Hello,
I was able to obtain a statement from County Board candidate Audrey Clement regarding Dover, Kohl's plans for Columbia Pike redevelopment. Here are her conclusions:
"With rounding for inflation the total cost of redeveloping the Pike is $160 million for the trolley (2010 estimate) + $290 million to subsidize affordable housing = $450 million. This doesn't include the cost of additional infrastructure improvements like schools and streets to accommodate three times as many people. Unless the Obama Administration agrees to pay for the trolley, the total cost is going to be absorbed by taxpayers throughout the county, not all of whom equate densification and gentrification with Smart Growth.
Tripling the density of the Pike when the schools are already overcrowded is irresponsible. Committing the County to pay for an unneeded extravagance to draw more people in is reckless. Although Dover, Kohl has provided an invaluable service in reporting the true cost of redeveloping the Pike, I oppose the total urbanization of Arlington County by the Arlington County Board to serve the wants of out-of-state REITs, developers, and planners.
Enough is enough. We are a tiny suburban County, not a major urban 'redevelopment opportunity'. Please join me in halting overdevelopment and recycling middle income people out of this county. Support my campaign for Arlington County Board."
21 comments:
First thing to do is to send the County Board's so-called "planners" back to Florida.
In 2010 Arlington County had a population density of 7,995/sqmi. That is significantly more dense than Fairfax, Montgomery and Prince George's counties, and only a bit less dense than the district itself (at 9316/sqmi).
One can make reasoned arguments about the wisdom of particular developments, but calling Arlington a 'tiny suburban county' is simply ridiculous.
I haven't voted Democrat in national or state elections since 1980, and I always vote against the incumbents in Arlington elections. I never considered voting for the Green Party, but Ms. Clement is making me change my mind. Since the GOP in Arlington seems to be a joke, and the current Board is way overdue for a major overhaul, Ms. Clement will have my vote in November.
She forgot "irrational".
WRONG. Arlington is a tiny suburban county. Never meant to be urbanized. Being pushed into massive urbanization by developers, planners, county staff, who don't live here and megalomaniacs on the County Board.
Megalomaniacs like Chris Rockefeller Zimmerman.
Oh, good, Ty, I'm glad you have recieved some sort of divine revelation on what was 'meant to be'. Here I foolishly thought that a (fairly) consistent course towards a particular goal over the past fifty years might have indicated what was meant to be.
If you dislike the tradeoffs which have been made in Arlington, perhaps some other locale would be more to your taste.
Scrap the streetcar. Put hybrid double deck buses on the Pike. Win, win, win. For our schoolkids, for the taxpayers, for efficient and cost-effective public transit on the Pike.
Particular goal? Planners leave downtown McLean, downtown Annandale, downtown Woodbridge untouched while the County Board megalomaniacs trash our suburban county with their dumb growth urbanization? Yes, their particular goal, Anon. Yuptard, is to completely urbanize the County, then split for Montana.
....leaving Arlington a county run by the Yuptards, for the Yuptards.
Does anyone know if Victor Dover is licensed to practice planning or architecture in Virginia?
Anonymous wrote "....leaving Arlington a county run by the Yuptards, for the Yuptards."
That's the truth! I've lived in Arlington since 1956, and the past 20 years have seen out of control over development that has ruined Arlington. The current Board, which has been in power way too long, caters only to the developers and the way too many Yuppies from away that have flooded Arlington. Arlington used to have a genuine balance of different people and a moderate and sensible Board (both Democrat and Republican) that never would have permitted the excesses of the past 20 years.
Based upon what the County Board has done and not done over the past five years they appear to bee a group of autocrats verging on megalomaniacs.
No, they're verging on becoming psychopaths. They're only concerned about what pleases them....never mind the consequences for everyone else.
Love the comparison to DC -- the District voted out its "Gentrifier In Chief" and pushed out school system power players for not listening to parents. What do you say Yupette, how about some of the same in Arlington? We can live with that mojo.
The Arlington Way? People who don't have a life will come out tonight and bless the developer charades.
Audrey Clement attended tonight's charade and told Victor Dover that his and Zimmerman's "planning" imposes irresponsible density on the Pike Corridor.
Victor Dover was also told to take his in-fill gentrification 'planning' to where it's desperately needed - Annandale, McLean, and Woodbridge.
Arlington County should be awarding medals to the owners of market-rate affordable apartments on the Pike for keeping them in good repair for decades AT ZERO COST TO TAXPAYERS.
It was like an orchestra, Victor Dover conducted the Arlington Charade Chorus in another performance of Zimmerman's Columbia Pike Fantasy.
Downtown McLean is a mess. All kinds of old shopping plazas and buildings that need redeveloping. Plus, thousands of acres of former farmland just outside the downtown area.
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