OPENING
1. Calling the Roll. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Euille, and the City Clerk called the Roll; all the Members of City Council were present. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ New Business Item No. 1: Deputy Chief Corle of the Police Department made a report on the fatal shooting by an off-duty uniformed Police Officer at the IHOP Restaurant in the 6200 block of Duke Street overnight and noted how the investigation will proceed. 2. Public Discussion Period. (a) Debra Chandler, 6101 Edsall Road, spoke about damage to vehicles and vandalism in their neighborhood in the West End by children and the costs to the residents and the condominium association, and the problem is escalating. She said there is no curfew for the children, they need to be proactive, and someone needs to be accountable for the children. (b) Amy Slack, 2307 E. Randolph Avenue, said Del Ray is home to community building organizations, such as the Del Ray Artisans, whose art show lines the walls on the 2nd floor of City Hall, the Potomac West Business Association, and Del Ray Citizens Association and is home to individuals who volunteer for individual events, such as Art on the Avenue, the Halloween Parade and the Turkey Trott, and serve on committees and have earned a splendid reputation. She said the Council paid the DRCA high praise when it didn't make a controversy over a day labor agency locating in their midst. She said that under the Zoning Ordinance, Ace Temporaries is an allowed use, through a special use permit. She said that finding ways to say yes to business is what the Del Ray Citizens Association does. Even when they have outright said no, they have layed out a set of yes conditions. She said the land use committee works openly with applicants to find solutions and recommendations. Today Council will consider several items that DRCA has weighed in on, and they found a way to say yes and asked if Council could. (c) David Fromm, 2307 E. Randolph Avenue, said that two weeks ago, a ground-breaking ceremony marked the culmination of years of planning and the true beginning of construction that will result in 2,000 new homes and hundreds of thousands of square feet of commercial office and retail space. There are still haggling to be done, as it tries to figure out what the Potomac Yard Design Guidelines really mean, but it is possible to sit back and let the project proceed. He said that to do so, is to pass up a golden opportunity for the City to acquire a substantial piece of land that could be used as open space, playing fields or a site for a future school. He proposed that the City give serious consideration to negotiating with the developer to reallocate or redistribute some of the approved development within Potomac Yard in order to acquire at least the minimum lane necessary for a school. He said the consequences of that are that it will be necessary to increase the density at some locations within Potomac Yard, it will mean building higher at some locations within Potomac Yard, compensating the developer for lost profit, compensating the developer for the land, and to avoid actual expenditures from the City's coffers, it will mean some increase in the amount of approved development - a density bonus. He asked Council to direct staff to determine the possible options for reallocating the approved development. He said he personally preferred the option to consolidate the development in the land bay south of the bridge by building higher at the end closest to the Braddock Road metro station, keeps the total development the same in that land bay. The increase in density will be modest and could be spread over the remaining land bays or concentrated in the town center. Having more people located in several smaller but key footprints might also help clarify how to maximize the value of a bus rapid transit system in the Potomac Yard corridor, or perhaps justify a new Metro station when the Potomac Yard Shopping Center is redeveloped. He said they need a list of sites that are acceptable to the developer and then it can perform the cost benefit analysis and make an informed decision. (d) Michelle L'Heureux, 1120 S. Alfred Street, Apt. 203B, said her statement is a collaborative effort by several of the residents of Hunting Terrace and Hunting Towers. She said they are tenants of one of the last affordable apartment complexes in Old Town. In December, they were presented a plan by the developer to redevelop the complex, which would involve the preservation of all units as affordable housing, with the placement of Terrace residents, in exchange for demolition permits for the Terrace and certain zoning variances for its redevelopment. She said the plan has given residents of both properties hope for the citizens of a place they love. She said that recently, they have learned that the deal is in jeopardy, as VDOT has withdrawn the Towers from sale, preventing Mr. Kay from obtaining the property and implementing Mr. Cecchi's plan. She said the residents at the Terrace who are facing eviction at the end of this year are left wondering what is Plan B. She said they are making two requests. One is that the Council make the redevelopment negotiations open to the residents of Hunting Terrace, Hunting Towers and to members of the public. She said they read about public meetings on the Monroe Street bridge and Jones Point Park and read about debates, exchange of ideas and in some the workings of a viable, inclusive democratic process. She asked why the residents of Hunting Terrace and Towers not afforded the same rights. Residents do not want to be informed of Plan B but want to play an active role in the creation of Plan B. The second request is that Hunting Terrace residents be able to live in their apartments until VDOT sells Hunting Towers to Mr. Jack Kay. The City should not permit the displacement of residents at Hunting Terrace until affordable workforce housing is a guaranteed option for its occupants. In insuring this, Council would be reaffirming its commitment for extraordinary affordable housing at the site of Hunting Towers and Terrace. Mayor Euille said