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For Immediate Release: September 26, 2022
Dynamic New Map Tool Shows Multiplexes Are Possible – Even on the Smallest Arlington Lots
A new mapping tool shows how even large, 6-and 8-unit multiplexes – proposed for all single-family neighborhoods under Arlington County’s Missing Middle (MM) framework – could be built on most of Arlington’s residential lots.
Developed by an Arlington resident, the new tool—called Arlington Residential Property Explorer, or ARPEx—is based on the County’s residential property data, zoning rules, and what we currently know about the MM framework. With it, homeowners can view the MM initiative’s potential impact on their lot and neighborhood.
ARPEx allows users to select any residential property to view the lot’s “Missing Middle” building footprint as compared to the existing home’s footprint. Selecting “Missing Middle: Detailed Analysis” in the ribbon at the top of the page provides a description of the various allowable options. ARPEx illustrates how even the smallest R-5 (at least 5,000 sq ft) and R-6 lots (at least 6,000 sq ft) could accommodate an 8-plex structure.1
The Arlington County Board is scheduled to vote this November on the proposed Missing Middle plan that effectively eliminates single-family zoning, and incentivizes tearing down existing single-family homes and replacing them with up to eight housing units on each lot.
County officials have downplayed the MM plan’s potential impacts by stating that the new buildings will adhere to existing single-family development rules for lot coverage, setbacks and building height, and have not addressed the following concerns:
- MM Buildings Could Be Larger Than Single Family Homes. Under Arlington’s zoning rules, MM housing could be substantially larger than the largest single-family homes now being built. Most of today’s newly constructed homes cover less ground than the maximum allowed by current regulation.2 The MM plan incentivizes developers to cover the maximum space allowable. If certain conditions are met, the largest multiplexes could contain 8,200 square feet of living space.
- Unlimited Numbers of MM Buildings Can Be Built on Any Block in Any Neighborhood. Under the current framework, the County does not limit the number of maximum density buildings to be built on a block. In addition, the plan contains no mechanism to ensure that MM is distributed geographically throughout the County.
- Residential Streets Provide Parking for Cars. The MM framework calls for just 0.5 off-street parking spaces per MM housing unit.3 That means for every 8-plex, up to 12 cars (assuming two cars per unit) may require on-street parking. Two such buildings on one block could potentially result in 24 cars requiring on-street parking.
- Developers Are Incentivized to Build More Units. The MM proposal suggests that although the units in larger multiplex buildings will have smaller square footage, the size of the main structure will be maximized.4 The County’s consultant posits that developers’ economic return will be maximized by building a greater number of smaller units than fewer more expensive ones (with the exception of side-by-side townhouses, Alternative 2).5
- Requiring MM Buildings to Meet Inadequate Single-Family Standards Perpetuates Known Problems. County staff and elected officials agree that the current standards for single-family homes have led to construction of oversized, expensive housing, decimated mature trees, exacerbated flooding and encouraged existing more affordable homes to be razed. Approving the Missing Middle plan without first reforming the inadequate single-family standards merely perpetuates and amplifies all these problems.
“ARPEx is very helpful because most people do not realize that the smaller properties, like the R-5’s and R-6’s, can support these 8-unit multiplexes,” said Julie Lee, a founding member of AfUT (Arlingtonians for Upzoning Transparency). “Many of Arlington’s older and smaller neighborhoods have narrow streets with parking on only one side. They simply cannot accommodate more parked cars. This is just another example of how the County’s broad-brush, one-size fits all Missing Middle plan will harm communities.”
The ARPEx tool has its limits and the author has provided a detailed disclaimer. View ARPEx here.
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Media Contact: Julie Lee, jfblee@aol.com
1 Sample map image from ARPEx:
2 Image captured from a County response to a FOIA request:
3 Arl. Zoning Ord. Sec. 7.2.5 (“One off-street space per dwelling unit” for “Multi-family Dwelling”), https://www.arlingtonva.us/files/sharedassets/public/building/documents/codes-and-ordinances/aczo_effective_04.23.2022.pdf; Page 7, Missing Middle Housing Study: Expanding Housing Choice: Phase 2 County Board Work Session, July 12, 2022,
4 Page 14b, Missing Middle Housing Study: Expanding Housing Choice: Phase 2 Analysis and Draft Framework, May 2, 2022,
5 Page 3, Partners for Economic Solutions Report, Missing Middle Financial Analysis Results for Developments, https://www.arlingtonva.us/files/sharedassets/public/housing/documents/missing-middle/mmhs_consultantanalysis_2022-04-28.pdf
