Clement Wins Chamber of Commerce CB Candidates' Forum

Hello,

A.Y. contributors attended last evening's County Board Candidate Forum, sponsored by the Arlington Chamber of Commerce. Event was held at the Rosslyn Hyatt and moderated by Scott Brodbeck, who publishes the ArlNow blog.

The clear winner was Independent candidate Audrey Clement, the only candidate who articulated what she would specifically do when elected to County Board, attend to basic public infrastructure first, provide immediate tax relief, preserve existing affordable housing by having the County directly intervene to save affordable apartment buildings like those being demolished in Westover.

County Board Chair Libby Garvey essentially asked for another 4 years on the County Board to "get it right this time". Whatever problems occurred in the past were the fault of the previous County Board majority (Tejada, Hynes and Fisette). As an example of what the County Board is doing right, Libby pointed to last Saturday's County Board meeting when, after hours of discussion, the County Board approved a driveway rather than a grassy pervious surface for Stratford School. In fact, the County Board caved to pressure from upscale well-organized SUV soccer parents who want to drive their kids to and from Stratford.

The other Democratic candidate, Erik Gutshall, was positively scary with his prescriptions for fixing the "missing middle" between single family homes and high rise apartments and condos. These consist of tearing down existing single-family homes along arterials (including Westover Village) and replacing them with in-fill condominiums and apartment buildings on small parcels of land. He also encourages the "repurposing" of single family homes into boarding houses. Like his supporters, Chris Zimmerman, Paulie Ferguson, and others who live in exclusive neighborhoods, Erik's own Lyon Park neighborhood is off-limits to missing middle re-purposing.

We looked for a report about the forum in ArlNow this morning and were surprised when we didn't see one. Maybe it's just as well, because at least a hundred nasty comments would have also appeared about Audrey.

Cindy

Taste of Arlington 2016: Millennial Mess

Hi Yupette,

I live in the Westover area and sometimes help a mobility-disabled friend who lives in the Ballston-Rosslyn corridor get around Arlington. Yesterday, for the first time in several years, we attended Taste of Arlington on Wilson Boulevard.

We arrived at 3 PM and to say the event was crowded would be an understatement. Wilson Boulevard was almost impassable. The event was overcrowded to the point where, if we stayed, we would have had to wait in line up an hour to purchase a small plate of what was essentially bar food. We weren't interested in drinking beer. My friend could hardly make progress down Wilson Boulevard on her mobility scooter. Families with small children and strollers had the same problem. Wilson Boulevard and Quincy Street need repaving. Sidewalks need to be repaired in many places. About 30 uniformed police and firefighters were standing around watching everyone. We gave $40 worth of food and drink tickets to a family with young kids that was standing in front of NSF deciding whether to stay or leave. Then we left.

Obviously, Taste of Arlington was meant for Millennials - thousands of young women dressed in tight clothing (many of them obese) and thousands of young men who looked like they slept in their clothing.

Please don't believe what you may read in the ArlNow blog and the PR from the Ballston BID about Taste of Arlington. The event was a mess, meant for Millennials, and I wonder how many of them had a good time, given the overcrowding.

Barbara, Westover

CPHD Homework Issues Delay Smart Growth In-Fill

Hi Yupette,

If you checked out the County Board's agenda for Saturday you'll note that the Smart Growth in-fill of the Rappahannock site and site plan for the pencil building at 2000 Clarendon Blvd. are being carried over to the June County Board meeting, because of CPHD "homework issues". Berkeley Apartments gentrification may or may not be deferred to the June CB meeting because of numerous quality of life issues that surfaced when the site plan and rezoning went to the Planning Commission last week.

Oh. Latest about Crystal City is Vornado is changing its business plan and may dump all the properties it owns in Crystal City. How much has the County already provided Vornado in corporate welfare?

We need Erik Zimmerman Gutshall on the County Board like we need Hillary as President. Time to dump Smart Growth and everyone connected with Smart Growth and move on into the 21st Century.

Thanks for this blog.

