OPENPUBLICA · PUBLIC MEETING RECORD
Record of Proceedings

Alexandria Planning Commission Public Hearing - June 2, 2026

Public Meetings — Tuesday, June 2, 2026
BodyAlexandria, Virginia
SessionPublic Meetings
DateTuesday, June 2, 2026
StatusFILED
Video Record
0:00 / 5:20:34
Transcript — Verbatim
0:04

I'm not formally starting our hearing because we have a discussion item first, but I'm welcoming folks tonight to our 630 discussion of the implementation of our green building plan.

0:14

And can you get that started?

0:16

Is that already?

0:18

All right, I'm Rob Kearns with Planning and Zoning, and I'm going to be presenting this evening.

0:22

But I'm joined by colleagues from the Climate Action Office.

0:25

This is definitely a collaborative process of working through implementing the green voting plan.

0:33

I am really pleased to be here, looking at turning the page and implementing this new plan.

0:38

I was heavily involved in the 2019 green building policy.

0:42

So actually progressing, updating.

0:44

It's very satisfying to see us moving forward.

0:48

So looking at the agenda for tonight, we're going to go uh just do a quick refresher of the plan elements on what's in the plan, just so we're all on the same page.

1:02

And then we're going to quickly dive into looking at the regulatory tools and the processes that we anticipate using as development cases come in on how we're going to uh weave this part of the uh city's requirements into all the rest of our development review process.

1:22

So looking at the plan components uh that were adopted by council.

1:28

Uh first uh there were a number of components, you know, probably the most talked about of them was energy use intensity.

1:34

Uh and you can see the table on the right, the various building topologies and their various EUIs that are expected to be uh targeted for this particular element.

1:46

Uh renewable energy, 3% generation on site, or contribute to a clean energy uh fund, electrification of various aspects of projects, so you know, heating and cooling electrification, appliances, um, etc.

2:01

Uh and then some additional resilience provisions, EV charging, energy uh efficient appliances, indoor air quality, whole building meters, uh a number of things that were handled by separate conditions previously, and now are getting rolled into the entire green building plan as part and parcel of the whole effort.

2:22

So there are now five compliance options or pathways as we refer to them.

2:28

Uh number one, the standard one will be the one that probably 85% of our cases will we anticipate will go through.

2:36

Um this is where they're meeting the the criteria that I just uh walked through in the last slide, EUI, renewable energy, et cetera.

2:43

But there are four others.

2:45

Uh a project could choose to reach for a higher certification, a sort of market leading certification like passive house, and work through uh that that certification process as an option.

2:56

Affordable housing is a pathway.

2:58

There's a small project pathway and it's defined on the slide uh just to scale things properly.

3:04

And then public projects have been uh separate pathway and continue to be in our in our new plan.

3:12

So in terms of implementing the plan, we're at the stage now where we're looking to update our materials uh such as the menu of standardized uh development conditions uh and a memo to industry.

3:25

We're also educating all the stakeholders, so planning commission, EPC, um uh we're making the rounds with staff, the development community in NAOP we're gonna be meeting with again, uh, and and and we're also developing a toolkit regarding improved EUI as part of uh uh education uh and helping with uh the stakeholder communities.

3:46

So uh on this chart here you can see sort of our development review process, the typical five stages that uh projects go through.

3:55

Uh and the we have the 2019 requirements and the 2026, just you know, for comparison, so people could could check those out.

4:02

But I'm gonna focus on the 26 ones tonight.

4:05

Uh so in the concept stage, we are asking for a a narrative, basically.

4:10

What is the applicant plan to do in terms of their pathway?

4:13

How do they anticipate getting there?

4:15

What are the key elements and thoughts they have and considerations uh for that?

4:20

Uh, and and then we will continue that conversation from concept one to concept two.

4:25

Perhaps some projects will look at conceptual energy modeling at this stage.

4:30

That will still be something that will it'll be on a case-by-case basis.

4:34

Uh, but they will be developing their their skins, their the architectural elements, so they will be starting to engage in that thinking.

4:42

Uh, at the prelim stage, uh we are gonna be uh looking for the refined EUI modeling, uh absolutely having that EU modeling at that stage, um, and looking for a renewable energy plan and other you know anticipated um elements that they need to meet, including EV parking and other, you know, documenting combustion uses, et cetera.

5:03

Uh so that following the prelim stage and moving into completeness at your hearing, you can expect to have a report out on the EUI model and the target for that particular project.

5:14

That's been something this board's been asking for and talking about for quite a few years, so that's being achieved uh uh with this uh this process.

5:23

Uh and then looking at final site plan and building permits, occupancy, we're essentially documenting.

5:29

We're going to be asking the applicants to document any design changes that would impact the implementation, things that they put into their approval.

