbors, which has raised funds from more than 1,000 Arlington donors to support the lawsuit, celebrated the ruling, saying it stops missing middle in its tracks.
“Neighbors for Neighborhoods thanks all of the Arlington residents who reached into their pockets to take on the County Board and to the law firm of Blankingship and Keith, which represents the Plaintiffs and brought home today’s victory,” said Dan Creedon of Neighbors for Neighbors.