Attending the County Board

League of Women Voters^®
of Arlington

October 15, 2011

Madeline Jervis prepared this report for the Arlington LWV

1. PUBLIC COMMENT:
This period opens all County Board Meetings. Citizens may speak to the Board about any issue, except those that are already on that day's agenda.

a citizen commented on "3rd world maintenance standards" in Arlington, particularly pot holes and non-working street lights.

two people asked for restoration of library hours, citing figures for cost that were considerably less than the county budget required for this change.

a request was made for full funding of a Therapy Pool at the Long Branch Park aquatics center. This pool, with its 92 degree temperature would be the only one in the area.

the Green Party candidate for the county board opposed any further high density development in Arlington, citing the inadequacy of Metro infrastructure.

The public comment finished at 8:56 AM, and, the County Board Meeting not permitted to open before 9:00 AM, the board members filled the time with ten minutes of announcements and comments.

REGULAR HEARING ITEMS
1. Neighborhood Traffic Calming Projects: After staff discussion and explanation of these projects, and 17 public comments, (almost equally divided pro/con)the Board unanimously approved two projects:

a. On 16th Street, South... traffic circles at the intersection of So. Nelson St., So. Oakland St.,and So. Pollard St.; raised crosswalks in all directions at So. Monroe St.; and nubs and marked parking lines and crosswalks along the 3+ block area of 16th St. South.

b. On 26th Street, North,including the intersections of No. Roosevelt St. and No. Rockingham St.: large nubs and striping will be installed to make pedestrian crossings safer. There will be a raised "traffic cushion" between the two cross streets to further slow the traffic.

2. WAKEFIELD MANOR This project is for a special exemption site plan located in the block of Ft. Myer Heights North, bounded by 13th St. No., No. Troy St., No. Fairfax Dr., Arlington Blvd. and N. Courthouse Rd. The project preserves three historic garden apartment buildings (Wakefield Manor, Wakefield Annex, and Courthouse Manor) which are listed as "essential" on the Historic Resources Inventory. They are also market rate moderate-income apartments. The new building proposed is for a 12-story apartment building located in the southeast quadrant of the lot, and sited diagonally with the entrance located at the corner of N. Troy and Fairfax Dr. Pedestrian access has been designed to comply with ADA standards, in spite of the steep slope of the ground from North to South. This proposal includes transferable development rights for the purposes of historic preservation. With no one speaking against it, and everyone pleased with the design of the new building and preservation of old buildings, the proposals passed unanimously.

3. LARGE FORMAT SALES ESTABLISHMENTS Carefully not mentioning the names of any particular "big box" stores,the County Board unanimously amended the Arlington County Zoning Ordinance in order to provide that these "Large Format Sales Establishments" may only be approved by the County Board through Special Exception Use Permit. Such a business is defined as "one that either occupies 50,000 square feet or more on any one level, or provides 200 or more parking spaces dedicated to that use." To intimations that this zoning change has been rushed through in opposition to a proposed Wal-Mart store, Chairman Zimmerman noted that while a 30 day notice is required for zoning ordinance changes, this action was first proposed in July for September action, and then postponed to the October board meeting.

4. MONUMENT VIEW After some struggle, as reported on the Arlington Now website, (ArlNow.com) at their Tuesday Recessed Meeting, the County Board adopted the resolution to amend the General Land Use Plan to revise down the amount of density allocated to the Monument View Site Plan, and to permit an all office development (regional hq for Boeing) in lieu of a mixed use development. This property is located at 550 So. Clark St., 320 6th St., So., 901 So. Clark St., 608 So. Ball St., and portions of So. Clark St. The density difference is to be transferred to the Twin Bridges site for later development. These properties lie within the North Tract Special Planning District" which is generally bounded by Shirley Hwy on the West, the GW Mem'l Pkwy on the North and East, and the Southern edge of 10th St. So. These actions were opposed by the Planning Commission on the grounds that they "do not conform to Arlington County's urban design goals generally, and to the goals of the Master Plan for the North Tract Park and Recreational Facilities and Surrounding Area, and represents a diminution of the public realm" relative to that created in previously approved site plans. And they went on to say, "Furthermore, should the County Board find that there are overriding reasons related to the retention of the Boeing Company in Crystal City, that the County Board seek clarification from the County Manager for the public record on the unique and extraordinary benefits to be realized by the County through the retention of this particular corporation.

The Board adjourned at 11:30 AM.
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Respectfully submitted, Madeline Jervis

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