Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Faroll Hamer discusses emphasis on walkable, amenity-rich communities with connection to transit.
Faroll Hamer, the director of Alexandria’s Department of Planning and Zoning, discussed current development trends, architecture and transit throughout Alexandria when he visited with the Del Ray Citizens Association last week for a question and answer session. Hamer, who has led the city’s planning department since 2007, said there’s an emphasis on developing “an amenity rich life that you can walk to” built around transit. Those transit options include not just Metro, she said, but three high-capacity transit corridors that are being developed in the city (including the Route 1 BRT) along with other existing modes of transit. “Change is always hard,” she said. “I respect that everyone doesn’t agree with the direction. I think it’s …
Saturday, July 21, 2012
Board of Architectural Review expected to hold informal work session on Carr Hospitality proposal for waterfront hotel in lieu of formal vote.
Alexandria’s Planning and Zoning director told members of Old Town’s architectural review board that they will discuss a waterfront hotel proposal as an informal work session rather than a formal application in response to critics of the plan. Friends of the Alexandria Waterfront, a group opposing zoning changes along the waterfront permitting uses such as hotels, sent a letter July 9 to the Board of Architectural Review for the Old and Historic Alexandria District asking it to defer reviewing a proposed hotel at 220 S. Union St. because of legal issues, zoning requirements and other reasons. The group said in the letter that considering a “certificate of appropriateness” for Carr Hospitality’s proposal “is both premature and inappropriate…
38.80309
-77.040498
200 S Union St, Alexandria, VA
/articles/city-slows-process-for-waterfront-hotel-plans-in-response-to-concerns
/locations/7440174
Friday, April 13, 2012
The 4-2 vote in favor of the petitioners could trigger another City Council vote on the zoning portion of the waterfront plan.
The Board of Zoning Appeals has sided with a group of citizens who appealed the city planning director’s decision to reject their petition asking that waterfront area near their homes not be rezoned allowing more and different kinds of development. The City Hall meeting was a cliffhanger until the bitter end as members flipped and flopped during discussion over which way they would vote – ultimately delivering a victory to the citizens with a 4-2 vote around 1 a.m. Friday. BZA Chairman Mark Allen recused himself from the debate and vote at the beginning of the meeting due to a long-standing relationship with one of the parties involved. Member John Keegan said his membership in the Old Dominion Boat Club, which does not favor much of the …
38.80456
-77.04303
Alexandria City Government City Hall
301 King St, Alexandria, VA
/articles/board-of-zoning-appeals-rejects-planning-director-s-decision
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/locations/6795343
Monday, November 28, 2011
Members of the Waterfront Plan Work Group discuss whether the city's draft Waterfront Small Area Plan makes them breathe easy.
The Waterfront Plan Work Group recently looked at an omnipresent but little discussed issue among their months-long debate – the environment. Group members were seeking to determine just how to consider much of the land along Alexandria’s waterfront that was just a few decades ago heavily industrial and riddled with toxic substances. Karl Moritz of the city’s Department of Planning and Zoning gave a general overview, per the group’s request, about some of the city’s policies relating to buildings and the environment. The city’s Green Building Policy adopted in 2009 expects that all new commercial buildings achieve an environmental standard known as LEED Silver. The city also encourages that all new structures promote energy efficiency, …
Friday, October 14, 2011
A sometimes contentious 3-hour meeting in Cameron Station yields results on the issues of marinas, piers and the arts.
The Waterfront Plan Work Group got off to a rocky start Wednesday night when it took half an hour just to approve the minutes from the prior week, although its members eventually got into a groove. City Councilman Paul Smedberg, who generally oversees the work group as a non-voting member, was unable to attend as he was stuck on a plane in Chicago. Professional moderator Sherry Schiller was also absent, leaving city Planning and Zoning Director Faroll Hamer to lead the group. Some friction was apparent from the get-go when member Bob Wood, who listened to the prior meeting via teleconference, suggested changes to that meeting’s minutes. Mindy Lyle responded: “These are minutes. Why are you trying to change things?” Nate Macek added: “This …
Sunday, June 19, 2011
But all agree that more time will allow debate to cool
Community members involved with plans to redevelop Alexandria’s waterfront offered mixed reactions to City Council’s vote to delay action on the proposal, but all agree more time will allow spicy rhetoric on the topic to cool. "I think the council was pretty clear about their reasons – it provides an opportunity for everyone to take a breath and to continue discussions over the summer," said Faroll Hamer, head of the city's Planning and Zoning Department. "Planning and Zoning staff will not lead that effort, but we will support it, and we look forward to any possibility that further discussions will result in a clearer understanding of the implications of the plan, changes to the plan that are mutually acceptable to the stakeholders, and …
Jennifer Atkins
3:18 pm on Tuesday, January 22, 2013
Joseph - Sorry you had to miss the presentation. The meeting minutes from DRCA will have more details, so if you are a DRCA member, you will be seeing those soon. The Leslie Avenue buildings were mentioned in passing when discussing preservation of art deco buildings, but there was no discussion of anything going on there now. more ›