three decades of smart growth: arlington’s urban village · “smart growth” zdensity confined...
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Three Decades of Smart Growth: Three Decades of Smart Growth: Arlington’s Urban VillageArlington’s Urban Village
An Overview
Christopher ZimmermanArlington County Board
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Arlington, VirginiaArlington, Virginia
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Arlington TodayArlington Today
Population199,000
Jobs203,100
Housing units93,182
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Daytime population is over 260,000County has over 34 million sq. ft. of private office space
Arlington TodayArlington Today
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Arlington history Arlington history ----Development stagesDevelopment stages
To the 20s -- Largely rural, small villages30s to 70s -- Suburb, with some office development70s/80s -- emerged as economic center
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Arlington history Arlington history ----Development stagesDevelopment stages
Population peaked in 1970 (170,000)Fell in 80s (154,000), as economy, infrastructure aged
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Arlington history Arlington history ----Development stagesDevelopment stages
Transformation into economic center followed introduction of transit in late 70sDevelopment in 2 Metro corridors
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Transit in ArlingtonTransit in Arlington
By 1970 trolley lines were gone
In 1960s planning began for new rail system for Washington area
Construction began early 70s
2 lines opened by 1980
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Transit in ArlingtonTransit in Arlington
Key decision was re-orientation of Orange line from I-66 to Rosslyn-Ballston corridor
Enabled creation of new downtown
Urban village, rather than suburban development
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The RThe R--B Corridor B Corridor (Orange line)(Orange line)
Instead of running on the highway up here . . .. . . the line was sent underground to Ballston
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The RThe R--B Corridor B Corridor (Orange line)(Orange line)
5 stationsRosslyn, CH, Clarendon, VaSquare, Ballston
20 million sq. ft. of office space -- over 13 since 1980
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The Jeff Davis Corridor The Jeff Davis Corridor (Blue and Yellow lines)(Blue and Yellow lines)
PentagonPentagon City, Crystal CityNational Airport
12 million sq. ft. of Office space
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Planning PrinciplesPlanning Principles
“Smart growth”Density confined largely to R-B and JD corridors --Of total commercial office of 34.2 million sq. ft., 31.4 -- 92 % -- is in the two corridorsMaintain low-density neighborhoods outside corridor, preserve green space
The RosslynThe Rosslyn--Ballston CorridorBallston Corridor
Before & After
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ROSSLYNROSSLYN
. . . Then
& Now . . .
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ROSSLYNROSSLYN
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COURT HOUSECOURT HOUSE
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CLARENDONCLARENDON
Then . . .
. . . and Now
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VIRGINIA SQUARE VIRGINIA SQUARE
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BALLSTONBALLSTON
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Rosslyn
Ballston
Virginia Square
ClarendonCourthouse
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What Arlington DidWhat Arlington Did
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What Arlington DidWhat Arlington DidSet in motion a series of planning efforts to look at the future of the countyThe major policy goals that resulted were:– Strive for a 50/50 tax base mix of residential
and commercial– Strive for mixed-use development with a
significant level of residential– Preserve existing single family and garden
apartments– Focus redevelopment within 1/4 mile of metro
station entrances to encourage transit ridership
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What Arlington Did What Arlington Did –– Tools Tools
Defined the corridor on the General Land Use Plan (GLUP)
Adopted unique designations, specifying higher densities, mixed uses based on development goals
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What Arlington Did What Arlington Did –– ToolsTools
Then developed sector plans for each Metro station, focused on an area approximately 1/4 mile from the station
Give detailed guidance on County expectations for development
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What Arlington Did What Arlington Did –– ToolsTools
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What Arlington Did What Arlington Did –– ToolsTools
The sector plans identify– Desired public improvements– Location for retail– Urban design standards– Public infrastructure needs– Open space, streetscape standards
They are intended to tell landowners, developers and residents what the future of the station area will be and how individual parcels can be redeveloped
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GLUP, sector plans for Metro corridors indicate County’s willingness to rezone for higher density
In response to development proposals, county will rezone for higher density use shown on GLUP
Lower (pre-existing) zoning remains in place until proposal receives County Board approval of a special exception site plan
What Arlington Did What Arlington Did –– ToolsTools
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The site plan allows significantly higher density & height than underlying zoning (1.5 - 3.8, 55 ft - 153 ft)
Site plan is approved only if:
– It complies with the standards of the zoning ordinance,
– Is in compliance with the mix required by the GLUP
– Provides the features called for in the sector plan for the area -including public improvements
What Arlington Did What Arlington Did –– ToolsTools
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Property owner always maintains underlying by-right zoning until they implement approved site planThe zoning categories for site plans actually have lower base rights than the existing zoningSince owner requests rezoning reduced rights is not an issue
What Arlington Did What Arlington Did –– ToolsTools
Assessing Our SuccessAssessing Our Success
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MixedMixed--use Developmentuse Development
People live there: Station areas include more than 30,000 residential units – and rising
People shop there: 4.6 million sq. ft. of retail (mostly street-level)
People work there: Today Arlington has more office space than downtown
. . . Dallas . . . Pittsburgh . . . Denver . . .
