Tenant Associations - The ACCF would like to work with the County Board in focusing on outreach in this area. We would like to propose drafting a letter to be signed by the County Board Chair enlisting the support of the Arlington County Civic Federation in achieving the goal of mentoring Tenant Association to become members of the Arlington County Civic Federation.
Interested in working with the ACCF on this. Will discuss and forward to Walter Tejada.
Cultural Affairs
Eight or nine years ago there was a serious discussion of having a cultural center constructed in the Courthouse area. It is our understanding that the idea of a center is still on the table but as far as we know, no progress has been made. (At the Arlington Citizens for the Arts October, 2004 candidate's meeting, Barbara Favola said the County Board definitely supports a cultural center.) Please give us a status on the plans for a cultural center, including how it would be funded.
A Cultural Center is part of the Master Plan for the Courthouse area. But it won't be funded for a while.
Fairlington
Regarding the trash-franchising proposal and that condo associations contract for their own trash. We think the county should study first rather than do the franchising notice before the feasibility study. We also have concerns about the Zoning Administrator offices ability to consider site plan conditions before issuing permits
Agrees with doing a study first. Will be providing a CB letter on this.
Rosslyn
Retail components for the upcoming redevelopment planning. As the County Board looks to a potential major redevelopment of North Rosslyn, ensure that the new development will promote a lively 24/7-retail/restaurant/residential presence in Rosslyn's core commercial district. Some of the County's early comments suggested that the Board might be overly focused on architectural and aesthetic concerns and insufficiently concerned with increasing energy at the street level. After a great deal of work, the Planning Commission now seems to be on board with these priorities. The critical issue for North Rosslyn over the coming year, both for the upcoming "Central Place" redevelopment and also for any revision to the Rosslyn sector plan, is to ensure that any increases above 300 feet to the maximum building height under C-O Rosslyn are accompanied by assurances that the developers will provide significant (e.g., two-story) retail/restaurant opportunities and/or significant residential components. We have too many commercial and governmental buildings that do not relate to the street level, are not pedestrian friendly, and do not contribute to the vitality of Rosslyn's core.
Agrees with these priorities, as they are in sync with the CBs.
RB Corridor
(1) Density in the Corridor. We are building too much, and worse, granting bonuses and building above our plans. Apartments and sidewalks without access to sunlight are not smart growth, but rather tomorrow's affordable housing. The Orange Line is a suburban rail line, a spoke in a system that feeds into Downtown D.C., which is the hub; with the possible exception of Rosslyn, the other four stations (Courthouse, Clarendon, Virginia Square, and Ballston) are stops on that line, not part of the hub itself. While a density greater than existed before Metro is appropriate in these station areas, the heights and densities being built and planned are too much, and at full build out will be too much for the infrastructure.
Traffic congestion has increased significantly, and some that increase is overflowing into adjacent neighborhoods. A mixture of buildings of 2, 4, 6, and 8 stories at the center of each station area would make much more sense. In the interest of short-term tax revenues, we are sacrificing long-term livability and viability. Other station areas will have smarter growth, and our station areas will be left behind.
(2) Growth outside the Corridor. As delegates see bigger and bigger projects being proposed in the Corridor and the Corridor filling up, they are increasingly concerned that the County Board will allow this high-density growth to spread to other areas of the County with commercial and higher density residential, such as along Lee Hwy, Columbia Pike, and Wilson Blvd. west of Ballston. This is already happening in Cherrydale along Lee Hwy. This changes the character of communities and puts pressure on the neighborhood edge; increases traffic, including traffic that cuts through neighborhoods; and alters the mix of service commercial retail, driving out repair shops and other providers of basic services.
Smart growth will take care of this.
Snow Removal
Snow removal. Arlington did too little too late. Residential streets in Alexandria by Sunday afternoon generally had been plowed and were dry. As of late Sunday afternoon, most of the local streets in the neighborhoods round the Corridor and even in the Corridor business areas had not been plowed or sanded. As of Monday morning, even Wilson Blvd. in Clarendon had not been plowed to the curb. We need to do better.
Put out a letter congratulating the county for it's snow removal efforts.
ZORC and Lot Coverage
1) In September 2001, Civic Federation held a special meeting on the original ZORC Lot Coverage proposals (which had 3 options) and we did not support any option.
