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Notes: Rep. Don Beyer enrolls at George Mason University to learn about artificial intelligence

Good Friday morning, Alexandria!

⛈️ Today’s weather: Expect scattered showers and thunderstorms, partly sunny skies, and a high around 68. Breezy conditions will prevail, featuring a west wind at 14-24 mph and gusts up to 43 mph; there’s a 40% chance of precipitation. Friday night will see scattered showers, mainly before 2am, with mostly cloudy skies and a low near 52. The breeze will continue with a west wind at 21 mph and gusts reaching 39 mph, accompanied by a 30% chance of precipitation.

🚨 You need to know

Rep. Don Beyer, of Virginia’s 8th District, speaks to supporters on election night at Pork Barrel BBQ in Del Ray, Nov. 8, 2022 (staff photo by James Cullum)

Like Rodney Dangerfield, U.S. Rep. Don Beyer (D-8) is going back to school.

Patch reported that the 73-year-old Congressman enrolled at George Mason University to get a Master’s Degree in artificial intelligence.

Does it pose an existential threat? Beyer says no.

“I tend to be an AI optimist,” Beyer said after taking a recent class. “We can’t even imagine how different our lives will be in five years, 10 years, 20 years, because of AI. … There won’t be robots with red eyes coming after us any time soon. But there are other deeper existential risks that we need to pay attention to.”

📈 Thursday’s most read

The following are the most-read ALXnow articles for Apr 11, 2024.

  1. Mayoral candidates say Alexandrians lost trust in public officials because of failed Potomac Yard arena deal (1023 views)
  2. Alexandria police investigating white supremacist fliers posted in Potomac Yard (923 views)
  3. What’s Up in Alexandria This Weekend: Del Ray Dog Fest, Spring Garden Market, Spring Oysterfest, and more! (460 views)

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on today and this weekend in Alexandria, from our event calendar.

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What’s Up in Alexandria This Weekend: Del Ray Dog Fest, Spring Garden Market, Spring Oysterfest, and more!

The Dogs Of Del Ray mural (staff photo by James Cullum)

Here’s a roundup of all the events, live music, and entertainment happening around Alexandria this weekend; enjoy! 

Are you organizing an event? Submit events to ALXnow.

Friday, April 12

Things To Do

Live Music & Entertainment

City of Alexandria

Saturday, April 13

Things To Do

Live Music & Entertainment

City of Alexandria

Sunday, April 14

Things To Do

Live Music & Entertainment

City of Alexandria

  • There are no events or public meetings scheduled.

Ryan Belmore is an award-winning news publisher, editor, and journalist. Born and raised in Rhode Island, he now resides in Alexandria with his wife and two rescue dogs. He was recently appointed to the City of Alexandria’s Board of Zoning Appeals and previously served on the City’s Commission For The Arts. Email listings and events to Ryan at [email protected]. Follow Ryan on Instagram at whatsupalexandria.

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Mayoral candidates say Alexandrians lost trust in public officials because of failed Potomac Yard arena deal

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The failed Potomac Yard arena deal, transparency in government and affordable housing took the lead as top issues in the first mayoral candidate forum of the 2023 Democratic primary race.

The candidates — Vice Mayor Amy Jackson, Council Member Alyia Gaskins and former real estate developer Steven Peterson are vying to replace outgoing two-term Mayor Justin Wilson, and provided positions on a number of subjects Wednesday night to the Del Ray Citizens Association.

The Potomac Yard arena deal was sprung on the region in a surprise Dec. 13 press conference as a one-in-a-lifetime chance to move the Washington Wizards and Capitals from D.C. next door to the Potomac Yard Metro station.

Gaskins said that it was a mistake to rollout the arena deal as if it was a slam dunk, and that the city needs to work on its community engagement.

“This was not a done deal, as I think we all understand,” Gaskins said. “But the way it was rolled out I think is a huge learning moment for us, because far too many people thought it was and then they lost trust not only in the process, but they lost trust in their elected officials. And when we lose your trust we have failed.”

Del Ray is next to Potomac Yard, and DRCA is one of the next door neighborhoods that was against the arena project, according to a March survey.

Governor Glenn Youngkin envisioned a world-class venue and entertainment district that could potentially lower residential taxes in the city, but he lacked the political acumen to get Democrat legislators on board and the proposal died in the Senate Appropriations Committee.

Peterson said that he’s running on a platform of transparency.

“I think that we saw firsthand that the arena deal was not approved due to the lack of transparency with the citizens,” Peterson said. “Essentially, trust was lost between the citizens and the state and local government officials.”

He continued, “The December announcement clearly caught a majority this area by surprise. There was never any transparency with the citizens or citizen input.”

