1. Calling the Roll. All members of Council were present, with the exception of Vice Mayor Macdonald, who arrived at 10:44 a.m., and Councilman Gaines, who was absent. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ NEW BUSINESS ITEM NO. 1: Mayor Euille noted that Vice Mayor Macdonald and Councilman Gaines are representing Council at a funeral for former Planning Commission member Richard Leibach. He asked for a moment of silence not only for Mr. Leibach, but for Thomas Taylor and Henry Alexander Thomas, who both recently passed away. 2. Public Discussion Period. (a) Mimi Carter, 106 East Cliff Street, president of the Mt. Vernon Community School PTA, spoke as an advocate for the schools, its teachers and children. She spoke of the accreditation of schools, and of the responsibility of the community and Council to provide a free and appropriate education for the children. She said the City's drop out rate is the highest in the area and it has the lowest SAT scores of any school system in the Metro area. She said Council is talking about cutting teacher's cola's and that is very short-sited. She said the City and the Council have come so far at understanding what the economically and socially diverse school community needs in terms of education. She recommended looking at the tax rates, which also spend between 35 and 40 percent. She said they could ask the School administrators to begin paying part of their health insurance, but they could also ask the School Board not to fast forward the capital improvement, but to look at the community and the children they serve and realize that for the time being, an investment in the schools will lead to thoughtful and productive children who will give back to the community. (b) Marianne Hetzer, 604 N. Mansfield Street, acting president of the PTA Council of Alexandria, said she was impressed with the City Manager's ability to craft a budget that meets the target established by Council and she thanked Council for the support of comments made last Thursday regarding the School portion of the budget. She said the Superintendent and School Board members believed that if they submitted a budget at or near the target, that budget might possibly be stamped approved without any further discussion. She said she now agrees that Council should ask the School Board again to provide an on-target budget as soon as possible, clearly defining the programmatic impact of each reduction, so Council can make a truly educated decision regarding the funding allocation. She said they must find ways to find the employees a minimal salary increase. (c) Sarah Becker, 1200 Princess Street, and Wilson Thompson, 1201 Queen Street, speaking together, spoke about the nomination process for Parker Gray for the tax credit, and said they would appreciate a written update on what exactly is going on. (d) Bert Ely, 200 S. Pitt Street, spoke about the relocation of the George Mason Post Office at Prince Street and South Washington Street. He said the postal service decided to keep a post office branch in downtown old town, but the not so good news is that it may end up in a not so good location. He said his favored location is 119 N. Washington Street, as the space is especially well located for pedestrians and automobile access. However, the postal service rejected that space, presumably for cost reasons and instead narrowed in on two other locations - Duke Street and S. Columbus Street Atrium Building, and the old Office Depot space at 200 N. Washington Street. He said he and others leaned toward the Atrium location, primarily because there is a reasonable amount of metered on-street parking near that location, in addition to decent pedestrian access. The postal service leaned towards leasing that space but now the word is that the postal service has determined that it might be too costly to build out that space to meet its needs, specifically public and handicapped access. Supposedly the postal service is leaning toward leasing the 200 N. Washington Street space, and while it has good pedestrian access, it is the least desirable of the three locations because of its lack of on-street parking. He asked Council to ask the postal service to reconsider the 119 N. Washington Street location or to at least go the extra mile and spend a few additional dollars to put the new post office branch in the atrium building instead of going for the cheapest location at 200 N. Washington Street. (e) Charlotte Landis, 433 N. Patrick Street, said she is voicing the concerns of many of her neighbors in Parker Gray along the Patrick and Henry Street corridor. She said this is one of the few areas of the City that does not have a resident on the Council or Commissioners dealing with planning, development or transportation. She asked when it was appropriate for a citizen to become involved in the decision making process of the City, referring to the January 22 emergency posting on the Enews that announced a March 8 meeting to discuss the bus rapid transit proposals for Route 1. She said civic participation in the preparation of the Braddock Road small area plan no longer can be considered a logical or effective process. Seemingly, their citizen involvement is always deemed either too early or too late in the process. Ms. Landis said so that there is no misunderstanding, those who reside on Route 1 residential corridor do not want bus rapid transit. She said the citizens are not responsible for the City government's failure to plan adequately for Potomac Yard or to provide for future proposed military traffic. She submitted a petition signed by 54 citizens representing nearly 50 households. (f) Jack Sullivan, 4300 Ivanhoe Place, speaking as a member of the executive board of the Seminary Hill Association, said the executive board passed a resolution on February 8 asking Council to defer construction of the proposed all City sports facility until the following two conditions are met. 1. That other needed CIP's are funded and underway, to include the new Police station, completion of Windmill