2) The 2004 ZORC proposal is very similar to the 2001 proposal, except that it has additional restrictions on the main building footprint. (The original proposals considered total coverage. This proposal has one number for total coverage and a second restriction for the main building.)
3) The Civic Federation is considering a resolution about the Lot Coverage advertisement at our February meeting. The resolution calls for the advertisement to be no more restrictive than the Manager's recommendation. This does not indicate support for the Manager's recommendation, but it does indicate lack of support for the ZORC proposal.
4) The Planning & Zoning Committee is reviewing the Manager's proposal and has submitted questions to staff. In addition to the details of the proposal, there are some other very complicated things to be determined, such as how and the new rules apply to current non-conforming properties.
5) Past actions by the Board have resulted in a significant number of lots being non-conforming as to square footage and frontage. This raises the question of their status for rebuilding, which we believe needs to be addressed both inside and outside the Lot Coverage proposal.
6) Homeowners are unaware of zoning technicalities. There will need to be a significant outreach to help people understand their current situation-many do not know they are non-conforming already-and what the additional restrictions mean. Because of this, we will be asking the Board to schedule three months between the advertisement (should it pass) and the Board vote.
7) Our preliminary research indicates that the underlying ZORC recommendations for overall Lot Coverage and Main Building Coverage have very different impacts in different neighborhoods, which we believe is one of several unintended consequences that new lot coverage restrictions will have.
Will be providing a CB letter on this.
Taxes
While people generally like the fact that their real estate values are rising, they are increasingly expressing frustration with rising taxes. Tax bills are going up much faster than government salaries and social security checks. This is also impacting the affordable housing situation in that landlords are finding that it is now taking 3 or 4 months rent to pay the annual real estate tax bill; landlords are increasingly being faced with the choice of hiking rents (if the market will bear it, as rents today are rather flat) or selling out.
With an average assessment Increase of 30+%, the tax rate should be decreased commensurately. These annual double-digit increases in assessments and micro decreases in tax rates are really a burden on many of the residents in my neighborhood. My own property assessment has gone up 244% in the past four years, after increasing only 15% in the previous four! The County needs to either drastically decrease the tax rate, or do a much, much, much better job convincing us it needs 30% more money each month. If there are external factors influencing revenue requirements (decreased state contributions, for example), they have done a pathetic job making us aware and supportive of increased taxes. I believe a 5-10% annual cap on tax bill increases should be considered.
A presumption over the last couple of years that the tax rate rise has been limited, when in fact the Board raised the public utility rates to meet budget considerations. Uncontrolled infill development and teardown are one of the factors driving up values, which, just reading from the back of the assessment notice, affect assessments. No one begrudges the County sufficient revenues to provide basic services (schools, police, fire, etc.) They have many revenue streams to cover those costs (property taxes, Federal and State supplements, utility taxes, user fees, etc.) The problem is that this basic equation has been distorted by an unprecedented (and clearly unsustainable) increase in residential property values and associated taxes from this source. I don't think anyone would argue that we should be taxed on the value of the appreciation of our stock portfolios, yet that is exactly what we are doing with the property tax. An increase in the value of my property doesn't put any more cash in my pocket, only in the pockets of politicians who are all to willing to spend it, for any reason and far beyond the provision of essential services.
We need to understand where our higher taxes are going and the justification for higher property taxes. If one assumes that property taxes make up 50% of planned county revenues, the
average assessment increase countywide of 24% would constitute a 12% increase in the county revenue, assuming all other revenue sources remain steady. Are county budgeted and actual
costs increasing 12%? If so where and why? Are county officials overspending their budgets, knowing that there is a source of new revenues to cover shortfalls? Are we being providing additional services? If "Yes" how do we assess the value of these new or expanded services or the efficiency in which they are being provided? Over the last several years citizens have approved a number of large bonds - are we now needing the service the interest on these bonds? One has to wonder how these increased funds are being used when the county curtails parks hour, defers library renovations (Westover Library), and hears the county manager ask for neutral budgets this year - yet we appear fearful that assessment rates will remain unchanged.
Will be providing a CB letter on this.