2100-2

Arlandria Smart Growth Redevelopment Abandoned in Favor of Neighborhood Modernization

Hey Yupette,

Latest that's happening in Alexandria since Allison Silberberg became Mayor is City Government has taken a hard look at New Urbanism aka Smart Growth. Consequently, plans for massive Smart Growth redevelopment of the area of Arlandria around My Organic Market (MOM) will be shelved indefinitely and the current shopping plaza will be modernized instead. My Organic Market will be renovated and expanded.

The original Mount Vernon Village Smart Growth mixed-use redevelopment called for replacing the current shopping plaza with two massive six-story buildings with 480 apartments (28 to be "affordable"), 53,000 square feet of ground floor retail, and on-site parking for 940 vehicles. However, given the proximity of redeveloped Potomac Yards the mixed-use redevelopment of Arlandria would not, apparently, be economically viable for a developer.

This is another indication that allowing neighborhoods to deteriorate is a deliberate strategy and is an essential element of New Urbanism "revitalization".

You can read all about it in the Alexandria Times on-line edition, at alextimes.com.

Alex

County's Streets, Roads, Trails Too Unsafe for Bicycle and Running Events

Hi, Yupette,

I usually ride my bicycle to work on "Bike to Work Day", but not this year. Arlington's streets, roads, and trails are too badly in need of repaving. The County should reschedule "Bike to Work Day" for sometime in Fall when whatever the repaving is scheduled for this Summer has been accomplished and the potholes and major cracks have been fixed.

It's quite disconcerting that County Government keeps talking about $20 million gondolas and a $40 million swimming pool when the County's streets are such a deplorable condition. My friends in the mobility disabled community are very unhappy about broken sidewalks and crosswalks.

I notice that a number of streets in Lyon Park and Fairlington need repaving and I wonder what community leaders like Erik Gutshall and Libby Garvey are doing about that.

Thanks for your blog.

Nancy Smith

County Board Adds Smart Growth Facilitation Boosters

Hey, Yupette,

Thanks for keeping us posted about Chris Zimmerman's Smart Growth America antics. But it gets worse. The County Board just again enlarged the County's Smart Growth Facilitation Team. Arlington now has a Resident Ombudsman and a Director of Public Engagement. Two more VIP bureaucrats who will give you the run-around when you ask them when your crumbling street gets repaved. How much do all the new Deputy County Managers and other County Staff get paid to cater to the wants of the tear-down developers? Know what all these fat cat bureaucrats are? People who are past-due for retirement (like County Manager Schwartz) but are promoted because they're loyal Democrat Smart Growth boosters. Oh, they either don't live in Arlington or live in an Arlington neighborhood that's exempt from Smart Growth. Like the developers they cater to. My taxes keep going up and up. For what? Why don't the developers pay their servants on the County's payroll? Thanks again for this blog.

Robert, 22204

County Board Allows Demolition of Market Rate Affordable Affordable Apartments

Hi Yupette,

I live in Westover, in one of the few remaining market rate affordable garden apartments in the County that are actually affordable. The guy who owns several garden apartment buildins on 9th Street, 10th Street, 11th Street, and Kensington Street is demolishing the buildings and evicting the elderly, sick, and disabled tenants. The legacy oak trees surrounding the apartment buildings, one of them at least 100 years old, have all been cut down and the roots are being dug up. The tenants who are being and have been evicted are mostly poor and they have few housing options. The County Board has been well aware of the owner's intent to redevelop these properties into expensive townhouses. However the County Board gave the owner the go-ahead early this year and AHC, APAH, VOICE, Arlington Green Party, and the Arlington Democratic Party abided by the County Board's decision.

Independent County Board candidate Audrey Clement, who lives on 9th Street, asked the County Board to directly intervene and arrange a sale of the buildings to AHC, but the County Board refused. Same County Board that approves market rate to AHC-owned conversions in complex deals at almost every County Board meeting, often via the Consent Agenda.

The demolition signals the intent of County Government to redevelop Westover into a neighborhood of McMansions, expensive condominium townhouses, and a redeveloped commercial sector of 6-10 story mixed-use buildings, like those in Clarendon.

I am voting for Audrey Clement in November. In 50 years we've gone from a War on Poverty to a War on the Poor. Thanks for your blog.

Jennifer,
South Kennilworth Street