Meeting Notes

Minutes of the January 31, 2024 Yorktown Civic Association General Membership Meeting

A General Meeting of the Yorktown Civic Association was held in the library of Yorktown High School. Brian Young, Secretary, reporting.

Those in attendance include Frank White, Mehul Vora, Mark Loper, Ellie Thayer, Campbell Maloney, Krista Staley, Dan Supon, Adriana Damianova, Terry Costello, David Shaw, Mary Shaw, David Coia, Jackson Weber, Courtney Weber, Steve Mefisa, John Weber, David Haring, John Alber, Michael Mensing, Sarah Leidelan, David Friedman, Yulia Yaani, Rener Selwood, Zachary Newkirk, Dustin Anderson, and Michael Cantwell.

    • YCA NEWSLETTER
      • Mr. Cantwell advised that the Civic Association re-started publication of the Newsletter and solicited feedback on the document.
    • LANGSTON BLVD. AREA PLAN RECAP
    • 25th PLACE NORTH/ NORTH EMERSON STREET/ 25TH ROAD NORTH SIDEWALK PROJECT (“THE SIDEWALK PROJECT”)
      • Mr. Haring provided an update on a Sidewalk Project to install sidewalks in the vicinity of 25th Place North. The Sidewalk Project is presently in the initial interest survey, which requires 60% of affected households to vote in favor for the Project to proceed. If project garners the required votes, Mr. Haring anticipates that Arlington County would fund it in June 2024.
    • PEDESTRIAN SAFETY
      • Mr. Cantwell contacted representatives of the Arlington County Government and urged them to undertake a traffic study of the area around Yorktown Highschool with the objective of identifying the single infrastructure project that would most improve pedestrian safety in the area.
    • NEIGHBORHOOD DAY
      • Mr. Cantwell announced that the Civic Association aspires to hold a neighborhood day at Chestnut Hills Park in either the spring or fall and put out a call for volunteers to organize.
    • REVISIONS TO YCA BY-LAWS
      • Mr. Cantwell described proposed revisions to the Civic Association by-laws, which generally address membership status and voting eligibility.
    • TREASURER’S REPORT AND MEMBERSHIP UPDATE
      • Mr. Anderson provided a Treasurer’s report. He announced that the Executive Committee decided to eliminate the lifetime membership option. Lifetime members will continue to enjoy a lifetime membership, but in the future, members will be required to renew annually. The Civic Association experienced an increase in membership registration coinciding with the publication of the newsletter. Several remembers renewed their membership at the meeting.
    • NEW BUSINESS
      • Two matters were raised. First, a neighbor described the proliferation of litter along Harrison. It was resolved that members of the Executive Committee will contact administrators at Williamsburg Middle School and Yorktown High School to address the situation. Second, a neighbor raised concerns about water draining near the tennis courts at Yorktown High School.

 

Meeting Notes

Minutes of the November 8, 2023 Yorktown Civic Association General Membership Meeting

On November 8, 2023, the Yorktown Civic Association held a general meeting at Yorktown High School.

