Aurora Highlands Civic Association (AHCA)

Live Music & Picnic Saturdays: Jim Sheats
2020-10-10 18:00 - 19:30 (America/New_York) | Virginia Highlands Park West-side fields, 1535 S Joyce St, Arlington, VA, 22202, United States
Last month for music this year! Please join us for this fun and talented line up for October:

Sat, Oct 3rd Gary Chambers, guitarist https://garychambers.us/
Sat, Oct 10th Jim Sheats, guitarist
Sat, Oct 17th Bella and Waylon band https://www.instagram.com/bella.and.waylon/
Sat, Oct 24th The Carter Farm Boys band

FREE event, but please consider a $5+ cash tip for the volunteer musicians. Their virtual tip information (Paypal or Venmo) will be available near their tip jar.
Enjoy new lawn games and chairs courtesy of JBG Smith. (Thank you!) Please bring a blanket or chair to sit on, in case the chairs are in use.
Consider supporting local restaurants with take out for your picnic dinner! Some evenings there will be a food truck nearby. And order pizza from Extreme Pizza Pentagon City for delivery to the park!

Safety first! There is plenty of room to safely social distance at the park.

Location 15th St and Joyce St S (softball field area).
Time: Music from approximately 6:00-7:30pm. Every Saturday, weather permitting.
Bring your blanket or a chair to listen to a local musician. Local neighborhood musicians The Carter Farm Boys join the September lineup with returning musicians Jim Sheats and Gary Chambers.
For your picnic. Consider one of the many local and diverse restaurants and pick up your picnic dinner from them! Here is a list of restaurants with to go and delivery options: https://nationallanding.org/city-life/eat-and-shop/delivery. Food trucks may be on site – Kovi on the 12h and Pepe from Jaleo on the 19th.
Lawn games which dont interfere with social distancing, picnics and the music are very welcomed!

AHCA October Monthly Meeting
2020-10-14 19:00 - 21:00 | Zoom
>> Register Now for October AHCA Meeting <<<

Join us Wednesday, 7-9pm for our October meeting. This month’s meeting will cover a range of topics in a relatively quickly paced news format. Most topics should be less than 5 minute recaps with the opportunity to ask questions and provide comments.
* Officer Nominations
The proposed slate of candidates from the nominating committee will be presented. Others may be nominated at the meeting, though we’d much rather anyone contact info@aurorahighlands.org beforehand to work out the best slate of positions!
* Schools Working Group
A Livability22202 working group focused on education is being formed. Hear from neighbor and parent Shaz Akram about how you can help.
* ZeroWaste and Energy Goals
Miriam Gennari will review the county’s goals that the community should consider when thinking about future area planning.
* Open Floor / Discussion
With so many projects, events, and proposals going on in the neighborhood, we’d be happy to talk more about any anything that’s going on, hear your thoughts, and answer as many questions as we can. This will include:
Ives park progress & donation request
VHP programming, field lights
Halloween activities
VHP dog park progress
Route 1 update
Underground update
Arts update
Substation
Any attendee suggestions
REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED TO JOIN THE ZOOM MEETING. Pre-registration is not required, but if you do, you can easily add it to your calendar and avoid delays joining when the meeting starts.

>> Register Now for October AHCA Meeting <<<

If you have an issue that you feel needs to be raised, please contact an officer or email info@aurorahighlands.org.

Live Music & Picnic Saturdays: Bella and Waylon band
2020-10-17 18:00 - 19:30 | Virginia Highlands Park West-side fields, 1535 S Joyce St, Arlington, VA, 22202, United States

Zumba Saturdays
2020-10-24 10:30 - 11:20, 2020-10-31 10:30 - 11:20 | Virginia Highlands Park West-side fields, 1535 S Joyce St, Arlington, VA, 22202, United States
This 50 minute class is perfect for all ages and levels. Dance and exercise with plenty of room to socially distance yourself.
.
FREE event! But please consider a tip of $5 for our local volunteer instructor, Natalia.
.
WHAT YOU NEED: Bring water, towel, and wear exercise clothing
TIME: 10:30am-11:20am
LOCATION: Virginia Highlands Park (Pentagon City metro) in the softball fields near the hearts.
.

Note: Tuesday evening Zumba is not currently possible due to conflicts with County-wide softball programming.

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** If you’d like for Zumba and other community events to continue, please take a minute to write to the Aurora Highlands Civic Association to tell us why you’ve enjoyed the park, the art and the community events, so that we can work with the County to keep it going!
Write to info@aurorahighlands.org
Also when you write in, we’ll add you to the park event notification list.
Follow @aurorahighlands for updates on this event and others
http://aurorahighlands.org/calendar/
.

