Current ARCA Projects
Our Neighborhood
Save our Community Center! – Thanks to all of you for taking the time to fill out the survey on the Aurora Hills Community Center. We received 205 responses and they are now be tallied. Read the results of the survey here.
Thank you to the HUME school volunteeers
We want to thank all for a very successful Spring Volunteer Day at the old Hume School/Arlington Historical Museum on April 17. We had what may be a record turnout of 44 persons - over two dozen of which were from our local Mormon singles group living throughout the neighborhood. These numbers do not count the assistance we get from County staff, who generously provided tools and mulch as part of their Remove Invasive Plants program -- which gave our grounds restoration efforts a running start over 5 years ago.
We are learning as we go, and it is clear that, while the work is now less exhausting than the early years of beating back a jungle, these days of weeding, raking, pruning and planting are a necessary part of maintaining the pleasant park-like setting we have created -- in cooperation with the County who kept pace on their three abutting plots of land. The County Parks Department has also contributed to the Historical Society land with planting trees and with small Parks Grants to restore the stairs and path, and to plant shrubs.
With the number of folks who continue to support our Hume Volunteer Day, we are also able to maintain the landscaped area neighbors created on the soutwest side of the I395 exit. In addition, we continue to add important maintenance tasks like dealing with rust and flaking paint on the front wrought iron entrance to the school and to the steel steps at the rear, and working to contain erosion on the hill from the outlets from the roof rain gutters.
We look forward to a Fall Volunteer Day, when we hope to do some concentrated planting, using some donations to the historical Society earmarked for this purpose. We will also put out a call for donated plants ahead of time. Support from the local Green Manor Garden Club members has been key in the planting we have already accomplished on the hill. They also provide assistance between volunteer days with pruning, planting, weed control and watering. We are very grateful for the continuing support Rich Kelly donates in the form of mowing, weed-whacking and weed treatment -- not to mention his chili dogs that cap each Volunteer Day.
We appreciate your continuing interest in this key neighborhood and County asset, and hope to see continued strong support in the fall.
Thanks again.Chick Walter
Coordinator, Friends of Hume School
Chairman, Grounds Committee, Arlington Historical Society Museum
703-519-9487
Wakefield Bond – ARCA endorses funding for improvements to Wakefield High School.
Read ARCA’s latest letter to the Arlington County Board regarding the bond for improvements to Wakefield. Then read Chairman Jay Fisette’s response.
In May, the County Board approved the use permit for Wakefield’s reconstruction. This is great news! The design development phase has been completed. If you want a better idea of what the school will look like, follow this link. Click on the 4/22 meeting date, then Item F - Monitoring. It will be an incredible building once it’s built, meeting both educational and community needs. Click here to read more information from the county.
encouraging them to support the construction bond in 2010.
Crystal City Redevelopment
Read the county’s current Crystal City Sector Plan.
The Request to Advertise hearing is Tuesday July 13 at approximately 6:45pm. This is a mandatory step in the approval process for the Sector Plan. Once the request to advertise is granted (making official the county’s intention to bring this item up for vote at its September session) the final clock for approval starts ticking.
Bear in mind that Alexandria has just approved a similar development plan for Potomac Yards which has strengthened already heightened concerns held by many. Cick here for plan. Now is the time to act. It is ARCA’s intent to present the neighborhoods concerns at that session but we have found in the past numbers make a difference.
Please consider, as a minimum, attending this session on July 13 but also consider speaking and expressing your views. Speaker slips may be submitted before the item begins...if you must be a little late, someone could turn in the slip for you. It is important that our views be heard. Letters or emails to the Board might be useful. Contact information can be found in the Contact Us section of the County Board webpage. Any and all support from the community is requested as we continue to make our voices heard. We will continue to update you via this site and arcaneighbor as the meeting schedule evolves. Please send any questions to us at arcaneighbor@gmail.com.
Crystal City Redevelopment Juggernaut: County Hearing Dates
By Nancy Swain On July 13th at a recessed meeting of the Arlington County Board, the Board will consider a Request to Advertise for the proposed Crystal City Sector Plan. The evening session begins at 6:30pm and according to the agenda, our item will start "no earlier than 6:45." Public testimony may well be taken.The Request to Advertise is meant to alert the public that the County Board is considering action on the item, so that the public has a chance to comment and give their views to the authorities. This is a legal step in the process. The plan is proposed to be adopted on September 25, 2010.
