Arlington County Government in 2017 - Bad to Worse

Hello,

AY's contributors were asked to assess the state of County Government at the end of 2017. All of them gave the County Board, County Manager, County Staff, Civic Organizations, and Advisory Commissions negative grades and said County Government is going from "bad to worse".

Among their observations:

Transparency: Citizens are increasingly kept un-informed by County Government about all manner of decisions, ranging from what's been promised to Amazon to what's been promised to developers and special interests in closed meetings and secret meetings. Expensive programs and projects are placed on the County Board's Consent Agenda and are off-limits for discussion by citizens at County Board meetings. Residents have to file freedom of information requests to determine what's been promised, and much of the FOIA material is redacted or off-limits (attorney-client protected). Local media owners and publishers are so greedy for profits that they essentially serve as County Government boosters.

Process: Expensive and comprehensive programs and projects are either rushed to the County Board for approval without adequate time to analyze costs and benefits (e.g., housing conservation districts), or delayed for years until the desired outcomes based on "handshake deals" can be facilitated by County Staff (e.g., Four Mile Run Valley Arts District). (County Staff is currently being re-trained in advanced facilitation techniques to quell community opposition). "Community Leaders" are increasingly expected to facilitate whatever is proposed for their neighborhoods, with no regard for consequences. Advisory Commission members are appointed based on their willingness to rubber-stamp whatever is placed before them.

Inclusiveness: County Government does not reflect the social, economic, racial, and ethnic diversity of the County's population, and County Government is becoming less inclusive. Although one-third of the electorate votes for Independent candidates, Independents are ignored and disparaged by Democrats who have run Arlington for more than 35 years and, decades ago, adopted New Urbanism as the County's sole planning paradigm. Committees, commissions, and civic groups are packed with persons who will do as they're told. County Staff is increasingly hired and promoted based on non-residency. Although the County Board states it wants citizens to attend County Board meetings, persons with grievances are told by Democratic ward heelers that they will be arrested if they attend and speak at meetings. County government includes an expensive and expansive public information bureaucracy that constantly promotes whatever the County Board wants. The Civic Federation and the Civfed's component civic associations are also becoming less inclusive. This year the County embarked on a program to remove all low-income residents still living in market-rate apartments by creating so-called housing conservation districts.

Fiscal Responsibility: This year the County's traditional lack of long-term fiscal responsibility reached the point where fiscally responsible Independents became alarmed. All public infrastructure is extravagant and is referred to as "Taj Mahal" (both as a noun and a verb). Schools continue to be planned with every possible amenity but too few classrooms. Spending for parks and recreation infrastructure is so extravagant the the County has become a regional provider of upscale parks and rec infrastructure on Arlington's borders. County Board members routinely use expensive projects and programs to buy votes from special interest groups.

Sustainability: County Government is committed to packing as many people into as little space as possible over the next two decades, between 50,000 and 70,000 by 2040 (depending on who one talks with at 2100 Clarendon Boulevard). There is no estimate of the cost of extravagant public infrastructure to support the increased population. The County Board allows significant amounts of impervious surfaces to be created while allowing Arlington's tree canopy to be destroyed. County Government reached a new low in renewable energy this year by approving a $67.5 million aquatics center with no renewable energy on-site. Extravagant public infrastructure is approved without thought to maintenance and replacement funding.

All this made possible by the current national state of emergency that's been ongoing for 16 years, with no end in sight, and constant warfighting in the Third World. Arlington's future appears to be the County becomes an expensive gridlocked mess during the next decade.

Cindy, 22206

Housing Conservation Districts -- Huge Charade Deceptions

Hey, Yupette,

I live in an older well-maintained apartment building in Westover. Watched the Limo Liberals approve so-called "Housing Conservation Districts" at the Arlington County Board meeting yesterday. What a charade.

It's obvious the primary purpose of Housing Conservation Districts is to remove "undesirables" the Limo Liberals can't stand from Arlington. Like one of my neighbors who's a part time graduate student and drives for Uber and his female roommate who's a college student who also works part time in one of the stores in Westover Village. They're barely scraping by.

