It's that time of year again, Arlington County Board's semi-annual give-away to pet people, developers, and special interests, in accordance with its wants-not-needs Smart Growth agenda.
Unfortunately, taxpayers can't do much about it, since almost all the giveaways are on the part of the Consent Agenda that you need permission from a County Board member to discuss.
This year the County Board is outdoing previous Christmas in July celebrations by giving Bloomberg another corporate welfare gift, awarding stipends to wealthy performing arts groups, and appropriating millions for new outdoor sports infrastructure for the Arlington Regional Park System, in addition to the promised new performing arts center and team sports field house on Four Mile Run Drive.
Then there's the usual developer give-away site plan with no developer contribution for schools and essential public infrastructure.
Same County Board that last week discussed punitive means testing for seniors seeking real estate tax relief.
All but the most embarrassing (not that much embarrasses Arlington's one-party government anymore) consent agenda staff reports should be on-line at arlingtonva.us by Friday. So check them out.
L.K. from Williamsburg
42 comments:
They are beyond disgusting. They spent a couple hours last week in a work session figuring out how they are going to extract more money from seniors via their so-called "tax relief" program, which is already a confusing program that they and County Staff want to make more confusing.
How much is their growing Regional Park System costing us? Why am I paying so non-residents can play?
How can they re-purpose the senior tax relief program to make it more complicated, more confusing, and more profitable for the County while they give stipends to performing arts groups and artists with no strings attached at all?
How did we get to the point where non-residents who manage sports organizations demand that Arlington County provide them with Taj Mahal field sports facilities and County Government is complying?
From the County Board's Consent Agenda on July 15th, Item 21:
"BNA has four other offices in the Greater DC region and engaged real estate firm JLL earlier this year to optimize its regional footprint in terms of space and headcount. During the site selection process for its regional headquarters, BNA identified the continuation of the partial exemption as a key factor and requested an extension of the exemption for up to five years."
I want all team sports groups means-tested. More non-residents than residents are using the gold-plated athletic fields on Arlington's borders in what used to be neighborhood parks. Williamsburg is next. Why should I pay for McLean residents to drive to my neighborhood in their Range Rovers with their soccer brats and screw up our quality of life? Drive out to McLean and see how much open space is still available there. Who are the real NIMBTs?
If Arlington is such a great place to live, work, and do business why are we bribing mega corporations to move here and stay here?
Christmas in July? How much overtime are we paying public service employees this Summer to be de facto helicopter parents for Millennials who recently graduated from college and are partying till they puke every weekend in the B-R Corridor?
I ran across this blog while looking for another blog. I live in North Carolina. A few years ago a couple of Smart Growth idiots from D.C. approached our city council with their plans to "revitalize" our historic downtown with "vibrant" Smart Growth redevelopment. No way we wanted our city to look like Arlington, Virginia does. We obtained public and private funds for parcel-by-parcel commercial renovation. It worked. People who work in our neighborhoods still live in our neighborhoods, in their renovated homes. Older homes are being fixed up for new families. Not tear-down McMansions.
Smart Growth is totally stupid and is just the 21st Century version of Urban Renewal from 50 years ago. Basic thing 21sr Century Smart growth does is drive out everyone who doesn't earn a lot of money. They then commute increasing distances from formerly rural areas that are bulldozed into workforce housing, generating lots more traffic. Duh.
Oh, then there are the Smart Growth bicycles. We license them and require their owners to stay off sidewalks. Wearing helmets is a must. Our police enforce pedestrian safety and bicycle safety ordinances, 'cause they aren't out being Nannies for Millennials, like in Arlington. So kids take bike rides around where they live. No bicycle bozos racing around town.
Why am I not surprised that so many community leaders who helped impose Smart Growth on Arlington are retiring here, plus not telling anyone that they're retiring here, just saying they're retiring to North Carolina.
Ted
Nosmartgrowthhere, NC
True. Arlington's police, fire, EMS, are a vibrant component of the Arlington Millennial Nanny Force and are out on Clarendon's mean streets every weekend earning lots of overtime,
Earth to Arlington's Bicycle Bozos aka Biketards...hit me or a member of my family while we're walking on a sidewalk or walking with a traffic light or legally across a crosswalk...you WILL be sued..also whomever sold or rented you the bike and the bike's manufacturer.
General Assembly just came down hard on the owners of dangerous dogs. Can reckless bicyclists be far behind?