Comments of the Williamsburg Civic Association
The Williamsburg Civic Association would like you to raise the issue of reducing the tax rate to offset the increased assessments. The Civic Association had a membership meeting last night, where this issue was discussed. We voted to get a sense of our community's views. The letter below, which I was asked to write to the County Board, reflects that vote. As you can see, our membership feels strongly that the tax rate must be reduced to offset assessment increases. The majority felt that tax increases for the average homeowner should be held to a five percent increase, to account for inflation and modest growth in County services. A third of the attending members advocated a tax rate decrease that would completely offset the assessment increases.
25 January 2005
Mr. Jay Fisette, Chairman
Arlington County Board
Mr. Ron Carlee,
Arlington County Manager
Re: Tax Burden
Dear Mr. Chairman, Members of the Board, and Mr. Carlee:
I am writing on behalf of the Williamsburg Civic Association to express the Civic Association's view on real estate taxes. The Civic Association met tonight and authorized me to request that you lower the tax rates to offset the impact of the greatly increased assessments.
The majority of the participating members voted to lower the tax rates so that the average tax bill would increase by no more than 5%. This would allow for both inflation and modest growth in County services.
The minority view - held by about one third of the members - was that the Board should lower tax rates to a level that would completely offset the increase in assessments.
Please let us know your views on this issue. We look forward to hearing from you.
Sincerely,
Ellen Jones
President,
Williamsburg Civic Association
6052 Little Falls Road
Arlington, VA 22207
Will be providing a CB letter on this.
Ballston Virginia Square Civic Association
Patrick,
I waited until now to send you our comments since our meeting was last night and I wished to ensure I had all the issues included. Ballston-Virginia Square Civic Association (BVSCA) would like you to present the Chairman with these items, which are near, and dear to the membership.
1. Parking. Throughout our area the strains on available parking are showing. We are inundated daily with commuters from near and far searching for free parking spaces. The zone parking restrictions are ineffective, and in some instances, insufficient (see Washington-Lee comments later). There have been many instances of forged parking passes appearing throughout our neighborhoods; it is truly amazing what you can do with a computer these days. Our contacts with the County to date have not produced much more than "we understand your pain" and "we're working on a solution."
2. Washington-Lee. We have been deeply involved in this project since the Quincy Park "takeover" days. As we have progressed, we are becoming more convinced that the APS and the School Board truly do not understand the Arlington Way. They seem to have the opinion that it matters not what the neighborhood thinks, they should just be given whatever they desire. At times it seems they are really shocked that we should question their plans at all. The consensus within our organization is that the school system has gone on far too long without being questioned on how they are spending our money. Someone needs to remind them that it is NOT their funds, but rather that of Arlington residents. There is great concern among the near neighbors about parking. There are so many events occurring at the school outside of class time that quite often residents cannot park in front of their own houses. We had requested action from the Board (specifically Mrs. Favola and Mr. Furgeson) early last year to extend the zoned parking hours near the school. They assured us they would look into the issue and get back to us. We are still waiting. Finally, the construction date for the new school is fast approaching and we are still awaiting answers from APS on how they will alleviate the parking problems they are going to create when construction begins.
3. Chairman's Review Team. For lack of a better term. At his address to the Federation the Chairman stated again his plan to create a team to review ongoing programs and project
throughout County government, based on his experience as a GAO auditor in a past life. We applaud his plan, but believe he needs to expand his team. Those he mentioned seem too deeply involved in day-to-day operations to effectively step back as it were and take a close look. Speaking as an ex-GAOer myself, I know from experience that the best of intentions to examine programs internally quite often end up causing more problems than solutions (turf warfare comes to mind). We would suggest he reach out to the community for additional help.
4. Taxes. Yes, we too have received our 2005 assessments. Rather than beat that pony any more, I would just note that this era of near unlimited funds will not last. We have seen this before, and will again, I am sure. Let us not forget the 70's and 80's with the housing bust, gas lines, double digit inflation and all that went with it. It would in my mind be more prudent to
control our budget now and pay down our debt while we can so as to weather the storm when it comes.
Dennis W. Burr
President, BVSCA
703-841-1679
Will direct part of this letter to the School Board. The Transportation Commission is looking into a Zoned Parking proposal for all of Arlington. Would like some more information on any specific streets where these issues occur on. Will be providing a CB letter on taxes.
Other Topics Discussed:
The CB Chair asked the ACCF to look into acknowledging and recognizing Civic Associations for their newsletters. Will be providing the ACCF information on this.
This page was last revised on: February 15, 2005.
Arlington County Civic Federation