5:36

Uh the same thing with building permit and occupancy, so they can continue, we can see them continuing to meet their targets and progress towards uh compliance of what they got approved in the prelim plan.

5:50

So uh I'm I have a standard condition as well as a the memo to industry in this new slide deck.

5:57

You did not see these during the briefing, because we this is like real time, we're working as we're going along.

6:03

But I wanted to at least show you these tonight um as additional information, just and obviously I we sent you the memo to industry also in the in this afternoon's update.

6:13

So you have that document and you have the slide deck with the condition here in front of you.

6:18

But essentially the standard condition is going to replace 12 sustainability conditions uh that we previously had into one single green building plan uh condition, and that you can see the condition here.

6:30

It references the new memo to industry.

6:33

And what we're doing here in the you look referring to the condition now, basically you name your pathway and you name uh your target EUI with that pathway, as well as your renewable energy uh uh uh requirements that you're going for.

6:49

Um so that gets documented as part of your standard condition uh package as part of the overall conditions package.

6:57

Um we are looking at well, I'll get to the number C in a minute, but um D is kind of a fail-safe we've had in all of our conditions, or if you can't meet it for some other unforeseen reason, um there's there's documentation and uh a relief valve if if needed.

7:13

Um so it's a very clean, simple condition, similar to what we had for the 2019 plan, it's just shorter and combined combining a few more elements into this into this new combined uh condition.

7:28

So while the conditions compact and clean, it's referring to the memo to industry.

7:32

And this is where the horsepower comes in.

7:34

It's the it's it's it's the technical document, so to speak, right?

7:37

And that we had this with the 2019.

7:39

We had the nice clean charts and frames, but then it referred to notes that the consultants and the specialists obviously had to refer to in terms of of doing their work.

7:49

So there's two charts in the memo to industry.

Discussion Breakdown — Share of Meeting
Planning And Zoning██████████████████████████████████34%
Affordable Housing███████████████████19%
Environmental Protection██████████10%
Noise Ordinance Enforcement█████████9%
Procedural████████8%
Transportation Safety█████5%
Public Engagement████4%
Community Engagement███3%
Public Safety███3%
Summary of Proceedings

Alexandria Planning Commission Public Hearing - June 2, 2026

The Alexandria Planning Commission met on Tuesday, June 2, 2026, at 6:30 PM in the City Council Chambers at Del Pepper Community Resource Center (4850 Mark Center Drive, Room 1305). The meeting began with a discussion on the Green Building Plan implementation, followed by the public hearing at 7:00 PM. The Commission considered 10 docket items, including a consent calendar, a Special Use Permit for outdoor live entertainment, a controversial subdivision and Special Use Permit for a lot without street frontage, a major redevelopment of the Potomac River Generating Station (PRGS) site, and the Housing 2040 Master Plan amendment. All votes were unanimous (7-0) on each item. The meeting adjourned at 11:50 PM.

Green Building Plan Implementation Update

  • Staff Presentation: Rob Kearns (Planning & Zoning) presented the implementation plan for the newly adopted Green Building Plan, focusing on regulatory tools, compliance pathways (standard, passive house, affordable housing, small project, public projects), and a revised development review process. Key elements include energy use intensity (EUI) targets, on-site renewable energy (3% or contribution to a clean energy fund), electrification, and resilience provisions. A new standard condition consolidates 12 prior sustainability conditions. The memo to industry provides detailed technical requirements at each development stage. The effective date is July 1, 2026, for concept submissions after that date.
  • Commissioner Discussion: Commissioners raised concerns about the flexibility criteria (Section 16C) for EUI compliance, noting potential for overuse. Staff confirmed that a separate guidebook is being developed to define acceptable flexibility. The importance of a well-developed renewable energy plan at the preliminary stage was emphasized. The Commission generally supported the timeline and approach.

Consent Calendar

  • Items 2, 4, 5, 6, 7: Approved unanimously (7-0) on a motion by Vice Chair Koenig, seconded by Commissioner Manor. These included:
    • Rezoning #2026-00001 and DSUP #2026-10001 for 1019 Cameron Street (expansion of nonresidential building).
    • Rezoning #2026-00002 for 4154 Duke Street (amendment of proffer to expand commercial uses).
    • Subdivision #2026-00003 for 6216 North Morgan Street (re-subdivision of two lots).
    • Subdivision #2026-00004 for 306 Beverley Drive (re-subdivision with lot width variation).
    • City Charter Section 9.06 Case #2026-00007 for 912 King Street (lease of city property for outdoor dining).

