As part of the County’s 2021 Resurfacing Projects for Complete Streets program https://projects.arlingtonva.us/projects/resurfacing-projects-for-complete-streets-2021- season/, the County will be making improvements to Wilson Blvd between N. Frederick and N. George Mason.

Based on community feedback during two online open houses and the location-specific comments community members shared via two rounds of community engagement, the County has developed a final plan, which is here https://projects.arlingtonva.us/wp- content/uploads/sites/31/2021/08/Final-Concept_Wilson-Blvd_N-Frederick-St_N- George-Mason-Dr-Graphic.pdf and on the project page. https://projects.arlingtonva.us/projects/resurfacing-projects-for-complete-streets-2021- season/

The County has also posted summaries of the final plan, which highlight the planned improvements and shows how your feedback helped us get there. Check out the final plan summary for Wilson Boulevard. https://projects.arlingtonva.us/wp- content/uploads/sites/31/2021/08/Wilson-Boulevard-Final-Plan-Summary.pdf

County staff anticipate that milling and repaving work for this section of Wilson Boulevard will begin in late August, weather permitting. As dates solidify, the will post updates to the project page.

In order to allow Bluemont Civic Association members time to discuss the request for renewal of a one-year use permit for a family daycare facility at 706 N. George Mason, County staff have postponed the County Board’s decision until October. Bluemont residents with views on this permit request are encouraged to join the September 29 General Membership virtual meeting to discuss this Use Permit renewal request. The meeting will start at 7:30 pm via zoom. Here is the meeting link.

Register in advance for this meeting: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0kdeytpzkoGdAw6zAG6Igj0GgizRfo5gub After registering, you will receive a confirmation email containing information about joining the meeting.

The County planner has asked the Bluemont Civic Association to provide our position on this permit renewal request by October 1, 2021. The civic association could include community input for our September 29 meeting in our response to the County.

  The request is for a 1-year Use Permit review for a family daycare home for up to 12 children (Smart Start Day Care), located at 706 N. George Mason Drive.

The Bluemont Civic Association has received the County’s previously approved report regarding this Use Permit request for reference. If you are a Bluemont resident, and would like this report, please contact exec@bluemontcivic.org.

If you have questions about the Use Permit request, please contact

Anika Chowdhury
DEPARTMENT OF COMMUNITY PLANNING, HOUSING AND DEVELOPMENT| PLANNING DIVISION
2100 Clarendon Blvd. Suite 700
Arlington, VA 22201
MAIN (703) 228-0096|DIRECT (703) 228-0097
achowdhury@arlingtonva.us

The position of the Bluemont Civic Association is that County staff should immediately inform implicated neighbors of a permit request rather than waiting until a proposal is ready to go to the County Board. The Bluemont Civic Association cannot take a position on a permit without knowing the views of neighbors, so it is critical that the County inform them soonest.  As an organization with only monthly meetings and the need to provide one-month’s notice to our members of a potential resolution and/or vote, there is a potential for as much as a two-month lag between when we are informed by the County staff and when we might be able to take a position on a specific issue such as this.  This time lag is unfair to both the applicant and to the affected neighbors.

On August 29, the construction company for the Harris Teeter site project (600 N. Glebe) informed the civic association that the construction work will be performed along N. Glebe Road in the nighttime hours, as required by the Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT). VDOT requires that all work in the roadway that will require the closing of two lanes of travel must be done at night.

The company will be starting the construction work in about two weeks and the work will last between 4 and 6 weeks. The construction manager said they will make every effort to keep the noise level to a minimum during the late-night hours. They apologize in advance for any disruptions that this may course residents, and will make every effort to get this work complete as quickly as possible.

If you have any questions or would like more information, please contact exec@bluemontcivic.org for the contact information of the construction contractor.

Everyone gets to ring the bell! We'll have grab-and-go bags for the kids, and the young at heart. And, we'll have the latest League of Women Voters information about the November elections in Virginia! Come join this family-friendly Arlington tradition!

County staff is planning to seek County Board approval in July for outdoor seating for the Silver Diner at The Waycroft building, 750 N. Glebe, as well as a Site Plan Amendment to allow changes to the facade lighting of the building to be decided administratively, rather than going to the County Board.

County staff plan to host a virtual meeting to introduce the project and get feedback from the community. The County will establish the date and time of this meeting in the coming days.

The County planner has provided preliminary drawings to the Bluemont Civic Association soon, and will later provide final drawings.

The planned outdoor seating would leave an eight-foot public right of way for pedestrians around the outdoor seating.

If you, or anyone you know would like to be kept informed about this project, please contact exec@bluemontcivic.org. You are encouraged to share your views with the County and the civic association.

The civic association has formed two working groups, which are seeking members:

N. Carlin Springs Road Safety Improvement Task Force

Missing Middle Housing Study Working Group

If you would like to join either group, please contact exec@bluemontcivic.org.

Working group/task force members are required to be civic association members, which requires residency in Bluemont and being current on annual dues.

Although public health conditions do not currently allow us to bring a copy to your doorstep, we are pleased to provide you an electronic copy of Neighborhood News at this link http://www.bluemontcivic.org/newsletters/BCA_News_202004.pdf

We plan to update the newsletter and hand-deliver it once that is again possible.

Neighborhood News is normally delivered to homes in Bluemont in April and October. If you would like monthly e-mail updates, please contact exec@bluemontcivic.org.