BVSCA Newsletter January 2001

• January 30 Meeting Agenda
• 2D in 3D
• GMU Phase II View
• Solid Gold
• It All Ads
• Miscellaneous News Items
• Editor's Prerogative
• Membership Information

January 30 Meeting Agenda

Please refer to the newsletter for a summary of agenda items. Also, note the location for our January meeting below.

7:00 pm Executive Committee Meeting
7:30 pm Full Membership Meeting

• 2D Policing Update(7:35 pm)
• GMU Site Plan (8:15 pm)
• General Discussion

BVSCA dues paying members may participate as observers in meetings of the BVSCA Executive Committee. On January 30, BVSCA will be meeting in the community room of the Ballston Park Condominiums at 1050 N. Stuart St. behind The Nature Conservancy. We are grateful to Ballston Park Condominiums for offering space to us. However, please be advised that there is limited on-street parking available. Paid parking is available at the garage adjacent to the Rio Grande restaurant, on N. Taylor St.

BVSCA Membership Meetings are held on the last Tuesday of alternate months from 7:30 pm to 9:00 pm. The BVSCA newsletter is published six times per year in advance of the monthly meeting. Our next meeting is March 27, 2001.

2D in 3D

Ballston-Virginia Square is located with the Arlington police's precinct 2D, which covers a number of neighborhoods along the Rosslyn-Ballston corridor. Captain Thomas Hoffman, the police captain in charge of the 2D precinct, recently retired. His efforts to involve Arlington neighborhoods in community policing efforts have been noteworthy, and we look forward to working with the police during this time of transition. With a change in leadership, we have an opportunity to provide input, identify areas of concern, and get to know our local officers. Please join us at the January 30 meeting to discuss crime statistics, crime deterrence, and community policing goals. If you need to contact the police regarding an issue in our immediate neighborhood, Corporal Tae Chong is the BVSCA point of contact (703-228-3600, Extension 9743).

GMU Phase II View

Following Arlington voters' overwhelming approval of a $5 million bond referendum in November, the GMU Foundation is moving forward with plans to develop Phase II of the GMU campus. GMU representatives are working through the Arlington County planning process, anticipating the presentation of a site plan to the Arlington County Board at its March meeting. Stephen Crumbie, President, Metro Realty Advisors, and Andy Smith, CMFF Architects, will join us at the January 30 meeting to discuss GMU's plans for a parking-retail-office complex on Washington Boulevard. Preliminary plans include first floor retail space, a 500 space parking facility with street access on Kirkwood, and a 10 story office tower. BVSCA members will have an opportunity to comment on the site plan at the January meeting and to hear results of the GMU parking survey conducted this fall.

Solid Gold

The corporate headquarters of Gold's Gym International will be moving to Ballston. Located in an old automobile dealership at 3910 Wilson Blvd., the $15 million project will also include a 40,000 square foot gym as part of renovation and expansion plans. Gold's Gym officials are seeking to preserve the classic 1940's style architecture of the building. (Editor's note: This is a laudable goal given the generally uninspired architecture so evident in Ballston's recent development.) Construction is slated to begin in February, 2001.

It All Ads Up

BVSCA has kept annual dues constant for nearly a decade: $4 for an individual membership and $6 for a household membership. In years past, BVSCA generated additional revenue through sale of ads in our monthly newsletter; however, in recent years, this practice was discontinued. Given persistent increases in printing and mailing costs, the BVSCA Executive Committee has agreed to renew solicitation of advertising revenues. If you or someone you know would like to advertise in our monthly newsletter, please contact DeAndra Beck (703-528-5126) for prices and terms. Don't forget to subscribe to our listserv, an option that helps reduce mailing costs!

Miscellaneous News Items

On Track. Progress is being made on the track reconstruction at Washington Lee High School. Following a flurry of activity that began this summer, a regulation-sized track field replete with a new surface and additional bleachers is taking shape. Upon completion of the facility, the school will be able to host regional track events.

