City Council | ALXnow

Backyard beekeeping regulations stall in Alexandria

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.

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Parking fees and fines to rise after Alexandria City Council budget approval

By James Cullum

Published April 30, 2026 at 10:30AM | Updated April 30, 2026 at 1:11PM

Parking meter in Old Town (staff photo by Emily Leayman)

Alexandria City Council on Wednesday (April 29) approved City Manager Jim Parajon’s proposal to increase metered parking fees and parking ticket fines.

Without discussion, City Council approved raising parking meter rates from $1.75 to $2.75 and parking ticket fines from $40 to $55. The approvals were part of Parajon’s $979.1 million Fiscal year 2027 budget, which Council approved Tuesday night without a real estate tax increase.

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City Council special election winner Sandy Marks to be sworn in May 12

By James Cullum

Published April 24, 2026 at 12:30PM

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

Democrat Sandy Marks, the winner of the April 21 City Council special election, will be sworn into office Tuesday, May 12, according to the city.

Marks will get sworn in before City Council at some point during its legislative meeting at the Del Pepper Community Resource Center (4850 Mark Center Drive), the city confirmed to ALXnow. An exact time for the swearing-in ceremony has not been set, although it will be administered by Clerk of Court Greg Parks.

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‘Do you want to be in the jail business,’ Sheriff Casey asks City Council amid budget talks

By James Cullum

Published April 20, 2026 at 3:55PM | Updated April 21, 2026 at 9:00AM

Sheriff Sean Casey at the unveiling of the Alexandria Police Department Suicide Memorial, Sept. 26, 2023 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria Sheriff Sean Casey and members of his staff argued against a proposed budget reallocation before City Council on Saturday (April 18).

Casey said a proposal by Vice Mayor Sarah Bagley and City Councilman Abdel Elnoubi to transfer $200,000 out of the Alexandria Sheriff’s Office budget for a jail operational efficiency study is a waste of valuable resources and will hurt an already cash-strapped agency. While a number of speakers at Saturday’s public hearing called for Casey’s budget to be cut over what they see as voluntary collaboration with U.S. Immigration and Enforcement, several City Council members defended the proposed study, saying the measure is intended to improve ASO operations.

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Alexandria City Council moves forward with stormwater utility fee increase

By James Cullum

Published April 15, 2026 at 11:45AM

A truck drives through a flooded area of Union Street in Old Town, October 29, 2021. (staff photo by James Cullum)

Alexandria City Council unanimously approved moving forward with an increase to the city’s stormwater utility fee yesterday (Tuesday).

City Manager Jim Parajon’s proposal increases the city’s stormwater utility fee rate from $340.30 to $357.40 per billing unit, equating to a roughly $26 addition to tax bills. City Council’s first reading vote sets the ordinance to go before a public hearing on Saturday, April 18, followed by a second reading before Council at its budget adoption meeting on Wednesday, April 29.