Marc Hayes with the City of Arlington spoke about “Mixed Use Development in Arlington” at our April 6 meeting.

 

Marc has called Arlington home for 47 years, he is married with 3 grown children and 2 grandchildren, Marc Hayes has been employed with the City for 34 years, throughout that time he has worked in various positions with several departments Public Works, Airport, Engineering and now as Community and Economic Development Director.

 

At least 7,000 additional residents are coming.  Where will they all live?  By 2035 population estimates for Arlington are projected to increase from 18,489 to 24,937.  There isn’t enough land area to allow for that growth.  High housing costs south of us are driving people north.  More jobs being created on the north end. 

About 70% of housing in Arlington is single family.  Want to maintain the feel of Arlington.  Want to get away from being auto dependent.  Bring housing to retail (mixed use).  Affordable housing and low income housing are necessary.

  

Mixed use development makes for three dimensional, pedestrian oriented places that layer compatible land uses, public amenities and utilities together at various scales and intensities.

 

2,890 deficit in housing units in Arlington.  Of those, 1,040 should be affordable housing units, 384 should service the elderly, and the remaining low income.

 

The land use approach allows for the effective use of limited real estate through efficient development of vacant land, redevelopment of existing land and optimizing the use of underutilized properties.  This provides for the efficiency of a traditional “town” where residents lived, worked, recreated and supported the essential services available to them, all without the necessity to drive. 

 

To ensure that there is uniformity of both current and future development, the guiding principle for Mixed Use Development will be Form Based Code- a means of regulating land development to achieve a specific urban form.  Fosters predictable built results and a high-quality public realm.

 

Horizontal mixed use builds up rather than out.  Allows for services, retail, and housing all in walking distance.  Vertical mixed use is like a typical downtown area.  Walkable neighborhoods allow people to live within a quarter mile of services.

 

Mixed use is accomplished by overlay zone - superimposed over one or more existing zones and imposes additional restrictions; or Re-zone - changes the underlying zoning.

 

Benefits - Spurs revitalization; promotes village style mix of retail, services, housing; enhances community’s unique identity and development potential; reduces dependency on cars; promotes sense of community provides more housing opportunities; increases revenues

Challenges - time, public participation, ensuring the proper mix of uses, parking, implementation of form based code.

 

City Council will review the plan for mixed use developments in June or July.