Arlington Co. residents file lawsuit to stop 'missing middle' ordinance

ARLINGTON COUNTY, Va. — Arlington County residents have filed a lawsuit, halting an ordinance aiming to add more housing options such as duplexes, triplexes and townhomes.

County lawmakers unanimously approved the 'Missing Middle' zoning reform in March after a years-long debate over housing.

According to the Arlington County website, the "Missing Middle" refers to the size and types of homes relative to their location, in the middle. Missing middle homes appeal to a more diverse section of the community, such as young professionals, growing families, older adults and public servants like teachers or firefighters. 

While missing middle areas exist within Arlington, officials say 75% of the county's land use is zoned for exclusively single-family, detached housing. When county lawmakers voted to change the zoning, developers were welcome to submit permits to build multi-family housing. 

The controversial decision came after months of debate, with more than 200 community members giving feedback. 

Nearly a month after the unanimous vote, residents have filed a lawsuit to halt the missing middle zoning reform, also known as the Expanded Housing Option Development. The lawsuit names 10 residents against the County Board of Arlington, Virginia. 

The residents claim the development will lead to overcrowding, congestion and have "significant adverse impacts" on Arlington County's infrastructure, tree canopy, air quality, schools and public services. 

The lawsuit claims the Board of Arlington would study the impact of the proposal on the county, but it never did.

"The Board also represented to County residents that before it would propose and vote on specific zoning ordinance amendments, it would undertake 'detailed studies' of the impact of the Missing Middle Housing proposal on County facilities and infrastructure, traffic congestion, sewer and storm water management and overcrowding in the public schools among other things," the lawsuit reads. "It conducted no such studies, even though it was required by law to give 'reasonable consideration to all of these issues in formulating the zoning ordinance amendments." 

Additionally, residents claim the board failed to comply with statutory notices and requirements when voting to approve the change in residential zoning, leaving residents little to no time to understand or comment on the proposal.

"The Board cobbled together a slew of confusing options that kept residents in the dark about the nature of the proposed ordinance until the Board discussed the options after it closed time for public comment," the lawsuit says.  

Residents allege that the zoning amendment does not promote goals within the public's interest and will not create more affordable housing, just create different types of housing without addressing the issue. 

"It will, rather, increase housing type diversity and density without making housing more affordable," the lawsuit reads. 

The lawsuit claims that because the Board failed to consider factors and acted outside the scope of its powers, an injunction be placed in order to halt the amending of Arlington County's rezoning amendment. 

Robert and Monica Parker are named in the lawsuit. The Parkers say they bought their home due to its location in a small neighborhood. The amendment would reportedly allow for four units of any size or apartments to be built on lots in the area. 

The Parkers worry the new housing would intensify storm water runoff and sanitary sewer system use, causing flooding and sewer backups on their property. The couple says they live near a flood zone and have had to deal with flood damage in 2019 and damages from a sewer backup in 2021 with the less dense development. 

Katherine Pernia is also named in the lawsuit. She worries about how the new housing would cause higher tax assessments and the negative impact on parking on her street.