  • Welcome Remarks (Mike Cantwell)
    • Thank you for coming
    • Introducing two special guests:
      • Gillian Burgess, a member of YIMBYs of Arlington, the County’s Fiscal Affairs Advisory Commission; a Cherrydale resident and active in their civic association; and a bicycle advocate.
      • Charlie Henkin, a member of Arlingtonians for a Sustainable Future (“ASF”); lives near Marymount/Donaldson Run Pool; on the Donaldson Run Executive Committee,
  • Summarize EHO & LBAP (Mike Cantwell)
    • Langston Boulevard background
      • Lee Highway Alliance started a decade ago, and this was the beginning of planning for the now Langston Boulevard Area Plan.
      • LHA/LBA made up of civic associations, businesses, and other groups. Since 2019, they’ve been in the Langston Boulevard planning stage.  County staff have been at work—plan is just that, not an exact blueprint for the future.  Virginia is a very strong property rights state, so many things in the plan are just things that people may decide to do
    • MM/EHO Background
      • Many of you have followed this, spoke to county board members, and spoke at county board meetings.
      • Several groups stood up during this period
        • YIMBYs of NOVA
        • Arlingtonians for a Sustainable Future (ASF)
        • Arlingtonians for Upzoning Transparency (“AFUT”)
      • MM/EHO information is available on the county website.
      • On Saturday, Nov. 11, the County Board will listen to public comment and vote on the LBAP. It is likely to pass.
      • The Yorktown Civic Association has been gathering information from residents from 25th Road N. area, so what we’ve been doing is engaging with the county board members and the county staff members to eliminate that road being depicted in drawings/roads, in favor of a pedestrian/bike path. We don’t know at this point how they’ll vote on that piece but we are cautiously optimistic an amendment to modify the plan will pass
  • EHO/LBAP Debate between Gillian Burgess and Charlie Henkin
    • Charlie Henkin: Thank you Mike and Gillian. Yorktown is equally my favorite place to be besides Donaldson Run.
      • I am largely negative on the current LBAP.
      • From 10,000 feet, it seeks to inject a metro type corridor into a car-type corridor. It relies on private investment for many parts of the plan, without increased county expenditures. Further, it’s going to result in small rental units—2 bedrooms or smaller.  The CAF (ph) assume 800 square foot apartments; that differs from the Plan (p. 60) which says there should be a focus on other types of units.
      • With respect to affordable housing, they’re rather anemic numbers. According to the plan, the county will not meet its affordable housing goals until 2070
      • By 2040, the drop in % in affordable housing is 40% compared to today.
      • There will be economic gentrification.
      • And Mike Cantwell already mentioned the cut-throughs (a reference to 25th Road N.), which we’re opposed to.
      • Quality of life will also be impacted. A loss of human scale, parks would be crowded and unpleasant, “canyonization,” traffic jams during rush hour, loss of auto access to shopping. Lots of underground parking—who enjoys parking at the Clarendon Trader Joe’s garage?
      • Also, private investment for what should be public—stormwater management, for example. Same with parking.  Example of Lyon Village.
      • The county should implement stormwater remediation rather than put it on private landowners
      • Charlie stated that he lives pedestrian/bicycle options, but bicycle along all 6 miles is silly, no need to push out cars.
    • Gillian Burgess: Thank you.
      • Going without notes—I love the civic associations and talk with neighbors. That’s why I support LBAP—it’s something we’ve been talking about for years, first from the Cherrydale Civic Association and then I got involved with LHA/LBA.
      • Why did we push so hard on this? Without it, what we saw, is that private development will be coming in without an overall vision for what the vision should look like.
      • Take, for example, Bergmann’s Cleaners—what is now Mom’s—leaders before me saw that this was on its way. In Cherrydale, we’ve seen the benefits from our plan.  Take the area by the Safeway in Cherrydale with apartments and townhouses.  Those areas showed people what development can look like versus the Bergmann’s Cleaners site which is a bit of a mess.  Lots of feelings and uncivil meetings. This issue ultimately led to people coming together and coming up with a vision.
      • LHA realized if it was volunteer-based, it wasn’t going to get the attention of the county. If county staff was involved, they can do it the right way.   There were charettes, meetings, workshops, very hands-on things.  We looked at individual intersections and businesses.  We did neighborhood walk-throughs.  It’s very exciting for those of us who were in those meetings.  I don’t support everything in the plan, but it’s a compromise from what they’ve heard from so many people.
      • And, yes, they’re larger buildings but like we’re seeing Cherrydale. It’s reallocating the workspace.  And they don’t propose putting bicycle lanes on the whole length.
      • We do need housing that’s affordable for everyone but fits in between what people can buy new today and people who are low/moderate income persons. We just need more stock.
      • It’s not a perfect plan, but it’s a step in the right direction and it’s a compromise.
      • On the 25th Road N. – take a look at 12th Road South – a lot of discussion in getting motorists out of there.
      • Rebutting Charlie: he is correct that this doesn’t have enough affordable units. But when you talk with staff about why there’s not enough affordable housing, it’s because of heights.  They could subsidize rent, but a lot of people are not comfortable with, and Arlington doesn’t do much of this. Or they could incentivize developers to build more—let them build more, enough so where the math has to work out for them.  To get more affordable units, we have to build taller.  Some people wanted more height.  I think this plan is a fair compromise.  Some people didn’t want more than 7 or 10 stories; lots of complications on where it’s higher or lower.