Public Comments & Testimony

  • Item 3 – 699 Prince Street (Outdoor Live Entertainment): Multiple neighbors testified in opposition, citing a history of noise violations (loud bass, complaints over 14 months) and concerns that proposed conditions (speaker angle, noise governor, community liaison) are insufficient. Speakers requested denial or stronger safeguards, including sound limits at adjacent properties and a 30-day review period. The applicant (Hotel Heron) stated they have ceased live music for a year and are committed to compliance.
  • Item 8 – 404A East Alexandria Avenue (Substandard Lot): Neighbors and the Del Ray Citizens Association opposed the development for the third time, citing lack of street frontage, emergency access concerns, stormwater runoff, unresolved lot line disputes, and inconsistency with neighborhood character. The applicant (Eric Teran) argued that the lot is buildable, the design is compatible, fire sprinklers improve safety, and stormwater will be managed. The applicant noted 22 supporters and 120 signatures on a petition in opposition, but asserted that all technical issues would be resolved during building permit review.
  • Item 9 – PRGS Redevelopment (1300 N. Royal Street): Several speakers from the North Old Town community (NOTICe) opposed the current phasing and design, asking for remediation of the entire site before construction, delivery of all promised public benefits upfront (open space, art, affordable housing), and integrated affordable units (6% target) rather than a segregated 100% affordable building. Others raised concerns about traffic baseline data (based on 2022 pandemic-era data) and the complexity of abatement/deconstruction alongside construction. The applicant (HRP Potomac LLC) emphasized the community benefit of removing the power plant, the phased delivery of parks (southern waterfront park delivered with Block C), the arts district concept (Block A to follow), and a robust environmental monitoring plan with 24/7 dust monitoring and DEQ oversight.
  • Item 10 – Housing 2040 Plan: Multiple speakers supported the plan, including the Commission on Aging, Coalition for Smarter Growth, VOICE, AHAC, and Grassroots Alexandria. They urged adoption and called for specific benchmarks, a dashboard, increased funding (bonding authority, leveraging tax credits), a public-facing landlord registry, stronger tenant protections, and a focus on deeply affordable units (40% AMI). One speaker opposed the plan, questioning the lack of a defined sustainable population size and mix of housing types.

Discussion Items

  • Item 3 – Special Use Permit #2026-00009 (699 Prince Street): Staff recommended approval with conditions (noise governor, speaker angling, community liaison, 6-month review). Commissioners added a 3-month review and a requirement to hire a licensed sound engineer to refine the system, given the applicant's history of noise violations. The motion passed 7-0.
  • Item 8 – Special Use Permit #2026-00013 (404A East Alexandria Avenue): Staff found the proposal meets SUP criteria for a substandard lot and lot without frontage, citing compliance with setbacks, height, and alley access. Fire reviewed access and found the 10-foot alley sufficient; sprinklers are required. Commissioners noted the applicant's extensive design changes (moving basement, protecting trees, stormwater management) and supported the project. Motion passed 7-0.
  • Item 9 – PRGS Redevelopment (Multiple Approvals): The applicant requested amendments to the CDD phasing plan to tie infrastructure and park delivery to individual blocks, and DSUP approval for Blocks B, C, and two parks. Discussion focused on sustainability (solar generation targets, embodied carbon), affordable housing strategy (19 on-site units, 100-unit P3 building in future phases), and open space delivery (50% vs 90% residential COs). Staff and applicant negotiated a compromise on an interim trail connection. The Commission approved all items (subdivision, CDD amendment, four DSUPs, encroachment) unanimously.
  • Item 10 – Master Plan Amendment #2026-00001 (Housing 2040 Plan): Staff presented the plan, which replaces the 2013 Housing Master Plan, with 10 goals covering supply, preservation, tenant protections, rental affordability, homeownership, condos, seniors, housing quality, economic mobility, and sustainability. The plan includes a commitment to set production targets and a dashboard. Commissioners praised the plan's breadth and ambition but noted the need for specific benchmarks and funding. The motion to initiate and adopt the amendment passed 7-0.

Key Outcomes

  • Consent Calendar: Items 2, 4, 5, 6, 7 approved unanimously (7-0).
  • Item 3 (699 Prince Street – SUP): Approved 7-0 with amended conditions (3-month review, sound engineer requirement).
  • Item 8 (404A East Alexandria Avenue – SUP): Approved 7-0 to recommend to City Council.
  • Item 9 (PRGS Redevelopment): Subdivision approved 7-0; CDD amendment recommended for approval 7-0 (with staff's recommended language except for the interim trail connection added); DSUPs for Blocks B, C, Waterfront Park, Rail Corridor Park recommended for approval 7-0; Encroachment recommended for approval 7-0.
  • Item 10 (Housing 2040 Plan): Master Plan Amendment initiated 7-0; resolution to adopt the amendment approved 7-0.
  • Minutes: Minutes from May 5, 2026, approved 7-0.
  • Adjournment: Meeting adjourned at 11:50 PM.

