Tuesday, July 28, 1998

BVSCA MEMBERSHIP MEETING 7:30 P.M.

Meeting at the National Rural Electric Association (NRECA), 4301 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia, 22203-1860, Ellipse Conference Center (Room CC1), Free Parking for Membership Meeting, Garage Entry Up to 8:00 P.M. (See Details Below)

1. Arlington Community Policing and Citizens Police Academy. On June 21, 1998, the Arlington County Police Department re-organized to enhance their Community Policing efforts and provide geographic accountability for commanders, supervisors and officers of this Department. Arlington County was divided into four (4) Police Districts, each under the command of a Police Captain. The Ballston-Virginia Square Civic Association residential area (see last page for residential boundaries) is in Police District II. This district also encompasses the Rosslyn - Ballston commercial corridor and its surrounding residential areas. The Commander for Police District II is Captain Thomas Hoffmann, who may be reached at (703) 228-4327 or email: thoffm@co.arlington.va.us.

The Association contacted Captain Hoffmann for information about the current focus of Police District II. Captain Hoffmann said, that the focus of our policing will be to form partnerships with the business and residential communities to ensure a safe and secure neighborhood in which to live and work. There will be a strong emphasis on "quality of life" violations; that is criminal activity that tends to make residents and visitors feel less than secure in the District. We will use high visibility patrol tactics such as bike and foot patrols, community partnerships, and problem solving to attain our goals. The Association invited Captain Hoffmann, or a representative from Police District II, to make a presentation at our next Membership Meeting on Community Policing and the new Police Academy for Citizens in Arlington County.

Briefly, the Citizens Police Academy concept is a tool used in community policy to help promote increased understanding of how police departments work and better relations between the public and the police. Students in the Citizens Police Academy are introduced to the latest techniques used in police work, ride-alongs, and specific information about the police department. On October 1, the Arlington County Police Department plans to start its first Citizens Police Academy class. This first class will include citizens from each district and total approximately 25 adults. It is scheduled to meet every Thursday, from 6:30 to 9:30 p.m., and to end on December 10.

At our next Membership Meeting on Tuesday, July 28, Deputy Commander Lt. Michelle Peralta, Police District II, will make a presentation on Community Policy and the Citizens Police Academy. Also, she will bring application forms for the Arlington Citizens Police Academy; Police District II has three slots for the first class. If interested in attending the first class, one should sign up as soon as possible. We invite all citizens in our Ballston-Virginia Square neighborhood to attend this meeting on community policing and to express your views. (7:35 to 8:20 p.m.).

2. Update on NCAC Activities. The Association's NCAC Representative, DeAndra Beck, will make a presentation on the status of NCAC ("Neighborhood Conservation Advisory Committee") Activities. (8:20 to 8:35 p.m.). Membership Meeting Adjournment (no later than 8:40 p.m.).

Executive Committee Meeting (8:45 - 9:15 p.m.).

1998-'99 Membership Meeting Schedule. Monthly Membership Meetings of the Ballston-Virginia Square Civic Association are scheduled at the National Rural Electric Association (NRECA), 4301 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia, Ellipse Conference Center (Room CC1 except as noted) for the following Tuesday evenings: 8/25 (Room CC2), 9/29, 10/27, and 11/24/98. For your information, NRECA provides free garage access for one hour at NRECA's underground parking garage for participants attending the BVSCA Membership Meeting (30 minutes prior, to 30 minutes following, the starting time of our meeting). The garage's automatic exit device allows exit-only traffic after the garage is closed. BVSCA participants should be prepared to state they are attending the BVSCA Membership Meeting in order to receive free parking. Members should be advised that the garage will be accessible only up to 8:00 p.m., 30 minutes following the 7:30 p.m. starting time of our Membership Meeting, and that once the garage closes vehicles will still be able to exit the garage. Access to the Conference Room will be provided at 7:00 p.m.; the room must be completely vacated no later than 9:30 p.m. Also, general cleaning of the room is the responsibility of BVSCA.

BVSCA Announcements.

