YIMBYs of NoVA

Dear Members of the Arlington County Board,

The Arlington County Vision Statement reads: “Arlington will be a diverse and inclusive world-class urban community with secure, attractive residential and commercial neighborhoods where people unite to form a caring, learning, participating, sustainable community in which each person is important.”

We whole-heartedly endorse this vision. Arlington is a world-class community because of its diversity and its economic vibrancy. But Arlington’s diversity and vitality are at risk from a severe housing shortage that is getting worse every year.

Our housing crisis puts stress on Arlingtonians at every stage of life. Seniors struggle to find affordable rental homes or a place to downsize in their neighborhoods. Young professionals ready to buy cannot find starter homes. This is a brain drain, where our educated and committed neighbors are forced to relocate from Arlington. Every year, it is more challenging to fill critical County positions, like Extended Day workers, substitute teachers, and entry level police cadets. People who grew up here and want to continue to live here are being pushed out. Arlington has one fewer Title 1 school because low-income families can’t afford to stay in Arlington.

Renters who do stay face the constant fear of rent increases or other displacement. Many families are spending way too much of their income on rent, effectively locking them into poverty. Homelessness and food insecurity are once again on the increase.

The only way to preserve the Arlington that we love is to allow more housing. The update to the Comprehensive Plan is a once-in-a-generation opportunity to set the groundwork for responsible and sustainable growth with the fundamental belief that people are what make Arlington great, and a welcoming, diverse community must allow for and encourage diverse and abundant housing to meet the needs of all Arlingtonians, and those who have yet to come.

Arlington has gone through monumental change in the last 150 years. We understand the truth in the statement that ‘the only constant is change.’ If a county or country rejects change there is no growth, no progress. The inability to change can result in stagnation. Stagnation means not reaching our full potential, giving up on our vision statement, closing the door to new neighbors, more segregation, and falling into polarized groups that unfortunately have become a predominant feature of our county at this moment in time.

We envision an Arlington where people from all walks of life and different backgrounds are welcome; where deeply affordable housing is prioritized; where the people who drive our school buses, care for our babies, make our lattes, cut our hair, repair our cars, attend to our elderly can find a place to live; a county that is actively dismantling the legacy of past racist housing policies; where a wide range of housing types across our 26 square miles results in neighborhoods and schools that are economically and racial integrated.