Arlington Zoning Administrator Leaving to Become a 'Dream Builder'

Melinda Artman is going from being a dream killer to a dream builder.

Artman, Arlington County’s zoning administrator, said a colleague suggested the analogy to her, and that she took it to heart. The longtime planner has spent 25 years in Northern Virginia and took the job with Arlington in June 2008. This week, word got out that .

News spread quickly – which is surprising, perhaps, for a self-described “low-level functionary” whose place in Arlington’s thick bureaucracy doesn’t rank high enough for the county’s Communications Office to keep a photo of her on file.

But Arlington County thrives on civic participation, and the rapid growth of the area has often put Artman in the position of being a referee between residents and developers, calling the shots with the county’s patchwork zoning ordinance as her guide.

And that, more often than not, means she’s taken her share of darts for her strict interpretation of a law that’s been on the books for 60 years, one that started as a small pamphlet and – like layers of a cake added with each amendment – has grown into a mammoth, 700-page document that doesn’t even have an index.

“I’m understanding from people in the field that when you have a very old zoning ordinance, your practices tend to deviate slightly from the written text. But I have no way of knowing that, because those practices weren’t written down,” Artman said.

Her novel approach to the Arlington Way was to enforce the laws that were on the books.

“I was wrong,” she said. “People don’t like the law being enforced, so it would seem. Nobody likes a regulator. Either I’m allowing something that shouldn’t go on, or I’m prohibiting you from doing what you want to do.”

Artman’s literal approach to zoning enforcement has caused heartburn among some area developers, who feel her rigidity hurts business.

Terry Showman, a residential developer, called Artman anti-business, anti-homeowner and said she was "arbitrary, capricious and unreasonable." Showman is sore, in part, because he is no longer allowed to install wet bar sinks in basements.

"She cost people a lot of money, made a lot of decisions and wasted a lot of people's time and effort. That's her accomplishment," Showman said. "We're out here battling a difficult real estate market, difficult economy, and then you have to battle somebody like that."

James Schroll, president of the Arlington County Civic Federation, said despite whether civic groups agreed or disagreed with Artman, they always felt she was consistant.

“There have been some issues, obviously with what she’s done, regarding zoning enforcement,” Schroll said. “From our standpoint, at the federation, she’s been straightforward, honest and a straight-shooter. We knew where she stood all the time. We’re not going to rehash old things, but she’s certainly honest and straightforward, and that’s what you want in zoning administrator.”

The zoning ordinance, which affects every new residential and commercial building project, along with major renovations, is hardly modern. In it, there are regulations for horse-drawn carts and raising livestock.

In the county’s Zoning Office on the 10th floor at 2100 Clarendon Blvd., bookcases are stacked high with special exemptions granted by the County Board over the years, file cabinets contain yellowed documents and building plans that could easily fit on a flash drive are stacked so high there’s a rolling staircase nearby to access them.

When Artman took the job in 2008, she saw it as a challenge: “I looked forward to bringing the office into the late 20th century, if not the 21st.”

The process has been slow, but Artman said the county is taking a “sensible” approach. A consultant has been hired, a new sign ordinance should be in place by the end of the year, and a complete overhaul of the zoning ordinance should be ready by December 2012.

“You can’t go to any one place to find out what you can do on your property. If the county does that, they will have done something significant,” Artman said. “…If the ordinance is reformatted and made user-friendly at the minimum, that’s an enormous accomplishment, even if not one regulation changes.”

Artman is negotiating a contract with Arlington County that would allow her to remain on board as a part-time consultant through the end of the zoning ordinance overhaul.

Either way, she’s following her calling. She’s been working toward attending seminary for about eight years. And she’s working for the county until classes start in mid-August.

“I feel that this is what God’s calling me to do at this stage in my life,” she said.

It's a continuation of a desire to contribute to her community, "first as a community planner, and now in a more constructive setting."