May, 2004 - Volume 88, No. 9

Federation to Host State Delegates and Senators

April General Meeting, Tuesday, May 4 , 2004. 7:30 PM Hazel Auditorium, Virginia Hospital Center-Arlington
(Map)

Main Program features Richmond Delegation

Emergency Medical Service Presentation

The Federation also passed a resolution on Coordination and Management of High-Voltage Transmission Line Clearing. The resolution provides that the Federation:

• endorses the County's plans to work with Dominion Virginia Power and the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority to develop an agreed plan for maintenance of the DVP right-of-way along the W&OD Trail;
• favors adopting a management policy of "the right tree in the right place" to reduce the need for future tree cutting along the right-of-way; o supports the use of environmentally appropriate herbicides to ensure that invasive plants do not advance along the power line right-of-way;
• favors close cooperation between Arlington urban foresters and DVP in identifying and tagging trees that should not be cut in future maintenance cycles;
• supports restoring areas that NVRPA had identified as meadows, temporarily using stakes and ropes, and employing infrequent mowing or alternative techniques to control invasive species;
• urges the County and DVP to provide advance notice to civic associations and other stakeholder groups, and to post notices to alert individual users of the W&OD Trail prior to the start of future maintenance cycles; and
• favors establishment of a forum where representatives and members of stakeholder groups can meet with County, NVRPA and DVP officials to discuss planned maintenance activities.

Arlington Neighborhood Day

Saturday, May 8th

The committee's next meeting will be held the third Tuesday of May at the Hospice of Northern Virginia on N. 16th Street and Abingdon at 7:30 p.m. All are welcome. Questions? Call Kim Smith at 703-527-0294 or e-mail her at kim+.


As a follow-up to the March 2 ACCF meeting, the Housing Committee worked with the Executive Committee and the Planning and Zoning Committee to organize the ACCF Housing Forum, which was held at St. Charles School on April 17. Over twenty five people attended the forum. The Committee met on April 26 to discuss four items in its 2004 work program: the March 2 ACCF meeting and April 17 ACCF Housing Forum, further contacts with civic associations and other ACCF member organizations, Arlington County budget and land use issues relevant to affordable housing, and a pending resolution recommending that the Civic Federation support the Alliance for Housing Solutions. The Committee is offering to work with ACCF member organizations to present information on affordable housing and the Alliance for Housing Solutions -- either at meetings of ACCF member organizations or through preparation of items for ACCF member organization newsletters. The next meeting of the Committee is scheduled for 7:30 p.m. on May 11. For more information, please contact joe+.


Heads up to all who are interested in trying to influence the State Legislature in 2005! The Legislation Committee will meet on August 23, August 30, and September 13 (we skip Labor Day). The location will be announced later. New members are welcome. If you have questions, you can contact Nancy Graham at (703) 243-4650 or nancy. + The Parks and Recreation Committee met on April 26, 2004. The committee began its review of parks and recreation programs in the CIP. The following was approved unanimously: The Arlington County Civic Federation recommends that the Arlington County Board separate parks and recreation from other bond referenda on the November 2004 ballot. A motion to recommend separating North Tract from other parks and recreation bond issues was defeated.


Robert Atkins noted that the FY03 CIP showed $8 million for land acquisition in FY07, while the current FY05 CIP shows only $2 million for land acquisition in FY07. He made following motion: The Arlington County Civic Federation recommends that this and future CIPs provide for an ongoing minimum amount, a sum of no less than $5 million, in every two-year bond referendum for land and facility acquisition, and that those funds be held in reserve for targets of opportunity consistent with approved master plans. This motion was tabled pending further discussion at a special meeting of the committee, on a date to be determined, devoted entirely to the CIP. Parks and Recreation Commission chair Toby Smith will be invited to participate in that meeting.

PARK ENHANCEMENT GRANT PROGRAM (PEG). This program, formerly called the Small Parks Program, was discussed briefly. Jay Wind noted that the deadline for submitting Letters of Intent is Monday, May 17, 2004, and he thought the Civic Federation could help in publicizing this deadline. WIDENING OF THE W&OD TRAIL. Bernie Berne reported that Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority (NVRPA) has authorized widening of portions of the W&OD Trail in Arlington although there had been no public process for reviewing those plans. He noted that the Arlington Bicycle Transportation Plan provides for public review of trail designs focusing on "impacts on natural, scenic and historical resources, as prescribed by public regulations�" The following resolution was moved by Robert Atkins, seconded by Bernie Berne, and approved unanimously: The Arlington County Civic Federation recommends that the Arlington County Board instruct its appointees to the Northern Virginia Regional Park Authority to seek a new NVRPA policy requiring its staff to provide public notices and seek the same local approvals (e.g. environmental impact and zoning) for its projects as would a private developer in any of its member jurisdictions.