The first building to be built will be an office building at 23rd Street and Crystal Drive across from a park which will be destroyed. The current building there will be torn down and replaced by an office building 330’ high – about 28 stories. This will be built very soon.
To recap, why does ARCA care about this? ARCA cares because the plan includes features that will significantly impact our community. The density will be about doubled when the inevitable bonuses are included. There are inevitable impacts of traffic, air pollution and noise pollution. Additionally, the visual impact of some 28-30 story buildings on the CC side of 23rd Street, and many 20 story buildings in other places, will significantly affect our neighborhood.
If you would like to join the Crystal City effort, your presence and skills would be warmly welcomed. Please contact us at arcaneighbor@gmail.com.
Update: ARCA-ARHA combine efforts to provide feedback to County on Crystal City Vision Plan 2050. Read the cover letter to Arlington County Board and the Comments and Recommendations document .
On October 9, Barbara Favola, Chairman of the Arlington County Board, provided a detailed response to concerns of our neighborhoods. Read the full response from the county.
Anthony Fusarelli, Urban Planner with the Arlington County Planning Division - CPHD, spoke at the May 20th meeting. The County is planning to release an updated Sector Plan in June with the goal of asking for County Board approval in September. Current infrastructure costs are estimated at $90,980,000 ($20,250,000 requiring General Tax Fund Support) over a 6-year period beginning with fiscal year 2011. Read more details on the proposed Capital Improvement Program here.
Also, see the briefing slides Mr. Fusarelli delivered at the May 20 meeting, including cost estimates.
Crystal City: County Board Tentative Hearing Date May 22, 2010
By Nancy Swain
The current schedule for the County Board to consider the Crystal City (CC) redevelopment plan is May 22. The Board is scheduled to consider advertising the plan on April 24, which will be followed by various commission hearings on the plan prior to the Board meeting.
Two more community organizations have written the Board expressing their views about the redevelopment’s impacts; these concerns have also been expressed at ARCA meetings and in newsletters.
The Center for Urban Education (CUE), a non-profit 501c3 corporation, is concerned about environmental protection issues which arise in urban settings, and promotes environmentally sound solutions to urban problems. CUE’s basic points are: the CC proposal involves a massive redevelopment and increase in density; a significant part of the density increase is outside the 1/4 mile Metro “bullseye,” with buildings 300-330 tall at 23rd Street between Route 1 and Crystal Drive, which also destroys Cherrios Park; the development will cause significant traffic generation on local streets, as well as air pollution and noise pollution; a significant part of the development is on the west side of Route 1 threatening neighborhood boundaries and stability; and massive increase of public outlays of money will be required for the infrastructure. CUE recommends building under the existing zoning and opposes the proposed redevelopment. The complete CUE letter can be read here.
The Book Club, a book group, whose members are from 22202, emphasizes the extraordinary changes in the General Land Use Plan to implement the CC plan. Zoning regulations are designed to protect existing property owners, and the health, safety and welfare of the area would be radically changed with the significant increases in density. The increased traffic on neighborhood streets creates additional health and safety issues. The approximately 30 story buildings planned on the CC side of 23rd Street will result in a massive wall, radically changing the aerial landscape of the area and funnel traffic through neighboring residential communities. Quality of life issues are intangible and are sublimated to ideas of high economic returns. The Club opposes the proposed development in its present form and supports development under existing zoning. The complete letter can be read here.
The question is sometimes asked, why be concerned with density? What does density so? Density has multiple infrastructure costs, increased traffic, air pollution, noise pollution, and impacts on health, safety and welfare. CC extensive redevelopment will be a significant density increase in an already impacted area. The above impacts are important to understand. Stay tuned.
Past Activities
Representatives from ARCA, Aurora Highlands Civic Association (AHCA) and Crystal City neighborhoods have assumed seats on Arlington County’s Long Range Planning Committee (LRPC) to review the plan for the redevelopment of Crystal City. Arlington County has undertaken a comprehensive strategic development initiative focused upon the redevelopment of the Crystal City area. The Jefferson Davis corridor is the strongest economic ‘engine’ within Arlington County. Therefore, the objective of this initiative is to further develop and redevelop this area so that it not only remains healthy after the impact of base realignment and closure (BRAC), but grows as a vital office, retail, and residential area.
