The LAIGW luncheon presentation on March 24 featured Lisa Govoni from Montgomery County Planning and Matt Ladd from Arlington County Planning. The topic of the presentation was Missing Middle Housing. The Arlington County Board recently adopted zoning changes to allow additional types of housing to be built in many zones, subject to certain controls and Montgomery County has been studying changes to its Zoning Code to also allow additional types of housing to be built in many zones. Both jurisdictions have nuanced requirements related to how and where the new housing can be built.
Click this link to view the video presentation.
Here is a link to the powerpoint presentations from Montgomery and Arlington County Planning Departments:
Arlington MMHS – LAIGW 03242023 (2)
Missing Middle Housing has become a planning buzzword and controversial topic over the last several decades. The general accepted definition of Missing Middle Housing is house-scale buildings with multiple units in walkable neighborhoods.
This includes building types, such as duplexes, fourplexes, cottage courts, and courtyard buildings, that can provide diverse housing options and support locally-serving retail and public transportation options. They are called “Missing” because they have typically been illegal to build since the mid-1940s and “Middle” because they sit in the middle of a spectrum between detached single-family homes and mid-rise to high-rise apartment buildings. The Missing Middle housing types are shown In the diagram below, the Missing Middle types are shown in yellow, providing many housing options in between the single-family homes and higher intensity