Live Music & Picnic Saturdays: The Carter Farm Boys
2020-10-24 18:00 - 19:30 | Virginia Highlands Park West-side fields, 1535 S Joyce St, Arlington, VA, 22202, United States

HALLOWEEN Scavenger Hunt and more
2020-10-31 | Virginia Highlands Park West-side fields, 1535 S Joyce St, Arlington, VA, 22202, United States
Free, safe event.
HALLOWEEN Scavenger Hunt and more
Oct. 31. Look for ghosts, jack o’lanterns, and more throughout the park. Scavenger hunt list will be near the hearts on the softball field or follow @aurorahighlands to get your virtual hunt list and to learn about more possible event activities. All ages welcome. Costumes encouraged! More Halloween activities at the park may be coming. Look for event updates.
** If you’d like for Zumba and other community events to continue, please take a minute to write to the Aurora Highlands Civic Association to tell us why you’ve enjoyed the park, the art and the community events, so that we can work with the County to keep it going! Write to info@aurorahighlands.org
**All activities and events are weather permitting.
Location: Near the hearts in the north softball field. Lots of room to safely social distance.
Follow @aurorhighlands for updates http://aurorahighlands.org/calendar/

Live Music & Picnic Saturdays - Special Afternoon
2020-11-07 16:00 - 17:30 | Virginia Highlands Park, 1537 S Joyce St, Arlington, VA, 22202, United States
Did you think with music at the park was over?
Well, we have a very special encore musical event on Saturday Nov. 7 from 4-5:30pm. Please, join us for local Celtic-American band, Ardmore.

AHCA November Meeting
2020-11-11 19:00 - 21:00
Wednesday, November 11, 7pm – 9pm
VIRTUAL — Zoom meeting link: https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZ0pf-msrDwtGtyRXygKi8EHQvYryHcPaZY2
Agenda:

Officer Elections
Meet and vote on the officer candidates for next year.
31st Street Lot Plans
Arlington Dept. of Environmental Services will present their plans for the lot on 31st Street across from the treatment plan that currently serves as a gravel parking area.

https://aurorahighlands.org/wp-content/uploads/31st-Lot_FINAL-11-11-20.pdf

Alternatives to Calling the Police
SURJ NoVa share some info about their group and their Alternatives to Calling the Police resource for Arlington and why it’s important to pursue these alternatives whenever possible.

https://aurorahighlands.org/wp-content/uploads/ENGLISH-Flyer-Arlington-ATCP.pdf
https://aurorahighlands.org/wp-content/uploads/SPANISH-Flyer-Arlington-ATCP.pdf
https://aurorahighlands.org/wp-content/uploads/ENGLISH-Flyer-BW-Arlington-ATCP.pdf

Residential Parking Permit Program Changes (addition)
Neighbor Rob Douglas will be providing some background on proposed changest to the RPP that may have an impact on may households in the neighborhood. The changes are expected to go before the County Board in December.

https://aurorahighlands.org/wp-content/uploads/Arlington-Parking-November-2020.pdf

For anyone unable to join via Zoom, we expect to also stream the view-only event live to Facebook @aurorahighlands ( no app or Facebook account required: https://www.facebook.com/aurorahighlands/live ).

Zumba Saturdays
2020-11-14 10:30 - 11:20, 2020-11-28 10:00 - 11:20 | Virginia Highlands Park, 1537 S Joyce St, Arlington, VA, 22202, United States
This 50 minute class is perfect for all ages and levels. Dance and exercise with plenty of room to socially distance yourself.
.
FREE event! But please consider a tip of $5 for our local volunteer instructor, Natalia.
.
WHAT YOU NEED: Bring water, towel, and wear exercise clothing
TIME: 10:30am-11:20am
LOCATION: Virginia Highlands Park (Pentagon City metro) in the softball fields near the hearts.

***This event will be held at the park weather permitting***

Zumba Saturdays
2020-11-21 10:30 - 11:20

Arlington Turkey Trot
2020-11-25 08:00 - 2020-12-01 17:00
Now entering its 15th year, the Arlington Turkey Trot was founded in 2006 by Pastor Brian Webster and his wife Diane of Christ Church of Arlington. They came to our community to assist the poor and needy—those in search of a friend, good food, child care—a place to call home.
Given COVID-19 and the importance of maintaining social distancing, the Arlington Turkey Trot 15th anniversary will be a virtual run in 2020

AHCA January Monthly Meeting
2021-01-13 19:00 - 21:00 | Zoom
>> Register Now for January AHCA Meeting <<<

