River House site plan critics ask Arlington to rerun planning review; county says prior planning covers site

A River House project commenter asked the Arlington County Board on June 14 to require additional planning study or rerun the site-plan stage after citing what she called inconsistent treatment compared with nearby projects.

Tina Muse, a 25-year resident, said she supports the River House project and an expanded behavioral health clinic but expressed concern about "major inconsistencies in CPH D's planning process and its unequal treatment of projects." She told the board the smaller Melwood site underwent a special study and a longer public process while River House had significant changes during the site-plan review and should be returned to the Long-Range Planning and Review Committee or be subject to a special sector-plan study.

County response: Chair Takis Karantonis and planning staff replied that River House had earlier been addressed through the Pentagon City sector plan and that prior public review had been extensive. The chair said the project has been "hotly debated and very thoroughly vetted" and invited the speaker to meet with staff to address site-specific concerns while the Planning Commission continues its review and upcoming SPRC meetings proceed.

Why it matters: River House is a high-profile site plan in Pentagon City subject to sector-plan guidance. The speaker asked that the board direct staff to re-examine the project with additional planning study; staff said the sector plan provides applicable guidance and that SPRC meetings remain open to public input.

Ending: The chair offered to engage directly with the commenter to discuss concerns and agreed to follow up on how to embed issues into the ongoing public process.