Westover Arlington Neighborhood
The Westover neighborhood is an urban village that rubs shoulders with Highland Park and is about a 15 minute walk from East Falls Church Metro station. This apron-shaped neighborhood is prized for its amenities and century homes.
One And The Same
“ Westover Village” and “Westover” are the same neighborhood, located in Arlington, Virginia. Westover Village is the name you’ll hear most often, but Westover is the neighborhood’s official name. The Westover Historic District was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2006.
What makes it historic? It’s a well-preserved example of mid-century urbanism, a walkable community with buildings constructed between 1939 and 1957. Many single family homes here were built in the Colonial Revival style and the neighborhood also includes twin houses, duplexes, and multi-family garden apartments, which are included in Phase 1 of the County’s Historic Resources Inventory (HRI). Arlington designates local historic districts to help preserve important remnants of the community’s heritage, development, and cultural history.
Westover wasn’t always a charming little “urbanburb.” It started out as Duke Torreyton’s farm. Duke’s farmhouse stood where the middle school is now located. Subdivison was inevitable, and in the early 1900’s an acre of land could be bought for sixty cents. There were no lot size restrictions, people could buy as much or as little land as they could afford. The railroad went through, and there was a stop at Torreyton’s farm. The subdivisions of Highland Park, Overlee Knolls, Tara and Lacey Forest developed, but the farmland which was to become Westover remained largely unchanged until Washington Boulevard (Rt 237) was built. In 1940, Mace Properties fully subdivided the land and that is the year when the majority of Westover’s homes were constructed. Some of the characteristics of homes built in Westover Hlls (south of Washington Blvd) reflected pre-WWII concerns; for instance, basements were built like bomb shelters.
The neighborhood was developed in five phases from 1939 through 1957:
Westover Apartments
Westover Hills
Keene’s Addition to Westover
Westover Park
Mason’s Addition to Westover
What will you find in today’s Westover Village? There’s a ‘60’s throwback shopping center where you can enjoy homemade ice cream or live music and beer, a hardware and variety store that has anchored the neighborhood since 1948, when it began as a five and ten cent store, a community center, boutique organic market, a “truly local” farmer’s market open Sundays from 8 AM to 12 PM May-November and 9 AM to 1 PM December-April. a barber shop, flower shop, post office, pharmacy and more.
Westover’s Claude A. Swanson Junior High School is ranked #33 for middle schools in the state and #3 in Arlington County public middle schools. the neighborhood also boasts a Westover Library, and four-acre Westover Park, which offers a picnic shelter and tables, playground, two diamond fields, lighted basketball courts, a sand volleyball court and a rectangular field. Bon Air Park and Custis Trail head border Westover Park.
Westover House Hacking
STR (Short Term Rentals)
You can operate a short term rental in Arlington County, but there are requirements, rules & restrictions, fees and taxes.
Here, STRs are also known as ‘accessory homestays’, which require permits and compliance with local ordinances. You’ll need an accessory homestay permit from the County Zoning Department and an Arlington County business license.
In 2016 and 2017, the county adopted rules for accessory homestay businesses in order to protect the character of its neighborhoods, reduce barriers for owners who wish to run a short-term rental business in a legal and responsible manner, implement safety requirements to ensure that a STRs comply with zoning, building, fire and other safety codes to protect public health and safety, property values and neighborhood character, and provide a mechanism for enforcement:
Adopted amendment (December 10, 2016)
Adopted revisions (January 28, 2017)
STR enthusiasts should also remember that local jurisdictions such as cities, counties and states, unincorporated areas and individual HOAs and condo associations can impose their own restrictions on short-term rentals.
Arlington regulations say that short-term rentals must comply with Arlington’s zoning laws, which may impact where and how properties are rented.
Westover Conservation Plan And The Missing Middle
Adopted in 1964, the Westover Neighborhood Conservation Plan strives to maintain the character and quality of the neighborhood, with emphasis on providing a place for all income levels to live, work and play.