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RR--B Corridor DevelopmentB Corridor Development
1970Office4,168,033Residential6,036 UNITS % Residential to office36%
2001Office
19,793,263Residential21,813 UNITS% Residential to office43%
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Household, Population & Household, Population & Employment in the REmployment in the R--B CorridorB Corridor
0
10,000
20,000
30,000
40,000
50,000
60,000
70,000
80,000
1972 1980 1990 2000 2003Est.
HH
Population
Employment
(Courtesy of Dennis Leach)
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Commercial Office and Retail Commercial Office and Retail Development in the RDevelopment in the R--B CorridorB Corridor
0
2.5
5
7.5
10
12.5
15
17.5
20
22.5
1972 1980 1990 2000 2003+UC
Office(M SF)
Retail(M SF)
(Courtesy of Dennis Leach)
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RR--B Corridor Residential and Hotel B Corridor Residential and Hotel DevelopmentDevelopment
0
3,000
6,000
9,000
12,000
15,000
18,000
21,000
24,000
27,000
1972 1980 1990 2000 2003+UC
HotelRooms
HousingUnits
(Courtesy of Dennis Leach)
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Market DemandMarket Demand
Office rents command a premium over suburban locations in the region
Office occupancy rates have outperformed most business locations in the last two business cycles
Residential demand is very strong across a number of housing types
Retail vacancy rates are low and supply is expanding
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Fiscal ImpactsFiscal Impacts
The R-B Corridor has a current assessed real estate value of over $9 billion, producing 32.8% of the County’s real estate tax revenue
The 7 station sectors in the 2 corridors produce nearly half of County real est. revenue – from ~7 % of its land areaArlington enjoys the lowest tax burden in the Washington Metropolitan area
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TOD ImpactsTOD Impacts
AM Peak AM Off PM Peak PM OffTime Periods
0
5
10
15
20
25
30
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Thou
sand
sPa
ssen
gers
EntriesExits
Arlington Metrorail StationsRidership by Time Period
Balanced development Balanced development ---- balanced balanced ridershipridership
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Benefits of TODBenefits of TOD
Getting to work – transit use– National avg: 4.7 %
– Fairfax County: 7.3 %
– Arlington: 23.3%
And, those who walk to work are double the national avg, 5 times Fairfax
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Benefits of TODBenefits of TOD
Car ownership (vehicles per household)– Nationally, almost 90% have a car;
55% have 2 or more
– In Fairfax, 96% have at least one;two-thirds have 2 or more
– Arlington: 12% have zero cars;less than 40% have 2 or more
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Benefits of TODBenefits of TOD
Numbers are more dramatic in Arlington’s Metro corridors– Car ownership: 17.9% have zero cars,
while less than 25% have 2 or more– Getting to work: Less than half drive
• 39.3% use transit• 10.5% walk or bike• 2.3 work at home
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Metrorail Access at 5 RMetrorail Access at 5 R--B Corridor B Corridor Stations Stations -- 39,500 Daily 39,500 Daily BoardingsBoardings
73.0%
7.5%
3.6%
12.9% 2.0%1.0%
Walk
Metrobus
OtherBus/VanpoolAuto (incl. Drop-off)Other
No Response
(Courtesy of Dennis Leach)
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Metrorail Access at 4 Suburban Orange Metrorail Access at 4 Suburban Orange Line Stations Line Stations -- 29,250 Daily 29,250 Daily BoardingsBoardings
14.6%
9.3%
4.8%
57.6%
12.0%
1.7% Walk
Metrobus
Other Bus/Vanpool
Auto (incl. drop-off)
Other
NoResponse/Unknown
(Courtesy of Dennis Leach)
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Transportation System PerformanceTransportation System Performance
Despite growth in corridors, and throughout region, traffic growth in corridors has been modest
Major increases on the interstates (I-66 and I-395) due to regional and local factors
Stable to modest increases of traffic on most arterial streets
Stable to modest increases in traffic on residential streets
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Traffic TrendsTraffic Trends
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5,000
10,000
15,000
20,000
25,000W
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(Courtesy of Dennis Leach)
ChallengesChallenges
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Major ChallengesMajor Challenges
Affordable housing
Affordable housing
Affordable housing
Affor – well, you get the idea . . .
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Major ChallengesMajor Challenges
Maintaining independent retail and other small business
Quality architecture
Coherence of built environment (creating attractive streets and other public spaces)
Historic preservation
Uneven condition of public infrastructure
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Major ChallengesMajor Challenges
And did I mention affordable housing?
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Thank you