The attendee count has sort of stabilized here, so I'll go ahead and get going.

So let me say welcome and thank you, everyone, for uh joining us here for uh the next session of our uh our bi-monthly meeting series.

Uh my name is Paul Stoddard.

I'm the director with planning zoning here in the city of Alexandria.

Uh, and of course, we all appreciate uh you all giving up uh one of your Tuesday evenings uh uh to stay informed about what's uh what's happening in the city around uh planning and development uh and learning about uh what are the cases that are coming up uh in uh docs over the next couple of months.

Uh and as we go through the presentations, I'll flag it here and I'll probably say it throughout.

Uh, but on many of these slides, they uh you'll see um uh links to web pages on the city's website.

Uh of course, we're trying to cover as many cases as we can as we can in the hour that we have.

Uh and is as uh if you want to dig in on more detail, um, those those web links can provide additional information.

Uh let's jump over to the next slide.

Uh so as I mentioned, uh, this is the next installment of our bi-monthly meeting series.

Uh we kicked this off in uh April of last year, April of 25.

Uh, and we've been holding it approximately every other month since then, uh, accommodating uh accommodating for holidays.

Uh but the idea behind the meeting series is to provide another tool uh by which the general public can stay informed about what's going on around planning initiatives, uh plan updates, uh, as well as stay informed about development applications that are coming up for consideration, uh, whether that's in front of the planning commission or the council.

Uh, and so we do try to highlight all the cases that are coming up in their dockets uh over the next two to three months.

Um, and that's uh in cycle with with holding the meeting series every other month so that can so that folks can always stay informed about what's coming next.

Uh and as I mentioned, uh throughout, we'll provide links uh to additional information uh throughout the uh throughout the slides of the presentation.

Go to the next slide.

Uh so this is a walkthrough of the topics that we'll cover in tonight's presentation.

Uh as always, we begin with uh with a warm welcome for everyone who's on the call.

Uh again, thank you for being here.

Uh, and then we'll talk through uh uh different types of work that's going on uh in and uh in and around the city.

So we'll talk about long range planning, planning for the future of development.

Uh, we'll talk about the Duke Street plan.

Uh of course, we've been providing updates uh throughout the planning process, and we'll let you know what the latest thinking is on that.

Uh, then we're going to do this is the next installment of our spotlight series.

Uh so oftentimes when applications are coming forward, we get questions about different uh sort of elements of the plan review.

A couple months ago we did a spotlight on transportation planning and how city staff approaches uh that very important need.

Uh tonight we're going to talk about landscape review and how we approach landscape review uh in a in a systematic way uh and apply rigorous review standards to each application that we sue.

Uh then we'll do an update on development activity that's coming up over the next couple of months at the planning commission and council hearing.

Uh, I don't know that we have any zoning ordinance updates uh for you tonight, but we will always want to keep that in the uh the agenda as a placeholder so that we don't miss anything that is coming forward.

Uh and then we'll actually close the meeting with our QA session.

So uh as we go to make sure we get through all the content, uh, we're gonna save all the questions toward the end uh until the end of the until the end of the night.

Uh and we do ask that you use the QA box.

Uh if you uh move your pointer down to the center of your center, sort of center lower portion of the Zoom screen, uh, you should see the QA icon uh pop up.

Uh you can click into that uh and type your question in, uh, and then we'll read out your question for everybody's benefit and provide an answer at the end of the night.

Uh any uh questions we don't get to tonight because of time, uh, we'll of course post the response to that uh in our uh in our FQ document, uh, our QA document that goes up uh after the meeting.

Uh and just to flag uh so that everyone's aware, the recording from tonight's presentation as well as the slides and the answers to the QA will all get posted to our uh uh to the web page for this meeting service.

Um go to the next slide.

And then this uh uh graphic uh we use in all of our presentations.

Uh as I mentioned the agenda, we're going to cover a range of different topics.

And this graphic helps explain how all those different topics are connected.

So uh community visioning begins uh on the left arrow, the SAP small area plan area arrow.

Uh that's where city staff, community council, planning commission, other boards and commissions uh work together to identify a common vision for the future of the community.

Um at the small area plan level, we're often talking about the future of a neighborhood.

Tonight, for example, we'll be talking about Duke Street, the Duke Street land use plan.

Once those plans get approved, or only if those plans get approved, just then staff work on updates the development regulations, the zoning regulations to stipulate the kinds of land uses, heights, building spaces, open spaces that are required for each development application.

Once those regulations are in place, then developers' applicants can apply for permission to build things.

Most often people are coming through with a DSUP, a development special use permit.

And that's where there's specific information provided around the density that's proposed, the architecture on the building, the heights of the buildings, what are the uses inside of the building?

How will the streetscape design?

Only if those applications are approved by council, can applicants proceed to develop their detailed construction drawings, their permitting requirements, and only once those go through permanent uh rigorous review, permitting review, and construction begin.

So again, all of the different things we're going to be talking about tonight are connectable and related.

They all begin with community visioning, uh, and they all take a step forward with appropriate reviews and approvals into the construction and implementation screen.

Uh and with that, I think I turn it over to our first speaker than that.

So good evening, everyone.

Uh just for the record, I'm Jeff Farner, deputy director, and and we, as Paul indicated, we're going to walk through the Duke Street land use plan.

