Saturday, March 12, 2011

County Board Ignores EFC Residents, Advertises EFC Redevelopment

Hello, Yupette,

I was appalled by today's County Board Meeting. Appears that the County Board makes its 'planning' decisions in secret based upon secret communications and secret deals arranged by county staff, developers, REITS, consultants, industry groups, and other 'interested parties'.

Concerned EFC residents who expressed grave reservations about massive redevelopment of their single-family residential communities (EFC, Westover, and Williamsburg) were totally ignored by the County Board, and were treated like children by Barbara Favola and Mary Hynes.

As Arlington Yupette has repeatedly stated, the County Board considers Arlington's suburban residential communities to be 'redevelopment opportunities' for any and all developers, REITs, and other 'interested parties'.

Time to Vote the Bums Out.

Ted - EFC

Friday, March 11, 2011

New Cherrydale Fire Station to Cost More Than $17 Million

Hello, Ms. Yupette,

I live in Cherrydale and I'm exasperated by the Cherrydale Fire Station fiasco. I noticed that the County Board will appropriate another $180,000 on Saturday for alarm, dispatching, and lighting systems (Agenda Item 20). I wondered how much more the County Board will spend on this project and when it will be completed. So here is what I found out from talking to County Staff.

The total cost of the New Cherrydale Fire Station will be more than $17 million and the project is supposed to be completed in June. About $5.5 million of the cost went to the Koons Auto Empire for a parking garage in return for the 1/2 acre of land the fire station will occupy.

There will be 3 bays in the new Fire Station. One of thee bays will be for the present Cherrydale fire engine, another will be for a heavy rescue vehicle that's a reserve unit. The EMS vehicle will be transferred from Fire Station 4 (Clarendon).

So, that's our new fire station. Thought you'd like to know.

Paul in Cherrydale

Thursday, March 10, 2011

EFC Redevelopment 'Shirlingtonization' to County Board on March 12th

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

Tuesday, March 8, 2011

Zimmerman Pushes 'Affordable Housing' Charade Forward to 2015

Hi Yupette,

Check out the 'Proposed Revisions to Arlington's Goals and Targets for Affordable Housing', Zimmy's jive turkey affordable housing charade (Agenda Item 30 on Saturday's County Board Meeting Agenda). It's all the same old promises and little or no action and money spent to ameliorate the huge effects from County Board's massive 'Resegration Through Gentrification' program about to be implemented everywhere in the County. A 'Comprehensive Homeless Service Center to Treat and Prevent Homelessness'? Another promise pushed forward to 2015 while Zimmey spends $3 million this year to design his Pike streetcar system that will cost taxpayers $138 million to put 12 streetcars on the Pike. Time to throw the bums out? You bet.

Bethany

Sunday, March 6, 2011

Park Shirlington Residents Order Arlington Police, County Gov't, CivFed, Fairlington Community Leaders to CEASE AND DESIST

Hello, Ms. Yupette,

Thank you for your blog. We have had it with Arlington's Racists and Elitists and have sent a CEASE AND DESIST Order to them. We would appreciate it greatly if you could print it in your blog. Park Shirlington Residents


TO: Arlington County Manager Barbara Donnellan, Arlington County Police Department, Arlington County Department of Community Planning, Housing, and Development, Arlington County Planning Commission, Arlington County Civic Federation, Fairlington Citizens Association, Inc., Fairlington Villages Condominium Community, Inc.

Subject: CEASE AND DESIST

We are a group of law-abiding and hard-working residents of the Park Shirlington Apartments. We demand you immediately CEASE AND DESIST generating and circulating false information, rumors, malicious gossip, racial and ethnic slurs, and other derogatory information about the residents of Park Shirlington Apartments. We demand Arlington County CEASE AND DESIST its illegal "blockbusting" of Park Shirlington Apartments. We demand you CEASE AND DESIST using the Arlington Police Department to intimidate and frighten law-abiding residents of Park Shirlington Apartments from attending public meetings and other meetings usually open to the public.

We intend to pursue all legal means to protect our right to live in decent, affordable, market rate housing. CEASE AND DESIST your illegal activities that target law-abiding and hard-working residents of Park Shirlington Apartments.

Park Shirlington Residents