On the other hand I have a good income and have been living here for a number of years. I would also be removed, primarily because the Limo Liberals aka "Progressives" want to make a lot of money expensively renovating the building where I'm living so they can obtain huge subsidies and tax breaks renting to people who earn between $55,000 and $85,000 per year. They also want to help their friends who own real estate trusts by forcing me to move to a newer and much more expensive apartment like those being constructed all over the County.

Then there's the County bureaucracy which thrives on neglect and decay and needs a steady stream of old buildings in the planning pipeline to bulldoze into new 5 story brick boxes. They can't stand a property owner renovating an older building. Any older building.

Fortunately, I have housing options that don't require me to continue to live in Arlington and be part of the ongoing charade. I hope my young neighbors won't be evicted before they graduate.

T.L., Westover

"Why Should I Commute by MetroRail from Vienna to Ballston?"

Hey Yupette,

Tolls on I-66 Express Lanes start tomorrow, December 4th. Representatives from VDOT attended the November 28th County Board meeting, told everyone to buy an EZPass transponder, and generally responded with "Don't Worry, Be Happy" to concerns expressed by County Board members.

One would hope commuters who commute to Arlington one-per-vehicle on I-66 will purchase transponders, or choose a "Smart Growth" alternative, like riding a bicycle to MetroRail stations this Winter. One would hope employers of low-wage workers who commute on I-66 will subsidize the cost of EZPass transponders.

But one apparently-upscale commuter has posted the following question to several local news blogs:

"Why should I freeze or bake on the Vienna MetroRail platform waiting for a train that will stop at three MetroRail stations before Ballston, where I work in a new office building, with loads of parking beneath the building, when I can drive my Don Beyer SUV directly from my home to my Ballston workplace via brand new Express Lanes?"

I have to agree that the people who are responsible for the MetroRail mess are our elected representatives, who also are WMATA Board members, who've given commuters about a dozen transportation and transit alternatives to NOT ride Metrorail. I-66 Express Lanes are only the latest.

Why should we pay more in taxes to subsidize the transportation disaster our elected representatives created over the past 25 years?

Cindy in Ballston 22203

Need Open Space? Rouse Estate Reportedly For Sale

Hey, Yupette,

Ever wonder about the Estate on Wilson Boulevard at McKinley with a big old mansion and acres of open space? The Estate may be for sale. Longtime owner Randall Rouse died at age 100 early this year. He was a noted builder, developer, equestrian, and philanthropist.

The Rouse Estate consists of a historic mansion, some decaying outbuildings that may have once included stables, and about 10 acres of open space.

Did a Google search and can't find what may happen to the Estate. Mr. Rouse contributed substantial amounts to build equestrian facilities for equestrian groups out near Middleburg.

A woman who fox hunted with Mr. Rouse and his wife told me the Estate on Wilson and McKinley will be sold. What the County would do if the property came on the market is not known.

Thanks for this blog.

Karen, 22207

Park Shirlington Apartments Again On-Track for Gentrification Redevelopment

Hey Yupette,

I live in Fairlington, not far from where Smart Growth Boosters Scott Brodbeck (ArlNow) and Scott McCaffrey (Inside Nova) live.

What they, and apparently most in the neighborhood, haven't yet learned is the County Board made a secret deal a couple months ago to redevelop the Park Shirlington Apartments on South 31st Street, adjacent to Fairlington.

The former owner of Park Shirlington, Home Properties, sold Park Shirlington in September to Standard Property Company, Inc., an affiliate of Home Properties. Standard Property formed a joint venture with a housing non-profit, the National Foundation for Affordable Housing Solutions, jointly the "Project Sponsor". Park Shirlington contains 294 1, 2, and 3 bedroom market-rate apartments on 15.79 acres.

