December 2009 Archives
December 29, 2009
Vienna: Progressive Business Development! Comments (13)
Sometimes we are too hard on the Vienna machine. Let's take a moment to offer praise where praise is due. For years Vienna was home to one of the most run down Safeway grocery stores around. It is gone now to be replaced with a new Walgreens. Wow! What a success story! The great thing about Vienna getting another drugstore? It's not a bank! In all seriousness look at the fine work of the Vienna machine. They took a beat up building and were able to put a new store in there and PRESERVE the building almost unchanged! Ladies and gentlesheep, that took some serious work and effort! That is true historic preservation. You can actually read the minutes here of Town leaders Paul Layer and Shirley 'Demon' and witness their attention to detail. Job well done! When will the Seeman be cutting the ribbon?
December 23, 2009
Deborah Brehony: Ignorant or Dunce? Comments (0)
From Deborah Brehony:
"...I can't find a damn thing on the Virginia Supreme Court site about your alledged [sic] lawsuit- Not a word under Appelate [sic] Cases or Defendants."
December 21, 2009
Snow Removal Report Card Comments (13)
Vienna's Grade: D-
What happened to our normally excellent snow removal in town? Budget cuts?
December 19, 2009
Does this mean the Harris Teeter offer is out for Marco Polo location? Comments (7)
Mixed-Use Proposal Could Prove Facelift for Vienna’s Commercial Core by Brian Trompeter December 16, 2009Vienna’s commercial area may get a new look in coming years if the Vienna Town Council approves a developer’s mixed-use zoning proposal for a property that’s now the home of Marco Polo Restaurant.
John Sekas, owner of Sekas Homes Ltd., has suggested a mixed-use commercial zoning amendment that would allow buildings up to 50 feet tall, cut parking requirements by one-third and permit retail, office and condominiums on the same site.
Sekas’ plan calls for a U-shaped building with a central, parking-free courtyard in the 200 block of Maple Avenue, W. The idea is to provide a safe environment for pedestrians and a place where people ideally could obtain essential services without needing a car, he said.
Under Sekas’ proposal, parcels would have to consist of at least two contiguous acres to qualify for the new zone. Town officials said they’re not sure if that minimum is sufficient.
The plan also calls for one parking space for every 300 square feet of office, retail and residential floor area. Current town rules call for one parking space for every 200 square feet.
This initial design assumes acquisition of the adjacent Bank of America property, which might not be available, Sekas said.
Sekas’ proposal is a hybrid of recommendations made in a town-commissioned Maple Avenue study and Vienna’s Church Street Vision Plan, which in the mid-1990s led to the creation of the C1-B commercial zone along a section of Church Street.
Signs, plantings and brick sidewalks would be similar to those on Church Street, but building setbacks likely would be larger, town officials said.
The C-1B zone is the only place in town that limits building sizes according to floor-area ratio (FAR), a measure that compares the square footage of a site’s buildings with that of its land footprint. The C-1B zone allows up to 0.7 FAR, but Sekas is asking for 1.5 FAR on Maple Avenue. By comparison, floor-area ratios in Tysons Corner often are between 2 and 5, Sekas said.
The town’s current building-height limit of 35 feet was imposed after construction of Vienna’s tallest building, the six-story White Oak Tower on Maple Avenue, W. Town officials have fought to maintain lower heights to keep development from changing Vienna’s small-town appearance and feel.
Town officials long have wanted to revitalize the Maple Avenue commercial corridor. The town in the last several years has held a charrette with public participation and commissioned a professional study, which recommended three discrete mini-zones along Maple Avenue, each with its own development focus.
But until now, the key obstacles have been public assent, the political will to act and the hesitancy of developers to offer proposals.
Any new plans for Maple Avenue first would be parsed by the Vienna Planning Commission and Vienna Architectural Review Board (ARB), then followed with public hearings and finally a Town Council vote. The council will discuss the issue again at its Feb. 8 work session.
The ARB is prohibited from imposing specific architectural styles, said Town Attorney Steven Briglia. The town was able to achieve an early 20th-century look in its revitalized Church Street area by providing incentives to developers, he said.
The stakes are high as the Town Council moves forward. The new standards would apply to any properties that met the size and location requirements, Vienna Planning and Zoning Director Greg Hembree wrote in an Oct. 1 memorandum.
“We have several people sitting back with their hands in their pockets, waiting to see what you’ll do,” Hembree told the council.
Vienna Mayor M. Jane Seeman said she was excited by the prospect of revamping the town’s commercial corridor.