Jackson is on her second term on City Council. An Alexandria native and T.C. Williams High School graduate, she said that she was against the arena early on, but that Potomac Yard still needs an entertainment district, and echoed statements by landowner JBG Smith’s CEO Matt Kelly, who said that the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus will be the anchor and that Potomac Yard’s future is as a tech corridor. She also said that she supports a 3-cent tax increase to pay for teacher raises.

“We still need an entertainment district,” Jackson said. “It needs to be a tech district.”

City Council has advertised a 4-cent tax increase in its budget deliberations.

The candidates spoke for less than an hour, establishing their platforms with 10-minute-long opening statements and two minute closing statements. The questions were sent to the candidates before the forum, and were focused on the arena, the school system, taxes, city services and protecting Del Ray as a historic neighborhood.

Jackson and Peterson agreed to protecting Del Ray’s historic character. Jackson she was against Council’s elimination of single family zoning, and Peterson said that he would reverse a slew of zoning reforms passed last year that are intended to increase the city’s affordable housing stock.

Peterson said that the city isn’t broken and has a lot to be proud of.

“Mayor Wilson has navigated the city through some challenging times,” he said. “There’s ways to address affordable housing but eliminating single family housing is not the solution in my opinion.”

Peterson also said that Del Ray should take its cues from Old Town’s historic district, which puts restrictions on homeowners to redevelop properties.

“Old Town has done a very good job and I think we need to help model Del Ray with what what is done in Old Town, because the historic nature is what’s made it successful and why people want to live there now,” he said.

Gaskins is seemingly the frontrunner in the race, having raised the most money, as of the last campaign finance disclosure deadline in December. She now claims to have raised $134,000, and also received the endorsements from three out of the four City Council Members seeking reelection — John Taylor Chapman, Kirk McPike and Sarah Bagley.

Gaskins said that her top priorities are creating a safer, more affordable and accessible city. If elected, she said that City Council would conduct monthly meetings with the Sheriff’s Office and Police department. She also said that she supports no more than a 2.5 cent tax increase in the upcoming budget.

“We’re going to develop action plans that we post on our website so that you can see what we’re working on and you can hold us accountable for delivering,” Gaskins said.

The Democratic primary is June 18, and there are a number of candidate forums between now and then.

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Del Ray bar Hops N Shine wants live outdoor music 10+ hours a day

Hops N Shine (photo via Hops N Shine/Facebook)

A popular bar on the border of Del Ray and Arlandria is looking to expand with expanded hours and live entertainment.

Hops N Shine at 3410 Mount Vernon Avenue is asking the city to approve a plan to extend its outdoor patio hours, allow outdoor cooking, and have “amplified soft background” music with a live musician.

The restaurant is asking that outdoor live music be allowed Sunday to Thursday from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 11 a.m. to 11 p.m.

According to their special use permit application:

  • Patio hours would be extended an hour, until 11 p.m. Sunday to Thursday, and until midnight on Friday and Saturday
  • The outdoor cooking would include s’mores over propane fire pits, and date night cooking classes with 16-ounce butane cans with portables stoves tops
  • Opening the garage door in the front of the building, while continuing live indoor entertainment
  • The addition of an acoustic musician Friday from 4 to 9 p.m. and on Saturday and Sunday from 12 to 9 p.m.
  • Introduce outdoor games like Jenga, cornhole and Connect Four

The matter goes before the Planning Commission on June 4.

A blueprint of the proposed expansion of Hops N Shine at 3410 Mount Vernon Avenue (via City of Alexandria)

Photo via Hops N Shine/Facebook

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Notes: Inova hosting blood drive at Del Ray Farmer’s Market on Saturday

Good Friday morning, Alexandria!

☀️ Today’s weather: Expect mostly sunny skies and a high of 54 degrees, accompanied by west winds at 7 to 17 mph and gusts up to 24 mph. As the evening approaches, the sky will remain mostly clear with temperatures dropping to around 37 degrees and a northwest wind of about 11 mph.

🚨 You need to know

Inova Bloodmobile (via Inova Blood Donor Services/Facebook)

Inova Blood Donor services will be on-hand at the Del Ray Farmer’s Market this Saturday.

Inova says that there’s a “critical shortage of blood, especially type O, due to increased usage in treating patients with critical injuries,” and will be hosting a number of blood drives throughout the region.

“Donations of any blood type, but particularly those with type O blood, could be the vital support these patients require,” Inova said in a release. “By donating, you directly impact lives and help replenish the blood supply to meet this urgent demand.”

Inova’s “Bloodmobile” will be at 2309 Mount Vernon Avenue from 8 a.m. to noon.

📅 Upcoming events

Here is what’s going on today and this weekend in Alexandria, from our event calendar.

