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Public commenter urges Arlington to keep dimensional lot standards, not switch to impervious‑area only
Summary
Anne Bodine of Arlingtonians for our sustainable future told the Natural Resources JAG that switching from lot coverage to impervious‑area standards risks larger house footprints, tree loss and 100% impervious outcomes on very small lots, urging the Board to retain dimensional lot rules.
Anne Bodine addressed commissioners at the meeting as the public commenter representing Arlingtonians for our sustainable future and criticized the county board’s earlier direction to staff to avoid studying home footprint/dimensional standards. She said the group’s analysis (via public records) indicates a plausible 34% impervious‑area baseline in R6 and cautioned that abandoning lot coverage could enable larger structures and loss of plantable space.
"Do not dispense with any part of the zoning code, dimensional standards now," Bodine said, urging the Board to return to dimensional lot standards and to consider simple averaging methods of older and newer lot footprints before changing the code. Her remarks focused on protecting tree canopy, stormwater goals and the character of established low‑density neighborhoods.