We've been checking in with the community as part of this process that has been helping to shape and guide the process as we've been working through this for the past couple months.

And with that, just go ahead and jump to the next slide.

Um, so this really talks about where we were, where we are, and where we're going.

And uh really um, as you can see, there's been a lot of consultation, a lot of discussions, a lot of listening to get to things like plan principles and things like the framework plan that we're gonna series of framework plans that we're gonna talk about tonight.

And then where that's going to take us is so we're getting feedback on uh the framework plans, and then uh this summer and fall working through draft recommendations and a draft plan probably in September.

And then the goal is to take uh a plan to public hearing by December of this year.

So we're obviously um in that sort of middle phase as we're as we're preparing the plan.

So next slide is really um things we've heard.

Uh I know some of the people who are attending uh I've spoken to and have been part of these conversations.

So I'm gonna walk through these sort of high level if you haven't been part of this process is so one of the things we've heard is uh how can we have more of a cohesive corridor design uh rather than something that feels a little more segmented?

How do we expand our parks?

We have some big parks along the corridor, but we maybe are missing some areas in the middle for neighborhood parks, how do we connect those parts better?

How do we keep some of the housing stock that's out there today and potentially add more with redevelopment?

Um making sure the infrastructure of what uh is being discussed in terms of potential redevelop can be accommodated, um, and whether that's streets or um stormwater or school capacity, making sure we look at infrastructure, neighborhood serving retail.

I think we've heard consistently keeping things like grocery stores in the community are really important, safer connections, head and bike, um, up and down the corridor and also to the parks.

We've heard a lot of support for the local businesses and how important they are up and down the corridor in terms of being able to use them and access them and providing a benefit to the community.

We've also heard concerns about traffic and mobility, um, and uh can we address congestion as we think about looking at this plan?

So those are sort of high-level things and themes that we've heard along the way.

Uh that has led to sort of this next slide, which is how do we begin grouping these into um categories to begin thinking about a plan?

And just to talk really high level, essentially the blue areas that we're showing are what we're calling opportunity sites, but potential for redevelopment.

And these are essentially the commercial sites up and down the corridor, things like um Alexandria Commons, things like Fox Chase, um, things like the Honda dealership on Duke Street, so commercial sites sort of up and down the corridor.

Uh and one of the reasons in doing that, uh, we were also very mindful of thinking about how can we strategically have development occur that's going to use the transit that is planned, but also how do we do that in a way that we don't displace existing residents?

So having that development occur on the commercial side enabled us to do that.

And then that really led to this next category, which is sort of the brown color, which is affordability and growth, which is how do we look at tools and strategies to retain as much of the affordable housing that is there today.

And an easy example is Fox Chase, which is sort of middle left of your screen.

It is one of the biggest naturally occurring market rate affordable housing sites in any time city.

So how do we how do we look at tools and think about affordability in those areas?

A couple other areas you see, the sort of purple area is what we're calling civic and city campus.

How do we have sort of the functional needs for the city things that we need to operate the city, bus storage, salt domes, storing dump trucks, things that we need to operate a city?

And then you see part of that city campus also show civic and opportunity.

What are things that maybe the city has that are a little more public facing versus sort of the functional service elements?

And then the other area is small business.

Again, we've heard a lot from the residents.

We've also talked to many of the business owners who talked about this is one of the few places in the city they can afford to be from a rent perspective, and how a lot of them are entrepreneurs who sort of moved into this space because of location, but also the type of building and also affordability.

So those are some of the organizing principles, and then that led us to the next slide, which is land use.

So how do we take those concepts and then begin applying land use around them?

And I will say one of the things we did within this opportunity sites.

So all of the opportunity sites are pink.

We're calling that residential and commercial.

So really either of those uses can happen within those zones.

We think most of what will occur in terms of redevelopment is going to be residential.

The other thing you see is retail in those areas, uh, FoxJase and Alexandria Commons.

Uh, and then outside of that, you see things like city campus and the business areas as well.

Again, thinking about applying land uses to those principles.

You also see asterisk within the affordability and growth areas.

Um, the other thing I would note, we are not recommending changes outside of the opportunity and affordability and growth areas.

We've had a lot of questions of is this plan recommending changes if redevelopment or affordable housing is no goal?

And the the short answer is that is not what this plan is recommending.

Um, next slide.

So this is just zooming in a little bit.

So at the end, Melissa on our team is going to walk you through social pinpoint, uh, which is uh which is a platform we're using where you can click on uh she's gonna walk you through this, but she's you can click on it, zoom in, make comments.

Um, and you can also see everyone else's comments in that platform.

But this is really zooming in sort of east to west, looking at those land uses in more detail.

I'm not going to talk about this in detail.

We will come back if there are questions.

Uh, and then next slide is sort of east to west, and the next slide is going to sort of moving farther west in the corridor so you can sort of zoom in.

So, next slide is sort of again, we're layering all of these concepts.

Um, this is building heights.

And one of the questions we had early on was what if which which of these building heights are changing?

Uh, i.e.

different than the zoning or the smaller plans that are out there today.

So you see in hatch, these are the properties that are we're recommending a potential change.

Um, and the areas that are not hatched are remaining the same as they are today, and then again, moving east to west.

Uh, you see the hatch properties and the ones that are remaining the same.

