Board to Consider Streetcar, Sign Ordinance Before Summer Recess

The Arlington County Board will decide the fate of several major projects — including a controversial streetcar proposed for the Columbia Pike corridor — and set spending priorities for the next decade before its summer recess.

The county's $2.45 billion, 10-year Capital Improvement Plan is one of a long list of items the board will consider at its regular meeting Saturday.

The plan, which is updated every two years, focuses on assets and infrastructure and lays out a financial roadmap for big-ticket projects — projects like building construction, renovation, demolition or acquisition.

The proposed plan has gotten a good bit of attention in part because it lays out the first five years of funding for a planned Columbia Pike streetcar project.

It also sets aside money for parks and open space, , public art, the , a fiber-optic network connecting county and school buildings, and the expansion of the county's — among many other things.

The board on Saturday also will likely decide a smattering of zoning matters and permit requests, formally approve and move forward on the massive Rosslyn Gateway project.

The streetcar will be in the spotlight again Monday night, when the board will be asked to formally adopt that as the preferred transit alternative for the five miles between the Skyline/Bailey's Crossroads area of Fairfax County and Pentagon City in Arlington County — an endeavor estimated to cost up to $261 million.

That night the board also will take action on the broader Columbia Pike Neighborhoods Plan.

Finally, on Tuesday, the board will consider amending the county's zoning ordinance to update regulations governing the size, number and placement of signs. The county has been working on updating its sign ordinance since December 2010.