Arlington 2050: Guiding Our Path
Comprehensive Plan Update Project
A comprehensive plan is a long-range plan for livability and what the community wants to look like in the future. It is a tool that highlights values and priorities and guides decision making as the community grows.
The Code of Virginia requires local planning commissions to prepare and recommend a comprehensive plan and to review that plan every five years to consider whether it should be amended to reflect current needs. A comprehensive planning effort aims to meet the needs of current and future generations by coordinating and integrating the systems on which they depend (like transportation, housing, public spaces, facilities and services).
In 2024, Arlington County kicked off Arlington 2050: Guiding Our Path, a project to update the Comprehensive Plan. Phase 1 of this project includes developing a new introductory chapter for the Comprehensive Plan, including new people-centric Guiding Principles for Arlington County based on the American Planning Association’s Guiding Principles and input from the community. The development of a scope of work for an update to the General Land Use Plan (GLUP) will also be completed in Phase 1. Updating the General Land Use Plan will occur in Phase 2. The County will seek community input to inform the deliverables of the Comprehensive Plan Update project.
Background
Arlington’s Comprehensive Plan was established in August 1960, and while the elements of the plan have evolved and been updated over time, the overarching goals and objectives have not. In January 2023, following the last Comprehensive Plan Review, County staff and the Arlington County Planning Commission recommended that the County reconsider the goals and objectives that were established more than 50 years ago.
Today, Arlington’s Comprehensive Plan includes 12 elements covering the following topics:
Updates to each of the 12 elements of Arlington’s Comprehensive Plan occur on their own schedule.
Phase 1 Update
The first phase of Arlington 2050 will not result in changes to any of the 12 elements of the Comprehensive Plan. Each element is updated on its own schedule. For example, in recent years, the Forestry and Natural Resources Plan was adopted and the Historic & Cultural Resources Plan was updated. Currently, Arlington County is working on a revision of the Transportation Element of Arlington's Comprehensive Plan.
The Comprehensive Plan's new introductory chapter will include:
- data about existing conditions in Arlington, as well as trends and projections for the future
- an overview of the County’s strengths, weaknesses, opportunities, and challenges
- new people-centric guiding principles (to replace the existing Goals and Objectives) that align with community priorities
- a general overview of how the 12 elements support the overarching goals of the Comprehensive Plan
- an outline of the process for future comprehensive plan element updates and how each element aligns with the new Guiding Principles
Phase 2 Update
In Phase 2 of Arlington 2050: Guiding Our Path, the General Land Use Plan, one of the 12 elements of the Comprehensive Plan, will be updated. The development of a scope of work for the update to the General Land Use Plan (GLUP) will be completed in Phase 1. Subject to final scoping, the planning team anticipates the update will include revised land use and placemaking goals that reflect Arlington’s vision for growth and development, updates to the GLUP Map, and an explanation of what is allowed where in Arlington.
With the exception of the General Land Use Plan, the Comprehensive Plan Update project will not result in changes to any of the other elements of the Comprehensive Plan. Each element is updated on its own schedule.
Comprehensive Plan Update Timeline
(PDF, 698KB)