Wednesday, June 22, 2011

Foxcroft Heights Gentrification-Facilitation Charade June 23rd

Hello, Ms. Yupette,

The Foxcroft Heights gentrification-facilitation charade will take place tomorrow, Thursday, between 7 and 9 PM at the Walter Reed Community Center, more than two miles from Foxcroft Heights. Why not across the street at the Sheraton where the other Pike charades will be held? Because then many more Foxcroft Heights residents would show up to protest the gentrification of their middle-class neighborhood. Zimmerman and his pet planner, Dover, Kohl, can't wait to redevelop Foxcroft Heights, to replace the uppity middle class with acquiescent yuppies and their passive servants. Oh, forgot to mention, the police will also be there.

It just kills the County Board, County Planning Staff, the County's pet developers, REITs, lawyers, and media boosters that any affordable middle class housing still remains in Arlington. All the hedo elite who are running and ruining Arlington are concerned about is building more hedo infrastructure.

George

Saturday, June 18, 2011

Citizens to Investigate Pike 'Planning'

Hello, Yupette,

Enough is enough. I live off the Pike. Work in Alexandria. Old Town residents have had it with 'development for the sake of development' along the Alexandria waterfront. I and many others have had it with Arlington's so-called 'planning process'.

Do you know how much the week-long (June 24-30) planning charettes will cost Arlongton taxpayers? More than $200,000. Most of it to Dover, Kohl. Oh, there's $5,000 per day for the hotel. For what? To make my street into a public park? To triple the density of the Pike? To rubber-stamp approval of an unnecessary $150 million streetcar system? To turn residential streets into arterials?

I and several other Pike residents are going to investigate exactly how much is being spent on this turkey. Looks like Dover, Kohl has a gold mining operation going on the Pike. No mention in their planning reports about our already-overcrowded schools. And the effects of massive infill on the environment. If members of Chris Zimmerman's Pike plenary group aren't going along with Dover, Kohl and the County's Planning Staff, why should I?

But first, I want to know how many millions have already been spent to make our historic Pike neighborhoods 'redevelopment opportunities'.

Cindy

Tuesday, June 14, 2011

South 9th and South 12th Street "Bicycle Boulevards" are the Latest Pike Planning Charade

Hello, Yupette,

Maybe you heard that South 9th Street and South 12th Street are going to become "bicycle boulevards" when the Pike is massively gentrified based on the County Board's and its out-of-state planners' decisions. Not true. South 9th Street and South 12th Street are going to become major arterials to relieve traffic volume on the Pike. The North-South streets and their residential communities would become "shared spaces" for residents of the Pike's in-fill apartments and condos. Of course, you have to be one of the County Board's pet Community Leaders to know this.

BTW, stay tuned for the kick-off Pike planning charade at Kenmore Middle School, tomorrow, June 15th, between 7 PM and 9 PM.

Kathy, Douglas Park

Monday, June 13, 2011

County Board to Finance Pet Projects With Massive Pike Gentrification

Hello, Yupette,

I was able to obtain a copy of Dover, Kohl's "Columbia Pike Land Use and Housing Study" over the weekend. This is the expensive planning document that was presented to the County Manager and County Board at a joint meeting last Thursday.

Contained in this document are the plans (mostly already pre-approved by the County Board) for massive in-fill gentrification of the Pike. Nothing is said about the effects of massive in-fill gentrification on already-crowded schools, parks, playgrounds, streets, etc.

It's clear that the County Board is using massive gentrification of the Pike to fund it's pet vanity projects. If the County Board were not building streetcar systems, boathouses, aquatic centers, sports arenas, and wasting money on its pet programs the County Board would have plenty of money to build lots of affordable housing and renovate present affordable housing. The County Board is aided and abetted by a bloated County bureaucracy that wants to grow by completely urbanizing Arlington, and by out-of-state "planners" like Dover, Kohl.

2100

Thursday, June 9, 2011

County Board Pike Work Session - Gentrification vs. Preservation

Hi Yupette,

I attended this afternoon's Pike redevelopment work session with the County Board and County Manager at 2100 Clarendon Blvd. The County's primary out-of-state development consultant, Dover, Kohl, and Associates, pitched massive Pike in-fill development to the County Board. The in-fill would consist of new buildings placed on the same parcels as existing apartment buildings, sometimes replacing existing buildings. This would allegedly place enough density on-site to keep the affordable apartments affordable.

County Board members Walter Tejada and Barbara Favola (both candidates this Fall) asked whether enough funds could be obtained to preserve affordable market-rate rental properties on the Pike (like Barcroft Apartments) pretty much "as is" with some upgrades.

Dover, Kohl also pitched the series of Pike Charettes (pronounced "Charades") to be held between June 24th and June 30th to persuade Pike residents to go along with Chris Zimmermans's grand yuppification of the Pike.

Tuesday, June 7, 2011

Zimmerman, County Board Privatizing Public Meetings and Events

Hello, Yupette,

Have you noticed what Chris Zimmerman and the County Board are doing to public meetings and public access to information? They're privatizing everything. It will cost you $35 to attend the CPRO Pike luncheon to hear Zimmerman talk about Pike planning. The Pike "planning" charades at the end of this month are run by CPRO. It will cost another $50 to hear Zimmerman talk to the Chamber of Commerce about business opportunities. The working session on June 9th between the County Manager and County Board regarding Pike planning will not hear comments from the public. Important items are being placed on the County Board meeting consent agenda (there is only one item on the regular hearing agenda at the June 11th County Board meeting). This is going way beyond telling minorities that they are not welcome to attend Pike planning meetings, Civic Federation meetings, etc. It's become difficult or impossible for voters, taxpayers, and residents to know what's occurring in County Government, except via the County's PR organization and from press releases from the County's PR organization appearing in the local media.

Ron - Barcroft

Sunday, June 5, 2011

Mark Kelly Reported Ready to Announce for County Board

Hello, Yupette,

I heard from a couple of Neo-Con activists that Mark Kelly is going to make another run for County Board. Looks from his recent statements he's going to run. The Neo-Cons who control the Arlington Republican Party are all for one or two candidates running against Mary Hynes and Walter Tejada. Moderate Republicans are only interested in getting wealthy in Arlington's current mega-development economy. Thanks for your blog.

Ted