City Council | ALXnow

Holland Lane overhaul brings two-way bike lanes, traffic calming to Carlyle neighborhood

Published May 28, 2026 at 3:45PM

The intersection of Holland Lane and Jamieson Avenue in Alexandria’s Carlyle neighborhood, May 28, 2026 (staff photo by James Cullum)

After two years in development, Alexandria and regional leaders unveiled today (May 28) the newly restored streetscape on Holland Lane in Alexandria’s Carlyle neighborhood.

The Holland Lane Restoration Project has been in the works since 2024 and was completed; it includes repaving and reducing lanes on each side of Holland Lane, new pavement markings, flexible bollards, pedestrian signals and two-way bike lanes. The Alexandria Police Department also announced a high-visibility speed enforcement campaign for Holland Lane, which connects Duke Street and Eisenhower Avenue.

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City Council briefed on student questioning, privacy rules in new ACPS agreement with APD

By James Cullum

Published May 27, 2026 at 1:45PM

Alexandria Police at Alexandria City High School’s Minnie Howard Campus. (staff photo by James Cullum)

On Tuesday (May 26), Alexandria City Council was briefed on changes to the recently approved memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the Alexandria Police Department and Alexandria City Public Schools.

As no action was required from City Council Tuesday, City Council members did not formally endorse the updated MOU approved earlier this month by the School Board. ACPS previously extended the 2023–2025 agreement while the city’s School Law Enforcement Partnership subcommittee, which is made up of members of City Council, the School Board and APD staff, finalized the new language.

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School Board asks City Council to redirect reserve funds to program for high-needs students

By James Cullum and Emily Leayman

Published May 21, 2026 at 3:45PM

Alexandria School Board meeting in 2025 (staff photo by James Cullum)

The Alexandria School Board is asking City Council to use emergency funds to help preserve a $350,000 program that supports high-needs students.

In a joint letter to City Council, Chair Michelle Rief said the School Board is navigating difficult choices between staff and programming cuts. The request comes after City Council approved its Fiscal Year 2027 Budget, leaving a $5.6 million gap for the school system’s proposed $12.7 million collective bargaining agreement. Proposed budget cuts to fill the gap include reducing the partnership with Communities In Schools of Northern Virginia (CIS NOVA), which provides 10 bilingual staffers at Alexandria City High School, Francis Hammond Middle School, Jefferson-Houston PreK-8 School and Samuel Tucker, John Adams and William Ramsay Elementary Schools.

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Old Town North power plant redevelopment and funding plans heading to city review

By James Cullum

Published May 20, 2026 at 9:15AM

A cyclist along a path in Old Town North near the old power plant (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

Plans to redevelop the shuttered Potomac River Generating Station in Old Town North are heading to the Alexandria Planning Commission and City Council next month.

The Planning Commission will get the first crack at the massive proposal to convert the 18-acre site at 1300 N. Royal Street into a mixed-use development at its meeting on Tuesday, June 2, followed by a City Council public hearing June 13. City Council will also be presented with a $135 million financing deal for the project June 9 (Tuesday), which property owner HRP Group says will catalyze more than $2 billion in private investment into the site. City Council will hold a public hearing for the financing agreement on Saturday, June 13.

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Backyard beekeeping regulations stall in Alexandria

By James Cullum

Published May 14, 2026 at 3:45PM | Updated May 14, 2026 at 4:07PM

A bee at Windmill Hill Park in Old Town (staff photo by James Cullum)

The Alexandria Planning Commission has deferred a plan to implement citywide beekeeping policies, finding that city staff needed to conduct more outreach and research.

On May 5, city staff told the Planning Commission that its community outreach was limited to a consultation with a member of the Northern Virginia Beekeepers Association. There are no existing provisions regulating beekeeping in Alexandria. The city’s plan would have allowed two hives on lots smaller than 5,000 square feet, with an additional hive for every additional 2,500 square feet of property, and 5-to-10-foot setbacks for those hives.