URBAN FORESTRY REPORT. Larry Finch reported that the Urban Forest Master Plan, which had been discussed at the April meeting of the Civic Federation, was at an advanced stage of preparation. Parks and Recreation was in the process of incorporating comments from other County departments, and the draft master plan should be ready for public comment in a few weeks. When the draft becomes available, the committee should review it and recommend a position to the Civic Federation. ROSSLYN PROPERTY. Continuing a discussion from the March 29 meeting, Bernie Berne reviewed the issues related to the site review process for the property at 1101 Lee Highway in Rosslyn. That property is zoned S-3A and designated for public use, and the owner is seeking to have it rezoned "C-O-1.5" in order to build a 10-story, 43-unit residential building there. The property is surrounded by undeveloped land owned by the National Park Service, Arlington County, and the Virginia Department of Transportation. Details can be found at: http://www.co.arlington.va.us/cphd/planning/applications/site_plans/pdfs/sprc_032304.pdf. The following resolution was proposed by Bernie Berne, seconded by Larry Finch, and approved with 7 votes in favor and 2 abstentions: The Arlington County Civic Federation recommends that the property at 1101 Lee Highway in Rosslyn should retain its present zoning and GLUP designations, and not be rezoned from S-3A (public use) to C-O-1.5 for private development.

The next meeting of the committee will be a special meeting devoted entirely to the Capital Improvements Plan (CIP), on a date to be determined. For more information, please contact jay+ or larry. +


Dear Fellow Delegates: As many of you know, the Public Services Committee began its most recent incarnation five years ago by attempting to improve the public safety infrastructure of Arlington. Following the attacks on September 11th, we expanded our efforts to include personal preparedness since many emergency situations could well result in delays in the arrival of emergency personnel. We who have worked on public safety are now entering the third phase of our effort: neighborhood preparedness. The Presidents of civic, condo and homeowner associations (as well as businesses and service groups) have received a letter from the County Manager, the Citizen Corps Council and the Civic Federation detailing June 5th's Arlington Prepares and its Door-to-Door Campaign, designed to bring safety information to all Arlington households, to gauge the level of readily-available communications in neighborhoods, apartments, etc., and to stress the importance of systems of communication in an emergency. We are asking four things of our fellow delegates:

Register for ArlingtonAlert at www.ArlingtonAlert.com and work toward getting more NOAA weather alert radios in your neighborhood or building; Ask your president if he or she has received the letter on Arlington Prepares and encourage him/her to complete the survey; Consider registering to deliver packets of information to some of your neighbors on June 5th - and encourage your fellow neighbors to help as well; Plan to participate in the community fair, workshop and communications drill in October.

No one knows what the future may bring - whether another Isabel or an Osama will visit us. What we do know is that if we all work together, we can be better prepared for an event. The Civic Federation as a group is an Arlington Prepares Partner in preparedness. We hope you as an individual will be as well. Jackie, Anne and Kim

The Arlington County Civic Federation
Officers 2003-2004

Vice President Patrick Smaldore (pat+)

Treasurer Tim Wise (tim+)

Secretary Frances Finta (703-528-2882)

Executive Committee

Vice Chairman Nancy Graham (nancy+)

Member Stan Karson (stan+)

Member Ken Marcus (ken+)

Member Randy Swart (randy+)

Committee Chairs

(Co-chairs) Steve Baur (steveb+)
Steve Geiger (steveg+)

Scott McGeary (scott+) 703-750-4704

Beth Offenbacker (beth+) (acting)

Herschel Kanter (herschel+) 703-536-6286

Ben Axleroad 703-525-3083
Rob Simmons (rob+)

Housing

Joe Wholey

Nancy Graham (nancy+) 703-243-4650

Frances Finta 703-528-2882

Jay Jacob Wind (jay+)
Larry Finch (larry+)

William Gearhart
(bill+) 703-522-2276
Martha Moore (martha) 03-527-+3782

Anne Fisher (anne+)
Kim Smith (kim+)

Jackie Snelling (prepared+)

Robert Atkins (bob+)
Randy Swart (Randy+)

Tim Reese, Jim Pebley jim+

Roger Meyer (roger+) 703-671-3655
Terri Prell (terri+) 703-820-3782

Frances Finta 703-528-2882

Jerry Auten (jerry+)703-536-5365
Ed Parks (ed)

+


Arlington County Civic Federation
c/o Dan Krasnegor
1305 N. Longfellow St.
Arlington, VA 22205




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This page was last revised on: May 2, 2004.