Good News, Bad News. Arlington property values have risen dramatically, and property taxes have followed. Residents may examine their property assessments on the web at www.co.arlin gton.va.us/dmf/realest.htm and, if so desired, access downloadable forms for appealing an assessment. Give It Up. Do you have something to donate? You can visit the following site www. co.arlington.va.us/volunteer/donations.htm to find out where you may donate a variety of items - just in time for spring cleaning!

Listserv. BVSCA members are invited to subscribe to the BVSCA listserv to receive periodic updates on issues of neighborhood interest, as well as the monthly newsletter. To subscribe, send an email message to the list coordinator, William P. Jackson, Jr. (Bill), at wpj@translaw.com advising that you would like to join. Include your name and post office address in your message along with the email address(es) from which you will be sending messages. When you are added to the list, you will receive a "Welcome" message with details regarding how to use the listserv. Remember that a message sent by a BVSCA listserv member to BVSCA-L@rootsweb.com will be relayed automatically to all listserv members. To prevent senders of unsolicited commercial email from using our list for unauthorized purposes, only listserv members may send messages to the mailing list from a subscribed address. So, if you use more than one email address, include all of your addresses.

Editor's Prerogative

In December, The Northern Virginia Conservation Trust (NVCT) announced the signing of two conservation easements to permanently protect wooded property near the I-66 bike trail. This milestone represents the first public-private partnerships established under this program, launched in July, 2000. The Arlington Citizen reports that there are significant tax advantages for landowners who agree to put a conservation easement on their property. These advantages include federal income tax deductions, the new Virginia income tax credit, and lower real estate taxes. Open space in Arlington is increasingly rare, and public-private efforts such as these provide a new mechanism for landowners to ensure that Arlington isn't overtaken by asphalt paving and oversized McMansions squeezed onto pipestem lots. Arlingtonians who are interested in exploring the benefits of a conservation easement can contact The Northern Virginia Conservation Trust at (703) 354-5093 or visit their web site at www.nvct.org. While I'm on the subject of conservation, my kudos to the Arlington Journal for including weekly AP articles on issues regarding our nation's natural resources. From forest policy to habitat conservation to resource utilization, we are better informed as a result of the Journal editors' efforts.

DeAndra Beck
Newsletter Editor

Ballston-Virginia Square Civic Association 2000-2001 Executive Committee

Michael Chircop, President
P.O. Box 1434, Arlington, VA 22210 703-525-9518, Ext. #1, Fax Ext #8
Ben Axleroad, Vice President
David Ryan, Secretary
Jeffrey Green, Treasurer
1050 N. Taylor St., #502, 22201 703-276-2723
Theresa Smith, NCAC Representative
DeAndra Beck, Alt. NCAC Representative
Dennis Burr
Ken Hughes
Tom Sawner

How to Join the Ballston-Virginia Square Civic Association or Renew Your Membership

All individual persons who are residents of the Ballston-Virginia Square Civic Association's area or who in their individual capacity own residential property located therein, shall be eligible for membership in the Ballston-Virginia Square Civic Association. For the purposes of this organization, the boundaries of the Ballston-Virginia Square Civic Association are Kirkwood Road on the east, Glebe Road on the west, Wilson Boulevard on the south, and the I-66 right of way on the north.

If interested in joining the Ballston-Virginia Square Civic Association, please complete the BVSCA Membership Application Form below and send your application and dues to Jeffrey Green, Treasurer, Ballston-Virginia Square Civic Association, at the address below.

Dues are payable when first joining and are renewable each year on or before the annual anniversary of that date. New members and members who have not paid their dues within the three preceding Association years must pay their dues 30 days before they receive voting privileges. Former members who have been members in good standing within any of the three immediately preceding Association years may be reinstated as voting members by paying their dues for that year.

All members of the Association are volunteers. Dues are used to help fund the Association's activities and sponsored events. Please join the Association today, or renew your dues paid membership. Visit us at (http://www.bvsca.org)

Please make checks payable to BVSCA.