Join us Wednesday, 7-9pm for our January meeting.
Current proposed agenda:
Pentagon Row – Site Plan Changes
Federal Realty will explain changes they are seeking to the types and size of tenants at Pentagon Row, including the requirement to provide a “full service” grocery.
Arlington Broadband Proposal
ArlFiber, a group of Arlington residents, is proposing to open the County’s fiber infrastructure to provide broadband Internet to any business or residence. Hear their plan and ask questions.
Melwood / Miracle on 23rd Donation
The executive committee pledged a $250 donation in November to support this long-standing community event. Vote on a motion to approve this donation.
2021 Budget
Recap of last year’s budget and the general plan for 2020 spending.
Residential Parking Objections
Hear and vote on a motion to oppose RPP parking changes.

REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED TO JOIN THE ZOOM MEETING. Pre-registration is not required, but if you do, you can easily add it to your calendar and avoid delays joining when the meeting starts.

>> Register Now for January AHCA Meeting <<<

If you have an issue that you feel needs to be raised, please contact an officer or email info@aurorahighlands.org.

MLK day clean up
2021-01-18 13:00 - 16:30
Let’s start off the New Year by cleaning up garbage in and around Virginia Highlands Park! Meet at 1pm on January 18 by the Hearts at the softball field. We’ll spread out around the park and in the surrounding streets. Masks required. Please bring bags, gloves, and any other supplies you would use.

Livability Meeting on County Planning and Affordable Housing
2021-02-09 19:00 - 21:00
Agenda: 7:00-7:30 County planner Matt Mattauszek on County plans for 2021; 7:30-8 Washington Housing Conservancy Kimberly Driggins on purchase of Crystal Houses and goals for affordable housing; 8-9 pm Livability Housing Working Group Ben Davanzo and others on our housing report and the County’s Missing Middle Study. Registration required.

AHCA February Monthly Meeting
2021-02-10 19:00 - 21:00 | Zoom
>> Register Now for February AHCA Meeting <<<

Join us Wednesday, 7-9pm for our February meeting.
Current proposed agenda:
Cherry Blossom Festival
Find out what to expect as the Cherry Blossom Festival comes to our area and how you can help. Hear from Festival organizers as well as our local Neighborhood Champion volunteers,
Livability Open Space Report & Walking Path
Hear about the Open Space priorities for our area and progress to meeting these needs from our neighborhood working group lead.
Highlands Urban Garden
The Urban Garden installed at Virginia Highlands last year is doing well; find out more and how you can join this year.
2021 AHCA Budget
We’ll review our spending for last year and the anticipated budget for 2021. This may include a vote to approve the budget; if so, the proposed budget will be published before the meeting on aurorahighlands.org.

REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED TO JOIN THE ZOOM MEETING. Pre-registration is not required, but if you do, you can easily add it to your calendar and avoid delays joining when the meeting starts.

>> Register Now for February AHCA Meeting <<<

If you have an issue that you feel needs to be raised, please contact an officer or email info@aurorahighlands.org.

Volunteer Meeting for Livability HUG
2021-02-11 19:00 - 20:00
Meeting link: https://us02web.zoom.us/j/89949734074
The Highlands Urban Garden (HUG) is a temporary demonstration garden inaugurated September 27, 2020, next to the tennis courts in Virginia Highlands Park. It was created by the Open Space Working Group of Livability 22202–the 3 civic associations of 22202 Arlington Ridge, Aurora Highlands, and Crystal City–in partnership with Arlington Friends of Urban Agriculture, which is managing the project and providing design and technical expertise. The HUG is supported by Arlington County’s Department of Parks and Recreation and the National Landing Business Improvement District (BID). The garden is a pilot project which demonstrates how otherwise fallow spaces can be transformed into productive land that builds a vibrant ecosystem. It has the potential to be expanded to other areas of National Landing.
How can you help? Volunteers are needed! The HUG is entering the next phase of planning for spring planting. We are working on the design of the water barrels and signage to explain the project and the plants. We’re also looking for more volunteers who would like to participate in some aspect of the project: planning, planting, communications, budgeting, etc

Pentagon City Study Community Meeting
2021-02-15 18:30 - 19:30
Details to come. Arlington County is leading a community planning process for Pentagon City to reevaluate long-term goals for this area with an emphasis on its transportation network. The Planning Study will be informed by the community’s recent work on livability and include broad participation from residents, businesses, community groups, and stakeholders. Learn more at the study website.
https://projects.arlingtonva.us/plans-studies/pentagon-city-planning-study/

Eco-Shred Event
2021-02-20 11:30 - 13:00 | Melwood, 750 23rd Street South, Arlington, VA, 22202, United States
Sponsored by Geva & Jane Real Estate Group.