the matter was discussed with the Woodrow Wilson Bridge Advisory Task Force this past week, they are having meetings with Mr. Cecchi and his representatives next week, and are making contact with the Governor's Office and the Secretary of Transportation to meet with them to encourage every effort to move forward to continue the discussions and sale of the Hunting Towers properties. He said the City is concerned and will move forward with an open dialogue when it comes in and will refer Ms. L'Heureux's request to the owners. He suggested Ms. L'Heureux put her request in writing to the owners. (e) Patrice Valle, 116 Ingle Place, said she lives in Duke Street Square and spoke about the vandalism issue and said there is egg throwing, tire slashing, rock throwing, graffiti, spray painting and door kicking, and the majority have occurred within the last month. She said it seems to the neighbors that it happens after school lets out or in the middle of the night between midnight and 3:00 a.m. She said there is a cut-through area, which is a hole in the chain link fence between Foxchase and Duke Street Square, and their guess is that the younger third through sixth graders have been abusing the privilege and have been sneaking around before parents get home and wreaking havoc for fun and games. Mayor Euille asked the City Manager to have a meeting with the Police, School officials and community to get to the bottom of it. (f) James Hurysz, P.O. Box 5791, Arlington, and said that as a resident of Arlington, Arlington County government puts a tremendous amount of money into after school activities and sports and recreation centers, and almost half of the tax revenue goes to education, sports and recreation. He also spoke about HR4697 and the Medicare prescription drug benefit program and asked people to contact Congressman Moran about the legislation and ask him to co-sponsor the bill. (g) Julie Crenshaw, 816 Queen Street, said she is concerned about the make-up of the Jamestown Committee, as it is a duplication of the Special Events Committee, and there are a lot of people who have been left out. She said there were people who volunteered with the Department of Recreation and Parks to be part of the committee and they were ignored, and the Waterfront Alliance was not even included. She said one of the reasons it concerns her is that the City Manager was told there was a list and it bothers her because she was the first volunteer. Because this was something of very high quality, of historical nature, she told Janet Barnett she would like to work out some of the problems. She said that when she spoke to Ms. Barnett this week, not only did she not tell her when the meeting was, but she had a member of KSMET and someone on the Waterfront Committee ask her why she wasn't at a meeting. She said none of the volunteers on the list have ever been contacted. She said she told Ms. Barnett to remove her from the list and asked her why the City Manager didn't get it, and she was told that the City Manager knew she had one but never asked her for it. Ms. Crenshaw also spoke to mailings of notices of meetings. She said the notices also often arrive late and that is in violation of FOIA. She said she sent a letter to the City Manager and told him about the difficulty across the board, that different departments have the same difficulty, and it is something that needs to be looked at. She said she was contacted by Rose Boyd, who wants to put her on another mailing list. She said she sent another email and the City Manager didn't answer that one. Ms. Crenshaw said that at the budget hearing at the Lyceum, there was hardly anyone in the room, she went to the Jamestown meeting, and they were greeting people at the door, and no one waited for her to come to be greeted. She said the mailing didn't get to people until the afternoon of the meeting and didn't get to some people until much later. She said there is a significant problem with getting mailings to people to be notified of meetings, to include agendas and minutes and said the problem is the mail goes to the mailroom and what happens at that point, no one can tell. She asked that something be done about the violation of FOIA. Mayor Euille asked that information on the make-up of the Committee be given to Council and for staff to look into the concern about the mailing situation. (h) Kathleen Henry, 213 Laverne Avenue, said she wished to speak about 301 Laverne Avenue. She said shame on the five members of Council who voted to vacate the regular process vote. She said apparently, there was some idea that someone on the adjacent property might acquire the lot and build a huge structure. It is not horrible and it actually looks like the best of everything seen so far and maintains the corner better than any of the housing plans. She said that even though this was done to protect property rights, she didn't think it was the right case and this property was acquired knowing that the staff had said nothing should ever be built there. She said this is not what they want the City to look like and didn't want the precedent. She said this should be stopped now - it is too big for the property and something else can be done. (i) Charlotte Landis, 433 N. Patrick Street, said she received their tax assessment and they have been reminded that they are part of an historic district - Parker-Gray. She said there are five historic districts in the City and Parker-Gray is the only historic district that does not receive tax credits. She asked why the State and Federal tax credits are available to residents in Old Town, Rosemont, Del Ray and Park Fairfax, but the City has not sought the same for Parker-Gray, and what does Council plan to do on providing Parker-Gray with tax credits to make all neighborhoods equal. City Attorney Pessoa said he would provide a more formal response, but it relates to whether it is a National Register District and the process to get that status through the Office of Historic Alexandria. He said that coordinating with the City Manager's staff, he will get a response back to Council. (j) Marlin Lord, 2724 Hickory Street, spoke about the art in