In 2025, Westover land is primarily zoned R6, for single family homes on 6,000 SFT lots, which translates to 0.1377 acres (roughly 13.8% of an acre). This allows for 7 homes per acre.
RA14-16 zoning for the remainder of residential properties in Westover is intended for construction of apartments and townhouses with a density limit of 14-24 units per acre, but also allows single family homes.
In 2024, Arlington County ran The Missing Middle Housing Study, to learn how new housing types could help address Arlington’s housing supply shortfall and fill in gaps.
The study was undertaken in Fall 2020, and executed in three phases. At its conclusion, Arlington adopted the plan ... and was promptly sued by by local residents and advocacy groups claiming that the policy violates zoning procedures, lacks adequate environmental consideration, was approved without adequate study of impacts on adjacent neighborhoods and did not involve sufficient public consultation.
At first, the ruling went against the county. In September 2024, a Virginia Circuit Court judge struck down Arlington’s “Missing Middle” zoning policy, finding that the Arlington County Planning Commission violated procedural requirements and failed to adequately consider environmental impacts and compliance with tree canopy requirements.
The very next month, the same circuit court judge, David Schell, gave a green light to developers who had received approval from the county for their projects prior to the lawsuit’s filing and conclusion. It was an awkward concession that seemed more like an effort to stave off lawsuits than a genuine attempt at fairness. The judge ruled that those developers can continue with their projects, but they must place a notice in land records indicating that future landholders are making a gamble ( ARLnow ).
Should county’s appeal fail, Schell noted, future occupants of the properties might have to move, and future property owners might have to change the nature of the buildings. “You’re taking a huge risk, in my humble judgment, if you’re building a sixplex or a fourplex while the case is pending in the court of appeals,” he said.
The legal battle over Arlington County’s Missing Middle housing policy, officially known as the Expanded Housing Options (EHO) ordinance, has grown into a complex, multi-year saga. The lawsuit was filed by a resident group called Neighbors for Neighborhoods after the County Board unanimously adopted the plan in March 2023.The litigation has shifted back and forth between multiple courts, primarily focusing on procedural legal issues rather than the actual merits of the housing policy.Timeline of Key Court DecisionsSeptember 2024 (Ordinance Voided): The Arlington County Circuit Court ruled in favor of the homeowners. The judge declared the EHO ordinance void from the beginning (ab initio), citing improper procedural studies regarding infrastructure (such as stormwater and sewage) and an unlawful delegation of authority. This ruling immediately halted all EHO permit approvals, leaving 45 projects in legal limbo.June – September 2025 (Ordinance Reinstated): The Virginia Court of Appeals reversed the Circuit Court’s decision on a procedural error. The appellate panel ruled that the lower court erred by failing to include independent developers (like Wilsons Ventures) as “indispensable parties” who had active permits and a direct financial stake in the outcome. Because these parties were excluded from the original trial, the ruling was overturned.October 2025: Following the appellate victory, Arlington County officially reopened the EHO permitting process, putting the Missing Middle policy back into active status for new and pending applications.
Current Status in 2026
May 19, 2026: The Virginia Supreme Court agreed to hear an appeal by the homeowner group “Neighbors for Neighborhoods”. The high court is reviewing whether developers (such as Wilsons Ventures) were necessary parties that should have been included in the initial lawsuit. The court is not yet ruling on the underlying merits of the zoning law itself.
The policy remains active while the Virginia Supreme Court reviews the appeal, they denied a request to freeze development. Arlington County is actively reviewing, approving, and constructing EHO projects. Over 59 active projects are listed on the county dashboard.
The case is expected to proceed before the end of the year. If the Supreme Court upholds the appeals court, the entire case will be sent back to the local Circuit Court for a brand-new trial that includes all the developers. If they overturn it, the ordinance could be voided again on procedural grounds.