Arlington County proposes to include Park Shirlington in a Housing Conservation District (HCD). Housing Conservation Districts include zoning incentives, such as preservation, infill, and redevelopment options, aimed at preserving the affordability of market rate properties. County Board will take up HCD creation on November 27th. At its November 9th meeting the Housing Commission approved lending $6 million in Affordable Housing Investment Funds (AHIF) to the Project Sponsors ($20,408 per unit). Total acquisition costs of Park Shirlington would be $72.4 million or $246,341 per unit. Unknown at this point whether the Project Sponsor would be going to the County for more AHIF funds once construction commences. County Board will also take up approval of AHIF funds for Park Shirlington on November 27th.

But wait. There's more. According to comments made during this week's Housing Commission meeting the Project Sponsors want to build as many expensive townhomes as possible on-site when Park Shirlington is redeveloped. Number of townhomes most often mentioned was 154. The townhomes would sell for about $1 million each. Do the math.

Then there are the external costs. Abingdon School adjacent to Park Shirlington was recently renovated for $32 million and only 132 seats were added to the school's capacity. Fairlington residents who live near Abingdon School are already furious that so many use permit conditions were violated during Abingdon School construction and are apprehensive that another phase of building construction will take the remaining open space for a larger building and more parking and student drop-offs.

Then there are the workforce housing activists, who are angry about the exclusionary practices related to "affordable housing", which excludes people who are in desperate need of housing that's actually affordable and who work close to where so-called affordable housing is being constructed (e.g., Shirlington Village). They see low-wage worker and other low-income residents being forced out of the County while the County Board enriches real estate trusts, developers, law firms, financial institutions, and various consultants, to the point that the activists complained to the Housing and Urban Development Inspector General that the County's affordable housing program is de facto fraud.

County Board meetings later this month should be interesting. Stay tuned.

H.J., 22206

Audrey Clement for County Board

Hello,

When it came to decide which candidate to endorse this year for Arlington Board the decision wasn't even close. We again endorse Audrey Clement.

Given his existing and potential conflicts of interest as the owner of a regional residential construction company, Erik Gutshall shouldn't have been appointed to the Planning Commission, let alone been selected by the Arlington Democratic Party as its nominee. Erik flat-out lied when he stated that his company won't benefit from re-purposing homes and townhomes into accessory dwelling units. But that's what occurs when one political party runs a county for more than 35 years.

As for Charles McCullough II the Green Party nominee, like the Arlington Greens who nominated him he's big on promises and short on performance. Before running for County Board this year Charles was another Washington attorney who was part of the status quo. Unlike Audrey Clement, he hasn't attended Planning Commission and County Board meetings and spoken when big issues came up for vote. Completely like the Arlington Greens.

Audrey Clement has been completely engaged in County Government's decision-making process, insofar as the County's often-secret decision making will allow her to be involved. She shows an in-depth knowledge of fiscal and other data at meetings and takes sound positions on planning for the future, not more development-for-the-sake-of-development.

Unfortunately, local media are so focused on profits that they're addicted to supporting and promoting the status quo, the primary reason Audrey's not been endorsed. Time is overdue for truly independent media in the County as it's time for a majority of real Independents on the County Board.

Cindy

Democrats to Massively Fund APS and DPR With Gutshall on County Board

Hey Yupette,

Think Arlington Public Schools and Department of Parks and Rec are over-funded now? Arlington's returning County Board members and current Planning Commission Chair, Erik Gutshall, have already decided to massively fund every want of APS PTA parents and Parks and Rec's 'soccer parents' if Gutshall is elected to County Board on Tuesday.

With Gutshall on the County Board all the Board's Democratic members would have children or grandchildren attending APS. Current County Board members, e.g., Katie Cristol, have already made extravagant promises to parents, and not just about schools and soccer. Promises made in secret meetings about daycare in residential neighborhoods just got the County sued by angry neighborhood residents who were the last to know.

Oh, and Erik is going to get rich quick converting McMansions into multi-family apartment buildings, and no one knows how many more students that would add to APS's enrollment, and to neighborhood parks and rec.

So look for APS to get 50%, or maybe more, of County Government's annual revenues with Erik on the County Board.

What can you expect when Smart Growth has become the Oxycodone of County Government and Democratic County Board members are the biggest addicts?

We have a choice on Tuesday. Fiscal sanity or fiscal insanity. I'm voting for Audrey Clement.

Karen, 22204