City and Opponents of Waterfront Redevelopment Plan Continue to Spar

Citizens for an Alternative Alexandria Waterfront Plan said it will sue the city and try to send the case on appeal to Circuit Court if City Council passes it in its current form, which includes rezoning changes allowing higher density in certain areas.

At a rainy Tuesday news conference at Market Square, the group outlined concerns with the , saying it’s not against change but against “paving over the waterfront” in a way that is not the best use of land along the river.

The group said it believes the city’s “proposed rezoning is an illegal upzoning that increases density along the waterfront and adds new uses like hotels and grants commercial property owners greater flexibility for the sole purpose of generating revenue.”

City Attorney Jim Banks told Old Town Alexandria Patch: “A threat of litigation is not something that dissuades us. A meritless lawsuit does not affect the way we try and do business.”

The group said the city’s plan enables commercial property owners and developers to profit at the expense of the town’s history, scarring a national landmark and resulting in irreparable damage to the fabric and heritage of Old Town.

“The city’s ‘so-called’ plan is simply a text amendment to the zoning code that will enable developers to control the development of the waterfront,” said the group.

Additionally, the “just announced cancellation of a 500-room Disney resort hotel at National Harbor should throw a ton of cold water on the city’s dream of numerous hotels along the waterfront.”

CAAWP reiterated that the city greatly inflated the cost of a parks and museums alternative, which Alexandria said would cost around $200 million. The group believes a scaled-down version including a museum could cost a fraction of that.

At a Tuesday evening meeting of the Waterfront Committee that focused on CAAWP’s proposal, Acting City Manager Bruce Johnson said the group’s projection of attracting about 500,000 annual visitors to a maritime-type museum was “vastly overstated.” There are about 400,000 to 500,000 visitors to the annually, but the most popular city-subsidized museum attracts only about 40,000 visitors per year.

CAAWP Co-founder Andrew Macdonald said it’s not just about adding a museum, it’s more about a broader vision for a vibrant waterfront.

“We can go in a different direction. We’re at a turning point here,” he told the Waterfront Committee. “In the ‘80s, we did some great things like and . We’re asking the city to expand public spaces - adding a museum is a small part of the story.”

Waterfront Plan Work Group member Bert Ely, who attended the Tuesday evening meeting, said he felt the group needs more time to fully develop a report to send to Council.

“There’s a false sense of urgency that we need to set aside,” he said, adding that he wished the Waterfront Plan Work Group had more of the debate and dialogue that occurred Tuesday evening at the Waterfront Committee. “In work group meetings, we’re not getting anywhere,” he said.

But Nate Macek, who chairs the Waterfront Committee and is a member of the Waterfront Plan Work Group, said he’s been pleased by the work group’s steady effort to work through the issues. He cited the group’s ability to reach consensus on issues such as eminent domain, realize that Fitzgerald Square is not likely to come to fruition in the near term and had gotten a recommendation to do a Union Street transportation study.

The Waterfront Plan Work Group is scheduled to meet on Wednesday morning.

City Council is expected to vote on the plan in January.