Though the one thing I would say are those asterisk notes with um affordable housing, and we're still looking at tools that we can use to save some of those affordable units, and and one of the tools that is on the table for that conversation is density.

Um, as many of you probably know, density is is sort of one of our tools that we can use uh as we think about retaining affordable housing.

So, next slide is um framework mobility.

We've heard a lot about uh safety, we've heard a lot about connections, we've heard a lot about concerns about um congestion, particularly in certain locations, for example, Quaker to Telegraph.

And so, what this plan is showing is ways to provide alternative bike, ped and car connections.

Um, so thinking about different streets, thinking about different sidewalk connections, thinking about different vehicle connections to provide people options sort of up and down the corridor.

And let's just jump to the next one.

Well, and so again, moving east to west, sort of up and down the corridor, different connections, different streets, head, bike, and car.

Uh the other thing I would say we have an upcoming meeting in June.

We are in the process of working on our traffic study.

I mentioned earlier we have to look at the infrastructure to make sure everything works.

We're in that process now, the traffic study, and we'll be bringing that back in a community meeting in June.

And then next slide is open space.

I think this is something we heard very loud and clear and pretty consistently.

And you can see this here in the graphic is we have a really big park on the east side and some big big parks on the west side with homes run and Cameron Station.

Can we build on that and have more neighborhood serving parks really in the middle of the plan area and can we have more connections?

And so one of the things this map is really trying to do is add neighborhood parks when redevelopment happens and also think about where people are walking or biking and accessing these neighborhood parks so we can address safety and usability and within a reasonable walk within each neighborhood, having the bigger sort of citywide parks, but also having these neighborhood parks as well.

So next slide is really zooming into that macro graphic again, starting east to west, and just in terms of orientation, Whitterfield is sort of located on the bottom right.

I think you jumped ahead there again, Melissa, sort of bottom right, and then uh the darker uh parks are the sort of new parks that we are discussing as part of this plan.

And the next slide is again moving a little farther west, and the other thing you see are the importance of connections.

So, in addition to new parks, making sure uh we can access them as a community and neighborhoods that uh need to access these in a safe way.

The other thing you'll see at the bottom right of this are green asterisks.

We're in the process of talking to property owners about additional open space as well on some of these properties.

So this is very much a work in progress, and we're sharing with you sort of uh work to date.

And so, next slide.

And so with that, I I'm gonna turn it over to Melissa, and she's gonna walk you through our engagement platform.

The other thing I would say, in addition to this, because we've had this question.

If we don't want to engage in this way, which is social pinpoint, um, reach out to us.

We're willing to meet, willing to um email that all the email contact is on our website.

So uh if you want to engage in a different way, happy to do that as well.

So with that, I'll turn it over to Melissa.

Thanks, Chef.

Hey everyone, I'm Melissa Sims.

I'm an urban planner in planning and zoning.

Um, so you know, as Jeff mentioned, there are a lot of different ways you can provide feedback on these plans.

Uh, and I'll mention those in a little bit more detail in a minute.

But one thing I wanted to highlight is the engagement hub that Jeff briefly mentioned.

Um, so if you go to this link here, or if you scan the QR code, it'll take you to a website where you can review all the different maps Jeff mentioned, provide feedback on them, or ask questions as well.

Um, and there are also videos you can watch on the engagement hub that explain each of the framework plans.

Um, so I'm going to show you in a second how the page works.

But if you have any questions at all as you're exploring the hub, um, my colleague Christian Brant's contact information is on the bottom of the page, um, which I'll show you, and you can comment on these maps until May 28th, I believe.

So let me go ahead and share the social pinpoint engagement hub really quickly.

Um, so this is what the landing page will look like when you um open that link or QR code.

Um, it provides some background information, kind of what we were going over or what Jeff was going over in his presentation.

Um, but then one important thing is these different tabs that you'll see here.

Um, so you can take a look at the districts and land use themes map here.

Um, you're welcome to ask any questions about the framework plan.

You can type your question in here.

Um, and you can also take a look at questions that other people have asked, and you can see the answers to those.

And then you can add just any comments that you'd like to add um related to the framework plans.

And then if you want to take a look at specific plans, we'll we'll just jump in and look at parks and open space.

So this is um the overview video that I mentioned, and then this is the same map that Jeff was showing for parks and open space in that presentation, and you can actually zoom into it and see that exact same plan.

And there's a little button here where you can look at all the different layers and see what they are and turn toggle different layers on and off.

You can also take a look at comments that other people have posted.

And then to add your own comment on the map, you can use this button here.

It's called Ad Marker and just click on the map, or you'd like to add a comment about perks and open space.

And that will save your comment on the map.

And as I mentioned, you can also just ask any framework plan related questions or type a comment here.

So let me go back to the presentation.

As I mentioned, uh Christian Brant's contact information is at the bottom of this page.

So feel free to reach out to him if you have any questions.

Let's go back to the presentation.

So in terms of next steps, we have our next community meeting on May 28th, and that will cover housing and health.

We then have a meeting on June 29th to discuss transportation, parks, and sustainability.

We'll also have meetings in July and September, and we anticipate, I think Jeff mentioned this at the beginning, but we anticipate that the plan will be released in September, and then hopefully we'll be adopted in December.

And if you're not able to attend one of the community meetings, you're welcome to attend our Zoom office hours with that colleague I mentioned earlier, Christian Brandt.

