contact: Jay Hamilton

info@neighborsforneighborhoods.org

240-515-1816

Homeowners Stand Alone Before Virginia Supreme Court

in Missing Middle Case

Arlington County and Wilsons Ventures Go Silent

The filing deadline has passed, and neither Arlington County nor Wilsons Ventures filed briefs before the Supreme Court of Virginia. That leaves the homeowners in Nordgren v. Arlington County Board as the only party arguing before the state's highest court this fall. It's a dramatic turn in the fight over Arlington's Expanded Housing Option (EHO) zoning, also known as Missing Middle, with both the County and the developer effectively conceding this round of the case.

Background

In September 2024, after a 5-day trial, an Arlington Circuit Court judge ruled that EHO was invalid. After that ruling, Wilsons Ventures filed a motion to intervene in the case. The judge denied the request. Wilsons Ventures appealed, and on September 5, 2025, the Virginia Court of Appeals ruled the developer should have been allowed to intervene. This reopened EHO permitting, clearing the way for multiplexes in Arlington County neighborhoods previously zoned single-family.

The homeowners asked the Supreme Court of Virginia to review that ruling, arguing that Wilsons Ventures missed its filing deadline and had nothing to add to the case that the County’s large team of lawyers hadn’t raised. The Court heard the argument on the petition April 8, 2026, and agreed to take up the case on May 19. Homeowners' attorney Jay O'Keeffe filed the opening brief on June 29. Arlington County and Wilsons Ventures then had their own deadline to file responsive briefs — and both let it pass, forfeiting their right to be heard when the case is argued this fall.

Statements from Jay Hamilton, Neighbors for Neighborhoods

"Facing a very likely loss in the Supreme Court of Virginia, Wilsons Ventures has essentially given up its claim that it should have been allowed to intervene in the EHO case after the trial was over and the judge ruled EHO void. Perhaps the developer sought to have EHO reinstated so it could finish its own multi-unit projects that were in limbo. Wilsons Ventures has sold units at 5041 and 5043 S. 25th Street for $1.2 million and $1.25 million, respectively, and is nearing completion on three townhouses at 1225 N. Quincy Street. This diversionary tactic worked — Wilsons Ventures appears to have achieved its goals."

"A ruling in favor of the homeowners at the Supreme Court of Virginia would send the case back to the Court of Appeals, where Arlington County's lawyers had not yet filed their brief in support of their argument that the trial judge's decision voiding EHO was in error."

"The County has already spent $1.6 million in outside legal fees, not counting in-house counsel, defending its misguided EHO policy that has not delivered on its promise of affordability. When the case gets back to the Court of Appeals, legal fees – paid by Arlington taxpayers – will continue to pile up – maybe reaching a total of $2 million by the time all of the appeals are concluded.”

The court filings are below and for more information on the full court case, visit: https://www.neighborsforneighborhoods.org