Proposed Resolution on Amazon Community Engagement

This is a draft of a proposed resolution that may be submitted by a resident at the March 2019 monthly meeting.

Date

Whereas – On February 20, 2019 Arlnow.com published an article titled, “County Officials, Activists Say Amazon Executives Have Failed to Engage with Arlington Community”, quoting Arlington County Board member Matt de Ferranti that he would be, “would be very, very hesitant to vote on the incentive agreement without them having had some meaningful engagement in the community,” and

Whereas– No Amazon employee has yet to participate in a forum or meeting open to all members of the community it plans to occupy, and

Whereas – The proposed Arlington County Economic Development Incentive Grant Agreement states that a significant amount of property tax dollars from the Pentagon City, Crystal City and Potomac Yard neighborhoods will be committed to benefiting improvements around the Amazon campus and that, the County Manager, “will schedule an annual ‘SII meeting’ with representatives from appropriate County Departments,” yet provides no information about whether this meeting will be publically broadcast or how community input will be received for spending these dollars, and

Whereas– On February 21, 2019, Holly Sullivan, Amazon Head of Worldwide Economic Development, told the Metropolitan Council of Governments, that that the plans to use the proceeds of the Transient Occupancy Tax to “reinvest in the campus,” later noting that the campus will actually be a “neighborhood,” yet the company has yet to specify how it will engage the residents of the already existing neighborhoods potentially impacted by the presence of the company

Therefore – Be it resolved, that the Aurora Highlands Civic Association would only support the passage of the proposed Amazon incentives package if Amazon agrees, in writing, to hold semiannual meetings open to community members, for the purposes of conversation and feedback on the integration of the company’s workforce and physical presence in the neighborhood.