    • Charlie’s Rebuttal
      • With respect to the process and incorporation of various charettes, etc. LHA was very modest when it first started then what it ended up with.  I happen to disagree with the vision that was arrived at because it was taking that Metro corridor with lots of height and imposing it here.
      • Regarding biking, in general, having local bike access to the activity nodes is terrific. Taking Kirkwood to Veitch and taking 6 lanes to 4 lanes without a traffic study is stupid and that would be a mess.    I know we’re going to lose some bicycle advantage—too bad, that’s our position.
      • In terms of fitting into Missing Middle, this idea is that these rental units would be rental units. So if you want to have a bunch of rental people coming in, that’s fine but it’s not an ownership benefit.
      • In terms of heights, the height increased between June and September. The developers will want more height to do anything.
    • DEBATE QUESTIONS AND ANSWERS
    • Renee: I’m not sure which group is focused on MM, because you both alluded to affordable housing. Some people just want to rent because of whatever reason; that said, I’d like your opinion on MM.  The question is about the developers who want to come into the neighborhoods and build mixed-use units in the middle of a neighborhood; to me, that’s bigger of an issue in terms of looking like parking, sewers, runoff, etc. [Mike summary: what do you think of MM?] Which side is pro-MM and why?
      • Gillian: I’m here with YIMBYs—we support EHO. Why?  Because it provides a diversity of housing options.  I live literally in the middle of a bunch of sorts of housing, especially north of Langston Blvd.  Lots of townhomes, duplexes, etc.  We’ve had teachers, nurses, military.  When I go into the neighborhoods, it’s older people who bought a long time ago OR people in high-paying private sector jobs.  So, I’d like more diversity of housing stock, because north of Langston there aren’t more corridors.  And it’s more sustainable to live in a denser way.
      • Charlie
        • ASF’s position is that Missing Middle was the wrong approach. It was a county-wide exception to single-family homes.
        • It’s throwing the door open to developers to may or may not achieve the objectives that were proposed—equity, at one point, more people of color, but that went away.
        • Be careful of the consequences of what they asked for. As you know on July 1, it will go year by year, 58 lots per year.  In the first fourth months, we’ve had 24-25 projects, none of them are on the larger blocs that was the intent of the County Board.  At least half of them are sixplexes located on those smaller lots, R-5/R-6.
    • James Churbuck: Do you know how many units will be zoned for high-rises? How many will be inside the zone or bordering it?
      • Charlie: I don’t know—my impression is that the effect upon people on single-family homes that will be taken over by highrises, I don’t think that will be dominant effect. I think the effect will be commercial.  The dominant effect will be transitions from these commercial high-rises proposed to the low-density single-family homes
      • Gillian: I don’t know the number either, but my lot is in the Cherrydale district. There’s no zoning change, to be very clear.  If you own a lot that happens to be in the Plan, what happens is that you won’t be able to build EHO on it.  So you still own it, unless the County claims eminent domain (very unlikely, but they could).  If a developer wants to build on it, they will probably reward you handsomely.
      • Charlie: My impression—if you own a SFH and it’s within an area that would be part of a highrise, that can be a MM home
      • Gillian: Disagree, this was our situation.
    • Mehul Vora: If there’s one thing about the change, what would you change?
      • Gillian: Everyone I talk to agrees: this Plan has the opportunity to double the width of the Custis Trail. And without any more pavement.  We can continue widened length from Oak to Veitch Street.  Also, we do know the traffic counts on Langston.
      • Charlie:
        • We don’t know the most recent traffic counts as compared to I-66.
        • I would change—I would adopt the position of the Langston Citizens’ Association at 4-5 stories and work around that. But don’t make it a canyon.
    • Christine Purka: If the Plan passes, how do the developers…what’s the process?  What is a developer to do to make sure that vision is holistic?
      • Gillian: If a developer comes along and comes along with something aligning with the plan, they get an easier route through the site plan process. Recently, with the Marriott, it took very long and it was a very hard process.  So this Plan makes it easier and more predictable.  It’s what we’ve seen with Columbia Pike.
      • Charlie
        • The inverse of that is that it makes it more difficult for citizens to engage. Already today with the limitations in existence, and with the facilitations under the Plan, the ability for citizens to object will decrease because the presumption will be that it will pass.
        • The other thing, there is a concern that the county staff has not been able to answer to us yet. We have Site Plan A, B, C, D, and pretty soon you get eaten up with these little pieces without looking at the overarching plan.
      • Gillian: The public comment process still exists. It is defined by statute.  There will still be a lot of opportunities for public comment.
    • Man in Back[1]: What’s going on with Johnny’s?
      • Mike Cantwell: The Garden City Shopping Center is within the LBAP, but it’s all up to the individual owners of that site and from what I know, there are 13 individual owners of the GCSC
    • Man in Back: It’s an eyesore. Can anyone explain to me? Langston Boulevard is for cars.  I’ve walked it a few times.  I’m in favor of lower speeds.  I’m not hearing about how to get from one bus stop to another across Langston.  The crosswalks – I call them “sarcastic design.”  What can we do to improve it?
