climate change

City Council approves new energy standards for developments in Alexandria

Published January 27, 2026 at 11:50AM

Attendees at City Council's Jan. 24, 2026 public hearing (via City of Alexandria)

Alexandria City Council approved new environmental standards for the development review process on Saturday, following testimony from dozens of public speakers on climate change and impacts on housing development.

The new Green Building Plan is an update to the 2019 Green Building Policy, which set standards for new public and private renovations needing site plan or special use permit approval. The plan focuses on a measure of energy used by a building called Energy Use Intensity (EUI), rather than specific sustainability certifications like LEED.

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New ‘Green Building Plan’ proposal seeks to update environmental criteria for developments

By Katie Taranto

Published December 15, 2025 at 9:45AM

Alexandria City Hall in Old Town in 2024 (staff photo by James Cullum)

The city of Alexandria is hoping to update its environmental standards for new developments, with a proposal slated for review by the Planning Commission and City Council next month.

Released last week, the proposed Green Building Plan establishes new criteria for private and public developments in aspects like renewable energy usage and wastewater infrastructure. It serves as an update to the city’s 2019 Green Building Chapter, which currently “relies heavily on prescriptive third-party sustainability certifications with specific ‘performance points’ identified for each certification option,” according to the city.

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New city assessment deems West End watersheds ‘vulnerable’ to flooding

By Katie Taranto

Published November 12, 2025 at 11:45AM

Holmes Run (Staff photo by Jay Westcott)

A new flooding assessment and map have identified watersheds in the West End as some of Alexandria’s most vulnerable flood zones.

Areas considered most at-risk of flooding include the Potomac waterfront, Four Mile Run and Hooffs Run — as well as new additions like Holmes Run, Cameron Run and Backlick Run, according to a map shared by Flood Resilience Plan (FRP) project leaders at a meeting Monday night.

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Alexandria City Council candidates announce how they will tackle climate change

By James Cullum

Published June 7, 2024 at 9:30AM

Waterfront Park along the Potomac River in Alexandria, with National Harbor and the Woodrow Wilson Bridge in the background. (Staff photo by James Cullum)

A majority of Alexandria’s Democrat candidates for City Council rank climate action high on their priority lists.

A number of candidates recently expressed their opinions in a Faith Alliance for Climate Solutions and Build Our Future questionnaire.

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Panel discussion next week tackles climate change impacts and mitigation in Alexandria

By Vernon Miles

Published September 14, 2023 at 9:45AM

Flooding on lower King Street in Old Town (staff photo by James Cullum)

Next week, Agenda Alexandria has its sights set on climate change: looking both at how things like rising heat and water levels will impact the city, and what the city can do to mitigate that impact.

The panel discussion is scheduled for 7 p.m. at the Lyceum (201 S. Washington Street) and can be streamed online. Admittance is $10.

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Upcoming meeting to review Alexandria’s progress on combating climate change

By Vernon Miles

Published August 23, 2022 at 11:00AM

The City of Alexandria is hosting a community workshop this Saturday (Aug. 27) that will let locals weigh in on the city’s plans to fight climate change.

The meeting at the Durant Memorial Center (1605 Cameron Street) is the third and final meeting in a series that aims to review the city’s progress towards its goals of combatting climate change on a local level and plan future efforts.

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Climate and affordable housing take centerstage in Alexandria’s first budget hearing of 2022

By Vernon Miles

Published March 8, 2022 at 2:50PM

Nathaly Zelaya from Tenants at a City Council meeting on March 7, image via City of Alexandriaand Workers United

Alexandria kicked off a discussion of the FY 2023 budget with a public hearing last night (Monday), where climate and housing advocates pushed for the city’s budget to do more to address these issues.

There was little feedback from the City Council in the 45-minute session as the floor was mostly turned over to public speakers.

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City Says Taylor Run Stream Restoration Needed to Prevent Flooding, Opponents Cry Foul Over Habitat Destruction

By James Cullum

Published September 30, 2020 at 2:30PM

Taylor Run (Photo via City of Alexandria)

Alexandria environmental planning staff say that the stream restoration at Taylor Run is necessary to combat the effects of climate change and improve flooding conditions.

On Tuesday night, staff from the Department of Transportation and Environmental Services and city consultants held a Zoom meeting to discuss the proposed $4.5 million restoration of the 1,900-foot-long project. The project falls within the city’s Chesapeake Bay TMDL Action Plan to reduce pollution, and staff say the area is experiencing the effects of climate change.

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Morning Notes

By ALXnow.com

Published October 23, 2019 at 8:00AM

Alexandria City Hall sign (staff Photo by Jay Westcott)

Alexandria Declares Climate Emergency — “On October 22, the Alexandria City Council unanimously adopted a resolution declaring a climate emergency, recognizing that climate change poses a grave threat to everyone in Alexandria and around the world.” [City of Alexandria]

City Council Passes Refugee Resolution — “The Alexandria City Council unanimously approved a resolution to notify the federal government of its continued support for resettling refugees in Alexandria. The action was taken in response to Executive Order 13888, issued on September 26, which provides that the federal government ‘should resettle refugees only in those jurisdictions in which both the State and local governments have consented to receive refugees.'” [City of Alexandria]

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Climate Change Forces Civil War-Era Building to be Rebuilt a Few Feet Higher

By Vernon Miles

Published October 15, 2019 at 3:15PM

Rendering of The Mill restaurant (image via City of Alexandria)

Rising water levels are forcing one planned redevelopment of a historic property to move the building up a few feet.

The Mill, a building at the heart of Robinson Landing development along the waterfront, is being renovated and turned into a Southern-inspired restaurant. The city filing by local builder Murray Bonitt noted that the building was at one point used as a mess hall for Union soldiers during the Civil War. But the renovation will involve taking the building apart and putting it back together again a few feet above its current elevation.