Who opposes affordable housing for people with disabilities? When is community engagement no longer serving the community? Can historic preservation be weaponized?
This past weekend the Arlington County Board finally voted on whether to approve the Melwood affordable housing development. Currently a nonprofit providing employment, education, and other support to people with disabilities, Melwood has operated out of a building its predecessor owned since 1981.
It's been an unnecessarily long and painful process. Melwood began exploring plans to redevelop the site in order to better fulfill its mission by offering affordable housing in 2020 and filed formal plans with the county in late 2021. Until Saturday it had been in three years of planning and community engagement hell. Multiple modifications over many rounds of good faith back-and-forth with opponents who it turns out would not be satisfied with any realistic change.
The final proposal ended up as 105 units plus a new facility for Melwood's operations in a 5-story building, with all housing as committed affordable (CAF) for households as low as 30% of the Average Median Income (AMI). This was still too much for many NIMBY neighbors, who still opposed the project with devilish claims the nonprofit was merely "profit-seeking", that it was going to "flip" the building into luxury apartments, that 5 stories would cast shadows over the nearby park (which is to the south of the building), and that the building currently standing is "historic" and deserves to be preserved. The existing building in question? A formerly segregated elementary school.
Us YIMBYs were present and testified in strong support. Thankfully the proposal was approved, although not unanimously. It came down to a 4-0 vote with board member Susan Cunningham abstaining in protest after failing to get the project sent back to the drawing board in service to the NIMBYs. You can watch the video of the session, public testimony, and vote yourself.
Sadly, the weaponization of historic preservation may not be over, with potential lawsuits and "creative interpretations" of a new preservation law from Patrick Hope being bandied about by the bitterly motivated opponents. But YIMBYs of Northern Virginia will be ready to welcome more neighbors and fight for the housing we need.