      • Gillian: There’s a number of committees who work to improve these things.
    • Kurt [not sure last name]: I have a question about the road. How much pull does the county have on a state road?  What happens if that devolves?
      • Charlie: VDOT owns the road. The county staff say they’re working with them…but that’s a bunch of fluff.  The expert working with us, says there’s too much traffic, emergency evacuation issue, so the obstacles to adopting the changes that I don’t think are advisable are substantial.  I suspect the county’s vision won’t be working for them in this respect.
      • Gillian: We’ve found that VDOT has deferred to the county; at National Landing, for example. VDOT has studied this and has a plan about bringing down to 25 MPH.
  • Arlington Neighborhood Plan Project (Dave Haring)
    • [Provides handout]
    • Two years ago, the civic association voted to affirm its support for advancing a sidewalk project east of George Mason on 25th Place, Emerson Street, and 25th The staff has been working on it for two years—lots of turnover—we’ve done the surveys, measuring, these detailed things, and we think we know what we can do.  60% of the homeowners within the project area have to approve the plan and the civic association has to affirm its support.  Then the Arlington Neighborhood Program has to approve the project and the County Board has to approve.  So we put in a big scope—several blocks—and the staff and has said it’s too big, too expensive, and the first petition drops off as you go east of Emerson on 25th Road toward Columbus.  We wanted this scope because this would complete the entire sidewalk network, which would affirm a county’s policy to have a sidewalk on at least one side of the street.
    • Basically, we’re informing the civic association that the staff says this project is too large, and we basically have to narrow its scope. David and Leslie Hume are the longstanding block captains and they have to start again.
    • Basically, the scope has narrowed. No action tonight.  I don’t think the civic association is going to be asked again.  But when the formal survey process is started again, there will be a process to vote again by certified mail.
    • Question from unidentified attendee: How is this done?
      • David Haring:
        • We’ve done this before through this program; 27th Street west of George Mason, for example. County really doesn’t get into the property line, but it does get into the street.  They’re typically 5 feet for ADA purposes.
        • Greenbrier St. near football field, it took 15 years and was very expensive, but the result was great.
        • This particular project will be at least $1 million, but that includes issues with stormwater and underground utilities.
      • Man in Back: [Offers suggestions how to figure out which sidewalks are best used].
  • Membership (Caryn Wagner)
    • We’re trying to reconcile our lists and figure out who our annual members and lifetime members. All of this is part of a project to increase our membership.
    • We have around 1,050 properties and only about 8% are members of the civic association in good standing at this moment. There’s another 6-7% have been members but are no longer current or haven’t updated their membership.
    • I’ve also been trying to capture email information.
    • Ideally, the reason we want membership is to better underwrite our efforts to reach out to you.
    • $20 annual/$100 lifetime – go to yorktowncivic.org. In the old days, you’d have to mail us a check, but there’s now a PayPal link.  There is also a Facebook page and there’s a Nextdoor presence.
    • Newsletter interest – ideas for stories, filling content, and increasing membership will be one way to get that done.
    • Mike Cantwell: Another way to offset the costs of the newsletter is by selling ads to appear in the newsletter.
    • Renee: I get where the dues will pay for things like the website, etc. – what’s the value proposition for joining?
      • Mike: Another thing we hope to get revived, our fall festival, our spring festival. The YCA budget will help to support these events. Communicating with the community is what we do, interfacing with the county board and the county staff, that’s all very time-intensive.  We are in a negative cash flow situation.  And not everyone is on Facebook or Nextdoor.
      • Caryn: Voting is only available for members in good standing.
  • Goals for 2024 (Mike Cantwell)
    • Updating our bylaws. We have to advertise them at the meeting and then vote on the new bylaws.
    • Neighborhood plan. It’s basically our vision for the community and having an updated neighborhood plan gives us extra points for these neighborhood projects.  Some of you may have received surveys on this.
  • New Business (All)
    • James: Reminded everyone that Virginia changed its law. Previously, vehicles were required to yield to pedestrians in cross walks.  Now they have to stop for pedestrians.  If you are a person walking across an intersection, people are supposed to stop for you.  If you are driving, you have to stop for them.  Whatever side of the equation you’re on, make eye contact.
      • Mike: I take a lot of walks and live on George Mason and was walking through Rock Spring Park and I had to cross a total of four crosswalks. I was in the middle of a crosswalk and a car went right by me.
      • James: Let’s call these near-hits, not near-misses.
      • Mehul: We had two hits on my block—two cars at Jefferson & 26th and then a car ran into a lawn service trailer while driving into the sun.
      • Man in Back: These pedestrian crosswalks aren’t always reliable. On Little Falls between Harrison and another street, 2500 cars.  And then someone quipped “we didn’t used to put paint on the road in Arlington.”  As part of new business, I am anxious backing out of my drive when school is in session.  I reached out to various people and they weren’t very helpful.
    • Mike Cantwell speaks with Mr. Boswell and the Boswell family about proposed sidewalk project near his house. He informs Boswell family that this topic will be taken up at next meeting.