How about item 38 on the Consent Agenda? County is buying and renovating a building on South Glebe Rd. to become the Head Start Program Center for Arlington (cost to taxpayers $10.5 million) to replace the current Head Start Program Center that the County will trade to Virginia Hospital Center. Why aren't the Feds funding the operation of their own Great Society program from 50 years ago?
Why are we spending any more money to placate wealthy non-residents from McLean who demand that Arlington builds extravagant synthetic lighted outdoor team sports fields on Arlington's borders with Fairfax County? How about building some in McLean?
More Taj Mahal sports fields for more upscale residents and non-residents. Take my neighborhood park for a Taj Mahal soccer field, please.
McLean...where horses are boarded and deer graze on residents' front lawns.
Just coincidence that the new $10.5 million Head Start facility will be next door to the biggest concentration of families in poverty in Arlington?
Time to means-test arts groups. It appears the wealthiest get the biggest taxpayer-funded annual stipends from County.
Seniors homeowners who pay extravagant taxes because of Smart Growth gentrification have to be means-tested for tax relief so the County Board's pet wealthy non-profits can get taxpayer funded patronage gifts from County Board members seeking re-election? Duh.
Try the Taj Mahal Baseball Complex in Barcroft Park, an ongoing taxpayer-funded series of gifts to George Washington University.
One family that's building a tear-down McMansion in Ashton Heights received hundreds of thousands of staff time help from County Staff making the neighbors go along with the plans. First item on the regular agenda at yesterday's CB meeting.
A Rosslyn developer had his obnoxious site plan deferred yesterday to the County Board's Christmas meeting so County Staff can spend hundreds of hours trying to make the site plan "work".
Right - "We can't do anything about by-right redevelopment except when it comes to a tear-down McMansion in the County Board Chair's and County Manager's back yards".
Anyone else noticed that the County Board is getting so carried away with Total Urbanization of the County that even the people who they hand pick to rubber stamp Smart Growth plans are refusing to go along?
Christmas in July? How about the overtime being paid to the police and other public service employees this Summer to be surrogate helicopter parents for the Millennials?
Christmas in July? What's the difference between a Clinton Democrat and a Trump Republican Smart Growth Booster? The Limo Lib has his Christmas gift tossed on the front porch wrapped in the Washington Post, the County Club Repub has his gift wrapped in the Washington Times.
LOL How many County employees did it take to fit a McMansion on a lot in Ashton Heights?
Latest attacks on AY are from the bureaucrats and elitist media pigs (who could they be?) who want to impose thousands more gas guzzlers and energy inefficient homes, townhomes, and apartments on aready-infilled Arlington and send millions more gallone of wastewater and stormwater into the Potomac and Bay.
Coming up for approval at the Recessed CB Meting tomorrow evening - Taj Mahal Head Start Center on Glebe Road and Taj Mahal Lubber Run Parks and Rec Center on George Mason Drive.
Taj Mahal Lubber Run Community Center was put on hold until September. Poor kids will have a Taj Mahal Head Start as soon as the interior can be gold-plated.
Even Chester's Billiards in vibrant Nauck got a Christmas in July pardon from the County Board.
Y'all forgot to mention the Taj Mahal synthetic soccer field.
Did the County pick up the entire tab for the annual operation of the Arlington Arts Center on Wilson Blvd.?
How about the new Taj Mahal call center for STAR Transit (Consent Agenda #43) a huge money-loser for Arlington County with decreasing STAR ridership to boot?
How about? The County is subsidizing STAR to the tune of almost $25 per ride?
Four Mile Run Valley Performing Arts Complex and Sports and Rec Field House are in the works for Christmas in July 2018.
Anyone else notice that APS kids got more trailer classrooms while the sports and rec lobby got a Taj Mahal community center?
So, it's 2032. How much is all the expensive infrastructure they just approved going to cost for renovations in 15 years?
There can never be enough expensive sports and rec infrastructure in Arlington. County Board and County Staff are so ridiculous that they keep building expensive sports and rec infrastructure on Arlington's borders (e.g. S. Four Mile Run Drive) for DC, Fairfax County, Falls Church and Alexandria residents.
F Y I. Yellow Dog Democrat party hacks are trashing anyone who opposes more Smart Growth in Arlington on Inside Nova and other news blogs.
I want to know what will go into the building the County just bought for a relocated Head Start Center that will cost $6.6 million.
OMG, the owner of Nam Viet in Clarendon is going to renovate rather than sell the place for infill mixed-use redevelopment. Who screwed up in County Government?
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