And that last office hour session will take place next Wednesday, May 27th at 4 p.m.

You can find all the information about that on our website.

And I think that wraps up our portion here.

Thanks so much much for giving us the opportunity to share, and we look forward to hearing from you.

So with that, we have our next guest.

Thanks, Melissa.

Um I am good evening, everybody.

I'm Nathan M, City Landscape Architect with Planning and Zoning.

And uh here to talk to you about the process that we have for landscape review.

If we can go to the next slide.

Sorry, no, it's not advancing.

There we go.

Thanks.

So landscape design is a part of just about everything, every plan that we receive uh as part of proposal.

Um obviously this is it's an art, but it is also a science um to create functional spaces throughout the city.

So while art can be a little bit subjective, there are a lot of things that aren't, and that's what we are tasked with reviewing.

Now, why are we reviewing the landscape design?

Certainly it's because this is part of the zoning code, but also it's part of promoting the quality of life for Alexandria.

Um a day like today, there may not be too much explanation needed of why we need shade trees and and plants in the city to ameliorate the effect of 97 degree day in May.

Um but it's also to uh prevent outbreaks and hazards.

Um this is part of having trees and shrubs and plants in the landscape, is that um we do have outbreaks of uh pests, diseases, etc.

And we can actually do things to help prevent those.

Um, and the same with hazards by the proper selection of um of the plant material, we can make sure that we reduce the number of hazards that are out there, and finally, it's part of maintaining a sustainable community.

This is a benefit to stormwater, to energy use, to pollution, certainly shade is a component of um being sustainable without shade.

We are just not as sustainable of a community because it is not as sustainable to be outside during it, which is what's healthy for us.

Uh if we can go to the next slide.

Um, so that's just sort of the why we do it.

Um, but then the next parts are really how and what do we review.

Um the zoning code establishes uh the need for landscape guidelines, it establishes our ability to set forward uh landscape guidelines to govern uh the landscape plans that come in and that we review.

Uh the zoning code also establishes uh for residential zones and for DSPs and DSUPs, the requirements that each of those sites provides uh 25% of their land areas canopy cover for those projects.

Uh the landscape guidelines, we I want to say just updated.

It's been a little bit, but in 2019, and it is still current.

Uh, we have some minor tweaks as that we're considering, but for the most part, uh it's still very valid.

Um, and it covers a lot.

Um, you can see that I started to list them and ran out of room.

Um, but it does cover aspects such as tree preservation, invasive species biodiversity, uh, neighborhood notification, uh, et cetera.

Um that's what this governs it's also how we review it.

So when a plan comes in, um, these are all of the things that I'm reviewing the projects for to make sure that they're complying with the biodiversity requirements that are in the landscape guidelines, to make sure that they are complying with the amount or the percentage of native plants versus uh non-native plants in it.

Um if they are a DSP or DSUP, we have the ability to uh review and comment on tree preservation issues.

Um if it's a grading plan, we make sure that the neighbors are notified if there would be any impact to adjacent trees.

So all of these things are what we are reviewing against to make sure that the plans comply with uh the landscape guidelines, but also obviously to make sure that they are uh good plans in the sense that they are creating a positive impact on the city, on the neighborhood, and uh the particular project site.

So one of the reasons um that I wanted to highlight that we have uh in have criteria for invasive plant species, biodiversity and native plants are simply that through the experience of our city arborists, myself, other landscape architects in the city, and general best practices, we have found that certainly this protects our uh overall canopy for the city.

Um we have the uh forestry master plan that sets a goal of uh uh canopy percentage for the city.

The zoning code establishes uh 25% canopy cover for uh the development sites, uh, and we would like to exceed that 25% as a city.

Uh and we can't do that if we constantly are having to battle uh almost literally pests that are coming in because of overplanting of a particular species, such as we see with problems with emerald ash borer.

Um if we see that invasive species are overtaking our parks, we want to make sure that the uh private developments aren't becoming a source for that.

Um and we also want to make sure that when we're planting street trees, we're not planting monocultures of that so that we have uh whole neighborhoods die uh all at once.

Um we're trying to manage this so that the canopy gets retained and maintained for the long whole long haul.

Um, and each review is part of that.

Um so I think that you know we all wish that we could have the the rows of elm trees uh marching down the street for miles, but when they all disappear because uh a disease or a pest got in there, then we realize that's it's more important to have the canopy overall rather than try to retain um retain that monoculture throughout.

So that's what we're looking at when we review the plans to make sure of all those aspects, and it can be quite a lengthy review depending on it.

Um the next steps are obviously so how do we make sure that it's done that way?

Um if we can go to the next slide, um, thanks.

Uh so we have a series of meetings and inspections that we go through with each applicant.

Um for grading plans, it's it's a much simpler and much shorter process.

We make sure that the plans are compliant with the landscape guidelines in as much as they are required to, and um the site inspectors will generally ensure that they are following the plan.

For the larger projects, and that's the DSEPs and DSPs.

Uh I'll have a pre-installation meeting with the landscape contractors and the applicant to uh set out what they need to be doing, what they need to comply with, what we expect from them as far as uh timing, season planting, uh, when they'll actually want to give us a call for an inspection and uh whole raft of information.

Um after they've actually done the plantings, then we go out and see how they did.