Hill Park and the provision of turf for existing playing fields; and 2. Until the entire amount of private sector money in excess of $5 million has been pledged and is in the bank earning interest. Mr. Sullivan said that speaking for himself, he recently attended the Park and Recreation Commission hearing on the project and was struck by the number of coaches for field sports for both adults and children who testified about the current lack of playing fields in Alexandria. He said their support for the facility was reluctant, but obviously something for them is better than nothing. He said putting millions into one new field in a 3,000 seat stadium does not make much sense when the need is for a substantial number of new fields. He said they should accommodate people who play, not people who watch. (g) Jim Hurysz, 127 S. Fairfax Street, #202, Arlington, spoke about articles in the Wall Street Journal, "increased heart risk linked to air pollution" and he read a synopsis of the article. He said the Washington, D.C. area is ranked near the top for particulates, and he said the problems are multi-jurisdictional. He said if they are going to have increased traffic on I-395, they had better convert from diesel vehicles to natural gas or electric that will reduce the danger to their health. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ REPORTS OF BOARDS, COMMISSIONS AND COMMITTEES ACTION CONSENT CALENDAR (3-4) Planning Commission 3. DEVELOPMENT SPECIAL USE PERMIT #2006-0034 4400 WEST BRADDOCK ROAD LYNN HOUSE Public Hearing and Consideration of a request for an extension of a previously approved development special use permit, with site plan, to expand an existing nursing facility; zoned R-8/Residential. Applicant: Lynn House of Potomac Valley, Inc. by Duncan Blair, attorney PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: Recommend Approval 7-0 4. SPECIAL USE PERMIT #2006-0109 1901 BALLENGER AVENUE (Parcel Address: 1900 Jamieson Avenue) STARBUCKS COFFEE Public Hearing and Consideration of a request to operate a coffeehouse (restaurant) and for a parking reduction; zoned CDD-1. Applicant: Starbucks Coffee by Jonathan Dandois PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: Recommend Approval 7-0 City Council approved the action consent calendar, with the removal of item #3, which was considered under separate motion, as follows: 3. City Council approved the Planning Commission recommendation (separate motion.) 4. City Council approved the Planning Commission recommendation. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CITY MANAGER 5. Public Hearing on Recommended Interim Location and Lease Revisions for the Proposed Alexandria Water Shuttle Service. (#19, 2/13/07-2/15/07) City Council: 1. approved the berth "Commercial 1 Berth 7, Torpedo Factory North Pier" as the interim location for the water shuttle service; 2. authorized the City Manager to sign the proposed license agreement between the City and the PRBC in substantially the form as attached; and 3. authorized the City Manager, if he determines it feasible, to file a grant application for potential federal grant funding to finance a portion of the acquisition cost of the water shuttle vessels. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ 6. Public Hearing on the Revised List of Proposed Valuable Open Space Sites in the City of Alexandria. (#17, 1/9/07) City Council: 1. received the revised list of 2007 valuable open space sites included within the report; 2. approved the proposed revised list of valuable open space sites, as the list of primary open space properties in Alexandria that the Council intends to consider for possible future acquisition by the City through voluntary means, or to work with the property owner to protect the property by other means including conservation easements, or right of first refusal; 3. directed staff to proceed with the work to further achieve the goals of the City's Open Space Master Plan; and 4. that the sites brought up today not on the lists, along with commentary on sites mentioned today that were on the list but were not ranked as highly, come back to Council as a report from staff at the earliest possible time. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ 7. Public Hearing on the Revised List of Proposed Pocket Park Sites in the City of Alexandria. (#18, 1/9/07) City Council: 1. received the revised list of proposed 2007 Pocket Park Sites included within this report, reflecting the removal, at the request of the property owners, of 11 Quaker Lane/3237 Duke Street which was previously listed in the January 9, 2007, recommendation to Council; 2. Adopt the list of Pocket Park Sites, as the list of primary pocket park properties in Alexandria that the Council intends to consider for possible future acquisition by the City; and 3. Direct staff to proceed with the work to further achieve the goals of the City's Open Space Master Plan. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ 8. Public Hearing on the Revised Potential Proposed Voluntary Conservation Easement Sites in the City of Alexandria. (#19, 1/9/07) City Council: 1. received the revised list of 2007 Voluntary Conservation Easement Sites included within the report, reflecting the removal at the request of the property owner of 1200 Russell Road; 2. approved the list of 2007 Voluntary Conservation Easement Sites, as the list of voluntary conservation easement properties in Alexandria that Council will agree to consider for possible future voluntary conservation easements by the City; and 3. directed staff to proceed with the work to achieve the goals of the City's Open Space Master Plan through working with owners on a voluntary basis to implement additional voluntary conservation easements. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ 9. Public Hearing on the Recommended Future Committee Structure for the City of Alexandria's Open Space Steering Committee. (#20, 1/9/07, and #17, 1/23/07) City Council: 1. approved the original recommendation for the new structure of the OSSC with the underlined changes, based on the January 23, 2007, City Council legislative meeting; 2. retitled the OSSC to the Open Space Advisory Group; and 3. if Council agrees to change the future structure of the OSSC, acknowledge and commend the members of the current OSSC for their pioneering and productive work in protecting and expanding public open space in the City. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ OTHER 10. Receipt of Report from the Naming Committee and Setting it for Public Hearing on Tuesday, February 27, 2007. City Council received the report of the Naming Committee and set for public hearing and consideration on Tuesday, February 27, 2007, the proposal to name the new soccer field behind George Washington Middle School in honor of the Swanson family. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ REPORTS OF BOARDS, COMMISSIONS AND COMMITTEES (continued) Planning Commission (continued) 11. DEVELOPMENT SPECIAL USE PERMIT #2005-0014 621 NORTH PAYNE STREET PAYNE STREET CONDOMINIUMS Public Hearing and Consideration of a request for a development special use permit, with site plan, a site plan modification, and an increase in density and height for the construction of residential units; zoned CRMU-H/Commercial Residential Mixed Use. Applicant: K. Hovanian Homes at Payne Street, LLC by Harry P. Hart, attorney PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: Recommend Approval 6-0-1 City Council approved the Planning Commission recommendation, with the following amendments: 1. the first floor of the live/work units shall be appropriate for the following uses: boutique retail shopping establishments, financial investment and consulting offices, travel agencies, realty offices, personal services uses, educational uses, professional offices such as attorney's offices or accountant's offices. Uses which involve the preparation, sale or service of food or beverages are strictly prohibited; 2. a modification that the final look and feel of the sidewalks and lighting must be consistent with the Braddock Road Plan; 3. explore permeable surfaces for the alley; and 4. that a contribution be made by the applicant that would be beneficial to the community and neighborhood for public art. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ 12. CDD CONCEPT PLAN #2006-0004 DEVELOPMENT SPECIAL USE PERMIT #2006-0026 2501 JEFFERSON DAVIS HIGHWAY POTOMAC YARD DEVELOPMENT Public Hearing and Consideration of a request for: 1) approval of a CDD concept plan amendment to permit community facilities in Potomac Yard; and 2) development special use permit approval, with site plan, for construction of a fire station, with 64 affordable residential units and underground parking, in Potomac Yard, Land Bay G, with approval for bonus density equal to the affordable units and accessory retail provided with the fire station pursuant to Section 7-700 of the Zoning Ordinance; zoned CDD #10/Coordinated Development District. Applicants: Potomac Yard Development, LLC by co-counsel M. Catharine Puskar and Duncan Blair, attorneys, and the City of Alexandria, Department of General Services, Jeremy McPike, Capital Projects Division Chief. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: CDD#2006-0004 Recommend Approval 6-0 DSUP#2006-0026 Recommend Approval 6-0 City Council approved the Planning Commission recommendation, with the amended conditions proposed by staff. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ Board of Architectural Review 13. Public Hearing and Consideration of an Appeal of the Board of Architectural Review's decision denying a request for after-the-fact approval of an awning at 515 N. Alfred Street, zoned RB Residential. APPLICANT AND APPELLANT: C. Casey Purpos and Shuan Shepard (Deferred from 1/20/07.) This item was withdrawn by the applicant/appellant. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS 14. Public Hearing, Second Reading and Final Passage of an Ordinance to Make Clarifying Amendments to the City's Recycling Regulations. (#14, 02/13/07-2/15/07)(ROLL-CALL VOTE) City Council passed an ordinance to make clarifying amendments to the City's recycling regulations. (ORD. NO. 4475) Council Action:_________________________________________________________ REPORTS OF BOARDS, COMMISSION AND COMMITTEES (continued) 15. CITY CHARTER SECTION 9.06 CASE #2007-0001 2501 JEFFERSON DAVIS HIGHWAY POTOMAC YARD DEVELOPMENT Consideration of a Section 9.06 approval for the donation of land for a fire station, affordable residential units and associated space, retail space, and underground parking and Section 9.06 approval for the disposition either by sale or lease, of affordable residential units and associated space, retail space, and associated underground parking. Applicant: City of Alexandria PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: Approved 6-0 (THIS ITEM IS NOT SET FOR PUBLIC HEARING BUT IS FOR CITY COUNCIL'S INFORMATION ONLY - NO APPROVAL IS NECESSARY.) City Council received the report. Council Action:________________________________________________________ REPORTS OF BOARDS, COMMISSIONS AND COMMITTEES (continued) DEFERRAL/WITHDRAWAL CONSENT CALENDAR (16) Planning Commission (continued) 16. TEXT AMENDMENT #2007-0001 COVERED OPEN PORCHES/LANDINGS Public Hearing and Consideration of a request to amend Section 11-1300 of the Zoning Ordinance allowing covered open porches in required front yards by special exception, and Section 7-200 amending the zoning regulations applicable to open covered landings in all yards. Staff: Department of Planning and Zoning PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: Deferred END OF DEFERRAL/WITHDRAWAL CONSENT CALENDAR City Council noted the deferrals. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ * * * * * * The meeting adjourned at 1:54 p.m. Note: The action docket is a summary of Council's meeting deliberations prepared largely for staff follow-up. Formal minutes of the meeting, when approved by Council become the official record of the meeting and of Council decisions made at the meeting.