The ‘Crystal City Vision Plan 2050’ is currently being reviewed by the LRPC, and the current draft is available to the public for download at www.plancrystalcity.com. ARCA residents and other members of the community are strongly encouraged to download, review, and comment upon the draft document, as implementation of the plan will inevitably have an impact on many dimensions of our communities, both positively and potentially negatively.
The LRPC is meeting through the summer on the Vision Plan to provide County staff with additional comments and input. The first meeting was on 9 June 2009, and two additional meetings have been scheduled for 8 July 2009 and 30 July 2009. ARCA’s principal representative to the LRPC is Christopher Mailander. Patty Lynn is the first alternate, and Chick Walter is the second alternate.
ARCA has joined with AHCA and Crystal City neighbors to create a community-wide Working Group focused upon receiving better input from the residents throughout the entirety of the 22202 zip code. The Working Group is currently preparing a consolidated response to the LRPC for purposes of expressing the voice of the primarily residential neighborhoods within the wider geographic confines of the Jefferson Davis corridor which collectively share transportation, retail, schools, and other physical infrastructure.
It has been proposed by the LRPC that an additional chapter be drafted by the County to specifically address the issue of community benefits from the redevelopment of the Crystal City area, and to better “humanize” a strategic plan that is strongly focused upon economic and development issues. The Working Group has been specifically tasked with providing input to this additional chapter. Issues of particular focus for this exercise include addressing the potential negative effects of creating separate, non-integrated communities within Crystal City; the lack of integration of Crystal City with the neighboring communities of Aurora Hills and Arlington Ridge; the inadequacies of the traffic analysis due to its limited focus on intra-Crystal City traffic, and not the surrounding arterial routes; the impact of the increasing density on green space in Crystal City; the realization of tangible and quantifiable community benefits in exchange for the increasing density and demands on Crystal City, Aurora Hills, and Arlington Ridge; the impact of increased density and traffic on the transportation infrastructure in not only Crystal City, but also Aurora and Arlington Ridge; and the impact of increasing and changing density patterns on neighborhood schools, libraries, community centers, parks, and on other common infrastructure, as well as on emergency, fire, police and medical services. The core objective of the Working Group is to set forth a vision for what this larger community can be in terms of lifestyles, work, and play, and better address how the vision affects such diverse communities as the elderly, families, singles, and others.
There are several pathways through which ARCA and individual residents can influence and shape the development of the long-term ‘Vision’. These include attendance and comment at the planned LRPC meetings to be held on July 8 and July 30 to continue review of the draft Plan. ARCA members are particularly encouraged to attend the July 30th session, when it is anticipated that the aforementioned community issues will be specifically discussed. Individuals and civic organizations may communicate directly with staff and the planning commission at any time. There will also be future public hearings to review the Vision Plan and receive public input, which are currently anticipated to begin in late September or October.
Feedback and input from Arlington Ridge residents directly to the Working Group is sought immediately to enable it and the LRPC representatives to best share concerns and opinions with the County. Contact Chris Mailander , Patty Lynn and/or Chick Walter for any additional information pertaining to the LRPC or Crystal City Vision Plan 2050, and/or to provide immediate input and comments related thereto.
Crystal City Redevelopment Plan (links to the Arlington County website)
Arlington County Multimodal Transportation Study document (links to the Arlington County website)
Traffic Control and Pedestrian Safety
In recent news: ARCA supports improvements to Joyce Street in Aurora Highlands.
ARCA and the Aurora Highlands Civic Association (AHCA) recently sent a letter to Mr. Dennis Leach, Director of the Transportation Division of Arlington County’s Department of Environmental Services, requesting the use of an estimated $60,500 of funding set aside to address traffic problems on South Arlington Ridge Road and South 23rd Street. Read the letter to find out the safety improvements ARCA is requesting.
Mr. Leach, Director of the Transportation Division of the Department of Environmental Services responded on January 7, 2010, to the letter ARCA sent in 2009. Click here to read his response.
