Meet Chris

Since 1998 Chris has represented Arlington on the Metro Board, and served as its Chairman in 2002 and 2008.

Chris has focused much of his work in Arlington on the issues of transportation, development, and housing.  He is an advocate of smart growth, sustainability, and new urbanism and has worked within the Arlington tradition of managed growth and community involvement to harmonize new development with existing neighborhoods.  He has worked to improve public transportation and to make Arlington more pedestrian-friendly, and devoted himself to efforts that ensure the availability of affordable housing in the County.  Regionally, Chris has worked to promote these concepts as the Washington DC metropolitan area seeks solutions to the problems of traffic congestion, access to jobs, and environmental pollution.

His efforts to foster a lively, diverse, walkable community in Arlington have included promoting neighborhood conservation, traffic calming, a “Safe Routes to School” initiative, on-street bike lanes, and the establishment of “ART,” Arlington’s local bus service. He also led the creation of “Pike Ride,” an enhanced approach to Metrobus service along Columbia Pike in south Arlington, and has worked to secure a Columbia Pike streetcar to support the landmark form-based code, which steers re-development to the corridor in a pedestrian-friendly, transit-oriented way. 

For affordable housing, Chris has worked directly with tenants, neighborhoods, and advocates to preserve and renovate existing historic properties, and to create new affordable housing projects across the County. He advocated for including affordable housing in Arlington’s comprehensive plan, and was a leader in the fight for both a landmark County ordinance and state legislation, which together ensure that developers must contribute to affordable housing for new site plan approvals.  He is taking the lead on latest phase of the Columbia Pike planning process focused on housing.  In addition, Chris supported increases in the Affordable Housing Investment Fund, and dedication of part of the recordation tax to AHIF.

Chris has advocated for program improvements and investments to support Arlington’s workforce. He proposed Arlington’s “living wage” ordinance, enacted in 2003, and a similar measure at WMATA. Committed to public safety, Chris has worked for expanded personnel, equipment, and systems resources for Arlington first-responders. He has been a major advocate for programs for small business retention and creation, including responses to the federal BRAC realignment.

He has also overseen the approval of Arlington’s Master Transportation Plan, a comprehensive set of new standards on all modes of travel that reflects the County’s innovative approach to planning, energy, and environmental sustainability and economic health to best provide access and mobility for Arlington’s residents and workforce.

Chris has worked for better maintenance of our parks and better recreational facilities. In addition to his long connection to the Neighborhood Conservation program, he created an urban forestry initiative. His efforts also led Arlington to pioneer the use of “synthetic grass” athletic fields, and he has long been an advocate of development of Long Bridge Park, a first-class, multi-purpose park and recreation center that will break ground this year.

Recognizing the diverse needs of Arlington families, Chris has also initiated policies that focus on the needs of elder residents and youth. A strong believer in public education, Chris has supported increased funding for Arlington’s schools, both operating and capital.  Through all of these efforts, Arlington has earned and maintained a triple-AAA bond rating, proof of the effectiveness of its management of fiscal resources.

On the regional level, most of Chris Zimmerman’s work has centered on transportation.  In addition to the Board of Directors of the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority, Chris serves on:

• the Northern Virginia Transportation Authority (Chairman 2006-2008)
• the Transportation Planning Board for the National Capital Region (Chairman 2004)
• the Northern Virginia Transportation Commission (Chairman 2002 and 2008)
• the Operations Board of Virginia Railway Express (Chairman 2009)
  
• the Virginia Transit Association (President 2004-2006). 
  
  

Chris was one of the architects of the inter-jurisdictional funding agreement approved in 2004 that made it possible for Metro to purchase additional rail cars and buses.  He has been a leader in the effort to secure dedicated funding for Metro, including federal and greater jurisdictional commitments to ensure levels of service and safety for the region’s transit riders.

In 2004 Chris became the first recipient of the WRN Livable Communities Leadership Award.  He has also been honored by the Arlington Coalition for Sustainable Transportation (2001), and by the Virginia Transit Association as Public Official of the Year (2003).

An active member of the community prior to his service on the County Board, Chris Zimmerman was a civic association president (Douglas Park), a delegate to the Civic Federation, a member of the Planning Commission, chairman of the Neighborhood Conservation Advisory Committee, vice-chairman of the Park and Recreation Commission, and a schools activist with involvement in several PTAs.

Chris Zimmerman was formerly Chief Economist and Committee Director for Federal Budget and Taxation at the National Conference of State Legislatures, where he worked from 1987-1998.  He holds a Master of Arts in Economics from the University of Maryland and a Bachelor of Science in Political Science and Economics from The American University.