Neighborhood Conservation Plan
Neighborhood Conservation Plan Survey - VOLUNTEERS NEEDED!
Members of ARCA are currently in the process of revising our draft NC Plan survey. Though the County approved the survey in its current form, feedback from the community suggests that the survey is too long, so we are working to consolidate. For ease of tabulating results, we anticipate having an online version of the survey in addition to hardcopy questionnaires, which will be delivered door-to-door. For those of you in the neighborhood who have Internet access and feel comfortable taking the survey on your computer, we encourage you to do so. It will save ARCA members who are aggregating survey results a great deal of time at the end of the process.
If you would like to help in either the streamlining effort or are interested in volunteering to conduct the survey, please contact us at arcaneighbor@gmail.com.
Read more about the Conservation Plan on our Current ARCA Projects page.
ARCA Revitalization
Thanks to all for making our 2010 membership drive so successful! And we are still not finished. We have over 200 dues-paying households. This money will allow us to continue to produce our bi-monthly newsletters, keep the website updated and contribute to various neighborhood causes (e.g. Halloween parade, Hume School and I-395 exit beautification, etc.), and react to issues and opportunities that arise. If you haven’t already sent your dues its not too late.
Click the “Join Us” link above for more details.
Membership Coffees. This year, an initiative was taken to increase membership by organizing Membership Coffees in neighbors’ homes. The first round of Membership Coffees was a huge success! Thanks to the ARCA Social Committee for planning, to Miriam Gennari, Ann Lane, and Elizabeth Mailander for opening their homes, and to Stephanie Antosca Boright, Susanne Fyffe, Susan Hand, Patty Joyce and Molly Watson for co-hosting. We saw a combined total of about 50 neighbors, and attendance at each coffee was larger than the one before. It looks like the beginning of a great neighborhood tradition... so let’s keep it going!
In September, neighbors Scott McCoy and Steve McLendon, 2713 S Arlington Ridge Road, and also neighbor Katie Buck, at 1225 S. 23rd Street have graciously agreed to open their homes to the next round of coffees. Details will be announced in the September newsletter. Would you like to host a neighborhood coffee this fall? If so, please contact Patty Joyce at arcaneighbor@gmail.com.
Advertising for ARCA newsletter — should we or shouldn’t we? The topic of whether to accept advertising for the ARCA newsletter was once again raised at our January meeting. We have been approached by many local businesses looking for a vehicle to provide wider community exposure for their endeavors. Read more about this important question and how to weigh in on the ARCA Revitalization Initiative page.
A Safety Reminder
Crime is down in our neighborhood but the police remind us to be vigilant about locking our doors and reporting suspicious activity. They also suggest we record serial numbers or TVs, computers etc as sometimes they are pawned and with the ID there is a chance they could be returned.
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.
UPDATE: Thanks to a small but energized group of our neighbors, efforts to revitalize our Aurora Hills Library/Community center are well underway. With the survey results as a guide, a committee has been formed and planning is underway to develop programs and solicit volunteers for future activities. Passport To Summer is the team’s first attempt to expand the center programming and was designed to gather the community together for a couple hours of reading, word games, working on puzzles and reciting poetry. Up to now, AHCA has been spearheading the Passport to Summer effort – paying for food, organizing the volunteers, and getting the word out.
As the revitalization effort progresses, we are looking for additional ARCA volunteers. If you are interested in getting involved please contact us at arcaneighbor@gmail.com. The next committee meeting is scheduled for the week of July 12.
So, come see what all the buzz is about. Bring your kids, meet your neighbors and enjoy some summer fun. We’ll be there every Wednesday night from 5pm-7pm through August 25th. Join us in bringing Aurora Highlands Community Center back to life.
Traffic Control and Pedestrian Safety
We continue to work with the county to track the fixes/improvements that have been promised to the neighborhood. They have agreed to furnish us quarterly updates for the newsletter which should begin with the September issue. In addition staff has agreed to present the 15% design plan for Arlington Ridge Road and 23rd Street S at our September 16th meeting. In addition we are tracking repair of the temporary curbing and replacement bollards for Arlington Ridge Road and S. Lang Street, availablity of additional speed displays and crosswalk markings along 23rd street. Will update the website as status is available.
ARCA supports improvements to Joyce Street in Aurora Highlands in a letter to the Director of the Transportation Division of Arlington County’s Department of Environmental Services.
In 2009, ARCA 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 Mr. Leach’s response here.
Crystal City Redevelopment Plan
UPDATE: At the recent Request to Advertise hearing on the Crystal City Redevelopment Plan, ARCA's very own Kit Whitely spoke about our experience with a joint ARCA/AHCA Working Group that articulated our concerns about the planning process. Read her statement here.
The move to approve the Sector Plan for Crystal City Redevelopment is reaching completion and we are approaching the final window to express our opinions. Click here to view the current Sector Plan Version 2.0. Infrastructure costs are estimated at $250M. Note there are no $ allocated for external road improvements (Rt 1, Ridge, 23rd) as the county has determined that doubling the density of people in Crystal City will have no impact on traffic.
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.
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.
Catch up on the latest on the Crystal City Redevelopment Plan on the Current ARCA Projects page.
Snow Removal
UPDATE: The Arlington County Board Passes Ordinance Relating to the Removal of Snow and Ice From Public Sidewalks. This item was heard by the Board at its June 12 2010 session. A video of that discussion can be seen at the Arlington County website’s video meeting minutes site.
Based on last winter’s snow experience, the County Board tasked Staff to develop a Snow Removal Ordinance applicable to sidewalks and streets abutting your residence. Failure to clear sidewalks to a width of 36 inches within specified timeframes could result in a Civil Fine ticket, and could also cause the County to have the snow removed, then bill you. In addition, if you put snow from your property onto a public street you could be liable for Criminal Penalties applicable to a Class 4 Misdemeanor.
Read ARCA’s opposition to the ordinance in the letter sent to County Chairman Jay Fisette.
Help Take ARCAOnline to the Next Level
Wanted: HTML and CSS skills to assist in the upkeep of our ARCA website. If you have basic HTML skills, you can help our webmaster by updating various pages on the website with new content. Although it’s a low time commitment, you need to be able to respond promptly to requests from the Executive Board. This is a good resume-builder for a high school student looking to demonstrate their programming skills!
We are also looking for someone with WordPress development skills to help upgrade the website. If you know someone willing to donate a few hours of design consulting time, please contact Chris King at 571-228-0253.