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Court Decision Overturns Missing Middle Ordinance in Arlington

  • September 27th 2024

by UrbanTurf Staff

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DC's Missing Middle: Figure 1
Graphic of the "Missing Middle", ©Opticos Design. Click to enlarge.

In the spring of 2023, the Arlington County Board voted unanimously to approve allowing Missing Middle housing in Arlington neighborhoods where single-family homes were only previously allowed. A court ruling on Friday may put an end to that. 

Today, a circuit court judge ruled that the new ordinance should be struck down, as the impacts of missing middle housing in Arlington had not been adequately studied.  

The term “missing middle” was coined by architect Daniel Parolek to describe the dearth of housing types — somewhere between single-family homes and mid-rise multi-family buildings — that would accommodate the needs of a large swath of the middle class. The approval of the ordinance last spring made it easier to build townhouses, duplexes and 4-6 unit buildings. Today's ruling means that the county can not issue permits for this type of housing in areas previously zoned for single-family homes. 

It is likely that Arlington will appeal today's ruling, continuing what has been a contentious battle between those lobbying for missing middle housing and those fighting against it. Arlington is the first jurisdiction in the DC region to widely approve missing middle housing; Minneapolis and Portland, Oregon approved similar measures in recent years. 

This article originally published at https://dc.urbanturf.com/articles/blog/court_decision_overturns_missing_middle_ordinance_in_arlington/22763.

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