Um the first step is really a performance bond, as it's called, uh, to ensure that basically this is where we say that you did 100% of it right.

Um, it's alive and thriving, and uh we're ready to release you from that bond at that point in time.

And that can be a very extensive uh review of all the plant material.

We do that on site.

We don't uh we don't do any of it by pictures, um, and we don't rely on the um the word of the applicant.

We want to make sure that this is actually uh good to go at that point in time.

Um with that, then after the performance bomb, there are still two more steps.

There's a one-year and a three-year maintenance bomb that the applicant still uh is responsible for.

Um, and this is effectively to make sure that the plants, yes, were installed properly, but they are alive and thriving, and that's they are getting established.

Uh so hopefully when I go out at the one year, they're looking a little bit better.

At the three year, they're really taking off, and everything is filled in and is looking correct according to the plan.

Uh oftentimes it's the one year and the three year that we notice some problems.

And the picture you can see is uh one of those trees that didn't make uh make it, you know, it's it's clearly damaged, it's starting to rot.

Um and even though it had leaves up above, that's what we're looking for is to see if there's any particular damage that we need to know.

Um it's also where we tend to see that there have been infestations.

Uh, I know that a lot of applicants are getting tired of me noting that there is an infestation uh in the plantings and that they need removal and replacement, but um because of the uh number of pests that are coming uh or already present with us, um, that is something that we take a look for as well.

Uh and the three-year maintenance um bond mark is a little bit movable.

Uh if we go out for the three-year maintenance bond inspection and there are plants that are not alive and thriving, then they have to replace it.

Uh, if it's a very, very small number, once they've replaced it, they can they can move on.

But if it's a large percentage, and we've had that with a couple of projects, then we might need to wait another year to make sure that those plants are established and can go on from there.

So it is a fairly comprehensive inspection process.

Um again, we're just making sure that everybody's living up to the plans and making sure that the city of Alexandria is getting the canopy that we need, as well as getting uh a product and sort of a source material that won't cause problems for the neighbors or cause problems for our parks and our street trees down the low down the road.

So uh with that, I'll leave it to the uh the next speaker.

All right, thank you, Nathan.

Um, and it's great to spotlight, right?

I know that that landscape matters to the city of Alexandria, and uh it's really great to have your review uh on each of these things, uh, and not only uh when they're being planned, but actually how they're being implemented, um, because uh it's just so important to the system.

Uh so this I want to introduce uh a couple items uh here just to sort of set the framework for the rest of the items we're going to talk about tonight.

Uh, these are items that are scheduled for a public hearing uh in the months of June and July.

Uh and if we go to the next slide.

Uh and we're gonna have a uh slide for each of these cases in the subsequent materials, but this slide can be a helpful reference.

Uh it's got the upcoming hearing dates as well as the cases by those dates.

Uh here PC stands for Planning Commission, uh, which will be holding uh a hearing on June 2nd, uh, and then CC stands for City Council.

So their June hearing will be on June 13th.

Uh so that's one box of meetings.

Those cases will be heard by the planning commission on June 2nd and council on June 13th.

Uh, there is then another set of hearings that follows shortly thereafter with the planning commission hearing cases on June 22nd, uh, and the council of hearing uh those same cases on July 1st.

Uh and you can see uh by these boxes, and again, we have a slide for each of these cases.

Uh uh, but the project sort of run the gamut.

There are uh major development projects uh with uh the PRGS site, Potomac River Generating Station uh proposed redevelopment, uh some smaller infill projects like 1019 Cameron, uh special use permits needed for particular uses on different sites, uh, and then also uh master plan update uh with uh uh the housing 2040 plan uh proposed for council hearing uh on uh uh June 13th.

Uh just one note to correct on this one.

Uh if you look at the June 7th box, uh I'm sorry, the July 1st box, uh, you'll see substandard lot regulations proposed under zoning tax amendments, but that's not uh scheduled for hearing in July.

Uh that'll likely come up uh in the fall uh it's here.

Sorry about that.

Uh if we go one more slide, uh I've got one more to introduce before I turn it over uh to the other presenters for the materials.

Uh this is an update on the on the process of the housing 2040 update.

Uh, we've actually spotlighted this a number of times in this meeting series.

Uh and as you can see, uh community engagement has been heavy throughout the planning process uh with meetings of the the general public, uh city council, planning commission, AHAC are at uh our um portable housing advisory group.

The draft plan highlighted there in the green box underneath spring of 26.

That draft plan is scheduled for release later this week on May 22nd.

So this meeting date is a little bit ahead of that draft release.

And so we didn't want to get those things going sort of cross-wired.

So we're going to save sort of sharing that information when that draft plan gets released.

Of course, there shouldn't be any real surprises given the number of meetings, the amount of input that's provided along the way.

But of course, wanted to share the slide with you tonight to make sure people were aware of the schedule and where we were in the process with that important effort.

But with that, I think we can turn it over to the development advertisements.

Oops.

Hello.

Thank you, Paul.

Catherine Milliaris here.

You usually hear from Rob Kearns, but I am here tonight to talk about the upcoming development projects.

Development applications are typically either development site plans or development special use permits.

And when staff is reviewing those, we are reviewing them for compliance with the small area plans that are related to the area, as well as we do a rigorous review against other standards and policies that have been established and adopted by city council based on community feedback and other requirements that we have.