“With the economic slowdown, this is the perfect time for us to set [the new plans] out and be ready,” she said.
Council member Michael Polychrones also was eager to move ahead on Maple Avenue revitalization.
“We have a lot of pieces of the puzzle,” he said. “Now we have to put it together.”
December 17, 2009
Revamped Commercial Areas or Slug Time? Comments (0)
The local papers are running with the headline "Mixed-Use Proposal Could Prove Facelift for Vienna’s Commercial Core." Yes, it would be nice to see the Marco Polo razed (the plan on the table), but folks this is Vienna -- home of Jane Seeman and George Lovelace -- two Council members with the collective reasoning abilities of salted slugs. Let's see if this new plan is actually a facelift for Vienna or just a payout to developers and Town Council favorite Chuckster Sloan.
December 16, 2009
Virginia Supreme Court Comments (0)
Litigation involving the Vienna historic district is now before the Virginia Supreme Court.
December 14, 2009
What Say You, Vienna? Comments (5)
Will Falls Church voters move to a fall election? Questions about timing, newfound budget woes have been raisedBy Fredrick Kunkle
Washington Post Staff Writer
Monday, December 14, 2009The Falls Church City Council on Monday will take up the issue of whether to hold municipal elections in November rather than May, a change embraced by a growing number of Virginia municipalities that has ignited sharp debate in the tiny Northern Virginia city.
The council gave preliminary approval to the measure Nov. 23 by a 4 to 3 vote. To change the 2010 election scheduled for May to November, the council would have to adopt the measure by majority vote at the Monday session to meet a deadline imposed by law. The council is also considering a proposal to further study the measure and schedule a referendum.
The proposal to hold autumn elections has sparked a controversy in the city of 11,000 people. Backers say the change would save money and boost voter participation. Opponents say moving the election date could shield the city's political leadership from voters' wrath as officials struggle with a nasty hole in the budget.
City Attorney John Foster estimated that the switch could save $18,000 every two years. Backers also say past election data offer proof that more people go to the polls during state and national elections.
But opponents fear that voters who cast ballots in national or state elections in November will be less familiar with close-to-home matters that could affect them. They also worry that fall elections will inevitably take on a partisan cast.
Sam Mabry, a former council member and vice mayor, said he thinks the interest in moving the elections to November coincides with the recent discovery of an unexpected $4 million gap in the city budget, which could force tax increases and service cuts.
In a Nov. 16 memo, the city's chief financial officer identified an estimated $7.7 million shortfall in the coming fiscal year on revenue of $59.4 million. The city's charter calls for the budget to be settled near the time some council members stand for election.
Mayor Robin S. Gardner rejected criticism that the proposal to change the voting date was motivated by a desire to put some distance between the budget deliberations and elections.
"I find it troubling that some people believe our citizens aren't going to remember how people handled the budget situation six months later," Gardner said.
Gardner said she thinks November elections would attract more voters and expand the base of people involved in city governance. Gardner, a Democrat, also disputed the idea that the November election cycle would heighten partisan emotions. She said opinions on matters of local government, such as zoning and taxes, are seldom shaped by party politics. "I've voted for Republicans in local elections," she said.
But council member Nader Baroukh likened the proposal to a power grab.
"It just doesn't smell good. There's a taint about it that doesn't sit well with me," Baroukh said. "This is something so fundamental for how we vote and when we vote, that this is not something that should be decided by council. It should be decided by referendum."
Mary Jo Fields, research director for the Virginia Municipal League, said that 15 of Virginia's 39 cities and 19 of its 180 towns hold their local elections in November. Several municipalities, including Alexandria, are in the process of changing.
December 10, 2009
They've been paying for outside help all this time? Comments (2)
From the Sun Gazette:
Proudly listed some cost-saving measures undertaken by town employees in recent weeks. Instead of paying for outside help, Vienna workers decorated Town Hall and the Town Green for the holiday season, said Vienna Mayor M. Jane Seeman.
December 03, 2009
Will the Town Ever Address this Intersection? Comments (2)
Many of us drive by/through this intersection several times a day and every day there is a near-miss accident to witness.
Lawyers Road at Church Street, NW 09-11695
November 18 4:37 p.m.One vehicle was travelling along Lawyers Road approaching Church Street. A second vehicle pulled out from Church Street and attempted to make a left turn on to Lawyers Road. The second vehicle struck the first.
The driver of the second vehicle was charged with Failure to Pay Full Time and Attention.
Source: Vienna Crime Reports online