Virginia Square Plaza Site Plan, SP #293 -- Update. At the County Board Meeting of July 11, the Virginia Square Plaza site plan was deferred to the Board meeting of September 12. The Planning Commission has also requested another hearing on this site plan, on August 31, due to a "significant change in the site plan" subsequent to their prior hearing on the subject. This "significant change" is the proposed reduction in visitor parking spaces from 30 to 15 that was agreed to by staff, and presented in the County Manager's Letter of Recommendation for Agenda Item 15. A. and B., Rezoning & Site Plan Amendment Request, for premises known as 809 North Street, July 11 County Board meeting.

The Association has previously expressed strong concern about the lack of adequate visitor parking proposed for this 9-story residential project, especially the lack of surface short-term visitor parking. In an e-mail to the Arlington County Board on July 11, 1998, BVSCA President Ragland said To propose "NO"short term surface visitor parking for 226 one-, two-, and three-bedroom apartment units was most unacceptable to our Association. Also, he said that we do not agree with the applicant's request to reduce the number of visitor parking spaces from "30 to 15" to accommodate long term visitors, such as overnight guests, weekend guests, and dinner guests. Condition #29 of the existing site plan that was approved by the County Board in 1991 included a parking garage connection between the residential and the office building across the street. This condition provided for 30 visitor parking spaces and at a minimum this number of spaces should be required. To prevent these unfortunate visitor parking situations in future developments, the Association would like to see Arlington County amend the zoning ordinance and add specific numbers, location, and other pertinent requirements for visitor parking to the Zoning Ordinance. Many members of the Association do not believe that visitor parking requirements can be managed through the site plan process for the issues specific to the site. This was also communicated to the Arlington County Board.

Update on Library Courts Site Plan, SP #32. At the County Board meeting of July 11, the Board approved the site plan applicant's request for deferral on their proposed site plan application for the Library Courts Site Plan, SP #32, until the County Board meeting of October 17. This item is scheduled to be held by the Planning Commission on October 5. We have invited the site plan applicant to return to the Association to present their proposed redesign of the project at the August or September 1998 Membership Meetings. (The Association previously stated opposition to this proposed project at the April 1998 County Board meeting.)

Update on Arlington Gateway Project. The Association has invited representatives of the site plan applicant for the "Arlington Gateway" project to return for another presentation on their proposed project, either at the August or September 1998 Membership Meetings. At the Membership Meeting in June, architects of the site plan applicant were not available for the presentation. Members asked that we invite the site plan applicant to return for additional discussion about the design of the proposed three buildings, location of the trash collection and receptacles, and parking. Members were especially concerned about the parking of Tour Buses and any special provisions provided to minimize the adverse effects on the residential community.

Background: Arlington Gateway is a mixed-use project proposed for the west end of Ballston on property bounded on the west by N. Glebe Road and on the north by N. Fairfax Drive. North Vermont Street, which currently extends into the site, will be partially vacated. The project will include two, 11-story office buildings, consisting of approximately 250,000 square feet each. All parking, including handicapped accessible parking, will be provided in the garage. Parking for the office buildings will be in the below grade levels, with a street level drop-off at the auto court located between the buildings. The project will also include a third building of approximately 493,000 square feet, which is designed to include a 306 room hotel component (approximately 175,000 square feet), and 198 residential units (approximately 318,000 square feet). The hotel/residential building has been designed to reflect a more finely detailed approach. The entire project will have a shared, five-level underground parking garage containing 1,656 spaces. The parking garage will include visitor parking, designated handicapped spaces and two entries with ramps that are connected below grade. This proposed major site plan is one of the most significant projects affecting the gateway to our Arlington community. We estimate that the proposed site plan will go before the County Board for approval in late Fall 1998.

BVSCA Mailing List Established. The Association thanks BVSCA Member Bill Jackson for his work in setting up a BVSCA [email] mailing list, designed to make communications easier between members of the Ballston-Virginia Square Civic Association. The list comes in two modes: mail mode, and digest mode. In mail mode, individual messages are relayed within minutes. Digest mode allows for several postings to be combined and sent together as a single large message. For BVSCA members, who would like to subscribe, send the command "subscribe" to BVSCA-L-request@rootsweb.com. After subscribing, detailed instructions will be sent concerning how to unsubscribe, how to change to digest mode, how to change to nomail mode, how to post a message so everyone on the mailing list receives it, and other information. The Association's web site is "http://www.bvsca.org" and email address is "bvsca@dgs.dgsys.com."