Sun Gazette Arlington October 16, 2014

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INSIDE

Arlington SAT scores see modest progress upward – Story, Page 12

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OPERA EVENT SALUTES GMU

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CANDIDATES IFFY ON BID FOR OLYMPICS

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WAKEFIELD A WINNER AGAIN ON GRIDIRON

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Highs & Lows Letters 55+ News Business Police Beat Crossword Local History

THE 2 FOR YOU!

SunGazette

VOLUME 79 NO. 47

RE/MAX Distinctive

ARLINGTON’S SOURCE FOR HOMETOWN NEWS SINCE 1935

OCTOBER 16, 2014

County Officials Go Methodically on Housing Plan

STAYING SAFE FROM FIRE DANGERS

Arlington government officials are taking it methodically, moving one step at a time as they work toward presenting the County Board with affordablehousing proposals in late spring or early summer 2015. “We’ve got a lot of conversations to have,” housing director David Cristeal told members of the Arlington County Civic Federation in outlining how far the multi-year-study process has come, and how far it has to go. County officials are anticipating 30,000 new households in Arlington by 2040, an increase of more than 30 percent from what exists now, and are working to update to government’s Comprehensive Plan to include long-range strategies to address the growth and attempt to retain affordable housing in an evermore-expensive community.

The Affordable Housing Study Working Group, chaired by Rev. Dr. Leonard Hamlin Sr., was set up by the County Board to advise on strategies and has been meeting since March 2013. But as the discussion unfolds, the clock keeps ticking: The number of rental units available to those of moderate incomes (about $60,000 or less for a family of four) in Arlington has fallen from 20,000 in 2000 to 5,000 in 2012, as rising rents continue to outpace increases in wages. “There’s a widening affordability gap,” said Russell DanaoSchroeder, a senior housing planner for the county government’s Department of Community Planning, Housing & Development. County staff aim to meet with Continued on Page 29

Fairfax Supervisors Vote to Move Forward on Streetcar

Saturday’s rain may have lessened the crowds but it couldn’t dampen the enthusiasm of those who attended open houses at Arlington’s fire stations as part of National Fire Prevention Week activities. Above, Julia and Anna Patching were among PHOTO BY DEB KOLT those who visited the Cherrydale Volunteer Fire Station.

The Fairfax board’s approval was required because the project will travel from Arlington into Fairfax, and the Board of Supervisors has agreed to pay about 20 percent of the project’s local cost. Read about the Fairfax action on Page 20.

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It wasn’t a unanimous vote – nothing on the issue ever seems to be – but the Fairfax County Board of Supervisors last week followed the lead of the Arlington County Board and approved moving ahead with engineering services for the Columbia Pike streetcar.


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