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Newly renovated ‘Piece Out Del Ray’ pizza parlor reopening in April

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After nearly a year of extensive renovation and expansion, Piece Out Del Ray is reopening next month, it’s owner tells ALXnow.

The expansion from 2,700 to 4,600 square feet includes a large, center-focused bar area, a brand new dining room in what was previously a neighboring yoga studio, booths, dart boards and 21-and-up-only shuffleboard. A small area for outdoor seating is still being leveled and rails need to be put in place, but otherwise the restaurant was ready enough to open for a March Madness pop-up event on Wednesday night.

Owner Larry Ponzi wouldn’t disclose how much he spent renovating the space, except to say that it was more than he’d expected.

“We’re just going to work next week on our staffing, post-construction organization, cleaning and finishing our menu development,” Ponzi said. “The following week we should be open.”

Ponzi and his wife Christine opened the pizzeria for delivery and takeout only during the pandemic in 2020. The restaurant became popular, and after distancing and dining restrictions were lifted, Ponzi said that the 2,700-square-foot space got overwhelmed with customers and the delivery option had to be scrapped.

After studio Body Logic moved across the street, Ponzi and the property owner agreed on absorbing the additional space into the restaurant.

“We’re doing our best to keep the feel and vibe of the old Piece Out,” Ponzi said. “We’re just in a space that we really feel is our own. We want to keep all the good things about Piece Out that people love and just make it a little better.”

Chef Johnny Mohl is working on an expanded menu with seasonal specials.

“I’m really excited to be here,” Mohl said. “With this modern layout, the whole restaurant just has this feeling of old and new coming together, which is something that I really love.”

The Ponzi’s PCG Restaurant Group owns St. Elmo’s Coffee Pub in Del Ray and Old Town North, Cafe Pizzaiolo (1623 Fern Street), Market 2 Market (116 E. Del Ray Avenue) and Red Drum Grill and Tap House in Nags Head, North Carolina.

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Warwick Village neighborhood hosting ‘Mega Yard Sale’ next month

Warwick Village, a neighborhood at the northern end of Del Ray, is bringing back the Warwick Village Mega Yard Sale next month.

The sale is set to return on Saturday, April 13, from 8 a.m. to noon across the neighborhood’s 12 streets.

Locals can sign up on the Warwick Village website to host a sale, publicize the information, or just help in some other capacity.

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Alexandria City Council rejects controversial Del Ray house and ADU proposal

Proposed Del Ray accessory dwelling unit (image via Eustilus Architecture/City of Alexandria)

(Updated 9:20 p.m.) After a prolonged battle between a Del Ray homeowner and his neighbors over a proposed accessory dwelling unit (ADU) and a single-family home, Alexandria’s City Council struck the plans down in a meeting earlier this week.

The plan (docket item 11) was to create a two-story, single-unit ADU to 404 E. Alexandria Avenue along with a single-family home. The unit would be set off the main street on a vacant lot and accessible by a public alley.

The plan drew backlash from neighbors from the start. The Del Ray Civic Association recommended denial of the project and residents spoke at the Planning Commission and City Council meeting, expressing concerns about the tree preservation, emergency access, stormwater management and more.

While the Planning Commission recommended approval for the ADU in a divided 4-3 vote, the City Council was unanimous in their denial.

City Council members said the sum of the concerns added up to the development feeling incompatible with the neighborhood.

“Where I’m really struggling is, when I reviewed this case, it says over and over that in order for the SUP approval it has to be compatible with the surrounding neighborhood,” said City Council member Alyia Gaskins. “And then when you look at the staff report, the language that was used was ‘we’re not aware of any lots without the frontage in Del Ray’, ‘this is the first of its kind on the block’, ‘no other contemporary architectural types’ and ‘it’s unique’. For me, that language begins to pull out some of those pieces… it is different in multiple ways.”

City Council members said they didn’t want to discourage ADU development or even slap down unorthodox buildings, but the Council agreed unanimously that this ADU didn’t fit on that Del Ray lot.

“The request to permit a substandard lot is not in and of itself an extraordinary or unique case,” said City Council member Sarah Bagley, who noted that she was still undecided up until the final vote. “I want to be careful about what we think of as ‘well it’s different… and therefore incompatible.'”

Bagley said there’s likely to be more new and innovative designs coming before the City Council in coming years as buildings are reconfigured to, for example, maximize solar panels on the roof.

Bagley ultimately joined her colleagues on the City Council in a unanimous vote to deny the substandard lot application.

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Del Ray accessory dwelling unit proposal raises concerns about short-term rentals

Proposed Del Ray accessory dwelling unit (image via Eustilus Architecture/City of Alexandria)

A two-story, single-unit accessory dwelling unit (ADU) on a Del Ray alley is heading to the City Council with a mixed reception from the community and the Planning Commission.