So the areas that we focus on anytime we're looking at a DSP or DSUP include height, setbacks, and density related to zoning.

We're working with our colleagues in other departments to ensure that stormwater requirements are being satisfied, as well as other environmental and sustainability requirements.

We're always making sure that not only are they meeting the required open space, but that it's usable and functional, as well as that they're um we're creating and contributing to a healthy tree canopy, as Nathan was earlier talking about.

Another important aspect is looking at transportation impacts as well as parking requirements, affordable housing, and um also architecture and design to ensure that new development is appropriate for the context and the neighborhood in which it is going into.

So in the next slide, I'm going to talk about the specific cases.

Thank you.

This is PRGS.

This is the power plant site at the north end of Old Town with Slater's Lane at the north end.

What is coming forward next month in a few weeks, the docket will be posted on Friday, um, are four DSUPs, um, one each for block B and block C, as well as for each of the open spaces for the waterfront park and the rail corridor park.

Each block, um, so the building DSUPs are for two buildings over the two blocks that will have over 800 units.

Each building on a block also has two towers.

Um, essentially one is a rental tower and one is a condo tower.

So when you're looking at these graphics, and you might see what appears to be two, it might look like two buildings, but it's actually one building, shares a ground floor.

Um, and then it has two separate towers to create additional open space and architectural design.

Um, in addition, there's approximately 90,000 square feet of commercial space framing that um outside at the ground level, on the plaza, on the future um waterfront park.

Um, these two buildings will share an underground parking garage.

Um that garage is also intended to extend northward when the future other when the other blocks also come in for redevelopment.

Um the two open spaces, um the waterfront park and rail corridor park are comprised of approximately five acres of open space on the site, but also what's included will be improvements to the adjacent um national park service land, including rebuilding the boardwalk in the future and removing that cage, um, as well as clearing invasive species or invasive plants.

Um there is concurrently um information.

Uh, there is a the uh tax increment financing proposal for this project that is separate and distinct from the entitlement process.

Um so if you are looking for more information about the TIFF, that can also be found on the city website at that address right there.

But that is separate from the entitlement process.

So we will be taking forward these four DSUPs as well as CDD amendments to update um phasing and other technical matters with the CDD zoning.

Next slide, please.

This is a project at 1019 Cameron Street, the corner of Cameron and North Henry.

It's a long-standing Alexandria business, Pisano contractors.

Um they have an existing commercial building, and um the back portion that you see on the lower right um is uh has had a warehouse use.

They are proposing to convert that warehouse use to office, and then on it's a one story currently, and then on top of that, they're going to build a two umstory addition with a roof deck that you can see down there.

So this does also include a rezoning to CD zone, as well as an SUP for an increase in non-residential density above 1.5, as well as a canopy coverage modification.

Umce it is an existing commercial site that doesn't have any open space to speak of on the site.

They are requesting a full um canopy coverage modification.

However, they are doing a number of um improvements to the adjacent site and streetscape improvements, which include the planting of um new street trees, widening the sidewalks, and very significantly reducing removing several curb cuts and reducing the overall curb cut area while still retaining um some of the parking that is needed for their business.

And that is it for the two development projects.

Um next slide.

Uh actually, you keep it right here.

Good evening, everybody.

My name is Tony Lakola.

I'm the division chief for land use and preservation.

Um we have a number of cases going to hearing over the next couple of months.

Um we can go through those.

Next slide, please.

The first is a special use permit for outdoor live entertainment at 699 Prince Street.

This is the Heron Hotel.

Um they have a small rooftop area where they serve drinks.

Uh, they have requested to have a DJ and instrumentalists uh during the hours which you see on the screen here, essentially Thursday, Friday, Saturday, and Sunday, uh, no later than 10 p.m.

Next slide.

We also have a special use permit for the development of a substandard lot without frontage.

Uh, this was deferred from the May Planning Commission hearing.

Uh, this will be the third time this particular um applicant has gone to the planning commission and city council.

Uh this lot is located along an alley uh in the Del Ray neighborhood.

Um you can see the proposed design for the home on the screen.

Next slide, please.

Um many of you are probably familiar with Virginia Paving.

Um in 2017, um the uh applicant requested an extension, uh, which was granted.

Uh they're coming back in for an additional extension of five years um to the year uh 2032.

Uh staff is currently evaluating uh the request, um, and this will go to the planning commission and city council.

Planning commission on June 22nd and City Council on July 1st.

Next slide, please.

We also have special use permits at 1010, 1011, 1020 Princess Street, and 333 North Henry Street, all combined into one.

Uh the proposal is for an office to residential conversion.

Uh the applicant proposes to develop 11 dwelling units in the existing structure.

Um, there will be parking along with this.

So uh many of you are familiar, we had a recent zoning text amendment to make office to residential conversions a more straightforward process.

So uh this will be one of the first SUPs uh under that new zoning text amendment.

Next slide.

We have a rezoning um that has come in for review.

Uh this is for a proffer revision at 4154 Duke Street.

Um the property is zoned commercial low.

Um in 1981, a proffer was put on the property, which limited the structure to professional office use only.

Uh the applicant is asking to amend the proffer to allow uh for operation of a child care center at the lot.

The proffer would remove the stipulation that it's for professional office only, which would expand the uses which could you know use this space for business purposes.

