The Arlington County Board is scheduled to vote tomorrow on a zoning proposal that would allow rental units in single-family homes.
The proposal, which would let homeowners create separate apartments in their basements or other livable space for no morethan two renters, would boost the county’s dwindling supply of affordable housing, supporters say.
Critics counter that such units lead to noise and parking issues, a lack of concern for the appearance of the property, and that they are impossible for the county to regulate.
“They see it as deterioration of the neighborhood,” Arlington County Civic Federation President Larry Mayer said. “They’ve saved long and hard, they’ve worked hard to be in a single-family home, and true or not true, their view is that the character of their neighborhood might change.”
The federation’s delegates condemned the measure with a 67 percent majority.
Accessory dwelling units, as the apartments are called, are a common and legal affordable housing option in areas of the District such as Georgetown and Capitol Hill.
But several Northern Virginia jurisdictions have begun to crack down on illegally overcrowded houses amid sweeping efforts to target illegal immigrants, who are thought to live in such homes.
County staff estimated fewer than 30 homeowners would apply for or receive permits for the units each year.
