November Membership Meeting Notes

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DRCA – November 12, 2014

Meeting Called to Order at: 7:32PM        By: President Jay Nesterlode

  1. DRCA Support for Park Parcel naming for Nancy Dunning:
    1. President to send letter supporting park parcel for Nancy Dunning
    2. Gayle/Patty speaking on behalf of Patty’s sister who supported Del Ray in its initial redevelopment
    3. Del Ray Artisans parcel; Pool parcel; Colsanto parcel will remain as well
    4. Proposed parcel at 2802 Mt. Vernon and Commonwealth Avenues; “Nancy Dunning Garden”
    5. Fundraising could occur in the future once it gets to that stage
    6. Unanimous support for sending letter forward
  2. Unanimous support to offer membership to Jim Moran

  1. Monroe Avenue Complete Streets – Pedestrian and Bicycle Improvement Plan; Hillary Poole – Alexandria T&ES Department
    1. Support multimodal access – think about all users of road; enhancements must be made when a street is being redone if it poses a benefit to all users of the road
    2. February 2014 – Monroe Avenue slated for resurfacing; opportunity for redesign
    3. Slated for resurfacing June/July 2015
    4. Speed bumps – will be cushions
    5. Follow up meetings to gather information and present concept plans.
    6. Three sections of Monroe Ave
      1. Leslie to Mount Vernon Avenue
        1. No turn on red signs installed
        2. Leading pedestrian interval before cars can cross
        3. Upgrade crosswalks
        4. Install crosswalks
        5. Install parking lane stripe
        6. Remove superfluous crosswalks; improve visibility of existing crosswalks
          1. East Monroe Avenue Bike Lanes
            1. Existing 18 parking on North/21 parking on South
            2. Option 1: flip parking to all on south side street
              1. 40 spaces on South side of street
            3. Option 2: shared bike lane on westbound
              1. Dedicated on west bound
              2. 49 spaces (9 on north side)
          2. Vote – Option 1/Option 2
            1. Option 1 – 12 yeas
            2. Option 2 – 21 yeas
      2. Mount Vernon Avenue to Commonwealth
        1. Bicycle racks
        2. Pedestrian signals
        3. Add curb extension; shorten crossing distance
        4. Add bike shared lanes
        5. Install parking stripe
        6. Crosswalks on side streets
        7. Install concrete bus pad/ADA accessible
      3. Commonwealth to Stonewall
        1. New cross walk
        2. Install pedestrian cross walk
        3. Add parking stripe/add parking spaces
    7. Most comments have been incorporated into the plan
      1. Intersection improvements
      2. Pedestrian crossing improvements
      3. Speed reduction
  2. Scott Ogden – Alexandria Police Department
    1. [email protected]
    2. -8.05% part 1 crime in Del Ray
    3. Robbery/larceny are up by 2 cases each
      1. 8 robberies/5 solved; 3 outstanding being worked
      2. Larcenies have been unlocked/unsecure items
    4. DC juveniles arrested for burglaries in Del Ray/Rosemont
    5. Halloween – attempted robbery, Mount Vernon Community
      1. Halloween candy stolen; case being followed up
    6. Howell Avenue truck traffic will be policed/ticketed
  3. Alexandria Police Department Salary Benefits – Detective Sean Casey; Union President
    1. Representing rank and file police officers and supervisory ranks
    2. Recruitment and retention; six months for hiring process to complete
    3. New hires must attend police academy; paid in full; 5 months of training
    4. Field training program – mentoring by senior officers; 4 months of training
      1. $111,000 per officer hired
      2. 2012 – lost 25 recruit officers; didn’t pass or left for salary/benefits
      3. $2.7 million lost in revenue
    5. Asking for community support to make this a priority for budget session
      1. Believe it would be $2.7 million in Salary/benefits initially to recruit and retain, numbers still being determined and explored
  4. Del Ray Architectural Pattern Book – Stephanie Sample
    1. Research on 14 art deco/streamline buildings in the neighborhood
    2. Create pattern book for residential architecture
    3. Meeting next Wednesday at Mount Vernon Recreation Center 7PM
  5. Meg Schiffman – Membership
    1. Virginia/Susan – thank you for check in and name tags
    2. Meetings more friendly – greetings/name tags; raffles; adding babysitting to assist in membership attendance
    3. Outreach – Door to Door membership drive, membership mailer
    4. Community Interactions – design contests, new member packets
  6. Oakville Triangle – DRCA Ben Flood
    1. Oakville – old warehouse area on Route 1
    2. Primarily focused on Oakville – also on west side of Route 1
    3. Next meeting – tomorrow, November 13, 2014 6-9PM; 6-7PM Open House at Charles Houston Recreation Center
    4. Information available on city website “Oakville triangle”
    5. City has brought up larger connection options; initial list 5-6; developer not pushing
      1. Focused on two options
      2. Parallel road to Route 1; Glebe to Calvert
      3. Extension of Calvert Ave to Raymond Ave.
    6. Why are these connections needed? Ben continues to ask for details, get background
      1. Deputy Planning Director – city has done extensive traffic analysis
      2. Raymond Avenue connection will be removed from the discussion
      3. Calvert to Glebe parallel road will be explored for potential
      4. Proposed bicycle and pedestrian only routes will be through Raymond/Stewart Ave.
    7. Building Heights discussion on December 10, 2014
    8. Traffic study on impact to be released on December 10, 2014
    9. November 18, 2014 – Mount Vernon Recreation – Mount Jefferson Greenway Park Discussion
  7. Land Use Update – Lisa Quandt
    1. New proposed restaurant Yates Corner; pizza neighborhood restaurant
      1. Parking reduction – half seats are outdoor
      2. Neighbors not concerned with parking
      3. Open until 11PM, open Midnight Thursday, Friday, Saturday
      4. Supporting request – outdoor dining should be consistent with Mount Vernon and end at 10PM/11PM.
      5. Add bicycle parking – 10 spots at least
      6. Unanimous support
    2. Subdivision request for 1905 Commonwealth, sits on 3 lots, subdivide into 2 lots and build semidetached homes.
      1. Planning commission denied the request
      2. Changed position has to be in similar character to rest of area; all single family homes; could be potential for other subdivided houses.
      3. Unanimous to support land use decision to change opinion
  8. DRCA Events Calendar
    1. Alexandria First Night – Mount Vernon Recreation Center 6-9PM
    2. DRCA Chili Cook Off – February 21, 2015
  9. Upcoming Events/Announcements
    1. Turkey Trot – need volunteers and may not have day of registrations
    2. December 6th – luminaries and visit with Santa
    3. Del Ray Artisans – Nourish and Flourish, art inspired by food
    4. Del Ray Artisans – Rescue Me at Vola Lawson Animal Shelter
    5. Del Ray Artisans – First three weekends in December for market
    6. Flat roof – attic counting in square footage; excluding FAR on 3rd level

Meeting adjourned at 9:37PM