Given the many exclusions the County’s term “Traffic Calming Program” entails, ARCA no longer uses it to describe efforts to control traffic speed. ARCA continues its 3-part approach to address pedestrian safety and traffic control in our neighborhood. Part 1 tries to follow up on the previous impressive achievements on Ridge Rd. and 23rd St., and to expand that work throughout our neighborhood. Part 2 is the development of our Neighborhood Conservation Plan which gives ARCA a chance to communicate its vision for the neighborhood to the County Board and staff. Part 3 is taking an active role in the planning phase of the Crystal City redevelopment (with the possibility of getting developer “set-aside” funds to control traffic impact).
Progress on Part 1 of the approach is as follows:
- The Executive Board approved a formal request to the County for $60.5K of the existing $170K in developer set-aside funds (from the Potomac Yard development (thank you, Dick Herbst and past ARCA Board for this funding) for traffic control on the Ridge Rd. and S. 23rd St. arterials. Using the County’s pricing, we’ve requested:
- Two additional permanent speed displays on Ridge Rd., one placed northbound in the vicinity of 19th St. and the other placed southbound in the vicinity of 24th Street. A sign indicating that a school/pedestrian crossing is ahead is to be posted with the latter. Speed displays are generally placed on existing electrical poles.
- Pedestrian crossing bollards on Ridge Rd. (like those at 19th and 20th Streets) to replace those at Lang and 28th Streets.
- Two new permanent speed displays on 23rd St., one placed eastbound (downhill) just past 26th St. (opposite Kent) and the second across the street (uphill) on Kent (opposite 26th St). Both would be generally placed on existing electrical poles with extension arms for increased driver visibility.
- Two pedestrian crosswalks with bollards on 23rd St. at ives, Hayes, and Grant Streets. Bollards would have the same pedestrian crossing signs as those on Ridge at 19th and 20th Streets.
- Metro bus (aka Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority � WMATA) letter: While we don’t have an official report from WMATA on our request to have bus speed clocked, unofficially bus speeds clocked by WMATA the 2nd week of May were within the speed limit range. Drivers were reminded to obey speed limits. WMATA appears to acknowledge that the visibility of their staff clocking bus speed slowed drivers down. A request for an official report was made, including a response to our request that out-of-service buses use routes other than Ridge.
- Ridge and 23rd St.: ARCA continues to seek adequate pedestrian space on the southeast corner of this intersection � a critical school crossing for Oakridge Elementary students. In addition, we seek improvements on the southeast corner for turning buses. County staff will get back to us by the end of July on results of the County’s informal (i.e., no cost) feasibility study.
- Ridge Rd. maintenance issues: County staff is to give us a status report before our meeting on July 16 on our requests for bollard replacements at all Ridge intersections, a modification of speed indicators to display speeds greater than 34 mpg and a repair of the loop indicator (i.e., activate traffic signal) for traffic on 23rd St. at Ridge.
ARCA Neighborhood Conservation Plans
NC Plan 2012 [?] Sets ARCA Priorities - Committees Forming
ARCA’s pending Neighborhood Conservation (NC) Survey and Plan are expected to cover the following topics:
1) Community Description; Demographics; History; Trends;
a) Positive features
b) Problematic features
2) Neighborhood Vision & Goals
3) Land Use, Zoning, and Surrounding High Density Development
4) Infrastructure conditions: Streets, Sidewalks, Curb & Gutter, Drainage, Lighting
5) Traffic Controls, Street & Intersection design for Safety & Access of Pedestrians and residents
6) Parks and recreation; vegetation
7) Community Services; Public Facilities; Businesses
8) Housing; owner-occupied single-family; rental S.F.; apartment; condominium
9) Public Safety
10) Transit
Please contact arcaneighbor@gmail.com to register your interest in assisting in formulating specific topics in the survey and/or Plan. We expect the survey and Plan drafting will occur over the next two years. We will discuss these topics, and how other Associations have addressed them, at the upcoming meeting. The Survey and Plan are expected to inventory and assess community features, set over-arching goals, and define problem areas and recommend solutions to the County.
Volunteers are needed to lead and staff efforts for each individual Plan segment. Many of you have expressed interest in some of these areas, and we will be contacting you. If you wish to be part of the overall steering committee, let us know, as we need champion[s] to guide the efforts, and backup is needed to keep efforts moving when others are otherwise committed to job, travel, and family issues. A cross-section of age, experience and perspective is welcome. We will list prior expressions of topical interests, and begin listing Committees soon.