Arlington County Missing Middle Housing Study
In Fall 2020, Arlington County began the Missing Middle Housing Study to explore how a variety of housing types could help address gaps in Arlington’s housing choices. What can we expect from the study? We share our thoughts here on the wide range of potential outcomes and how you can get involved.
Arlington County’s Missing Middle Housing Study will investigate the possible role of missing middle housing in increasing the county’s housing supply and diversifying its range of housing choices.
The study’s scope acknowledges that Arlington’s vision to be a diverse and inclusive community depends on being able to offer a full range of housing types and affordability levels. Given these needs, the County Board established the Housing Arlington Initiative in 2019. The umbrella program seeks to address housing affordability on many fronts to expand the supply of housing, broaden the types of housing available, and preserve or increase the supply of affordable housing units. The Missing Middle Housing Study is one component of this larger Housing Arlington initiative.
This investigation occurs in the context of the County’s Housing Arlington program and will synergize with other efforts that fall under the Housing Arlington umbrella.
Image source: Arlington County
Why do a study?
Like many other communities around the country, Arlington has made building small house-sized buildings with multiple units (e.g. duplex, triplex, fourplex) either illegal or extremely difficult in the vast majority of the county. These smaller and lower cost housing types are great options for downsizing seniors, singles, young couples etc. who are not ready or able to purchase a single-family house. Right now there are very few housing options other than single-family homes outside of our Metro corridors. These “missing” home types used to be legal but were eliminated over time (see Research Bulletin 4 for more information).
In fact, in some of our older neighborhoods like Cherrydale and Aurora Highlands there are several of these that are “grandfathered” under current zoning rules, meaning they were in place before the current zoning and if the owner wanted to rebuild the only thing they could build back is a single-family house.
The missing middle study is looking at how and where Arlington might allow some of these housing types to be re-legalized and reintroduced into residential areas. The reason this is starting as a study is because it’s not clear right now which housing types, if any, are the best fit for which places around the county. Furthermore, there are multiple ways that these types can potentially be incorporated into our planning and zoning regulations. It’s very unlikely that there will be a one size fits all solution proposed. There are a lot of details that will need to be included in any eventual proposals, and the study will evaluate a variety of options prior to proposing specific solutions.
How much change will there be?
This is one of the fundamental questions that the study can help answer. County staff have stated that it’s very unlikely that nothing will be proposed. This is because there are a number of small changes that could be made to existing rules to help achieve the study’s goals of increasing housing options and supply.
At a minimum, any proposal(s) eventually coming out of the study could be very narrowly targeted to reduce some of the unnecessary barriers in our current zoning regulations that drive up housing costs. These may include small changes to existing rules about where and how a duplex could be allowed within existing single-family zoned areas.
For example, currently duplexes are allowed by use permit or site plan in R-5 and R-6 zoning districts, but ONLY in certain circumstances where the sites are abutting RA, C, or M districts or on a principal or minor arterial street (see p. 17 of Research Bulletin 4). One proposed update might be something as simple as changing the minimum lot width or area required in those circumstances to enable more projects on these sites to be feasible. A smaller lot width and area might allow smaller duplexes than we currently allow, which would also naturally reduce the cost for these types of homes. Additional allowable locations and circumstances could also be considered.
Beyond these minimal updates, the study might theoretically result in one or more proposed changes in later phases. The County has not said what changes it might consider, but we can speculate on a few types of proposals that might arise (the details of each would need to be worked out):
Expanding current options beyond duplexes to allow triplex or fourplex in certain defined circumstances;
Adding certain locations to the list of sites potentially eligible for a 2-4 unit structure;
Changing and streamlining the approval process for certain allowable housing types in certain circumstances;
Expanding the residential zones where missing middle housing types are allowed while retaining some or all of the conditions that are required; or
Adding a new “missing middle” zoning district that could be located in specific places around the county to supplement our current zones.
None of the above theoretical options involve a scenario that would create sweeping change across the entire county or entire neighborhoods, but all are potential outcomes of the Missing Middle Housing Study.
Study Timeline
This graphic shows the County’s representation of the study timeline as of late 2020 and is subject to change as the process moves forward.
Source: Arlington County
If broader changes are supported by the outcomes of the study, other potential proposals might include, for example, adding certain missing middle housing types as a by-right use across all single-family residential zones.
Where we end up on the spectrum of potential changes depends a lot on what the County staff and elected officials hear from residents and stakeholders in Arlington during the study. Although some of the stakeholders involved may have their own views on which end of the spectrum we should fall, there is far from one single foregone conclusion. Analysis and engagement that take place as part of the study will help guide Arlington leaders to make their decisions when the time comes.
How to engage in the study
The County has invited all interested groups and individuals to sign on as Community Partners. Partners will be provided with information that they can share to help the community learn about and engage in the study. Community Partners are also providing feedback to the county on what they are hearing during their outreach meetings.
Periodically throughout the study’s phases, there will be opportunities for input from the whole community, whether through online surveys and input tools, or through meetings with staff and elected leaders. We will post these opportunities here on this site as they become available.
Sign up to receive updates as we add to the information on this site or engage more with us as a member of the Missing Middle Network.
The Missing Middle Housing Study is envisioned in three phases:
Phase 1
Developing a common understanding of Arlington’s housing challenges and community priorities, discuss definitions, preliminary ideas, and key considerations for inclusion in future phases of the study.
Phase 2
Focused study of specific housing types being considered including where different types might be located throughout the county and what other studies might be needed.
Phase 3
Consideration of how to implement the conclusions of the previous phases, possibly leading to recommendations to amend the General Land Use Plan, Zoning Ordinance, and other policies and work programs.
Research Compendium
As a part of the ongoing Missing Middle Housing study, Arlington County released five bulletins offering background on Arlington’s housing supply, an overview of housing affordability, zoning history, and more. Visit the full Research Compendium page or explore each topic below.
