Arlington Tree Action Group calendar
Best things to do: attend meetings, speak up, and/or email!
Contact before attending to be sure meeting has not been canceled or changed due to virus.
Is our county adequately preserving and caring for Arlington’s trees?
Comment on issues that affect trees/land at County Board meetings and/or comments to County Board countyboard@arlingtonva.us, County Manager Mschwartz@arlingtonva.us and Urban Forester Vincent Verweij, vverweij@arlingtonva.us. Even a simple comment as “respect need for land and mature trees” helps.
Also include the Arlington County School Board at school.board@apsva.us
Other topics to weigh in on:
Rouse property purchase? The ten acre private property at corner of Wilson Blvd and McKinley St. appears to be on the verge of sale to developers. As an alternate option, Arlington County could acquire it to fulfill the county’s stated POPS goal to add acres of park land to compensate for our population growth and development. Weigh in to urge the board to act quickly. As recently as April 13 the board indicated it would not act to counter other offers on the table. The County is not likely to ever have another chance to acquire contiguous lots at this scale again. More info here in letter to Board from Arlingtonians for our Sustainable Future
Email the county board: CountyBoard@arlingtonva.us
Bike path expansions and effect on green space? ArlNow article: https://www.arlnow.com/2019/11/20/arlington-county-board-approves-request-to-apply-for-wod-trail-extension-grant/ NOVAParks proposes to widen the W&OD Trail on two miles of the W&OD trail between N. Roosevelt St. and N. Carlin Springs Rd with parallel paved trails that will destroy up to 2-3 acres of habitat and greenspace.
Email NVTA: SYPcomment@TheNoVAAuthority.org or use NVTA’s online comment form at www.TheNoVaAuthority.org/SYP-comment
Below is a selection of open meetings.
For more meetings on issues such as zoning, land use, etc. see the county calendar at https://topics.arlingtonva.us/public-meeting-calendar/
Monday, April 20, Open Door Monday. Virtual sessions for Open Door Monday, submit an RSVP in advance. To participate: https://newsroom.arlingtonva.us/release/county-board-to-pilot-virtual-open-door-mondays-during-covid-19/
Thursday, April 23, 7:30 pm-11:00 pm, County Board Budget Public Hearing, Ellen Bozman Goverment Center, 703-228-3130
Friday, April 24, 12:00 pm-3:30 pm, Plan Lee Highway: Open Design Studio, https://projects.arlingtonva.us/plans-studies/land-use/lee-highway/
Saturday, April 25, 8:30 am-5:00 pm, County Board Regular Meeting, Ellen M. Bozman Government Center (Courthouse Plaza) 703-228-3130; https://countyboard.arlingtonva.us/
Public comment
The County Board will meet virtually on both April 25 and April 28 and will take no in-person public comment. The Board will publish procedures for virtual public testimony on the County Board website once they are finalized. The public may email comments on April agenda items for the Board’s consideration until Friday, April 24, 2020, for the April 25 Regular Meeting and until Monday, April 27, 2020, for the April 28 Recessed Meeting, to: CountyBoard@arlingtonva.us
Monday, April 27, 2:00 pm-4:00 pm, County Board Budget Work Session – Budget Wrap-Up, 703-228-3130
Monday, April 27, 7-9 pm, Transportation: Moving Northern Virginia Forward; transportation leaders on impact of new state transportation funds on smart growth and climate change. register: https://www.eventbrite.com/e/community-conversations-transportation-moving-northern-virginia-forward-tickets-101468178052
Monday, April 27, Open Door Monday. Virtual sessions for Open Door Monday, submit RSVP in advance. How to participate: https://newsroom.arlingtonva.us/release/county-board-to-pilot-virtual-open-door-mondays-during-covid-19/
Tuesday April 28 3 pm County Board recessed meeting- https://countyboard.arlingtonva.us/
Wednesday, May 13, 1:00 – 2:15 pm ET , USDA Forest Service Webinar: “Addressing Tree Canopy Loss through Stronger Ordinances and other Policy Tools.” Registration details at: https://www.fs.fed.us/research/docs/webinars/urban-forests/tree-canopy-loss/USFSUrbanWebinarNotice_May2020.pdf
Open Door Monday’s with a County Board member: Every Monday is an opportunity to meet informally with a county board member to discuss any topic. See schedule here: https://countyboard.arlingtonva.us/open-door-mondays/
What you can do:
- Email comments to County Board members and speak at CB meetings (countyboard@arlingtonva.us), County Manager (Mschwartz@arlingtonva.us), and Vincent Verweij, urban forester Department of Parks and Recreation (vverweij@arlingtonva.us). Even as simple a comment as “keep land and mature trees in Arlington”
Email the School Board to encourage respect for trees: school.board@apsva.us
- Speak at county board meetings. Attend other county meetings and speak up.
- Join Arlington County commissions to be a voice for responsible action on green space preservation. You can sit in on the meetings to learn about them.
- Join your Arlington Civic Federation neighborhood association. Speak up- county listens to CivFed.
- Like ATAG on Facebook. Follow on twitter and find resources on ATAG website.
Arlington Tree Action Group (ATAG) is a network of citizens working to preserve and grow Arlington, Virginia’s urban forest to keep Arlington green and fulfill the Vision stated in the Arlington County’s Urban Forest Master Plan 2004 (currently being updated).