Next slide, please.

We have a large number of subdivisions moving through over the next couple of months.

The first one is at 6216 Morgan Street.

This is a subdivision to adjust a lot line.

You'll see on the screen on the left-hand side, 6216, just a small triangular piece of land will be consolidated with a larger portion of land, which says site on the left side.

It's about six 764 square feet of land in total.

Next slide.

This is a resubdivision of one lot into two lots.

It was consolidated to create one lot.

They're going back to the original subdivision and would create two 8,455 square foot lots.

Next slide.

In addition, we have 114 East Raymond Avenue.

Again, a resubdivision of one lot into two lots.

Historically, this was developed, or this was two lots consolidated into one for development of one single family home.

The applicant is proposing to develop two homes on lots, each 2,625 square feet.

Next, please.

We have 311 Clifford Avenue.

This is a resubdivision of three lots into two lots.

So the two lots each would measure 3,937 square feet.

So the three lots are becoming two lots.

Next one, please.

There's also a section 906 review.

These come up when uh city property is being used for something other than you know what its current use is.

An applicant, um, a future restaurant owner at 910 King Street is requesting the use of two spaces in a city-owned parking lot to accommodate 12 outdoor dining seats at 912 King Street.

Um only review this, it doesn't need to go to City Council.

Next and Paul, are you going to take this one?

Yeah, I can take this one.

Uh, thank you, Tony.

Uh, great job walking everybody through.

It's uh, you know, it's uh it's a high volume of cases, and each of these uh small projects obviously uh uh deserves attention and care as it gets reviewed.

Uh so this one is uh a request to vacate a portion of existing public right-of-way.

Uh you can see the addresses listed there.

Uh there uh the right of way is the extension of Ramsey Street uh north of uh East Alexandria in between 218 and 300 East Alexandria.

As I mentioned, it's a it's a partial vacation.

So the right-of-way operates uh as a uh modest alley today, and that would be maintained as part of vacation.

So the existing right-of-way uh in width is uh approximately 50 feet wide.

And through this application, the right of way would be uh uh narrowed down to the 20 feet, but still needed to maintain that that modest alleyway.

Uh, as part of the application, uh, the applicants have offered that they would repave and reposition the alley to be within the center line of the right-of-way.

Uh, and then as is typical uh for vacations, uh, that the vacated area would be consolidated in the existing lots equally on either side.

Um so that describes that uh that right-of-way application.

Uh, just one note on the development cases.

Uh, we had mentioned the PRGS site.

Obviously, that uh one uh generates a lot of community interest.

Uh, and just uh for everyone's awareness, there will be another community meeting uh uh held on May 26th uh at 6 p.m.

And May 26th, just so I have that right as next Tuesday.

Uh so next Tuesday, May 26th at 6 p.m.

There'll be another community uh meeting to uh share information and answer questions about that uh proposed development.

Uh let's go to the next slide.

Uh so we've hit our uh our recap and our questions and answers.

Of course, we covered a lot of different topics tonight, and so I'm not surprised that there would be questions about them.

Uh, and we're gonna walk through all those questions and uh all those questions now.

Uh, just to let folks know how we'll walk through this, uh, I'll read out the questions and then I'll refer it out uh to whoever the best person is on tonight to answer it.

Uh we'll provide an answer here tonight.

And as I mentioned, we'll also uh uh capture all the questions and the responses and post them to our website as well.

Uh so I'll take them in the order they were posted.

Uh and just a reminder if you are looking for that QA box, it should be in the bottom middle portion of your screen.

Uh so let's see.

So, first question related to Duke Street uh land use plan, uh, and it reads why is a portion of Cameron Station, uh uh which is governed by a CBD included in the Greenway district.

Why does the mobility network map show a bike facility going down Cameron Station Boulevard, which Cameron Station has opposed on three separate occasions?

I'll take that one.

So thank you for that and uh a couple different responses.

So, in terms of why it's included in a district, as we and I think Melissa's gonna pull this up as we have been thinking about the plan, thinking about how different segments of the corridor are shaping the plan and shaping how we're thinking about pieces fitting together.

Clearly, Cameron Station is a is uh is a larger development up and down the corridor and thinking about how an influences pieces around it.

So it's not really proposing changes, but it's thinking about the corridor as a whole and and Cameron Station as part of that.

In terms of why, and we can jump to the mobility graphic, Mosa, if that's okay.

In terms of why there's a dash line on Camera Station Boulevard, uh one of the things that um we did when we were looking at the mobility graphic is to first start with what's in approved city documents.

So in the AMP plan, which is um uh the mobility plan that was adopted by council through our transportation environmental services, it does show a bike facility on Camera Station Boulevard.

Um, and you can see it's sort of um uh coming from Duke Street uh through Cameron Station.

So that is really reflecting what's in our approved documents.

Um it did sort of occur to me when I was looking at the legend.

So this is why I think sharing draft is really important.

Um identifying what's new with this plan versus just simply what's in existing city policy.

So probably adding that to this legend as well.

So I hope that answers your question.

Uh and if not, we can certainly come back to that.

So thank you for that.

Jeff, uh, let's see, Nathan, I think this one is going to be for you.

This next one.

Uh the question uh reads, oh, there it goes.

