1. Calling the Roll. The meeting was called to order by Mayor Euille, and the City Clerk called the roll; all the members of Council were present. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ 2. Public Discussion Period. (a) Gary Carr, 216 Aspen Street, complimented the City on its snow removal, as it did a terrific job under very adverse conditions. Mr. Carr spoke of the restoration of the playing fields at Frances Hammond Middle School, noting that the children are playing in mud. He said they should not have park fields and school fields, they should have community fields, and he asked who the field at Ben Brenman Park would serve. Mr. Carr spoke of the money for the fields in the budget. He asked the Council to endorse the Park and Recreation Commission vote endorsing the restoration of the park at Ben Brenman Park. (b) Reverend Duane Kay, 909 Queen Street, pastor of Ebenezer Baptist Church, speaking as a representative of VOICE, Virginians Organized for Interfaith Community Enhancement, said that over the last year, they have been engaged in an effort with residents of the Bland community in handling various maintenance issues that have been brought to the attention of the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority and has continued with the redevelopment phase of the Bland community, particularly with phase I and how the relocation efforts have affected those residents who have now been displaced over the past few months. Reverend Kay said they believe there is great opportunity for City Council, as well as the City, to become involved in the effort, as it has greatly effected residents. He said they do not want to stop the redevelopment or the project, however, they want to help move the City toward a beloved community. (c) Hattie Thompson, 1314 Madison Street, speaking for VOICE and for the Bland project, said this is important to the residents of Bland. She said she has lived in public housing for three years and has lived in Alexandria for twelve years and she has heard a lot of despair from her fellow residents at Bland, due to lack of communication through ARHA. She said when they first heard of the redevelopment, they welcomed it, but as time went on, things began to unravel. Ms. Thompson said they waited for information and were given a deadline of December 12 to move out, and that left them to scramble with their employers, their children's schools and everything that is involved in moving to a new place. Some residents who were downsized were given 72 hours to move. She said VOICE has helped them and are still helping them, but they need help from City Council. (d) Janelle Jackson, 10208 Racquet Circle, Manassas, Nu Xi Zeta Chapter of Zeta Phi Beta Sorority, Inc., noted that the percentage of children and teens who are overweight has more than doubled in the past 30 years. She said that with Alexandria having such youth programs as track and field, football, boxing and volleyball, they are combating the issue and providing a venue to children to have physical activity, health and wellness, but they are also first in line with the First Lady's Let's Move campaign to curb childhood obesity. Ms. Jackson spoke about Project Discovery, which prepares and motivates low-income and first generation of college eligible students to access opportunities and higher education. She said their chapter has provided numerous opportunities to youth in Alexandria to do this, but if they can join together with Council, they can provide more opportunities for their youth to succeed. She said they hope to raise funds to promote community involvement and foster positive public relations via scholarships and youth programs through their foundation, the HAVE Foundation, Helping Alexandria Virginia Excel. Ms. Jackson said they mentioned last month about Read Across America, and since then, they have expanded their focus to look at a child's sense of positive identity and they would like to change the self-image of the children in Alexandria. (e) Wade Farris, 910 Slaters Lane, spoke for a group of concerned citizens over a project the City is proposing to build at Powhaton and Slaters Lane. He said the City is planning to put a group of 20 affordable housing units on the property, and they feel it is probably not the best thing for the City to do. It doesn't meet with the City's strategic goals, it is not fiscally the best use of the property, there are safety concerns and they think that area of the City is already saturated with affordable and section 8 housing. He said the plan does not meet the 2004-2015 strategic plan where it says the City government should be financially sustainable providers of excellent services that are valued by its customers, and engages the entire community as it plans for the future. He said it also doesn't meet the goal that says they should also be friendly to small businesses, establishing beautiful gateways to urban villages. Mr. Farris said the City has accepted an