July 2016 Newsletter

[Original PDF here]

All Aurora Highlands residents are invited and encouraged to come to our monthly meetings where we meet neighbors, discuss topics of interest, and share information. MEETING – Wednesday, July 13 at 7 p.m. Aurora Hills Community Center, 18th & S. Hayes No August Meeting – See you in September Come early for refreshments and socializing! Doors open at 6:30 Let Natasha know ASAP if you need childcare

Aurora Highlands Civic Association Newsletter – July 2016

Meeting Agenda

For Discussion

Car2Go. The County recently amended the car-sharing study with Car2Go to allow service between Arlington and DC. County staff and a Car2Go representative will be at our meeting to discuss the change and what it hopes to achieve.

Four Mile Run Restoration. Construction of the section between Route 1 and Mount Vernon Ave. will begin in late summer, and a detour of the bike path will be in place. County staff and AHCA’s rep on the Four Mile Run Taskforce will be at the meeting to talk about this phase of the project and answer questions. By the way, if you have been wondering about the sea of pink flags in the wetland on the Alexandria side, across from the water treatment plant, they are to deter geese while the new plants get established.

Community Updates

Crystal House. Last month we heard that the owner is requesting County approval for architectural rooftop lighting on both Crystal House apartment buildings. Crystal House is now deferring its application to the County while it works with lighting engineers to reduce the luminance. AHCA continues to oppose the lighting because it could set a precedent for every tall building in the neighborhood. Crystal House will also be filing a major site plan amendment this month to build 5-story apartment buildings on its property at 18th and S. Eads. We will provide info as it becomes available.

Neighborhood Conservation. In May, we heard about proposed changes to the approval process for street improvement projects. As requested at our June meeting, AHCA’s NC Coordinator has developed a set of “strawman” comments to spark discussion of potential changes to the NC process for selecting first-priority projects. We have deferred discussion of this until the fall, and before then we will post those comments and a draft AHCA process for selecting first-priority projects on Next Door, the 4D-A listserv, and the AHCA website. Stay tuned.

Pentagon Centre. Redevelopment has begun with the Costco parking garage, slated to open in September. Kimco, the developer, is holding a community meeting on Phase 2 on Thurs. July 14, 6:30 p.m. in Pentagon Centre adjacent to the Metro entrance.

Virginia Highlands Park. The Department of Parks and Recreation (DPR) will be embarking on a Parks Maintenance Capital project this fall to renovate or replace existing facilities on the “west side” of the park. Prior to starting the design, DPR will use a variety of methods to engage with the Aurora Highlands community, other nearby neighborhoods, and users of the park in a discussion about the existing facilities and the future of the west side: what works well and what doesn’t, how facilities could be rearranged, and what other unmet needs are out there. DPR anticipates kicking off the process in the fall and then working with the community to develop concept plans over the course of the following 6 to 12 months.

Graffiti. Several neighbors have inquired about graffiti on the side of the commercial buildings at 23rd and Hayes, and at 23rd and Grant. The police gang unit is aware of these, but has no leads yet. Please email Natasha, or Captain Afzal at kafzal@arlingtonva.us, if you have any information.

Transit Development Plan (TDP). The County will be holding its final hearing on adoption of the TDP recommendations on July 19. For our region, the plan would increase bus connectivity between Crystal City, Pentagon City, and the rest of Arlington. The hearing will be the last opportunity for public input. You can view the recommendations at https://arlingtonva.s3.amazonaws.com/wp- content/uploads/sites/31/2014/03/2016.5.30_TDP_Briefing_CMO.pdf

Civic Federation. The Arlington County Civic Federation just celebrated its 100th birthday. The Civic what? Most of us know that each Arlington neighborhood has a civic association to look out for needs and issues specific to the community. The Federation is a county-wide organization that takes a look at the bigger picture. Its 80+ member organizations comprise the civic associations as well as many non-partisan organizations representing diverse interests in the county.

The purpose of the Federation is to ensure that its members are well informed about issues in the County. More than two dozen committees research issues such as transportation, schools, parks, and planning. Likewise, any member organization can bring a topic of concern to the Federation for consideration. Advocacy by the Federation over the last century is responsible for many of the improvements in diverse areas.

Why does AHCA need Civ Fed? Well, our positions can be amplified through representation at the Civic Federation. To do that, though, we need representatives to help ensure that our voice gets heard at the county level. Our current rep is long-time resident Amy Levin, but we are allowed four delegates and four alternates (of which four can vote at any meeting). Do you have a particular interest in any topic? If so, please consider representing AHCA at the Civ Fed meetings. Even attending a few meetings a year would make a valuable contribution to our neighborhood. Visit http://www.civfed.org/ for more info, and let Natasha know if you’d like to get involved.

There’s Still Time to Save on Going Solar. If you’ve been thinking of putting solar panels on your house, now is the time. In addition to getting a significant federal tax credit, you can reduce your cost by 20% if you join a solar co-op. To find out about the Potomac Solar Co-op, which covers our area, visit http://www.vasun.org/potomac/. A number of Aurora Highlands residents have been in solar co-ops. You can email Natasha if you have questions about the process.

Important Websites

We encourage neighbors to use Nextdoor to stay informed about happenings in the hood, including AHCA-related issues, and as a way to spread the word items of interest to the whole 22202 community.

AHCA Bank Account Balance (required by by-laws): $7903.00 as of July 6, 2016

Category: Community Events