Tuesday, May 26, 1998

BVSCA ANNUAL 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. Nominating Committee Report and Elections for 1998-1999. At our April meeting, we elected a Nominating Committee consisting of the following three members: Ken Hughes, Tom Sawner, and Rohan Samaraweera. The report of the Nominating Committee and Elections are scheduled from 7:30 to 8:00 p.m. at the Annual Membership Meeting, Tuesday, May 26, 1998, at the National Rural Electric Association (NRECA), 4301 Wilson Boulevard, Arlington, Virginia, 22203-1860, in the Ellipse Conference Center (Room CC1).

Committee Chairman Tom Sawner reports the Committee's nominees for the Association's 1998-'99 officerships and other representative positions, as follows: President: Ernest Ragland, Vice-President: Ken Hughes, Treasurer & Secretary of Member Records: Richard Ellis, Recording and Corresponding Secretary: David Ryan, Neighborhood Conservation Advisory Committee ("NCAC") Representative: DeAndra Beck, and Alternate NCAC Representative: Teresa Smith. The Executive Committee nominees include: the four (4) Officers, the NCAC Representative and Alternate NCAC Representative, and the three (3) at-large nominees -- Mike Chircop, Jeff Green, and Tom Sawner. The Arlington County Civic Federation Delegate nominees include: John Masoud, Ernest Ragland, David Ryan, and Rohan Samaraweera . The Arlington County Civic Federation Alternate Delegate nominees include: Richard Ellis and DeAndra Beck.

As the 1998-'99 Association year begins in June, the elected officers and other representatives will assume their responsibilities beginning June 1, 1998. The elected Arlington County Civic Federation Delegates and Alternate Delegates will assume their responsibilities at the beginning of the Civic Federation's new membership year, which commences in September 1998. (7:30 to 8:00 p.m.).

2. Arlington County School Board Activities. Elaine S. Furlow, member of the Arlington County School Board, has accepted the Association's invitation to address the Membership on issues raised by the Executive Committee and BVSCA Members during the past several months, such as: (1) the recently approved controversial Spanish pilot program that would teach elementary school students in their native Spanish for part of the day; (2) the new lottery process for school admissions to the Arlington Traditional School and the H-B Woodlawn Alternative Program; (3) an overview of the fiscal 1999 Arlington school budget and the key areas of budget growth from the prior year's budget; and (4) school policy in general on public safety for students and for students in the neighborhood after school hours. Also, if time permits, we plan to ask Ms. Furlow about the future of the County's Science Focus School (formerly known as the Page Elementary School), technology initiatives for Washington-Lee High School, school construction plans in our neighborhood, and the status of the County's implementation of Virginia's new school standards and testing requirements. (8:00 to 8:30 p.m.). Adjournment (no later than 9:00 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: 6/30, 7/28, 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 9:15 p.m. Also, general cleaning of the room is the responsibility of BVSCA.

At our next Membership Meeting scheduled for Tuesday, June 30, 1998, the Association has scheduled a presentation on a major site plan application, known as the Arlington Gateway Project. The presentation will be made by the legal representatives of the site plan applicant, the law firm of Walsh, Collucci, Stackhouse, Emrich & Lubeley, and the architects of the site plan applicant, Lincoln Properties, Inc., The law firm recently filed an application for Site Plan approval for approximately 3.78 acres of property located at the intersection of N. Fairfax Drive, N. Glebe Road, and N. Vermont Street. At our Executive Committee meeting of May 20, 1998, representatives of the site plan applicant made a presentation on the project's proposed preliminary plans, which have been previously coordinated with County staff.

Currently, the application for the Arlington Gateway Project proposes three (3) high-rise buildings, two commercial 8-story buildings and one residential 20-story building, totalling 990,000 square feet of residential and office use. Specifically, the proposed two commercial buildings, will each total approximately 246,000+ square feet of office use, or an aggregate total of approximately 493,000 square feet of office use. The proposed 20-story residential high-rise building, will consist of 496,000 square feet, and is planned as a combined residential and hotel complex with 300 residential units and 194 hotel rooms. The site plan applicant plans to have five (5) levels of below-ground parking with a total of 1,700 parking spaces. According to the letter to the Association dated April 15, 1998, from the above law firm, the requested approval is consistent with the existing C-O-A zoning for the subject property as well as the General Land Use Plan's (GLUP) designation of "High Density Mixed-Use."

The Association encourages members and interested citizens to attend this Membership Meeting on Tuesday, June 30th, and to please express your views. This proposed major site plan is one of the most significant projects affecting the gateway to our Arlington community. It is planned to go before Site Plan Review and the Planning Commission in the next few months. Representatives of the site plan applicant estimate that the proposed site plan will go before the County Board for approval in September 1998.