[1] An attendee declined to give his name and this notetaker has attempted to capture the essence of his questions.  He is identified here as “Man in Back.”

Meeting Notes

Minutes of the April 19, 2023 Yorktown Civic Association General Membership Meeting

On April 19, 2023, the Yorktown Civic Association held a general meeting at Yorktown High School.  David Friedman, David Herring, Campbell Maloney, Mehul Vora, Caryn Wagner, and Mike Cantwell were in attendance, with Brian Young reporting the minutes.

ARLINGTON COUNTY ELECTIONS

  • Mr. Cantwell reported on the upcoming elections, including the mechanics of rank choice voting.  Early voting starts May 5 and the primary will be held on June 20 and the deadline for filing paperwork to run as an independent.

NEIGHBORHOOD DAY

  • We did not receive any volunteers for the Neighborhood Day.  We plan to hold an event in October.

MISSING LINK SIDEWALK PROPOSAL

  • The Callsen family has nominated East side of Florida Avenue between 27th Street North and 26th Road North for consideration for a “missing link” sidewalk, which would connect non-contiguous sidewalks on that block. It was resolved to put the proposal to a vote during the July 12 General meeting.

MARYMOUNT UNIVERSITY PLANS

  • Mr. Cantwell described Marymount University’s proposal to build a sports field on 26th Road and Old Dominion.  A representative of Marymount University will be present at our July 12 meeting

SMART STREET CAMPAIGN

  • Mr. Cantwell described the County’s Smart Streets Campaign, which includes installation of stop signs on Little Falls near Nottingham Elementary.
Meeting Notes

Minutes of the February 1, 2023 Yorktown Civic Association General Membership Meeting

The meeting was held in Patriot Hall at Yorktown Highschool.  The following people attended, with Brian Young reporting the minutes:  include David Coia, James Churbuck, Terry Costello, William Garvent, Zach Newkirk, Caryn Wagner, Kim Klinger, Brian Cobb, Jim Page, Michael Cantwell, Frank White, Christine Purka, and David Friedman.

PAGE GLOBAL BUSINESS SERVICES

  • Barbara Hamlett and James Page spoke about Page Global Business services, a business that opened in the former Title Max property on Langston and George Mason.  Hamlett and Page, the owners of the business, invite the Yorktown community to the business’s grand opening on Friday, February 10 from 4-5:30 p.m.  The company’s website is www.pageglobal.com.

EXECUTIVE COMMITTEE NOMINEES

  • Caryn Wagner, Mehul Vora, and Zach Newkirk were nominated to serve on the Executive Committee and addressed the group.  Their nominations carried on a unanimous voice vote.

