Berry Street Project: Blame Maud

I wanted to be there tonight, but I had a child who was ill.

If I lived anywhere but Vienna, I wouldn't have to ask this - but did anyone get the meeting on video tape? I'm dying to see it.

Thanks!

Berry/East/Hine citizens "DON'T GET FOOLED AGAIN." Who allowed Bukont to build the Town Houses on Locust, which are too tall, not to mention the pipestem? Who allowed him to not build his building on Church at ground level? This smells very fishy. A campaign ploy?

"...Town Houses on Locust, which are too tall..."

They're too tall? The pile of dirt along the wall isn't enough to bring it into compliance?

Being on owner on Berry Street for close to 20 years now, I have seen major changes in our neighborhood. Some good, some not so good. All in all it is still a great area of Vienna to live in. The meeting last night was a testament to how much the Murmuring Pines residents feel about this neighborhood. It was completely unacceptable that the committee pass on voting on this application until next month. How convenient! They want to wait until after the elections are held!

Let's remember that it was under Maud's watch that the huge pipe burst on Maple Avenue last year.

The resulting traffic mess prevented 30 graduating seniors and their families from making it to Madison's graduation on time.

To quote Dan Dellinger, "those pipes should have been replaced years ago."

Bukont is at it again. Go check out the outrageously sloped stair ramp he is installing on his illegal height Locust Street townhouses. Typical Bukont... poor ergonomic design has him cheating a one-story outdoor exposed pedestrian stairway by installing an obviously unsafe sloping stair ramp... retirement living designed to break your wallet and your hip! Is he even licensed in the Sate of Virginia? Bukont isn't an architect... he's a menace to society.

The night he Maple Avenue Vision Committee gave their report to Council, it was pointed out to Council that the Town Code was flawed on how building height was calculated. Pictures were shown of the building on Park Street across from the Noodles Restaurant and the Bank Building next to the Taco Bell. The pictures demonstrated how a fake berm could be used to add 10 more feet to building height. ROBINSON was outraged that height was even discussed. LOVELACE did not want to listen to any discussion on height. ROBINSON and LOVELACE succeeded in lobbying the Council to disband the committee and not listen to the recommendation on evaluating the flawed height calculation. Remember the flaw still exists and can still be taken advantage of by builders. The flaw in the town code actually permits 45 feet not 35 feet, as ROBINSON and Lovelace would have you believe. Remember until ROBINSON and LOVELACE listen to reason, the citizens can expected more buildings like the Locust Street project.

Town Green, you are right!!!

I drove by Bukont's latest monstrosity, and holy cow, I cannot believe that sloping walkway! I can't figure out if it's supposed to be a sidewalk or a ramp/stair combo. In any event, it apparent that he's just trying to jimmy-rig a solution to make the height requirement.

>>I can't figure out if it's supposed to be a sidewalk or a ramp/stair combo.

I'd call it a stepped ramp.

>>In any event, it apparent that he's just trying to jimmy-rig a solution to make the height requirement.

Yep. His constructions are full of that jerry-rigged crap. So is Stephen J. Bukont's middle name Jimmy or Jerry?

>>The pictures demonstrated how a fake berm could be used to add 10 more feet to building height... the citizens can expected more buildings like the Locust Street project.

Now that we see that Bukont is installing a stepped ramp straight from the walk to the center of the front of his building, exactly where is he going to pile up a fake berm to cheat the building code height restriction? How can you have a ramp more or less to the base of the building AND a fake berm? Did those pictures demonstrate that? There's a driveway on the left, a ramp in the center, and a tree on the right... where in the hell is he going to put a fake berm?

Where are the fake berms on Bukont's Berry street project? How come he isn't pushing for 4 stories above grade there? I'll tell you way... because he doesn't want to invest all of that design effort on the chance of winning the same sweetheart deal twice. Instead, he's going for double-density rezoning and falsely calling it transistional use... same cheater, different cheat.

Bukont's Locust Street building is an illegal sham... there will be no fake berms on that site to satisfy his building code cheat. Just like Church Street, Bukont gets special favors from his Madams. One code of conduct for Bukont, a different code for everyone else.

Vote, Vienna! Do not keep letting 1300 retired friends of the dynasty decide how your tax dollars are administered. It's time for the majority of the tax base... all of you busy younger families... to be represented at the polls.