Livability Meeting with VDOT on Route 1 Feasibility Study
2021-02-22 19:00 - 21:00
The Livability Working Group on Route 1 provided VDOT with 19 pages of comments and requests for more data on their feasibility study.
Registration required https://us02web.zoom.us/meeting/register/tZYkfu2pqjkpH9HkvbA-vYFujoPpljvMMKFm

Livability Open Space Working Group
2021-03-02 19:00 - 21:00 | Zoom
Livability22202
Open Space Working Group
Update on progress and 2021 activities
Tuesday, March 2
7 – 9 pm
** Virtual ** Zoom Meeting
https://us02web.zoom.us/j/86003221590?pwd=[REDACTED]

Open Space: Is it important to you?
COVID has shown us how important it is to have parks, trails, and open spaces. Yet 22202 is very lacking in those amenities. The Livability22202 Open Space Working Group created an Open Space Report in December 2020, but this is no time to rest on our laurels. There is so much more to be done.
Come join us March 2 from 7-9 pm to plan activities for 2021.
As demonstrated by three recent meetings, the Working Group is starting to have an impact. But it’s soooo important to expand membership to ensure participation, not only geographically across 22202 but also demographically, with emphasis on renters and owners in high rise multifamily buildings needing access to open space. And not just during the COVID pandemic, but year round. An Arlington County Civic Federation White paper shows residents in multifamily units have some of the least access to open space in the County.) Not a surprise to us, is it?
This is not a roll up your sleeves and dig the ground working group. We are looking for your ideas and input. See the current status here: https://livability22202.org/open-space/ The meeting will be mostly informational. If afterwards, you’d like to stay engaged, great! But join us March 2 to learn what’s happening and where you could join in, if you’d like to.
The agenda for our March 2 Open Space meeting includes:

Briefings on recent meetings with County staff (DPR, DES, CPHD) and the Parks & Recreation Commission
Presentation of the Civic Federation CivFed White Paper on Equity in Arlington County Open Public Spaces
Concept and definition of open space: What does OpenSpace mean to us?
Future of the HUG and further projects with FOUA, perhaps in Crystal City
Furthering the Integrated Pedestrian Map
Roaches Run Clean Up Days in April
Cherry Blossom Festival activities in 22202
National Landing BID project ideas for open space See you there!

Email Carol Fuller, Livability22202 Coordinator for Open Space, at fullercarols@gmail.com, or Natasha Atkins, the AHCA lead, at natashaatkins1@gmail.com for more information.

Pentagon Row Site Plan Amendment
2021-03-03 12:00 - 13:00 | Virtual – Teams
A virtual public meeting for
Pentagon Row Site Plan Amendment
will be held on March 3 from 12:00 – 1:00 p.m.
Planning staff will host a virtual public meeting to provide an overview of a proposed site plan amendment at Pentagon Row, located at 1101 S. Joyce St. After a brief presentation, staff and the applicant will be available to accept questions and comments.
The applicant, Street Retail, Inc, is requesting a site plan amendment to modify existing site plan conditions 52, 53, 56, and 58 to allow greater flexibility in leasing the property.
For more information about the proposed use permit amendment and use permit, view the materials.

How to Participate in the Virtual Meeting

Click here to join the meeting
+1 347-973-6905,,62351766#
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Note: Federal Realty came to the January AHCA meeting to discuss this. These were the plans provided at the time:

Pentagon Row: No more “full service” grocery store?
Federal Realty, the owner of Pentagon Row, is requesting revisions to several conditions from the original 1998 site plan approval that require certain retail categories and tenant sizes (http://bit.ly/pr-retail-changes). They say “the existing retail conditions create uncertainty around the ability to lease space to tenants and make it difficult to attract new tenants. Specifically regarding the existing grocery store, Federal Realty intends to maintain a grocery store element in the shopping center to serve community needs, but the owner is requesting flexibility in format, size, and location.”

VDOT Route 1 Meeting
2021-03-03 18:30 - 20:00 | Virtual – WebEx
The Virginia Department of Transportation (VDOT) invites you to join a public information meeting for the Route 1 Multimodal Improvements Study. This virtual meeting will provide an opportunity for the public to:
• Learn about feasibility study updates and progress
• Provide input on proposed design elements along the corridor
• Ask questions and address concerns with the study team
The purpose of this feasibility study is to identify enhanced multimodal connectivity and accommodations along Route 1 (between 12th Street to 23rd Streets South) to meet the changing transportation needs of the Crystal City and Pentagon City communities.
VDOT ensures nondiscrimination and equal employment in all programs and activities in accordance with Title VI and Title VII of the Civil Rights Act of 1964. If you need more information or special assistance for persons with disabilities or limited English proficiency, contact VDOT Civil Rights at 703-259-1775.
Register for the March 3 VDOT meeting here.

