Non-Arlingtonian weighs in on Arlington process without disclosing non-Arlington residency and other issues.

The Founder of the YIMBYs of NOVA group, an Alexandria resident, writes to the Arlington County Planning Commission without disclosing that he is not an Arlington resident. He also uses a Facebook group’s numbers as supporters for his initiatives without disclosing it to the group. Even members of that Facebook group pushback on misleading tactics that skew Arlington’s public engagement process.

Despite these misleading participation methods, the County Board has asked and even relied on these advocacy groups to participate in order to “push” a project through.

Advocacy group(s) working closely with County Board to “provide cover” appear to have controversial funding sources

In this section, the YIMBYs of NOVA are an example of an advocacy group who “provide cover” at public County Board meetings and in which the County Board relies on to attend even community meetings to give the appearance of support for a policy or project, especially ones that are highly contested by Arlington residents. If advocacy groups are working closely with the County Board to further an agenda, then how those groups are being funded and supported are a necessary part of a transparent government given their role in both public meetings and behind closed doors.

“The group [YIMBYS of NOVA] was founded by local organizer Luca Gattoni-Celli, alongside co-founders Adam Theo and Dan Alban…Gattoni-Celli has received grant funding from Emergent Ventures, a fellowship program out of George Mason’s Mercatus Center. The Center has received criticism for its association with far-right figures like the Koch billionaires who allegedly have a direct say over the hiring of certain professors. Emergent Ventures, in particular, was launched partly by a grant from the Peter Thiel Foundation to advance neoliberal business ideas. Other grantees include people like Louise Perry and Fiona Mackenzie, the creators of a conservative feminist think tank, who have perpetuated transphobic talking points in the past, and Kathleen Harward, who writes children’s books promoting classical market-based values. These are grants, in essence, being used to fund the pet projects of a billionaire. 

In general, we don’t know a whole lot about how YIMBYs of NOVA is directly funded, but when we check out their tax ID on their website, they appear to be a chapter of the organization called YIMBY ACTION, a California-based group that has received funding from the likes of the Chan Zuckerberg Initiative Advocacy (yes that Zuckerberg). We don’t know how that funding is diverted to YIMBYs of NOVA, but since the funding we do know of (e.g., the Emergent Ventures grant) is backed by far-right actors, it’s fair to say that residents concerned about corporate influence should be skeptical. Similar tactics —of business interests banking the YIMBY position to spur development— have been used elsewhere, most notably in California (see a breakdown here). “

Source: What do YIMBYS of NOVA really want?

Story summarized potential Code of Ethics and Process Guidelines violation.

Nelly Custis Park: Staff appears to coach and prepare a resident for a public meeting to speak out against fellow community members, spreads misinformation and attempts to skew results among other egregious actions.

The ArlNow column summary of events ⁵⁴⁴;

• County staff failed to follow Arlington’s code of ethics,
• Committees failed to follow their own process guidelines,
• Persons with special interests undisclosed in the NCAC approval process worked nearly exclusively with staff, and
• Numerous efforts were pursued (both publicly and with staff) to exclude, discredit and even falsely campaign against residents including stakeholders, working group members and active civic volunteers.

The serious community engagement issues highlighted by all these recent controversies include⁵⁴⁵:

• Lack of a needs assessment including demographic information,
• Prematurely deciding that a proposed project is needed at all,
• Properly defining the nature of the proposed project and alternatives to it,
• Providing adequate public notice to close-by residents and all stakeholders,
• Need for properly designed community surveys,
• Undue influence exercised by organized special interests, and
• Lack of fair and neutral stewardship by County staff.

County Manager was notified of these and other issues early on and initially dismissed concerns. Ultimately as the evidence of serious process issues was shared more broadly, the County Manager and the Director of the Parks Department publicly apologized.⁵⁴⁶

*See more tactics used by individuals and advocacy groups who work with staff and the County Board in Methods to Marginalize or Stifle Substantive Criticism and Lack of transparency in Citizen-Commissioner appointments