Meeting Transcript

I'm not formally starting our hearing because we have a discussion item first, but I'm welcoming folks tonight to our 630 discussion of the implementation of our green building plan. And can you get that started? Is that already? All right, I'm Rob Kearns with Planning and Zoning, and I'm going to be presenting this evening. But I'm joined by colleagues from the Climate Action Office. This is definitely a collaborative process of working through implementing the green voting plan. I am really pleased to be here, looking at turning the page and implementing this new plan. I was heavily involved in the 2019 green building policy. So actually progressing, updating. It's very satisfying to see us moving forward. So looking at the agenda for tonight, we're going to go uh just do a quick refresher of the plan elements on what's in the plan, just so we're all on the same page. And then we're going to quickly dive into looking at the regulatory tools and the processes that we anticipate using as development cases come in on how we're going to uh weave this part of the uh city's requirements into all the rest of our development review process. So looking at the plan components uh that were adopted by council. Uh first uh there were a number of components, you know, probably the most talked about of them was energy use intensity. Uh and you can see the table on the right, the various building topologies and their various EUIs that are expected to be uh targeted for this particular element. Uh renewable energy, 3% generation on site, or contribute to a clean energy uh fund, electrification of various aspects of projects, so you know, heating and cooling electrification, appliances, um, etc. Uh and then some additional resilience provisions, EV charging, energy uh efficient appliances, indoor air quality, whole building meters, uh a number of things that were handled by separate conditions previously, and now are getting rolled into the entire green building plan as part and parcel of the whole effort. So there are now five compliance options or pathways as we refer to them. Uh number one, the standard one will be the one that probably 85% of our cases will we anticipate will go through. Um this is where they're meeting the the criteria that I just uh walked through in the last slide, EUI, renewable energy, et cetera. But there are four others. Uh a project could choose to reach for a higher certification, a sort of market leading certification like passive house, and work through uh that that certification process as an option. Affordable housing is a pathway. There's a small project pathway and it's defined on the slide uh just to scale things properly. And then public projects have been uh separate pathway and continue to be in our in our new plan. So in terms of implementing the plan, we're at the stage now where we're looking to update our materials uh such as the menu of standardized uh development conditions uh and a memo to industry. We're also educating all the stakeholders, so planning commission, EPC, um uh we're making the rounds with staff, the development community in NAOP we're gonna be meeting with again, uh, and and and we're also developing a toolkit regarding improved EUI as part of uh uh education uh and helping with uh the stakeholder communities. So uh on this chart here you can see sort of our development review process, the typical five stages that uh projects go through. Uh and the we have the 2019 requirements and the 2026, just you know, for comparison, so people could could check those out. But I'm gonna focus on the 26 ones tonight. Uh so in the concept stage, we are asking for a a narrative, basically. What is the applicant plan to do in terms of their pathway? How do they anticipate getting there? What are the key elements and thoughts they have and considerations uh for that? Uh, and and then we will continue that conversation from concept one to concept two. Perhaps some projects will look at conceptual energy modeling at this stage. That will still be something that will it'll be on a case-by-case basis. Uh, but they will be developing their their skins, their the architectural elements, so they will be starting to engage in that thinking. Uh, at the prelim stage, uh we are gonna be uh looking for the refined EUI modeling, uh absolutely having that EU modeling at that stage, um, and looking for a renewable energy plan and other you know anticipated um elements that they need to meet, including EV parking and other, you know, documenting combustion uses, et cetera. Uh so that following the prelim stage and moving into completeness at your hearing, you can expect to have a report out on the EUI model and the target for that particular project. That's been something this board's been asking for and talking about for quite a few years, so that's being achieved uh uh with this uh this process. Uh and then looking at final site plan and building permits, occupancy, we're essentially documenting. We're going to be asking the applicants to document any design changes that would impact the implementation, things that they put into their approval. Uh the same thing with building permit and occupancy, so they can continue, we can see them continuing to meet their targets and progress towards uh compliance of what they got approved in the prelim plan. So uh I'm I have a standard condition as well as a the memo to industry in this new slide deck. You did not see these during the briefing, because we this is like real time, we're working as we're going along. But I wanted to at least show you these tonight um as additional information, just and obviously I we sent you the memo to industry also in the in this afternoon's update. So you have that document and you have the slide deck with the condition here in front of you. But essentially the standard condition is going to replace 12 sustainability conditions uh that we previously had into one single green building plan uh condition, and that you can see the condition here. It references the new memo to industry.

SUMMARIZED BY OPENPUBLICA AI
TRANSCRIPT VIA PUBLIC VIDEO
openpublica.com