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COURT CASE & TIMELINE
Arlington County Courthouse
Latest Legal Action
"CHAOS" as County
Approves Permits
for Missing Middle Housing
We are awaiting a ruling by the Supreme Court of Virginia as to the validity of the Court of Appeals to allow a new party onto the case as well as to allow Arlington County to continue to issue EHO permits.
In the original Arlington Circuit Court decision, Judge Schell stopped all permitting having ruled that the County did not follow the proper studies. But the judge did allow a few Missing Middle Housing (EHO) projects already under construction to move forward. As they come on the market, none of them is "affordable" as the County originally stated.
In recent papers filed by the Arlington County Board, they cited, “confusion, frustration, and administrative chaos for the Board, property owners, developers, and Arlington’s citizens as a whole” in the Missing Middle Housing/Expanded Housing Options (EHO) case.
TIMELINE
Missing Middle/EHO Permitting Chaos
Permitting Recap
7/1/23
7/8/25
EHO Permits Accepted
10/25/24
EHO Permits Invalid
6/24/25
EHO Permits Accepted
EHO Permits Invalid
9/5/25
EHO Permits Accepted*
*in dispute awaiting VA Supreme Court ruling
7/1/23
History
3/22/23 – Arlington County Board adopts EHO ordinance
4/21/23 – Arlington homeowners file complaint in Arlington Circuit Court to have EHO declared void.
7/1/23 – EHO VALID – effective date of ordinance
9/27/24 – Bench ruling that EHO is void on four counts
10/25/24 – EHO VOID - Final order issued by Arlington Circuit Court.
11/19/24 – County Board votes to appeal
5/1/25 - County Board files its brief in support of its appeal to the Court of Appeals. Given the litigation listed below, the homeowners have not yet filed their response to the County’s brief. If the litigation in the Supreme Court of Virginia is resolved in favor of the homeowners, the case will go back to the Court of Appeals to be heard on the merits (whether the trial judge ruled correctly that EHO is void).
6/24/25 – EHO VALID – Three-judge panel reverses trial judge that EHO is invalid based on motion by Wilsons Ventures that it was error not to allow it to intervene following the trial. Note that this had nothing to do with the ruling that EHO was illegal based on 4 counts in the complaint.
7/7/25 – Three-judge panel hears oral argument on behalf of the homeowners in a rehearing of its June decision - homeowners object to not having been granted oral argument before 6/24 decision.
7/8/25 – EHO VOID – Three-judge panel reverses itself following the 7/7/25 oral argument; EHO again invalid; no decision on whether or not WV should have been allowed to intervene following the trial.
9/5/25 – EHO VALID – Three-judge panel reverses itself again, rules that the trial judge erred in not allowing Wilsons Ventures to intervene in the case after the trial was held and a ruling issued against the County. Case remanded to Arlington Circuit Court for the addition of Wilsons Ventures if the homeowners so choose.
10/1/25 – Arlington County begins accepting applications for new EHO permits and issuing other EHO-related permits for existing EHO properties.
10/2/25 – Supreme Court of Virginia appoints Judge Padrick to hear Nordgren v. County Board on remand, following request of Arlington Circuit Court Judge Judy Wheat that a judge be appointed in this matter
10/6/25 – Homeowners file Petition for Appeal to the Supreme Court of Virginia, seeking reversal of the 9/5/25 decision of the three-judge panel of the Court of Appeals
10/13/25 – Homeowners file for an Emergency Stay of the 9/5/25 ruling in the Supreme Court of Virginia
10/24/25 – Arlington County Board and Wilsons Ventures file briefs opposing the petition for an Emergency Stay
11/4/25 – Approximate deadline for Arlington County Board and Wilsons Ventures to file opposition to homeowners’ petition for appeal to Supreme Court of Virginia
11/14/25 – Status hearing scheduled at 11:00 a.m. in Nordgren v. County Board, per 3-judge panel’s 9/5/25 order remanding case to Circuit Court. Wilsons Ventures and Barry Seymour’s hearings also before Judge Padrick for vested rights in their EHO permits – scheduled following the status hearing.
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