On March 22, the Arlington County Board voted 5-0 to adopt a series of Zoning Ordinance and General Land Use Plan amendments related to its Missing Middle Housing Study (MMHS). According to the county, “missing middle” is a term that refers to the range of housing types (e.g., duplexes, triplexes, townhomes) that fit between single-family detached homes and mid-to-high-rise apartment buildings.

The recently-adopted amendments will allow for Expanded Housing Options (EHO) development for up to six units per residential lot—if certain conditions are met, including the same building height, setbacks and size as allowed for single-detached homes. EHO development will be allowed by right on properties in the R-20, R-10, R-8, R-6, and R-5 districts, according to the county. The Washington Post reports that starting July 1 of this year, the county will issue 58 permits annually for “missing middle” buildings and the annual cap will be lifted in 2028.

A county bulletin states that single-family detached housing makes up 24 percent of Arlington’s housing and 73 percent of the land area that contains housing. Together, stacked duplex, side-by-side duplex, townhouse, and low-rise multifamily make up 18 percent of the residential land area in the county, according to the bulletin. Arlington is 26 square miles and has a population of 232,965, 76.3 percent of whom (ages 25+) have a bachelor’s degree or higher, according to the U.S. Census Bureau. As of last month, the median home price in Arlington was $645,000, nearly double the national figure, according to the Post.

Last Updated on March 27, 2023 by Ramin Seddiq