TOWN GREEN, I AGREE THAT THE ONLY WAY TO RID THE TOWN OF THE NOTED SPECIAL INTERESTS, ARROGANCE, AND JUST PLAIN STUPIDITY IS TO VOTE MAUDE AND GEORGIE OUT. VOTE VIENNA, VOTE!!!

The following is a letter the the residents of Berry and East Streets received from Ayrhill Homes, LC. What are they up to now? Sounds fishy to me!

------------------------------

AYRHILL HOMES, LC
8634 MCHENRY ST
VIENNA VA 22180

April 18, 2007

Dear Murmuring Pines Subdivision,

We would like to invite you to a meeting concerning the Rezoning Application of 116 Berry St S.E. and 117 East St. S.E. in the Town of Vienna. We hope to discuss your concerns that were brought up at the Planning Commission meeting on Wednesday 11th of April 2007. In order for us to clearly understand the nature of your issues, we are inviting only residents of this neighborhood. We are trying to secure a location in the town on Thursday 26th of April from 6- 9PM. If you are interested in attending please respond to us by Sunday the 22nd of April. We need a reliable head count so we can secure the appropriate size meeting facility. Please respond by email to [...] or call [...] and leave a message. After we get a head count we will forward the address of the location either in an email or by phone. We are hoping to provide a forum in which we can all contribute to an open and informative discussion on this matter. Thank you for taking the time for this, and we hope to see you there.

Doug D’Alexander Managing Partner
Steve Bukont Managing Partner
Enc
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It was very obvious what the residents of Murmuring Pines do not want in the neighborhood. The neighborhood is stands together to stop this rezoning appeal. There should be nothing built on Berry or East Streets that is anything more than single family homes. Point blank! Get the message yet Steve?

>>There should be nothing built on Berry or East Streets that is anything more than single family homes. Point blank! Get the message yet Steve?

I hear you loud and clear, Murmuring Pines! Great message! And, incidentally, Murmuring Pines is a very fine name for a single-family neighborhood. Sounds like a comfy place to camp with your family during those special years. All of Vienna, not just one neighborhood, needs to just say NO WAY! to developers trying to encroach on our residential properties. If true commercial corridor redevelopment comes along and has a great plan for improving Maple Ave., that's one thing... but letting Steve Bukont and the like come along and just start cramming townhouses into our single-family neighborhoods in the absence any plan to fix the real problems must be resisted. Let Bukont go build his apartment complexes someplace else... let him put out his shrimp cocktail buffet for someone else.

>>Thank you for taking the time for this, and we hope to see you there.

Not too smart, Steve. This is your affair. You should conduct it as such. You should have just announced the meeting and that you were looking forward for all to attend. This would have encouraged everyone to think about attending and to eventually attend for fear of missing out. Instead, you announced nothing except keep your schedule open for Steve... a maybe meeting, maybe somewhere... and you put a demand on your oh so special guests to do something for you, to contact you personally and to commit. Very dumb! People don't like being given assignments that clutter up their schedule and which require them to make a formal commitment... an rsvp to Steve's meeting. Now, nobody responds and the meeting is an automatic non-starter. When all YOU had to do is COMMIT to securing a space for the desired attendance... you did want everyone from Murmuring Pines to attend, didn't you?... and just announce the meeting, rain or shine, and hope for the best. But alas, typical Bukont, it's hard to think like that when you can only think about yourself.

Berry Street Owner:

You're having the condos shoved down your throat just like NW Vienna is supposed to kindly accept a huge addition to Green Hedges school.

At least, Steve & Doug are actively contacting the neighborhood. Green Hedges won't even contact us neighbors directly - they rely upon a token neighborhood contact who may/may not get the word out.

Wow - a super secret "private" meeting with Murmuring Pines residents. This stinks to high heaven.

HV, I think that this letter deserves to be moved to the home page.

The only reason Steve Bukont and Doug D'Alexander are contacting us directly is because they are concerned about the outcome of this rezoning appeal. It is obvious! He really doesn't care what we think or want. He just wants to secure more money for the ol' wallet!

All in all, I do like the style of home that Steve Bukont builds. They have a lot of charm and character. I do not have a problem with him building 2 of his homes in our neighborhood. He is most likely going to try to drop the condo idea and replace it with another Locust Street fiasco!

