Thursday, January 1, 2009

Alexandria Neighborhoods Divulge City's 'Planning' Charade Formula

Alexandria neighborhoods are increasingly angry about Alexandria City Council's Planning Charades vis a vis redevelopment. What is City Council's 'formula' for imposing it's will on neighborhoods? Here it is (looks suspiciously like what's occuring in Arlington during Pike redevelopment):

First, hire a consultant to do the private stakeholder interviews. By not discussing these issues in public the City is given inside knowledge of where each player stands and can develop a strategy to divide and conquer.

Second, in lieu of widespread neighborhood participation, have the Mayor and Council appoint an advisory group heavily stacked with those who are known to sympathize with the City's already predetermined outcome. To further protect the City's interests, strip the Advisory Group of any ability to deliberate or vote among themselves on the issues.

Next, run bogus community meetings dominated by expensive out of town 'experts,. Their role is to create the agenda, shape the discussions and cut off dissent or meaningful dialogue that does not trend toward what the City wants.

Next, issue draft reports composed by the consultants and for an extra twist inform the community about the draft over a holiday weekend.

Lastly, hold a 'final' community meeting while important redevelopment decisions are still being discussed by City Staff.

(Let's not forget another important Charade component: threaten activists who question the Planning Charade with arrest - A.Y.)

14 comments:

Anonymous said...

Same law firms, same "planning" consultants, same "planning staff" that move around the Beltway, same REITs and developers. Same charade, over and over, from jurisdiction to jurisdiction.

Anonymous said...

Police harassment and threats of arrest are an important component of the planning charade process.

Anonymous said...

Needs to be repeated from the previous thread: planning commissions are rubber stamps for REITs, transportation commissions are rubber stamps for the Virginia Auto Dealers Association, housing commissions are rubber stamps for upscale developers and poverty pimps.

Anonymous said...

You forgot the part about the pro-development appointees to the housing, planning, transportation, etc., commissions defaming and slandering the affordable housing, anti-gentrification, and environmental activists.

Anonymous said...

The Arlington Police Department works hand in glove with the County Board to harass the Greens and other better government activists.

Anonymous said...

Yupette, the Yup of the Year Award was well deserved. The local media are THE problem. Notice there is almost ZERO investigative journalism by any news media. If the FBI ever did a sting operation on local development there would be a huge scandal. However, the corruption is bi-partisan -- including the news media.

Anonymous said...

Worst corruption by far is in the TV, radio, and newspapers. The news media make environmental devastation happen through their editorials tied to their advertising income. We have to rely on blogs and neighborhood newsletters to know how bad the corruption and environmental damage (e.g., Kent Island aka Pave the Bay Maryland) have become.

Anonymous said...

See Scott McCaffrey's latest S-G Editor's blog? Cops broke into Scott's Fairlington condo and hid his TV remote. LOL. Wonder if "Guru of Gridlock" Zimmerman knows anything about it.

Anonymous said...

Zimmerman has a nasty temper. Watch for Zimmy's doggie poop friends to show up in front of Scott's condo at 6 AM Sunday morning 'socializing' their pets.

Anonymous said...

I guess Scott is doing something right to anger Zimmerman so he sicked the cops on him

Anonymous said...

Zimmy got criticized in the S-G blog last week for his $350 million Columbia Pike tourist trolley from nowhere to nowhere.

Anonymous said...

This has been going on for years. What do you expect from a bipartisan political machine that is so out of control it allows a couple thousand non-resident kids to attend Arlington schools?

Anonymous said...

Something similar happened to me when I was an activist a few years ago. I hired a private investigator and she discovered it was local law enforcement who were doing the break-ins. I installed an expensive home security system and the break-ins stopped.

Anonymous said...

Be thankful you are not a Muslim who publicly opposes U.S. policy in the Middle East.