In June 2021, the County released its first mockups of new density for redevelopment along a 5-mile corridor stretching west of Rosslyn to East Falls Church, referred to as “Plan Langston Boulevard”.76 The county claimed it had proceeded in a straight line of public engagement that began in 2018, with community meetings, charettes, etc. Between 2018 and 2022, the county changed its recommendation for high density from three key nodes. The efforts of the Langston Boulevard Alliance (LBA)77convinced County staff eventually to reduce the high density at the nodes from 10-12 stories where there are now only one-story shops with surface parking down to a lower density (6 or 7 stories) for most of the corridor. If it were not for the efforts of the Langston Boulevard Alliance and its leadership team, this reduction in density and building height may not have occurred.
While it is a “positive” that LBA Leadership was able to get county staff to back off concerning building heights, other members of the community are still not sold on the Preliminary Concept Plan because it assumes that the Site Review Process78 will provide for the infrastructure needs of the Langston Boulevard corridor. See section 10.1.2 for details.
76 https://www.arlingtonva.us/Government/Projects/Plans-Studies/Land-Use/Plan-Langston-Boulevard
77 https://www.langstonblvdalliance.com/about.html
78 https://www.arlingtonva.us/Government/Programs/Building/Review-Processes/Site-Plan
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