Need for public space in Arlington puts parks, schools, housing in competition Competition for public space in 26-square-mile Arlington can be fierce, as advocates for schools, parks and affordable housing joust for priority. On Saturday, the Arlington County Board promised a wider community discussion of what should go where in the years ahead. What triggered that promise was an appearance by residents of the Arlington Forest neighborhood, alarmed at what they saw as plans for new affordable housing at Lubber Run Park and Community Center next to the overcrowded Barrett Elementary School. They pushed the board to halt any planning until residents have a say. In a meeting just two days earlier, the faith-based housing advocacy group VOICE delivered its own challenge to board Chair Jay Fisette. It called on Arlington to re-commit to the use of public land for affordable housing and to add 1,500 units within five years for residents who earn less than half the area's median income, which is $107,000 for a family of four. Critics say the initiative, called "Public Land for Public Good," puts housing needs ahead of parks, schools, fire stations and other key services. They also contend that a study of school- or county-owned land, conducted by county staff at the board's request this year to determine where new housing could be built, violated the community's long-established "Arlington Way," which values bottom-up discussion and consensus-seeking. "The larger community has not been engaged," said Esther Bowring of the Arlington Forest group. Our neighborhood supports affordable housing. We have [one of] the highest concentration of committed affordable units in the county. . . . These are our neighbors and all of us need the recreational space that [the community center] provides. County Board members said that residents will be able to discuss the issue before the board makes any decisions. "We have no intent, no interest in stand-alone affordable housing in an officially designated park," Fisette (D) said during a break in the meeting. The report creating all this angst was misunderstood, and we should have been more clear. Vice Chair Mary H. Hynes, who is expected to become chair in January, noted that the rate of growth in student enrollment hasn't been seen since the 1950s. "We have near-term issues that seem to be gobbling us up," said Hynes (D). Arlington spends about $20.5 million in local funds per year on affordable housing, said the county's housing director, David Cristeal. An additional $17 million in federal housing choice vouchers are also distributed in Arlington. But in a county where the average monthly rent tops $2,000, families of four whose income is significantly less than the median of $107,000 often find themselves strapped. In other action, the board unanimously approved a $1.3 million loan to the owners of the 39-year-old Culpepper Garden apartments for independent-living seniors. The building, part of a larger complex, will preserve all 204 units for 40 years. The average annual income of residents there is $18,000, said Susan Philp, board chair of the Arlington Retirement Housing Corp. The county's loan will let ARHC pay off an existing mortgage and get federal funds that will provide rental assistance to 42 residents. Renovations are expected to begin next year. The board delayed until Tuesday any action on a request for an $8.5 million loan that would help another housing nonprofit, AHC Inc., buy the Spectrum Apartments, a 46-year-old mixed-income complex. Eighty of its 100 units would be dedicated as affordable housing for 60 years. The county made a loan almost twice that amount to AHC in April when it bought the Serrano apartments on Columbia Pike. But Hynes, worried about protecting the county's investment in case the project fails, deferred the action until the board can consult with its attorney.