November 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, November 9 at 7 p.m. Aurora Hills Library, Back Room 735 18th St. S. *** Note change in meeting space ***

Aurora Highlands Civic Association Newsletter – November 2016

Meeting Agenda

Introductions

For Discussion

• Miracle on 23rd St. Linda Chandler, CEO of Linden Resources, will make a brief presentation about the tree-lighting ceremony held every year at their property and supported by AHCA.
• Crystal House loft-style residences. Andrew Marshall, President of Roseland, the owner of the Crystal House property, will make a presentation about plans to build loft-style housing along S. Eads St. between 18th and 20th Streets S. Initial approval was received in 2006, but the company has submitted a site plan amendment that would combine the originally approved two buildings, containing 252 new units, into a single structure. See the AHCA website for documents and architectural renderings, aurorahighlands.org.
• Costco site/Pentagon Centre: construction schedule and retail space. Jonathan McGowan, of Kimco Realty, will speak about the timeline for completion of the parking structure, retail space inside, and the next phases of redevelopment for Pentagon Centre, the site east of S. Hayes between12th and 15th Streets.
• Jefferson Davis Highway proposed name change. We will discuss whether to support a name change for the Arlington section of Jefferson Davis Highway, the section of U.S. Route 1 named after the President of the Confederate States. In September, the Alexandria City Council voted unanimously to change the name of the section within Alexandria city limits, and although various recommendations for a new name were made, the City Council has not yet settled on a name. In Fairfax County, to the south, the road is named Richmond Highway. The Arlington County Board has recently expressed its interest in a name change, so far, no state legislator from Arlington has introduced a bill to change the name.
• AHCA elections. Nominations for AHCA officers were made at our October meeting. We will be voting on the following slate of candidates. Given the familiar names on the ballot, you can see the power of big money in the race that keeps incumbents in power.
  President: Natasha Atkins
  1st Vice President: Rob Sidman 2nd Vice President: Scott Miles
  Community Updates
  Recording Secretary: Maureen Quinn Treasurer: Gala Valarezo
  Corresponding Secretary: Heather Spence Zoning Committee Chair: Brent Spence

Community Updates

• The temporary Aurora Hills Senior Center opens at Gunston Community Center next Monday November 7. The County has really spiffed up Gunston including a fresh coat of paint. And the parking is unparalleled. Please keep supporting Senior Center programs by coming to Gunston while AHCC is under renovation. The County measures participation and it would be helpful if the community continues to show strong support for senior programs during this displacement.
• Fall festival. The Boo Ha Ha was a huge success this year. There was a great band, a hay ride around the neighborhood, amazing face painters (see the picture), moon bounces, a climbing wall, pumpkin painting, Zumba sessions, and free snacks. It was so successful, in fact, that our volunteers were overwhelmed. For nine years we’ve always just counted on Cheryl Mendonsa and her small crew of dedicated folks to pull this off, lining up sponsors, booking the performers, and finding folks to plan and staff the activities. No longer. Cheryl is stepping down, and whether the Boo tradition continues next year will depend on having somebody else step up. If your kids have enjoyed the Boo, please consider being on a planning committee. Let Cheryl know you’re interested—soon. Some of the planning needs to be done before the end of the year because attractions like the hayride get booked way in advance.
• Eads St. & Fern St. The Transportation and Engineering Division of DES is beginning a traffic study along both Eads St. and Fern St. to monitor the level of traffic on those streets. Although they will be studying changes over the next year as construction projects finish, they will consider whether near-term fixes (such as the signage AHCA requested) will alleviate the problem of cut- through traffic to Fern St.

Important Websites

Please sign up with the Aurora Highlands group on Nextdoor to stay informed about happenings in the hood, including AHCA-related issues. We also encourage people to use Nextdoor as a way to spread the word about events or other items of interest to the whole 22202 community.

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