unsolicited proposal from the Alexandria Housing Commission that says they want to build affordable housing on the property, and they ask why they didn't go out for a request for proposal from developers, noting that there are many people who are interested in the property. He said it is not the best fiscal use of the property, there is a safety concern and it is probably not a good place for small kids to grow up next to Slaters Lane, they feel it is not the best use of the property and they asked Council to take another look at it. (f) Roy Priest, 600 N. Fairfax Street, director, Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority, spoke about the Bland relocation project, noting that a lot of the schedules they operate under are driven by the source of the dollars they use and he explained where the funds come for in this project. He said they were relying on having to use their own inventory to re-house the 32 households and that has happened, and with the exception of one family, they are all still living in ARHA owned property. All of the families have been paid relocation benefits and in some cases have even assisted families beyond the payment. He said they are also looking at their protocols they use to issue to families for their notices, so they will be able to give them more specific information about timing and locations. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ REPORTS OF BOARDS, COMMISSIONS AND COMMITTEES ACTION CONSENT CALENDAR (3-5) Planning Commission 3. SPECIAL USE PERMIT #2009-0077 10 EAST GLEBE ROAD (Parcel Address: 2 East Glebe Road) CHEZ ANDREE Public Hearing and Consideration of a request to allow outdoor seating at a grandfathered restaurant; zoned CL/Commercial Low. Applicant: Chez Andree, Inc. PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: Recommend Approval 7-0 4. SPECIAL USE PERMIT #2009-0079 654 SOUTH PICKETT STREET (Parcel Address: 640 South Pickett Street) PARKING REDUCTION Public Hearing and Consideration of a request for a parking reduction for a restaurant; zoned I/Industrial. Applicant: Seleshi Getachen PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: Recommend Approval 7-0 5. TEXT AMENDMENT #2009-0009 AMENDMENTS TO ADOPTED RESIDENTIAL INFILL REGULATIONS Public Hearing and Consideration of a request for an amendment to the City's Zoning Ordinance regarding residential infill development. Staff: Development of Planning and Zoning PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: Recommend Approval 7-0 END OF ACTION CONSENT CALENDAR City Council adopted the consent calendar, as follows: 3. City Council approved the Planning Commission recommendation. 4. City Council approved the Planning Commission recommendation. 5. City Council approved the Planning Commission recommendation. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ REPORTS AND RECOMMENDATIONS OF THE CITY MANAGER None. REPORTS OF BOARDS, COMMISSIONS AND COMMITTEES (continued) Planning Commission (continued) 6. SPECIAL USE PERMIT #2009-0064 3401 MOUNT VERNON AVENUE RESTAURANT Public Hearing and Consideration of a request to operate a restaurant and a request for a parking reduction; zone CSL/Commercial Service Low. Applicant: Jose Mario Cabero, Jose Guillermo Cabero and Marisol Gonzalez PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: Recommend Approval 7-0 City Council approved the Planning Commission recommendation. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ 7. SPECIAL USE PERMIT #2009-0059 516-A EAST HOWELL AVENUE SINGLE FAMILY HOME Public Hearing and Consideration of a request for a parking reduction and site plan modifications for construction of a single family home; zone RB/Residential. Applicant: Douglas Drabkowski PLANNING COMMISSION ACTION: Recommend Approval w/amendments 7-0 City Council approved the original staff recommendation and to replace condition #1 as amended by the Planning Commission with the original condition #1 as proposed by staff. Council Action:_________________________________________________________ ORDINANCES AND RESOLUTIONS None. REPORTS OF BOARDS, COMMISSIONS AND COMMITTEES (continued) DEFERRAL/WITHDRAWAL CONSENT CALENDAR Planning Commission (continued) None. END OF DEFERRAL/WITHDRAWAL CONSENT CALENDAR Council Action:_________________________________________________________ EXECUTIVE SESSION 8. Consideration of Convening a Closed Meeting to Discuss Land Acquisition. At 11:04 a.m., City Council convened in executive session, pursuant to Virginia Code Section 2.2.3711(a)(3) for the purpose of discussion and consideration of the acquisition of real property for a public purpose or the disposition of publicly held real property. At 11:45 a.m., City Council reconvened the meeting. City Council adopted a resolution pertaining to Executive Session. (RES. NO. 2385) Council Action:_________________________________________________________ * * * * * * The meeting adjourned at 11:47 a.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.