County presents first-year EHO data: 37 approved permits in FY24 and a net increase of 111 units, board members say

Arlington County staff posted an analysis of the first full year of permits approved under the county’s Expanded Housing Opportunities (EHO) zoning policy and discussed early trends with the County Board on Dec. 17.

Board Chair Libby Garvey and staff emphasized the report covered approved permits in fiscal year 2024 (July 1, 2023 to June 30, 2024) and warned that the dataset is narrowly defined: inclusion in the report means only that an EHO permit was approved in that period, not that a project has moved to building permits or construction.

Garvey summarized top findings cited in staff analysis: 37 EHO permits were approved during FY 2024; the most common EHO unit size is three bedrooms with an average reported unit size of 1,646 square feet; there was a net increase of 111 units from the approved EHO permits in that year; and most approved EHO permits were two‑ and three‑unit projects (duplexes, semi‑detached homes and triplexes), the chair said.

"The most common EHO unit size is 3 bedrooms and the average size is 1,646 square feet," Garvey said in the meeting. She added the EHO approvals during that year did not produce six‑unit developments that some critics had feared and that the main building footprints and heights were similar to single‑family redevelopments in the same period.

Board members and staff reiterated caveats tied to ongoing litigation and to market timing. Garvey and other board members noted a judge’s partial stay and court proceedings related to the wider EHO policy; Garvey said the board posted the report to meet a previously pledged transparency commitment despite pending legal action. The chair also told the board the report compared EHO data to single‑family redevelopment permits of the same period and that staff posted raw data for public review.

Members asked staff and raised several follow‑up points during the discussion. Commissioner Maureen Coffey and others urged caution: some metrics (for example, slightly higher lot coverage at the permit stage) flagged areas for continued scrutiny, and Coffey highlighted that some demolitions to enabled rebuilds occurred before the court pause. Vice Chair Takis Karantonis and other members said the report shows the market responded to the policy’s intent to create smaller, more diverse housing products.

What it means: County staff characterized the FY24 report as an early snapshot that supports the idea that EHO produced more 2‑ and 3‑bedroom ownership options than the single‑family redevelopments they replaced. Board members emphasized the dataset is limited to approved permits and does not measure completed construction or final occupancy.

Next steps: Board members asked staff to keep publishing raw data for community review and to revisit topics such as lot coverage, demolition patterns and the geographic distribution of EHO approvals. The board did not take a policy vote at the Dec. 17 meeting.