MISSING MIDDLE HOUSING FOR A BETTER ARLINGTON
Rising housing costs are squeezing Arlington’s residents out of the community they call home. As time goes on, everything seems to be getting bigger: bigger homes, bigger price tags, bigger challenges.
But Missing Middle Housing offers a path forward. Missing Middle Housing is not a specific style or a type of government-subsidized housing, but a size of home that falls between a single-detached home and a mid-rise apartment.
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Missing Middle Housing alone won’t solve the affordability challenges facing the County, but it is an important step toward an Arlington for everyone.
Together with our partner the Lee Highway Alliance, we invite you to explore our new video, “Missing Middle Housing for a Better Arlington.” Learn about the housing supply challenges facing our community, types of Missing Middle Housing, and how Missing Middle Housing could benefit Arlington.
Let’s talk about how Missing Middle Housing can make Arlington a better place. Visit missingmiddlearlington.net to learn how you can support Missing Middle Housing in the County, sign up for updates, or join the Missing Middle Network.
Special thanks to Virginia Housing for supporting our work to educate the community on Missing Middle Housing.
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Housing Commission Tools and Trends Subcommittee Meeting
This virtual meeting is the first in a series of the Tools and Trends subcommittee on the Affordable Housing Master Plan (AHMP) Review. The first meeting will cover Goal 1 of the AHMP: Arlington County shall have an adequate supply of housing available to meet community needs. This goal includes two objectives:
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Produce and preserve a sufficient supply of affordable rental housing to meet current and future needs.
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Produce and preserve a sufficient supply of affordable ownership housing to meet future needs.
The County is also conducting an online feedback opportunity through March 31.
All meetings will be open to the public.
Thursday, March 18
7:00 p.m.—9 p.m. ET
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Webinar: Missing Middle Housing and Arlington’s Seniors
Join experts from the AARP Livable Communities team and Arlington’s Age-Friendly Action Plan to learn how Missing Middle Housing might benefit Arlington’s growing senior population. What is Missing Middle Housing, and how can it facilitate aging in community?
Learn how Arlington’s Missing Middle Housing Study will help identify housing options to provide a place in our community for every age and stage of life.
Thursday, March 25, 2021
7:00 p.m. – 8:30 p.m. ET
Please register in advance for this webinar.
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AMERICAN RESCUE PLAN PROVIDES CRITICAL HOUSING AID
On March 11, President Biden signed the American Rescue Plan—a historic $1.9 trillion economic relief package—into law. The plan includes critical housing assistance for millions of Americans struggling to pay rent and provides much-needed funds for communities to address homelessness during the pandemic.
Noteworthy housing provisions include:
- $21.55 billion in additional funding for Treasury’s Emergency Rental Assistance Program
- $5 billion for emergency housing vouchers
- $5 billion for the HOME program to aid homelessness assistance and supportive services as well as the production of affordable housing and the acquisition of non-congregate shelter spacing
- $20 million for the Fair Housing Initiative Program
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NEW RESOURCES
Housing Indicator Tool: A Dashboard for Measuring Progress Toward Meeting Regional Housing Needs
On March 9, the Housing Association of Nonprofit Developers (HAND) released their new Housing Indicator Tool (HIT). The HIT evaluates progress toward housing production targets and the status of housing policy tools in each jurisdiction in the region. The data show that the region overall is falling short of where we need to be to meet the targets set by the Council of Governments in 2019.
Arlington does well on the policy tools and the County also performed well on the Unit Production target for the Low-Middle Income (~50-65% AMI) category. But the County was not meeting targets in either the Lowest Income (<30% AMI), Low-Income (30-50% AMI) categories, as well as the Middle-Income category (65-120%). You can see Arlington’s HIT page here and a summary of all jurisdictions' results here.
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Updated Edition: Northern Virginia Eviction Prevention and Housing Stability Toolkit
The latest edition of the Northern Virginia Affordable Housing Alliance's toolkit includes changes in the state program and updates on federal relief. The toolkit provides information for residents worried about housing stability, landlords concerned about a loss of rental revenue, human service providers, local government agencies, and policymakers.
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The following downloads are also available:
Tenant Supplement
Spanish Translation
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GET INVOLVED
Join the Alliance for Housing Solutions on the platform Mobilize.io to learn, share ideas, and be part of policy discussions. You are welcome to join any of the following groups that spark your interest.
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Housing Action Arlington
Join this coalition to discuss policy updates, advocate for affordable housing resources, and coordinate across housing and service providers. AHS facilitates a monthly meeting (currently via Zoom) for providers and advocates. Join here.
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Missing Middle Network
Learn about and support efforts to allow more missing middle housing through zoning and land use policy reforms. Join here.
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Accessory Dwelling Discussion Group
Learn, discuss, and share efforts to create accessory dwellings through practical discussions, tips, and resources. Join here.
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Increasing the supply of affordable housing through education, policy, advocacy, and innovation.
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