Crystal City Bike Plan Review
2021-03-09 19:30 - 21:00 | Zoom
As you may know, DES has put forward the draft Crystal City Bike Plan that they were directed by the Board to pursue because of the 1900 Crystal Dr SPRC.

As you may also know, many of us who want to make bicycling safer and more accessible to more people are unhappy with the draft plan, for many reasons. So, Chris Slatt (Chair of Transpo Commission) and I decided to put together our own public(ish) meeting Tues, Mar 9th at 7:30 through Sustainable Mobility for Arlington (SUSMO), to go into more detail, in a way that I hope will:

*Give you a quick intro to the concept of bicycling facilities for all-ages-and-abilities, how that benefits everyone, and how that looks different from what’s on our streets now.
*Show how the County needs to think a little more about its goals, and the scope of the study
*Show some alternate ideas for how some streets could better meet those goals in the short term — without dramatic or disruptive changes — and some ideas for the long term that need to be documented (or they will never happen).

I hope that you will consider joining us for two main reasons:

*Two upcoming SPRCs (Landbay C East and Crystal Plaza 1) will discuss transportation, and — especially Crystal Plaza 1 — County staff is proposing things that limit options for what can even be included in the actual bike plan (which is not scheduled to be presented to the Board for several months).

*We may document our alternate plans and provide them to staff and the Board. If we do that, I may approach you to see if you/your org might lend a statement of support, either on just the goals or perhaps even specific recommendations. Accordingly, I am inviting you to join the conversation on what we are thinking now, so we can refine our recommendations and advocacy approach now.

AHCA March Meeting
2021-03-10 19:00 - 21:00 | Zoom
>> Register Now for March AHCA Meeting <<<

Join us Wednesday, 7-9pm for our February meeting.
Current proposed agenda:
Cherry Blossom Festival
Find out what to expect as the Cherry Blossom Festival arrives on March 19th. We’ll also have special guests Luna and Dan Barry, two of the awesome Festival musicians, play their music, and Peijisan Art will talk about the art installations planned for the park.

REGISTRATION IS REQUIRED TO JOIN THE ZOOM MEETING. Pre-registration is not required, but if you do, you can easily add it to your calendar and avoid delays joining when the meeting starts.

>> Register Now for March AHCA Meeting <<<

If you have an issue that you feel needs to be raised, please contact an officer or email info@aurorahighlands.org.

BID Community Meeting (tentative)
2021-03-16 18:30 - 20:30
The BID is collaborating with JBGS to host an open community meeting aimed at providing an update as to the outlook for retail. The meeting would touch upon anticipated retail trends in light of COVID as well as on general retail strategies for the area.
Meeting details will be added, or see nationallanding.org

Dominion Substation Expansion Update
2021-03-17 18:00 - 19:00 | Virtual – WebEx
AGENDA
• What to expect during construction
• Public art update

AT DOMINION ENERGY, we would like to provide an update to the Crystal Substation Improvement and Expansion Project. On Nov. 14, 2020 we received Arlington County Board approval to construct
the project. We invite you to learn more about the construction process, which is expected to begin in April 2021, at our upcoming virtual community meeting.
Our project team will provide an overview of what to expect throughout the construction process and answer any questions you may have. We will also provide an update to the public art installation and introduce our selected artist. If you missed our Aug. 2020 virtual community meeting, a recording is available on our project website.

See the attached flyer for more details:
Crystal Substation Postcard, Feb 2021_folded_v3
Details for joining the virtual meeting:
https://www.dominionenergy.com/crystal

Crystal City CA Meeting: Project Journey, Arlington Police
2021-03-17 19:00 - 21:00 | Zoom
The March Crystal City Civic Association monthly meeting will feature a presentation on Project Journey from 7-8 and an update and question and answer session from Arlington PD from 8-9.
https://www.crystalcitycivic.org/news/march-17-ccca-general-meeting-7-9-pm/

Site Plan: 2000/2001 S Clark
2021-03-18 19:00 - 21:00
2001 S Bell/2001 S Clark Review Coming up March 18! The second of three proposed SPRC meetings for this two-tower residential project will cover project updates, transportation, and PDSP/community benefits. A major part of the transportation discussion will focus on the plans for a new block of Clark-Bell, south of 20th Street, and the first part of an eventual realignment of Clark-Bell. Follow the project at https://projects.arlingtonva.us/projects/2001-clark-st/
