Please accept these comments in addition to my oral testimony at the Oct. 22 hearing on behalf of the Coalition for Smarter Growth. We are a regional organization based in the District of Columbia focused on ensuring transportation and development decisions are made with genuine community involvement and accommodate growth while revitalizing communities, providing more housing and travel choices, and conserving our natural and historic areas.
Category: Resources
Connaughton’s Study is Part of Push for New Potomac Bridges
Today, Virginia Secretary of Transportation Connaughton issued a press release announcing a study of traffic across the Potomac. While seemingly an innocuous study, the Secretary’s intention — based on the news last spring that Governor McDonnell and Secretary Connaughton had been pressing Governor O’Malley and his staff on new Potomac River Bridges — is certainly to pursue new upriver bridges.
Testimony on Babe’s Billiards Redevelopment in Tenleytown
The Coalition for Smarter Growth strongly supports this application. The site has sat vacant for many years and is one of the broken teeth of the streetscape along Wisconsin Avenue that mars the pedestrian experience. We welcome this thoughtful redevelopment and appropriate mix of uses to contribute to a better Wisconsin Avenue and Tenleytown neighborhood.
Remarks to Fairfax Bike Summit
I am absolutely inspired by today’s event and by the amazing presentations we’ve seen and heard! Collectively today’s speakers have covered a wide range of issues including “complete streets,” bike-sharing, Safe Routes to School, and transforming the suburbs. This summit has highlighted…
Public Land for Public Good
The report chronicles how the District of Columbia has used the redevelopment of public land to provide affordable housing and other benefits.
Highlighting the significant accomplishments the District has made in creating affordable housing and integrating it into larger mixed-use development, the report also details areas needing improvement. Most importantly, the assessment points to recent reduced expectations in the level of affordability in future projects. The report calls for the District to recommit to making the most of affordable housing opportunities in public land redevelopment deals, as the District seeks to build a more inclusive city as housing prices rise and more affluent residents move in.
Walking and Water in Merrifield/Dunn Loring
We learned about the ins-and-outs of stormwater runoff and stream health by surveying Long Branch Creek on the fall walking tour. We also checked out some of the area’s new transit-oriented development, and talk about ever-present issues of pedestrian and bicycle safety. Plus, we had a great group of speakers that is sure to make this tour an excellent way to spend a fall morning.
Testimony in Support of the future redevelopment of the McMillan Sand Filtration Site
We wish to express our support for the proposed Master Plan for the McMillan Sand Filtration Plant. This plan is a carefully designed redevelopment and preservation plan that will highlight the unique historic resources while putting this significant parcel back to productive use. This 25-acre site, adjacent to the 68-acre McMillan Reservoir site helps reconnect the Washington Hospital Center complex and adjacent neighborhoods back to the rest of the city while also addressing the growing need for more housing, especially more affordable housing, local retail, medical offices, and celebration of the historic features of the site.
Testimony in Support for Zoning Commission nominee Robert E. Miller
We wish to express our support for Robert Miller to be confirmed as a Zoning Commission member. I have personally worked with Rob through several Council chairs and have always found him to be respectful of input from D.C. residents, thoughtful and diligent in his analysis, and deeply committed to making D.C. a better place for all of its residents to live and work.
Comments on Draft Programmatic Agreement for the Tri-County Parkway in Prince William and Loudoun Counties, Virginia
The following comments on the Draft Programmatic Agreement (PA) for the Tri-County Parkway (TCP) are submitted on behalf of the Southern Environmental Law Center, the Piedmont Environmental Council, the Coalition for Smarter Growth, the National Trust for Historic Preservation, and the National Parks Conservation Association. Our organizations recognize the irreplaceable value of Manassas National Battlefield Park (Battlefield).
Testimony before Rockville City Planning Commission:Support for Site Plan Application STP 2012-00112, 1900 Chapman Ave
We are pleased to express our support for the 1900 Chapman Ave project which will replace the old Syms building and surface parking lot with two street-oriented moderate-density apartment buildings. These new homes will be within a few hundred feet of the Twinbrook Metro station. We commend this proposal as the kind of transit-oriented development this city and region needs to remain sustainable and competitive.