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LETTER TO THE EDITOR
Published in the Washington Post
Alexandria/Arlington Extra
February 20, 2003
To the Editor:
On Saturday, February 22, the Alexandria City Council has an opportunity to
insist on smart land use planning that will yield long-term benefits to our
city. A developer, KSI, will be seeking approval for a 250-unit apartment
house with 931 parking spaces at the Van Dorn Metro station. Alexandrians
for Sensible Growth, a nonpartisan citizens organization dedicated to
preserving our city's quality of life and promoting smarter, long-range
planning, supports both the planning staff's and the Planning Commission's
decisions to reject this project. We urge City Council to do likewise.
Although touted as smart growth, the KSI project is nothing more than a huge
parking garage masquerading as a residential project with some retail stores
thrown in. This is a suburban-style development, with over 50% of the
project devoted to parking. Furthermore, only 5 of the 250 apartments will
be affordable units.
The city's "Master Plan" marks this land next to the Van Dorn Metro station
for dense commercial development, such as office buildings, which would
yield much needed tax revenues. If the KSI project is approved, Eisenhower
West--for over thirty years envisioned as an "economic engine" for the
city--likely will become a bedroom community typical of the outer suburbs,
needing city services instead of producing revenues which support those
services.
In addition, Alexandria has a long standing policy of limiting parking at
Metro stations. Numerous studies confirm that dense mixed use developments
at Metro stations, not parking garages, maximize Metro use. There simply is
no reason to ignore the Master Plan and devote this land primarily to
parking.
The smart and sensible decision for the Alexandria City Council is to reject
the KSI project in favor of a future, high-density development that will
produce much needed tax revenues and maximize use of the nearby Metro
station.
Sincerely,
Ginny Hines Parry, President
Alexandrians for Sensible Growth, Inc.
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