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Neighbors press county to tighten enforcement as Board renews WBM transitional parking use permit for review in six months
Summary
After years of intermittent zoning violations at WBM's transitional parking lot, the County Board renewed the use permit with a six-month review date, citing ongoing enforcement work and landscaping/fence conditions; neighbors and civic groups pushed for quicker compliance and more rigorous plantings.
The Arlington County Board renewed a long-standing use permit for a transitional parking area used by WBM of Arlington at a Nov. 18 hearing, but set a six-month compliance review because of persistent code enforcement issues raised by neighbors.
Planning and enforcement staff told the board their review, begun in June, documented unpermitted storage of vehicles, vehicle stackers, trailers and inconsistent placement of the required 20-foot landscape buffer. Planning staff (Aaron Schreiber) said recent field visits showed several violations corrected: vehicle stackers and inoperable vehicles had been removed, some failed plantings had been replaced, and the applicant had applied for a fence permit and survey to locate the required buffer lines.
Multiple neighbors urged a faster, more durable fix. Resident Toby McIntosh said the enforcement process has lasted years and asked the board to require compliance sooner than staff's recommended six months. Tree and environmental advocates (Brooke Alexander, Ashton Heights tree canopy coordinator) asked the board to ensure the 1982 landscape plan's elements (brick walls, stockade fences, canopy trees) are restored and noted outstanding items from civic association letters.
Applicant representative (Miss Edmonds) said the operator has submitted required permit applications and is working with surveyors and horticultural contractors to bring the site into compliance and appreciated the board's patience.
Board Member John Spain moved to renew the permit subject to previously approved conditions and set the next review for May 2026. Vice Chair de Ferrante seconded; the motion passed 4-0 (Vice Chair de Ferrante later recused himself before the vote due to a disclosed conflict noted in the record). Board members discussed whether a shorter review would be appropriate, with neighborhood speakers urging stricter timelines for long-standing violations.
What to watch: staff will expect the applicant to finalize the fence permit (survey plat), install the full 20-foot buffer consistent with the approved landscape plan (or negotiate replacement plantings/treemap fund payment), and resolve outstanding items flagged by the Civic Association and code enforcement.
