May 2026 County Board Wrap Up

The Arlington County Board considered and acted on dozens of agenda items at its May 2026 Regular and Recessed County Board Meetings. These include the following: 

Saturday, May 16, 2026 – Regular County Board Meeting  

Item 33 – 1800 & 1901 S. Bell St. Adaptive Reuse Site Plan Amendment
The Arlington County Board adopted a site plan amendment to convert two office buildings located at 1800 and 1901 S. Bell St. into residential buildings with ground-floor retail use. This approved conversion of both office buildings will remove 489,708 square feet of vacant office space and convert it to 315 residential units, reducing the office vacancy rate in Crystal City by 3.5 percentage points.  

The two buildings will retain their existing parking, which exceeds what is required by the County’s parking guidelines, reserving part for residential use only. The remaining parking spaces will be allocated as “flexible” spaces, which are unassigned spaces additional to the required by the County’s Off-street Residential Parking guidelines. Minor exterior improvements and streetscape enhancements are also proposed with both buildings.   

Both buildings were constructed in the late 1960s and are part of the Crystal Mall development consisting of four office buildings and one hotel building on the same block. This conversion of the Mall I and Mall IV buildings aligns with Arlington County’s Adaptive Reuse Policy, which encourages repurposing obsolete office buildings to address declining commercial occupancy and enhance fiscal stability with bringing on a positive contributing taxbase with these properties.  

Item 34 – 2134 N. Taylor St. (Waverly Ridge site) Townhouse Development 
The Arlington County Board approved a site plan amendment to facilitate construction of 47 townhouse units at 2134 N. Taylor St. This amendment was approved in a 4-0 vote with Board member Spain, Sr. abstaining.  

This development consists of for-sale townhouses, private internal streets, and approximately 10,279 sf of new public space. This approval constitutes a major site plan amendment to the previously approved and valid site plan at the subject site, known as Artis Senior Living, which consists of a six-story assisted living facility with 175 units and approximately 10,174 square feet public space. To date, the Artis Senior Living project has not been implemented, and the site remains developed with several vacant single-family detached properties.   

Tuesday, May 19th, 2026 – Recessed County Board Meeting    

Item 35 – The County Manager’s Presentation of the Proposed FY2027 – FY2036 Capital Improvement Plan  
The County Manager presented his proposed Capital Improvement Plan for Fiscal Year (FY) 2027 through 2036.  The proposal outlines $4.3 billion in investments in the County’s transportation infrastructure, water and sewer systems, stormwater management, technology, parks and recreation, and more over the next 10 years. 

The CIP is prepared every two years, with any adopted general obligation bond referenda presented to voters in November of even-numbered years. This proposal was informed by more than 1,800 people, many of whom voiced strong support for the County to maintain existing facilities and infrastructure, rather than invest in new projects.  

Previously, WBM of Arlington’s transitional parking area operated under a long-standing use permit and approved landscape plan. Recently, this property has fallen out of compliance, and several zoning violations remained unresolved as of the time of the May 19, 2026 Board meeting.  

Item 31 – Initiating Resolution on CMRI and Other Topics   
The Board approved an initiating resolution for 13 amendment topics to the County’s Zoning Ordinance related to the Commercial Market Resiliency Initiative (CMRI), adopted state legislation, and other items including local historic district designations. Initiating Resolutions are—according to a 2024 Arlington Circuit Court Opinion—required to announce the intent of the County to begin work on prospective zoning ordinance amendments.   

CMRI is Arlington’s strategy to modernize regulations, practices, and processes to ensure a nimbler response to economic shifts. By removing regulatory barriers and constraints, the County seeks to enable market-based solutions to address the commercial building supply, specifically repositioning and converting obsolete inventory.   

Further, certain state legislation from the 2026 Virginia General Assembly Session signed into law by the Governor requires or allows amendments to the Arlington County Zoning Ordinance (ACZO). Two (2) additional topics will also address and incorporate previously adopted state legislation. In addition, staff is seeking to commence work evaluating procedures and tools associated with local historic district designations that align with goals identified in the 2023 Historic and Cultural Resources Plan.  

With this Board action, County staff can now begin the work of scoping and/or analysis efforts and development of draft zoning amendments for each topic and engagement, as capacity allows. The topics are fully listed in the Board report. 

Registering to Speak at Future Public Hearings  
Registration to speak on an item with a scheduled public hearing opens approximately a week before the meeting, and members of the public can either register online or call in at 703-228-3130.  

Those wanting to participate in these hearings can do so in person, virtually, or by phone and will receive instructions on these options once they have completed their registration. Members of the public wanting to speak on a Consent Agenda item may do so by notifying the County Board Office before 10 AM at Regular Meetings to request the item be pulled from the agenda. Members of the public may then register to speak on pulled agenda items at the upcoming Tuesday Recessed Meeting. Agendas will note which consent agenda items are subject to public hearing requirements and which require Board member consent to be removed.  

Members of the public are also strongly encouraged to subscribe to the County Board's News and Updates service to be alerted when meeting agendas are posted. Board meeting and agenda information can be accessed on the County Board's webpage. Visit 2026 County Board Meeting and Procedures on the County website to learn more.