But see, why does the city allow developers to clear cut properties, even though the developer isn't supposed to, such as when done in Caragas States.

So um that's kind of a two-part uh answer, if you will, and I appreciate that.

Um first is that the ability that the city has to regulate the preservation of trees is basically uh within the confines of what the state allows us to do.

So right now the state doesn't have a um preservation um regulation that actually allows us to require the preservation of particular trees.

We're allowed to um by grandfathering.

Um our 25% canopy cover actually exceeds what most communities around us have uh as far as those requirements are.

So we're we're allowed to require that, but that doesn't give us the ability to require that through preservation of existing trees.

Um certainly through the DSP and the DSUP process, we uh work with the developers um through that development review process to see if there are ways that those trees can be preserved while still allowing them to achieve uh the development they're proposing.

Um so we collaborate with the with them as much as possible.

Um, but in the end, um there isn't uh any enabling legislation.

I was searching for that word for a second, enabling legislation that uh allows us to uh mandate the preservation of a particular tree or trees.

Thank you, Nathan.

Uh let's see, as we read into the next one, Catherine, I think this is gonna uh go to you.

Uh and it's not an uncommon question uh when we're we're developing uh when there's a proposal to develop a former industrial site, uh, but it's what's happening with the ground soil remediation from the power plan.

I understand there are issues with this.

Certainly.

Um a major component of the redevelopment of this will be the um deconstruction, the abatement, and the remediation before construction can get underway or it concurrent with that.

So um right now HRP has submitted a preliminary site characterization along with a risk assessment and remedial action plan um based on their preliminary results and testing that they have done.

But that will the additional site characterization will be done more fully as part of the final site plan process.

In addition, I do want to mention that as part of the infrastructure DSP, the IDSP that was approved in 2023.

There was a requirement for community to develop a community outreach plan and strategy for connecting with neighbors and sharing information as specifically targeted for the deconstruction and remediation.

So there will be outreach related to that and the associated reports will be provided posted as well.

But right now they are in, they've done preliminary work, and we'll see more coming up once they get these DSUPs approved in our working and final site plants.

Catherine, let's see.

And then there was another question.

There was a question here, which I'm happy to speak to.

And it asks do we still use proppers?

I've seen a couple of examples of proppers that were enacted many years ago, but can't remember if I've seen any recent examples.

So for folks who aren't familiar, uh proppers uh are enabled under Virginia uh uh code, and they are uh voluntary offers uh that an applicant makes as part of a rezoning application.

Uh and it's a restriction on what they uh can then do with the property.

So they might request to uh zone into a more dense use or a different type of land use, uh, but then as part of that, they would they would voluntarily offer to provide some restriction uh or uh to otherwise mitigate the the impact of the rezoning application.

Uh it's not uh something that uh Alexandria commonly uses today, uh, but proppers do run with the land, meaning that they are permanent impacts on the or permanent restrictions on the property.

And so it's not uncommon to see uh folks come back with proppers that properties that were put in place many years ago uh and seek to amend them to allow some flexibility for for future uh sort of reuse and redevelop.

Let's see, there's another question here.

Is there a timeline for coming back to the second phase of zoning for a cows?

Uh there were a number of great things that didn't make it into the first phase, uh, but were noted as being things for consideration in the second phase.

Uh definitely appreciate the question on that one.

I know there's a lot of interest uh in what happens with zoning for housing phase two.

When does that get started?

Uh I mentioned the housing 2040 plan that's uh under review now and scheduled for hearing uh in June.

That one is laid that master plan will lay out um the housing policy and project priorities uh for the next uh several years in the city.

Uh and one of those is of course zoning for housing.

And so we'll be looking to that plan for guidance on the timing uh and of course uh uh scoping of what would be included in the second round.

Uh and uh uh the question is right to know that there were ideas already listed.

And so of course, those are those are in consideration for uh zoning for housing phase two.

Uh and then Nathan, this might be a uh clarifying question around Kerry Estates.

Uh question reads uh or statement reads.

Uh it was part of the agreement with the developer of the Kerriga States uh and he cut uh the trees down the garden.

Sorry, um I don't know if there are specific trees that you're referring to, but the the trees within the tree preservation area uh were um a part of our ongoing discussion with them.

He did have a number of trees that died uh basically of natural causes.

Um there was uh a bit of oak wilt that went through there as well as a couple of other things.

Uh and because the trees were dead, they needed to be removed.

Um so the city was part of that, and we did at that point in time require replacement of those trees, um, which were put in into that tree preservation area because the purpose of that obviously is to uh sort of maintain the woodland that had been there.

So uh it is something that we were aware of, and we did the best we could.

Uh, but sometimes, you know, trees being natural things, um, our best laid plans don't always work out uh exactly as we'd hoped.

Right.

Uh thank you, Nathan.

Uh let's see, I don't see any additional uh questions in the box.

Um so I'll do my my wrap up here while I uh keep an eye to see if any others come in.

Uh just a reminder.

Uh uh, so one, let me say thank you again for again investing a Tuesday night with us uh to learn about uh uh what's going on in and around uh Alexandria.

Uh and as I mentioned, all the materials uh including the the slides, uh recording the video, and the QA will all be posted uh on the website for our bi-monthly uh meeting series, uh which you can get to off of the planning and zoning uh landing page.

Uh thanks again.

Thanks everyone