MISSING MIDDLE UPDATE

  • Mr. Cantwell provided an update on the Missing Middle Plan.  Last week, the County Board held a nine-hour meeting.  The result of the meeting is that the Board passed an authorization to advertise, which resulted in the legislation being posted on the County website.   The Board will vote on the proposal at their March meeting.

DRIVER, CYCLIST, PEDESTRIAN SAFETY COMMITTEE UPDATE

  • Mr. Churbuck provided an update on the Committee’s work.  The Yorktown Civic Association maintains records of traffic accidents on 26th and Harrison.  The County also maintains data, but it has limitations: the accident must cause at least $1,500 in damage to be documented.  The committee is working on a plan to put QR codes on electrical poles that would enable pedestrians to report near misses, thereby increasing the reliability of our data.  There have been three rollover accidents in the YCA since December.  There was a fatal collision at Little Falls and John Marshal.

NEIGHBORHOOD DAY

  • The civic association is planning to hold a neighborhood day in the spring and is looking for a chair to volunteer.

HIGHSCHOOL INTERN

  • The Yorktown Civic Association is looking for a high school aged intern.  Please contact Michael Cantwell if you know somebody who is interested.

KIM KLINGLER

  • Kim Klinger, a candidate for Commissioner of Revenue, addressed the Civic Association.  Her website is kim4arlington.com.

The YCA is updating its neighborhood plan – a vital tool for securing funding from the Arlington County Neighborhood Conservation Program as well as advocating for the preferences of the residents on a variety of projects and initiatives that affect the neighborhood.

We are conducting walk audits now through June 30, 2022, to capture information about the walking environment in Yorktown.  If you were unable to join the information sessions held on 5/19 or 5/22, click here to watch a recording of the 17-minute session.

If you would like to volunteer for a walk audit, please:
  1. Review the AARP walk audit toolkit guide and print the accompanying worksheets.
  2. Sign up for the block, intersection, or walking path that you would like to audit.  You can select more than one and you can pick a site not on the list.
  3. Conduct your walk audit(s) – any day or time.  Ideally 3 or 4 different days/times.
  4. Complete the worksheets and summary and email them along with any relevant photos to [email protected] no later than July 2, 2022.
In addition to the Neighborhood Conservation Program, Arlington County has a number of other programs that provide funding for a variety of small and large-scale projects.  Potential projects you may identify during your walk audit include, but are not limited to, installation of or improvements to:
  • Sidewalks
  • Curbs and gutters
  • Streetlights
  • Signs
  • Park improvements
  • Neighborhood art
  • Curb extensions
  • Median extensions
  • Improved road crossings
  • ADA compliant ramps
  • Bus stop enhancements
  • Pedestrian refuges
  • Large, native tree planting
If you have any questions, comments, or suggestions, please email [email protected]
Warm regards,
Lynda

Neighbors,

Thank you for volunteering to take the Yorktown Civic Association Neighborhood Conservation Survey!

Arlington County’s Neighborhood Conservation Program (NCP) serves as a unique planning tool for gathering data and information from neighborhood residents and businesses. Yorktown created its first NCP Plan in 1995 and updated the plan in 2006.  Many projects have been completed in the neighborhood based on those plans and it’s time to update the plan again.

NCP Plans rely on neighborhood volunteers to gather and analyze neighborhood data, work with residents to create a vision for the neighborhood and write a plan that communicates desired improvements.  The final plan provides county planners with a blueprint for future improvements.  The improvements may include sidewalks, curbs and gutters, streetlights, park additions and improvements, neighborhood art, trees and shrubs, traffic management, and pedestrian safety enhancements.

Each community in Arlington that participates in the NCP has a Neighborhood Conservation Representative that serves as a liaison to county staff as part of the Neighborhood Conservation Advisory Committee. The Committee meets regularly and nominates projects based on the information in the NCP plans, County goals, and available funds. Neighborhoods with more recent NCP plans receive additional points during the project scoring process.

Your time is valuable and I appreciate you sharing some of it in support of this important process.  Your responses to the questions in this survey will be used to inform Yorktown’s NCP Plan.  I encourage you to complete this survey online: https://yorktowncivic.org/ncpsurvey2022/.

