City Staff to Review Alternative Waterfront Plan

Alexandria’s acting city manager has asked staff to review recommendations made in a from Citizens for an Alternative Alexandria Waterfront Plan, a group opposing the city’s latest proposal for redevelopment along the shore line.

In a press call on Monday afternoon, Bruce Johnson said city staff would take a look at the group’s proposed changes to the waterfront, its fiscal assumptions and assertions about property rights.

He said the city has listened to concerns of this group and other comments regarding the plan but "listen" doesn't always have to mean "agree."

“It appears this report advocates as little change as possible in regard to privately owned parcels on the waterfront,” Johnson said, asking “Can this approach lead to a waterfront that’s attractive, vibrant” and world class?

Johnson plans to tap the financial staff of the city to examine the “financial feasibility” of the group’s call for museums and more “passive attractions and uses.”

The city is not in the “best of shape to maintain city services,” he said, noting that the city faces budget cutbacks that could affect it in the long term, casting doubt on many of the group’s plans requiring funding.

The CAAWP plan suggests the city could issue municipal bonds to fund open space projects, but Johnson said: “The city’s debt capacity is about tapped out. Yes, we could issue bonds but we’d probably have to do something less in some other area such as sewers or transportation or other city infrastructure.”

Additionally, CAAWP says the city dismissed CAAWP’s preferred approach to waterfront development by putting too high a price tag on the city’s parks and museum-centric plan. That city plan would cost about $200 million, according to the city, including $53 million for a performing arts center.

Johnson said he didn’t have any “particulars” on that, but he was not generally optimistic on keeping costs low on a performing arts center. “Sometimes they have a habit of costing more than you think,” he said.

Johnson, who said at the beginning of the meeting he had only skimmed through the report and so could not answer detailed questions about the city’s reaction to it, said it appears as if the report is suggesting that down zoning or a straight purchase of certain waterfront properties “which might be extremely expensive.”

It also posits that the city could swap it owns elsewhere in the city with waterfront landowners to get the land it wants by the riverfront.

“The city doesn’t own things elsewhere” for swapping, Johnson said.

In related news, the Waterfront Plan Work Group on Wednesday morning agreed to hear an approximately 15 minute presentation from CAAWP on its new report.