It was thrown out on procedural grounds by the Virginia Court of Appeals. And now Arlington County Board members have set in motion plans to re-adopt – legally this time – the Pentagon City Sector Plan.
The major planning document had been approved in 2022, but after a court challenge, appeals-court judges this May ruled there were public-notice violations during the process that rendered the adoption void.
On June 15, County Board members re-advertised the proposal, with no changes from the original, for consideration in July by the Planning Commission and then themselves. Ultimate approval is almost guaranteed.
The Arlington government’s woes are similar to those earlier felt by the Fairfax County government. In early 2023, the Virginia Supreme Court voided its countywide zoning rewrite, saying it had been illegal for the Fairfax Board of Supervisors to adopt the package during a COVID-era online meeting, rather than hold an in-person public hearing.
After the ruling, Fairfax supervisors went back, held the requisite hearing and adopted the package a second time.
