Why is Arlington County not a city?

[clever but short]

Wasn't sure where to put this. Why has Arlington County VA never incorporated as an independent city? I had assumed incorrectly that it was one. Also, what exactly is even the distinction in Virginia between an independent city and a county?

[Starry Eyed Jagaloon]

Well, a lot of it wasn't particularly developed until well into the 20th century, and by then, I suppose things were working out well enough for nobody to want to incorporate. I actually think much of NoVa being unincorporated has been for the best because it's allowed for better government where local interests don't usually beat out regional interests.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

Virginia has some law that prevents incorporation once a county is above a certain population density. Yes it makes absolutely no sense.

[Del Tachi]

Might it have something to do with it once being part of the District of Columbia?

[SevenEleven]

What's the benefit of being a city?

[Brittain33]

I’m looking at the some of the independent cities which are county-sized—Chesapeake and Virginia Beach—and they reached present form when small independent cities within the county’s historical boundaries annexed the remainder of the county. So I think the operative question is why Alexandria declined to annex it when it had the chance.

[I’m not Stu]

It doesn't need to be a city when it has its own county government.

[I spent the winter writing songs about getting better]

I’m looking at the some of the independent cities which are county-sized—Chesapeake and Virginia Beach—and they reached present form when small independent cities within the county’s historical boundaries annexed the remainder of the county. So I think the operative question is why Alexandria declined to annex it when it had the chance.

Alexandria intentionally split from it and then incorporated as a city so that'd be odd if it did.

[jimrtex]

Because they are independent of counties, when an independent city annexes territory it is removed from the county. Cities might seek to annex land that has a Walmart or shopping, but avoid annexing residential areas. They would gain sales taxes, with not too great of additional expenses.

Commercial enterprises might be expected to pay for their own trash collection, they add no school children, don't require as much policing since they have their own security, etc.

Up until 1979 independent cities could annex areas unilaterally, through special courts that favored the cities because they were annexing "urban" areas. Cities were increasingly looking to expand to capture development that was not immediately adjacent to the city limits.

Prior to WWII, expansion of cities was more orderly as factories and offices would be built in the city center, and residential areas would gradually expand outward as city water could be provided, and workers could commute by street car of bus.

Also, in Virginia, education is provided by counties and independent cities. It can be disruptive to have 300 students no longer able to attend a school built for 600.

And over time, county governments began to provide services that were traditionally city services, water, streets, law enforcement.

In the Hampton Roads area, independent cities were created to block annexation. Virginia Beach used to a tiny hamlet on the Atlantic Coast. Norfolk had begun to annex into Priince Anne County. In 1960, Virginia Beach had 8,000 persons, while Princess Anne County had 77,000 persons. Virginia Beach annexed the entire county, and by 1970 had 172,000 persons. It has continued to grow so that it by far the most populous in Virginia.

Similar activities created Chesapeake and Suffolk with largely the intent to lock in Norfolk and Portsmouth.

With annexation battles heating up the legislature in 1979 created a moratorium on annexations initiated by cities. This moratorium has been repeatedly extended, the latest in 2015 extended the moratorium until 2024.

Also, a county with more than 50,000 persons or a certain density is immune from annexation by an independent city, or creation of an independent city.

Had Alexandria attempted to annex into Arlington County, it is likely there would have been resistance, perhaps resulting in creation of a city of Arlington.

But after 40 years it has become the status quo. Arlington County can provide city services as well as county services.

[jimrtex]

Might it have something to do with it once being part of the District of Columbia?

That is the reason there is an Arlington County.

When DC was created, the portion south of the Potomac was removed from Fairfax County.

Alexandria which was once in Arlington County has annexed southward into Fairfax County. Otherwise, you could extend the southern boundary of Arlington County and the eastern boundary of DC to complete a square.

DC originally had two counties: Washington, north of the river, and Alexandria, south of the river. It also had three cities: Washington, Georgetown, and Alexandria, and rural areas outside any city.

Alexandria which had been a river port prior to creation of the District felt it wasn't getting any benefit of the national capital, plus they couldn't trade in slaves. So it was retroceded  to Virginia and remained Alexandria County.

The creation of "independent cities" in Virginia was not necessarily a deliberate act, but something that happened and then was recognized, giving cities (in Virginia "independent" is redundant, if a municipality is not independent of any county, it is a town. e.g Blacksburg and Leesburg).

Alexandria was a city, and thus was recognized as being independent of Alexandria County.

Alexandria County was not renamed Arlington County until 1920 to avoid confusion with Alexandria city.

Because of its history as being a slice of DC, it has a geographical appearance (size and shape) of being a city. If it had always been part of Fairfax County, it would not have that sharp boundary.

[jimrtex]

Wasn't sure where to put this. Why has Arlington County VA never incorporated as an independent city? I had assumed incorrectly that it was one. Also, what exactly is even the distinction in Virginia between an independent city and a county?

In Virginia the distinction between a "city" and a "town", is that a city is independent of any county, and has equal status with counties. A "town" is part of the county(-ies) it is contained in, and residents participate in county and town governance.

Historically in the USA, counties were an administrative division of the state. They recorded property ownership, issued marriage licenses, recorded deaths, administered jails. They didn't provide much in the way of services, and fiscally could not. In Virginia, schools are administered by counties - so this means independent cities have their own school systems.

Cities would provide more services, such as streets and sidewalks, water and sewers, and police protection. Residents would continue to go to the county to record deeds, get marriage licenses, be put in jail, etc.

It was somewhat accidental that cities in Virginia became "independent" though cities and Norfolk and Richmond had long been recognized as such.

In the 20th century, explosive suburban growth meant that counties became more involved in municipal services, either providing city water and sewers, or arranging for them, planning. There was no longer a need to be an incorporated city.

About the only thing that a city of Arlington could do, that the county of Arlington can not do is annex into Fairfax County, but there are laws that block that. And the only purpose that becoming a city would solve is block annexation from other cities, but that is also blocked.

[heatcharger]

Arlington is functionally a city. The governing structure of a county is mildly different but as far as I know, one of the only advantages to being a city is that city councils have more control over state-allocated transportation funds while counties are under the purview of VDOT. This hasn’t proven to be a problem I guess.

[heatcharger]

About the only thing that a city of Arlington could do, that the county of Arlington can not do is annex into Fairfax County, but there are laws that block that. And the only purpose that becoming a city would solve is block annexation from other cities, but that is also blocked.

Annexation of a hypothetical City of Arlington into Fairfax sounds like a potential nightmare — perhaps more plausibly, Arlington could annex the City of Falls Church which already has its own public school system (which only exists as a relic of segregation) independent of Fairfax County. But generally speaking, localities don’t want to give up their councils and committees and whatever.