June 2026 County Board Meeting Agenda Highlights
The Arlington County Board will consider and act on several items at its Regular and Recessed meetings. The Regular meeting will be held on Saturday, June 13, 2026, at 9:30 a.m.
Please note that the Recessed Meeting will be held on Wednesday, June 17, 2026, at 3:00 p.m., not Tuesday, June 16. These meetings are open to the public. Please visit the County website for information on speaking at a County Board Meeting.
Virtual participation options are available to the public through Microsoft Teams. If you are sick, please consider watching the meeting's live webcast or cable broadcast or participating virtually via Microsoft Teams. More information on how to participate or watch virtually is provided below.
Comment on Agenda Items and Speak at the Meeting
Please send your written comments on agenda items to the County Board at CountyBoard@arlingtonva.us. All comments received by the Board are made part of the public record and are before the Board members as they consider items.
If you wish to comment during the Public Comment period at the start of the Regular Hearing or on a Regular Public Hearing item, please register in advance on the County Board website, where you can also find more details on public participation in virtual Board Meetings, or call the Board Office at 703-228-3130 from 8 a.m.- 5 p.m., Monday-Friday. Online registration opens once the agenda for the meeting is posted, approximately one week before the meeting. In-person registration is also available on the day of the meetings.
Watch it Live
All County Board meetings are live-streamed on the County website, Agenda and Minutes webpage, YouTube, and broadcast live on Arlington TV, the County's cable channel, with live captioning on Comcast 25 & 1073 (HD) and Verizon FiOS 39 & 40. Videos of Board meetings are archived on the County website (with captions and staff reports) and on YouTube.
Saturday, June 13, 2026 – Regular County Board Meeting
Item 35 – RTA on Ban on Gas Powered Leaf Blowers
The Arlington County Board will consider a request to advertise a public hearing at its July 2026 Board meeting to prohibit the operation of gas-powered leaf blowers and gas-powered leaf vacuums in Arlington County with a three-year phase-out period, effective July 18, 2029.
The proposed amendments consist of the following action:
- Amending Section 15-3 (Definitions) to create distinct legal definitions for "Gas-powered leaf blower" and "Gas-powered leaf vacuum."
- Amending Section 15-6 (Prohibited Acts) to make it unlawful to operate or permit the operation of gas-powered leaf blowers and gas-powered leaf vacuums at any time.
- Establishing a 36-month phase-out period, making the ordinance effective on July 18, 2029, to give residents and businesses time to transition to electric alternatives
The proposed prohibition of gas-powered leaf blowers and vacuums advances Arlington County's goals to reduce noise pollution, improve quality of life for residents, and promote sustainable practices. Gas-powered leaf blowers produce high-decibel, low-frequency sound that travel long distances and penetrate structures, impacting the overall quality of life. Further, these machines emit significant greenhouse gases and smog-forming pollutants for their size.
Nearly 4,000 residents participated in the public engagement process that informed these recommendations, with intentional outreach to landscaping businesses that operate within the County. Many County residents support prohibiting gas-powered leaf blowers, while many business representatives raised concerns about the upfront cost, lack of financing, and performance of electric alternatives.
Item 36 – Alexan Courthouse, 2000 15th St. N.
The Arlington County Board will consider both a site plan amendment (#36A) and an ordinance to vacate (#36B) that will permit and facilitate the redevelopment of the 2000 15th St. N. site. If approved, a new 19-story residential building containing up to 394 residential units, and 269 underground parking spaces, will replace a 12-story, mostly vacant office building at this location.
In the context of Arlington County’s Commercial Market Resiliency Initiative, the proposal advances the County’s broader strategy to address obsolete office inventory and respond to changing market conditions. Replacing a nearly vacant and outdated office building with new housing would remove underperforming commercial space from an oversupplied office market, support reinvestment in the site, and introduce a more active residential use within walking distance of transit.
The office vacancy rate in Courthouse the first quarter of 2026 was at 31.5% vacancy. The approval of this proposal to demolish the existing office and construct residential would reduce the office vacancy by 3.2 percentage points to 28.3%.
Base density (239,664 sq. ft.) requirements for this site plan include several improvements such as:
- New sidewalks, curbs and gutter;
- Site landscaping and street trees;
- A base affordable housing contribution of either $1,953,162 to the Affordable Housing Investment Fund, or 18 on-site CAF units, or 26 off-site CAF units nearby or 35 CAF units elsewhere;
- A public art contribution; and
- On-site stormwater management facilities.
To achieve the additional ground floor area requested (169,893 sq. ft.) as bonus density, the applicant has proposed a community benefits package that also includes:
- A choice of either an additional $5M Affordable Housing Investment Fund contribution or 9 on-site committed affordable housing units.
- Participation in the green building incentives program;
- A dedication of a public access easement; and
- EV parking.
Wednesday, June 17, 2026 – Recessed County Board Meeting
Item 37 – Local Historic District Designation request for the Nelly Custis Elementary School/Melwood, located at 750 23 Rd St. S.
The Arlington County Board will also consider whether to deny or approve the local historic district (LHD) designation request for the Nelly Custis Elementary School/Melwood property located at 750 23rd St. S.
The Arlington County Historic Preservation Program (HPP) staff does not recommend the LHD designation since it does not meet the designation criteria necessary to become an LHD. Further, the property owner did not request and does not support this designation. However, many members of the Aurora Highlands community, including the Aurora Highlands Civic Association, support the designation.
The timeline of this process is as follows:
- In April 2024, the Community Planning, Housing and Development (CPHD) Neighborhood Services Division-Historic Preservation Program received a Local Historic District (LHD) designation nomination application for the Nelly Custis Elementary School.
- In June 2024, the Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board (HALRB) reviewed the LHD request and made a motion for Historic Preservation Program (HPP) staff to study the property, as information provided in the nomination application suggested the property may meet at least two criteria to become an LHD.
- On March 18, 2026, at a HALRB public hearing, the HALRB made a motion that the Nelly Custis Elementary School met two of the 11 designation criteria enumerated in ACZO §11.3.4.A.6 as necessary to receive a local historic district recommendation. Pursuant to its authority under ACZO Section 11.3.4.A.7 and 11.3.4.A.8, the HALRB favorably transmitted such recommendation to the County Board for further consideration.
- On April 22, 2026, the County Board adopted an Initiating Resolution to consider adoption of an ordinance establishing this local historic designation at a future public meeting.
- On May 16, 2026, the County Board authorized advertisement of public hearings to consider this local historic designation for the Planning Commission and County Board’s respective June 2026 meetings.
Public Hearings
The Regular meeting will begin at 9:30 a.m. on Saturday, June 13, with public comment, followed by the consent agenda vote and remarks, and regular hearing items. The Recessed Meeting will begin at 3:00 p.m. on Wednesday, June 17, with reports from the Board and County Manager. Agenda items will be heard no earlier than 6:30 p.m., with regular hearing items first, followed by items pulled from the Saturday Consent Agenda.
View the agenda and staff reports (Note: some reports are posted closer to the meeting date.
Media Contact
David Barrera
Comms & Constituent Services Manager
Arlington County Board Office
dbarrera@arlingtonva.us
703-228-3121
View this release in our newsroom
