ARLINGTON, Va. (DC News Now) — Saturday could mark the end of a long-awaited, hotly-contested, and highly-controversial rezoning of Arlington County.

The Missing Middle proposal is in front of the county board at Saturday morning’s meeting, which begins at 8:30 a.m. The county has plans for a carryover meeting on Tuesday, if the amount of speakers prolongs the weekend meeting.

The county has said the objective of the plan is to expand housing options. Right now, it has said it has single-family homes and high-rise apartments, but not enough in the middle.

The issue has been at the forefront of county elections and neighborly debates.

Proponents have said, if approved, Arlington will have more housing options. Additionally, in the long term, they believe it will help promote home ownership.

Opponents have said the county is overlooking possible consequences on parking, the tree canopy, and overcrowding in schools.

Even some who support the plan, including the county’s NAACP, have expressed frustrations. It said it was dissuaded by the fact that the county board removed seven- and eight-plexes from the proposal. The NAACP chapter said those would have been built in areas that would have helped integrate the county.

“The status quo is untenable,” said Bryan Coleman with the county’s NAACP chapter. “And when you got $1.25, $1.5 million homes, averaging out, as the cost of a single-family home for the last, three or four years, it’s impossible to see a pathway forward for a lot of people.”

“All we’ve always asked for is impact studies and to put the facts first, and the county has refused to do this. Our real hope is they would pause, do an impact study, and let’s have a real fact-based conversation,” said Dave Gerk with Arlingtonians for Upzoning Transparency.