The project is located on a vacant lot at 404 East Alexandria Avenue, surrounded by single-unit, semi-detached, townhouse and multi-unit residential properties.

ADUs are smaller, independent residential dwelling units located on the same lot as single-family housing. In Alexandria, they can be used as short-term rentals, though not if the main house is also being rented out. Alexandria’s ADU policy has been revised over the years to scale back the requirements, hoping to avoid the lackluster ADU implementation in Arlington.

According to the city’s website, ADUs are prohibited for use as a short-term rental and the homeowner is required to maintain primary residence of the subject property at the time of ADU construction. ADUs are prohibited from being used for short-term rental for more than 120 days per year.

One of the main concerns raised through the bureaucratic process has been the use of the ADU as a rental despite the fact that the owner said they don’t live in the main building and intend to rent the site for long-term tenants. The Del Ray Citizens Association (DRCA) said they were surprised to learn there’s no method of determining primary residence.

According to the letter:

Requiring owner occupancy of either the primary dwelling or the ADU was of paramount importance when the DRCA originally supported the ADU ordinance. This was in order to control the use of the ADU and to discourage both units on a property being used for short-term rentals (VRBO and AirBnBs). Staff revealed that there was no formalized method for determining primary residence and that there was a Staff-level interpretation made on how to handle a proposal for both a new house and new ADU built on a vacant lot. It seems the primary residence requirement is effectively being ignored by this interpretation policy. This was quite a surprise to members of the DRCA and is something that needs clarification to both staff and the community.

According to the staff report, Planning and Zoning inspectors enforce regulations but “there are some enforcement challenges, particularly with the limitations imposed on accessory dwelling units.”

Applicant Eric Teran said that his plan is not to do short term rental for the ADU.

“Ideally our plan would be to rent it long-term,” Teran said. “That’s our plan. May things change? Possibly. But we’re not planning to do short-term rental.”

Several neighbors spoke in opposition to the proposed ADU at an earlier Planning Commission meeting. The Del Ray Civic Association recommended denial of the project.

According to a staff presentation, community concerns about the ADU included:

  • Stormwater management and flooding
  • Tree preservation
  • Emergency an construction vehicle access
  • Alley vision clearance and vehicular access for safety
  • Use as a short-term rental and ADU primary residence requirement
  • Street parking and a lack of street frontage

The Planning Commission recommended approval but in a divided 4-3 vote.

The staff report recommends approval.

Staff supports the applicants’ proposal. As required by Zoning Ordinance section 12-401(C), the proposed development would not impact light nor air supply to adjacent properties, diminish nor impair property values, and would be compatible with existing neighborhood character in terms of height, bulk, and design.

The proposal is scheduled for review at the City Council meeting on Tuesday, March 12.

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Tickets on sale for first Del Ray House and Garden Tour since Covid

Del Ray House and Garden Tour poster (image via Del Ray Citizens Association)

The Del Ray House and Garden Tour is returning this May for the first time since the Covid pandemic hit.

The tour returns on Saturday, May 11, from 11 a.m.-5 p.m. and offers visitors an inside look at everything from lavish homes to accessory dwelling units.

The event involves a self-guided walking tour around a variety of Del Ray’s most beautiful homes and gardens. The event is hosted by the Del Ray Citizens Association (DRCA). Tickets are $45 if purchased in advance or $50 if purchased the day-of. Proceeds from the tour benefit neighborhood projects like the creation of local gardens and playgrounds.

According to the DRCA website:

The House and Garden Tour has been held every other year from 1999 until 2018. With the COVID-19 pandemic, plans for a tour in 2020 and 2022 were put on hold, so the DRCA is excited for this year’s return. Proceeds from ticket sales go toward neighborhood projects. In 2018, the tour raised more than $14,000 for the Nancy Dunning Memorial Garden and the Del Ray Gateway Project, while other tours have supported the Mt. Vernon School playground and neighborhood parks.

2024 House and Garden Tour Committee member Caitlin Garlow told ALXnow the specifics of the tour are kept a bit of a mystery until the day of the tour, but did say:

  • The homes on this year’s tour range from small scale accessory dwelling units (ADUs) to single family new construction and everything in between.
  • This walkable tour offers a chance to see the wide variety of homes in the neighborhood as well as gardens and landscaped areas.
  • The tour is a wonderful reflection of Del Ray’s diversity as well as an opportunity to see the work of local architects and builders.
  • Get an inside look at living in Del Ray and to gather ideas on paint colors, tiles, decorative hardware, plants, bath and kitchen fixtures, and more.
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