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School Board approves changes to agreement with Alexandria Police Department

By James Cullum

Published May 11, 2026 at 9:15AM

Alexandria Police at Alexandria City High School’s Minnie Howard Campus. (staff photo by James Cullum)

The Alexandria City School Board unanimously approved an amended memorandum of understanding with the Alexandria Police Department last Thursday (May 7) to provide school resource officers at the city’s high school and two middle schools.

The previous MOU between ACPS and APD, approved in June 2023, was set to expire June 30. The school system continued using the 2023–2025 MOU, which was extended several times while the new agreement was being revised. The updated MOU was approved without discussion and now goes to City Council for approval.

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Sandy Marks swearing-in next week will create Alexandria’s first woman-majority City Council

By James Cullum

Published May 7, 2026 at 3:45PM

Democrat Sandy Marks claims victory in the City Council special election (via James Minichello Photography)

Incoming City Councilwoman Sandy Marks’ swearing-in is scheduled next week, creating Alexandria’s first woman-majority council in the city’s 277-year history.

Marks will be sworn into office before City Council’s meeting on Tuesday, May 12, at the Del Pepper Community Resource Center (4850 Mark Center Drive), following her special election win on April 21. Marks’ entry will signal the seven-member council’s first-ever woman majority, which includes Mayor Alyia Gaskins, Vice Mayor Sarah Bagley and Councilwoman Jacinta Greene.

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ACPS board weighs staffing and program cuts to address $5.6M budget gap

By James Cullum

Published May 6, 2026 at 2:45PM

Alexandria School Board Chair Michelle Rief speaks at Alexandria City High School's 25th anniversary celebration of the film Remember The Titans, Sept. 19, 2025 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria City School Board Chair Michelle Rief says the school system will have to look toward its own resources, and not the city, to fill a $5.6 million funding gap.

In a blog post last week, Rief addressed City Council’s decision to not fill the $5.6 million gap the school system needs to fund its proposed $12.7 million collective bargaining agreement (CBA). Council approved the city’s $979.1 million Fiscal Year 2027 budget on April 29, after some councilmembers expressed surprise that the proposed CBA was not part of a multi-year agreement.

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Developer wants to keep pump house at former power plant site in Old Town North

By James Cullum

Published May 5, 2026 at 3:45PM

View from the proposed pump house roof deck at the former PRGS site in Old Town North (via HRP Group)

HRP Group wants to keep the pump house at the former coal-fired Potomac River Generating Station property in Old Town North, representatives said during meeting last night (Monday).

The developer rolled out the plan for Blocks B and C of the sprawling project in an hour-and-a-half-long Zoom meeting. The development is spread across six blocks, and entails the full deconstruction of the former power plant, replacing it with more than 10 acres of public open space, as well as mixed-use apartment and retail buildings.

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City Council backs $20M revenue bond funding for Ladrey redevelopment in Old Town North

By James Cullum

Published April 30, 2026 at 3:45PM

The Alexandria City Council in session at the Del Pepper Community Center (staff photo by James Cullum)

On Tuesday (April 28), City Council adopted a resolution authorizing up to $20 million in revenue bonds by the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority for the redevelopment of The Ladrey Senior Hi-Rise in Old Town North.

City Council was presented with ARHA’s new plan to redevelop the 11-story, 1970s-era building at 300 Wythe Street, which was deemed obsolete last year by the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, prompting the authority to relocate all of the building’s residents.

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City Council approves $979.1M budget with unchanged real estate tax rate but eyes tougher choices ahead

By James Cullum

Published April 30, 2026 at 1:45PM | Updated May 6, 2026 at 11:43AM

Alexandria City Council on Wednesday, April 29, 2026 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria City Council unanimously approved City Manager Jim Parajon’s $979.1 million Fiscal Year 2027 budget with a few changes Wednesday night.

The budget represents a 2.4% increase over the FY2026 budget and maintains the real estate tax rate of $1.135 per $100 of assessed value, although some City Council members expressed caution about a potential tax increase in next year’s budget. Property owners whose assessment values increased could still see higher tax bills under the unchanged rate.