Thank You!
Mike Cantwell
President – Yorktown Civic Association

Meeting Notes

Minutes of the May 4, 2022 Yorktown Civic Association General Membership Meeting

  • A meeting of the Yorktown Civic Association Executive Committee was held virtually. Brian Young, Secretary, reporting.
  • Those in attendance include Lynda Ramirez-Blust, Barry Holt, Campbell Maloney, Brian Yost, David Haring, David Friedman, Frank White, Craig Mastrangelo, Karla Loper, Mark Loper, MJ Harford, Ori Nir, Jan Hartford, James Churbuck, and Terry Costello.

NEIGHBORHOOD CONSERVATION PROJECT

  • David Haring provided an update on the Neighborhood Conservation Project. The project to add sidewalks to 25th street has been submitted to the County and the engineering study for this project is under consideration.

NEIGHBORHOOD PLAN

  • Lynda Ramirez-Blust, a consultant, described the Yorktown Neighborhood Plan. The intention of the Neighborhood Plan is to create a comprehensive list of projects, ranging for side walks and curbs to bikeability and walkability. The goal is to submit a plan to the County by the end of the calendar year. Blust helped facilitate the creation of a neighborhood survey, which she intends to distribute to the neighborhood in the near future. The plan is to hand deliver surveys to each house in the neighborhood. We hope to have residents complete the survey by the end of May.

MISSING MIDDLE

  • A discussion about the merits of the “Missing Middle” proposal was held.

TRAFFIC UPDATE

  • Campbell Maloney addressed the “bump outs” being created on 26th and Harrison, which appear to be intended to make the crossing distance shorter. The YCA received no notice or communication from the County regarding this curb extension. If you observe unsafe driving in the vicinity of 26th and Harrison, please contact Campbell Maloney at [email protected].

NEW MEMBERS

  • Michael Cantwell put a call out for new members to join the YCA Executive Committee.
Meeting Notes

Minutes of the November 16, 2021 Yorktown Civic Association General Membership Meeting

  • On November 16, 2021, the Yorktown Civic Association held a virtual general meeting.  The following individuals were recorded as being in attendance at the beginning of the meeting, with Brian Young reporting the minutes:
  • Michael Cantwell, Amelia Frenkel, Ann Adler, Ann Marie Thro, Berry Holt, Campbell Maloney, Carolyn Boswell, Christine Callsen, David Friedman, David Haring, Don/Krista Supon, Don Purka, Doreen Parekh, James Churbuck, James Maxstadt, John Boswell, Karen Morgan, Leslie Humes, Margaret Pollack, Mehul Vora, Nancy Murphy, Suzi Suchyta, Terry Costello, and Frank White.

Neighborhood Day Recap

  • Brian Young and Amelia Frankel provided a recap on the Neighborhood Day held in October. Members of the Executive Committee introduced themselves.

Neighborhood Conservation Sidewalk Project for 25th Place

  • Mr. Haring provides a description of the Neighborhood Conservation Sidewalk Project for 25th Place. Members expressed views on the project and a motion to end debate carried upon a voice vote. The following resolution was proposed: “the Yorktown Civic Association Affirms its previous selection of the 25th Place Sidewalk Project as its priority Neighborhood Conservation Project and asks the County to move forward with the design and engineering phase of the project.” A vote was held and the motion carried with 16 votes in favor and 12 opposed. The reporter notes that several members held more then one property in the YCA borders and were therefore able to cast more than one vote.
  • Votes were recorded as:
    • Vora – Yes
    • Maxstadt – No
    • Herbert – No
    • Haring – Yes
    • Frankel – No
    • Hume – Yes
    • Thro – No
    • Pollack – No
    • Gabardine – No
    • Maloney – Yes
    • White – Yes
    • Suchyta – No
    • Stephen – No x 2
    • Young – Yes
    • Churbuck – Yes
    • Anderson – Yes
    • Friedman – Yes
    • Supon – No
    • Holt – Yes
    • Parak – No
    • Keller – Yes
    • Mormon – No
    • Murphy – Yes
    • Boswell – Yes x 2
    • Costello – Yes
    • Cantwell – Yes

Plan Langston Boulevard & Traffic and Pedestrian Safety

  • Amelia Frankel delivered an update on Plan Langston Boulevard and Campbell Maroney delivered an update on traffic safety. The imperative of recording all traffic accidents in the YCA borders was discussed.