I think a lot of these problems could be avoided if citizens were permitted to seriously review the ages-old comprehensive plan & reach some consensus about which neighborhoods shouldn't be touched & which might be ripe for renewal and possibly higher densities. It's not productive to think that nothing should ever change, but change that comes from cooperation and understanding, rather than sneaky politics shold be the goal. Once again, blame Maude.

>>We are hoping to provide a forum in which we can all contribute to an open and informative discussion on this matter.

[sound of chairs being moved about]

May I have your attention. Has every found a seat? There's a few open seats over here, if anyone needs one. Has everyone found the shrimp?... we have plenty of shrimp. Very well then...

Good Evening Everyone!
Thank You for coming out this evening. I'm sure you'd all rather be at home watching American Idol, ha, ha, ha.

[awkward silence]

I would now like to turn the mic over to Steve Bukont who will conduct an open and informative discussion.

The blog is yours, Steve...

[silence]

Steve...

[more silence]

Steve?...

[still no word from Steve]

Well everyone, I'm not sure what happened to Steve, but perhaps I can sum it up for him.

Steve wants a special exception from the Town of Vienna to rezone and combine 2 RS16 single-family residential lots in your neighborhood into 1 double-density RM2 multi-family residential lot so that he can construct 2 22-unit 3-story townhouse buildings on top of an 88-car underground parking facility... plus two dumpsters and 6 guest parking spaces at ground level.

Now close your eyes and imagine that... 44 multi-families and friends and cars and schedules coming to join you on E Street. But wait... keep your eyes closed, there's more... just imagine what Bukont can do next once he gets his double-density RM2 zoning foot in the door in your neighborhood... those properties just across the street northwest of Pine will become much easier buyouts for more rezoning. And on and on it goes!

Does anybody have anything to contribute to this open and informative discussion while we wait for Steve to show? Be sure to eat all the shrimp you can eat! Any questions?

Yes, sir... why? Well, because Steve can make much more money building higher density, of course.

Yes, sir... affordable? Well, no, it's not affordable housing unless you consider $800k-$1m per unit affordable.

Yes, young lady... green construction? Well, no Steve doesn't build green buildings. He uses many different colors, but only those he likes. You can always repaint after you move in... many of Steve's buyers do, you know! Perhaps I didn't understand the question.

Yes, sir... high maintenance? Oh, Steve is very careful about maintaining his medications. Been there, done that, don't want to see that show again!

Yes, young man... on street parking? Sure, plenty, you know those SUVs can just about park wherever the hell they want, ha, ha, ha!

Where in the hell is Steve? We're about out of shrimp here!

CORRECTION: 2 11-unit buildings, not 22-unit. So, 44-space garage and 22 multi-families and friends. My apologies to the watershed.

So, what's the latest on this. Are they having the meeting tonight?

>>Town Green, you are right!!! I drove by Bukont's latest monstrosity, and holy cow, I cannot believe that sloping walkway!

So what's the big deal about a stepped ramp, you might ask? Or is it a bunch of 1-step stairs with sloped landings? Or is it a stair with really deep sloping treads? Confused? The pedestrian will be equally confused and uncomfortable coming down that ramp and having to anticipate each step down since they are not all in one place like a normal stair... so pay attention or you will miss a step. Then there is the sloped landing... lots of them. Landings are called landings because people rely on them to carefully land and end their controlled descent. As such, they should be LEVEL, not sloped. Landing on a sloping surface guarantees that some of your downward force will translate outward horizontally, causing your feet to slip out from under you. As for sloping treads, climbing a step that slopes upward is just not comfortable since your footing will tend to slip backward.

Bukont Motel of Horrors... the only way out is the pipestem driveway past the garage doors, or the motel-style outdoor walkway past the front doors to the fire escape down 1-story and out the speed ramp... stair... ramp... stair... Watch your step, folks!

Just a reminder to all Steve Bukont's rezoning application for Berry/East St., will continue with the Planning Commission on Wednesday, May 9th!

I am new to the area, so excuse my ignorance. But I saw two homes off on Glyndon St of Ayrhill Homes (Steve Bukont) and thought they looked great and was thinking of contacting him. You all seem against him...what specifically do you not like about him and his business?

Watch.