Hello, Yupette,
I had an hour to peruse the latest update to the East Falls Church Area Plan, which is going to the County Board on Saturday. As former County Manager Mike Brown predicted, redeveloped East Falls Church will be another Shrlington, big ugly buildings, a big increase in traffic, big parking garages, no new public open space except for plazas, sidewalks and an "enhanced" Four Mile Run stream bed, little or no affordable housing. Another Shirlington. Another gold mine for another out-of-state REIT. No public benefit for families who moved away from Shirlington to buy single family homes in EFC. Which REIT will Chris Zimmerman choose? We would be better off, much better off with parcel by parcel "by right" redevelopment of East Falls Church with no land use plan changes allowed.
Larry - EFC
28 comments:
It's such a Shirlington clone that Zimmerman's logical choice would be Federal Realty.
Yes, this is a corporate welfare Christmas present for another REIT.
Zimmy wants an "East Falls Church Special Planning District" so he can implement a Form Based Charade in EFC.
The so-called "East Falls Church Area Plan" is a weasel worded disaster planning document, the disaster being planned is EFC.
The REIT or REITs who develop EFC will not have to spend a dime on parks, recreation, or public infrastructure, with the exception of a plaza that's surrounded by buildings with ground floor retail.
Larry, you forgot no on-site renewable energy.
Did someone mention Shirlington? Here's the blurb about Open Space from the EFC Area Plan (page 69):
"The public open space elements of this Plan will enhance the network of high-quality public parks and plazas in East Falls Church by protecting existing active and passive resources and creating new urban gathering spaces. Key actions related to open space in new development, incorporating plazas and other open space in new development, increasing the tree canopy, and preserving an restoring the Four Mile Run stream area."
Bad Planning 101 - the so-called "Planners" (most don't live in Arlington) want to replace the Exxon station with yupscale condos because the Exxon station generates 3500 vehicle trips per day and everyone is supposed to use Metrorail instead of driving but they don't tell you that EFC, Westover, and Williamsburg residents are going to have to drive 2 miles to refuel if that happens. The Exxon station is the only neighborhood gas station, you idiots.
Thanks to the County Board, my historic community, Fairlington, has become a de facto park and recreation center for Shirlington.
Don't forget to mention Zimmy's 'Mr. Get Along and Go Along', Sun Gazette Editor Scotty McCaffrey.
WORST SECTOR PLAN EVER! FIRE COUNTY 'PLANNING' STAFF !!!
McCaffrey is a total Zimmy-Chamber of Commerce Shill. He and his newspaper are worthless when it comes to providing any community benefit to our community.
Traffic? What traffic? Don't pay attention to all the traffic from all the parking that's going to be created. Ride Metro. Walk. Ride a bicycle.
No public benefit that I can discern for anyone living in a single family home in EFC, Williamsburg, Westover.
Replace the old commercial buildings with new commercial buildings and leave everything else ALONE.
Did you see the Post Metro Section yesterday? Zimmerman was into spending tens of millions on Metrorail station entrances while the actual transportation system crumbled.
Shirlington Village has 4 nearby gas stations including a Shell station in the Village on South 31st St.
EFC will be another mega restaurant-retail complex.
EFC Area Plan, page 80:
"For instance, an 18-pump fuel station generates approximately 3,500 vehicle trips in 24-hour period. If the fuel station were replaced by a Metro-accessible five-story mixed-use residential building, the vehicle trips would be reduced to about 380 per day, just over one-tenth the existing use."
They also want to bulldoze the neighborhood banks (Suntrust and BBT).
If you live in a single-family home in EFC, Westover, and Williamsburg the community benefit is like minus five on a scale of one to ten.
By-right development attracts serves community needs. Only new grocery store (Trader Joe's) going into the Rosslyn/Ballston corridor is locating in a by-right development.
More upscale restaurants? That's all the other Arlington blogs that run advertisements want to talk about. Fact is, on any given day at least 30 Arlington restaurants are a total of $1 million seriously in arrears in meal tax payments to the County Treasurer.
Kill local retail. Replace with yuppified bistros and bars, tanning salons and treadmills -- that's the vision. See y'all in Fairfax County, where I do my retail shopping outside of the "livable, walkable" community.
Speaking of retail and restaurants, how many hundred restaurant and retail workers will be commuting in from 50 miles away to redeveloped EFC?
"Smart Growth" only benefits bloated local planning staff, developers, REITs, law firms, national chain retail and restaurants, consultants.
EFC redevelopment is part of a huge Ponzi scheme that attracts people with large amounts of disposable income into more and more redeveloped areas of the County and the new restaurants, retail, tanning salons, doggie boutiques are the first things people with disposable income cut out when the economy starts to go sour. If there are so many struggling upscale restaurants and upscale retail stores now, what will happen when the cuts to federal spending take hold?
What happens is the people responsible split the scene. Like Zimmy split from the WMATA Board. Like Carrie Johnson split for Montana. Like Tejada and Favola want to split for the State Senate (as Whipple did after she made a mess of redevelopment when she was on the County Board).
Nanny Nancy Hunt is about to depart the local scene for a luxury retirement home in Charlottesville according to a good buddi in Fairlington
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