City Hall on the 2nd floor. He thanked the Mayor, City Manager, Deputy City Manager Evans, the Parks and Recreation Departments, and General Services for making the project possible. He called attention to the reception to be held February 28 prior to the Council meeting. (k) Boyd Walker, 922 Cameron Street, speaking for the Upper King Street Preservation Group, said they are continuing with their lawsuit against the demolition of the rear of 1520, 1522 and 1524 King Street, even though the developer demolished the two buildings at 1514 and 1516 King Street and virtually demolished 1600 King Street. He said the consequence of the lawsuit is the project could not get started, and he asked Council to work with the planning staff to see if the issue can be resolved. He said the developer has not sat down with them yet to offer to negotiate anything and they would like for that to happen. He said they would also like to see the rear preserved as well. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ REPORTS OF BOARDS, COMMISSIONS AND COMMITTEES ACTION CONSENT CALENDAR1 (3-5) Planning Commission 3. SPECIAL USE PERMIT #2005-0119 4600 KING STREET, SUITE 5A ULTIMATE HEALTH SCHOOLS Public Hearing and Consideration of a request for a special use permit to operate a training school for nurses (commercial school); zoned OCM (100)/Office Commercial Medium. Applicant: Arangu L.N. Tomdio PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: Recommend Approval 7-0 4. SPECIAL USE PERMIT #2005-0127 408, 410 EAST GLEBE ROAD & 3006 JEFFERSON DAVIS HIGHWAY CULTIVATED GARDENS, INC. Public Hearing and Consideration of a request for a special use permit to operate an outdoor garden center; zoned CSL/Commercial Service Low. Applicant: Janet Sauser PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: Recommend Approval 7-0 5. SPECIAL USE PERMIT #2005-0132 2520 NORTH CHAMBLISS STREET HOME CHILD DAY CARE Public Hearing and Consideration of a request for a special use permit to operate a child day care home; zoned R-12/Residential. Applicant: Vijaya Shah PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: Recommend Approval 7-0 END OF ACTION CONSENT CALENDAR City Council approved the action consent calendar, with the deferral of item #3 at the request of staff and the withdrawal of item #4 at the request of the applicant, as follows: 3. Deferred. 4. Withdrawn. 5. City Council approved the Planning Commission recommendation. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ REPORTS OF BOARDS, COMMISSIONS AND COMMITTEES (continued) Planning Commission (continued) 6. TEXT AMENDMENT #2005-0008 FOR THE PROPERTIES BOUNDED BY FOUR MILE RUN, JEFFERSON DAVIS HIGHWAY, BRADDOCK ROAD, SLATERS LANE AND THE GEORGE WASHINGTON MEMORIAL PARKWAY Public Hearing and Consideration of a request for an amendment to the City of Alexandria Zoning Ordinance to revise the CDD Zone regulations, Section 5-600, to allow for a revised Monroe Avenue connection for the Monroe Avenue Bridge. Staff: Departments of Planning and Zoning and Transportation and Environmental Services. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: Recommend Denial 6-0-1 City Council closed the public hearing and deferred action until February 28, 2006. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CITY MANAGER 7. Public Hearing on the Recommendation on Revised Planning and Zoning Fees. (#20, 2/14/06) City Council approved the Planning Commission recommendation, with the following amendments: all non-development special use permit fees be kept at the current fee; the appeals fees be kept at the current rate; and the final site plan fee go from $6.00 to $8.00 per 100 square feet of development. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS 8. Public Hearing on a Resolution to Adopt Increases and Changes in Fees for Code Enforcement Permits, Reviews and Inspections. (#15, 1/24/06) [ROLL-CALL VOTE] City Council approved the Planning Commission recommendation. (RES. NO. 2179) Council Action:_________________________________________________________ REPORTS OF BOARDS, COMMISSIONS AND COMMITTEES (continued) Planning Commission (continued) 9. SPECIAL USE PERMIT #2005-0128 3129 MOUNT VERNON AVENUE (2C, 3B AND 3C) COMMERCIAL SCHOOL Public Hearing and Consideration of a request for a special use permit to operate a commercial school (test preparation); zoned CL/Commercial Low. Applicant: P&N Investments, LLC by Paul Varriate PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: Recommend Approval as amended 7-0 City Council approved the Planning Commission recommendation, with a change to condition #2 that the hours be 5:30 p.m. to 10:00 p.m., Monday through Friday and from 9:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Saturday; and with a new condition that specifically says there will be no more than 18 students at one time. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ 10. SPECIAL USE PERMIT #2005-0131 1901 MOUNT VERNON AVENUE ART OUT LOUD Public Hearing and Consideration of a request for a special use permit amendment to allow alcohol service, an increase in the number of seats and for a parking reduction at an art gallery/restaurant; zoned CL/Commercial Low. Applicant: Eric Nelson PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: Recommend Approval 7-0 City Council approved the Planning Commission recommendation. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ 11. SPECIAL USE PERMIT #2006-0001 1215-1217 FIRST STREET YATES AUTO CARE Public Hearing and Consideration of a request for a special use permit for the continuation of a noncomplying light automobile repair, washing and detailing facility; zoned CRMU-H/Commercial Residential Mixed Use High. Applicant: Jeffrey Yates PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: Recommend Approval 7-0 City Council approved the Planning Commission recommendation, with an amendment to condition #22 to set the time limit for the special use permit at 10 years. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ 12. DEVELOPMENT SPECIAL USE PERMIT #2005-0031 301, 315 & 201 STOVALL STREET, 312 & 314 TAYLOR DRIVE, 2425 MILL ROAD HOFFMAN DEVELOPMENT - BLOCKS 2 AND 3