Treasurer’s Report

  • Mr. Andersson delivered a Treasurer’s report and emphasized the need to collect dues.
Plan Lee Highway

On June 23, 2021 Mike Cantwell wrote to the Arlington County board to share the Civic Associations position on the Plan Lee Highway Scenarios:

“Arlington County Board and Plan Lee Highway Staff,

The Yorktown community includes many citizens who are deeply opposed to the increased density in each of the proposed Plan Lee Highway scenarios. Our community also includes many residents who welcome aspects of the plan. There are, however, a few things we can all agree on:

First, we would like a commitment from the county board that they will plan and budget for the purchase of land for green space and public use in our area. It is not sufficient to hope that private developers will subsidize the cost of green space in the future. According to a recent review by the Arlington County Civic Federation, the county has underinvested in public land park acquisition for over a decade. As a result, there is less park land acreage per 1,000 residents today than at any other time in the last 50 years. Increasing the density along Lee Highway without adding additional open space will further reduce the amount of park land per capita. In our area, we are lucky to have public spaces that are heavily used by existing residents. In order to maintain quality of life with increased density, more public spaces are necessary. Monies for those spaces should be considered and budgeted alongside the revised general land use plan for Lee Highway.

Second, we would like a commitment from the county board that they will plan and budget for schools and infrastructure commensurate with the increased density and population growth along Lee Highway. Planning for private development without planning for public infrastructure will necessarily lead to underinvestment and a more-expensive, less-thought-out game of catch-up in the future.

Third, we would like a commitment from the county board that they will not use eminent domain, now or at any point in the future, to achieve any portion of the Plan Lee Highway use scenarios. Our neighbors want assurance that they will retain the ability to decide what to do with their own property, even as the area may be changing.

Thank you for your consideration. We welcome further dialog with our civic association about this planning process.

Sincerely,

Mike Cantwell
President – Yorktown Civic Association

Amelia Frenkel
Vice President – Yorktown Civic Association”

On July 30, 2021 the County Board responded:

“Dear Mr. Cantwell,

Thank you for your message and for sharing your thoughts concerning the Plan Lee Highway study. I’m responding on behalf of my colleagues, and please know that your email and perspectives have been shared with and read by each member of the Board.

First, I’d like to underscore that the study is in its early stages. County staff, and PLH civic leaders, have sought to shape a process where community members can weigh in with your priorities and the positives and negatives of the various scenarios.

We appreciate that you’ve done so – and in your comments, as well as in those of your neighbors, it’s clear how much you value both the environment and quality of life in your community currently. Thank you for taking the time to share stories, as well as perspectives and concerns, with us on the County Board.

As you may know, Plan Lee Highway is designed to build upon the community’s vision and guiding principles as we work to create a walkable, “Main Street” type corridor, looking at everything from multi-modal transportation options to responsible development and public facilities. Currently, County government and civic partners from Lyon Village and other neighborhoods along the corridor are developing ideas and offering different possibilities to the community so we can better understand the impacts and benefits of different types of development along the corridor. These plans are also designed to explore and evaluate how government and the private sector can work together to help achieve the community’s aspirations for this “Main Street.” The goal of this phase is to open the door to meaningful discussions with the community so that staff can make informed decisions as the proposal evolves. With community feedback on preliminary land use concepts, the Planning Team will be refining the ideas and developing a Preferred Concept Plan which will be shared with the community in Fall 2021. Again, no conclusions or decisions have been made at this time.

The land use scenarios currently under discussion were developed with a number of things in mind, including the community feedback received during last year’s workshops. You may find it of interest to visit the Plan Lee Highway project page to review the latest presentation materials and reports. On this page, there is also a link to Frequently Asked Questions (FAQs) which provides answers to many key questions and concerns about the effort.

The most important thing to emphasize from these FAQs: The County has no plans to rezone existing single-family residential properties and will not be seizing private property through eminent domain as a part of this project. Regardless of what scenarios or zoning tools are ultimately recommended in the Plan Lee Highway study, each property owner will make their own decisions about whether to maintain their property unchanged, or whether to pursue changes and how.

We thank you again for reaching out with your concerns, as well as your meaningful reflections about what makes your Arlington neighborhood special, and we encourage you to stay engaged in the process.

Sincerely,

Katie Cristol
Vice Chair, Arlington County Board”