Alexandria’s Planning Commission threw its voice behind criticisms that Alexandria City Public Schools dropped the ball on the recent K-8 and PreK-8 school conversions controversy.
The Planning Commission voted unanimously last week in support of a letter concerning the George Mason Elementary School Modernization project and the Pre-K-8 School Capacity Planning Project, both of which faced scrutiny for lapses in public engagement.
A new breakfast spot in Del Ray stirred up a discussion at the Planning Commission on Tuesday about whether Alexandria has too many trailers.
The plan is to add a pair of trailers for the food truck French Toast to the lot behind 1506 Mount Vernon Avenue. It was docketed for the consent calendar, but Planning Commissioner Mindy Lyle said the trailers represent a negative trend taking place across city planning in Alexandria.
Next week the Planning Commission is scheduled to review a special use permit that could bring the French Toast food truck and a new salad restaurant Salad Topia to Del ray.
The special use permit is for 1506 Mount Vernon Avenue. the restaurant would be inside the building while French Toast would operate from trailers behind the building.
Alexandria’s Planning Commission endorsed a new pilot program (docket item 4) that will allow on-street vending in designated spaces on Mount Vernon Avenue as consistent with the city’s master plan.
The one-year pilot will allow limited vending on the 3800 block of Mount Vernon Avenue. Vendors are allowed to sell whole, uncut produce and a limited number of small, non-food items in on-street spaces.
A new pilot program (item 4) will allow street venting along Mount Vernon Avenue in the Arlandria-Chirilagua neighborhood, though the staff report said the plan is to create a legal pathway for something already occurring in the neighborhood.
A new one year pilot program is headed to the Planning Commission for review on Tuesday, Jan. 7.
TD Bank is moving to a new King Street location in Old Town by 2025.
On Saturday, City Council unanimously approved a special use permit allowing the bank to operate with 37 feet of street frontage at 515 King Street. The decision was previously backed 5-2 by the Planning Commission, which went against a staff recommendation to deny the project.
A recent Planning Commission debate over a bank (docket item 9) typified the governing body’s fascinating tug-of-war between high-minded rhetoric vs the nuts and bolts of bureaucracy.
The Planning Commission said arguments around whether or not Old Town has too many banks distracted from the real question of whether King Street’s retail space is better served by having a weird seven foot gap in the front of the building where the bank wasn’t allowed by-right.
Despite concerns raised by families of residents at Silverado Memory Care (2807 King Street), Alexandria’s Planning Commission recommended approval of a change that will let facility substantially increase (item 7) its number of residents without expanding the facility.
The plan is to increase beds on the site from 66 to 90 without any building expansion by shifting to an increased number of “companion rooms” — rooms with two residents. Loren Shook , co-founder of Silverado Memory Care, said that 80% of rooms in most facilities are companion rooms.
A proposal to add seven new townhomes on Seminary Road is headed to the Planning Commission this week (docket item 9) and has stirred up some controversy in the neighborhood.
The plan by Verity Builders LLC is to build six market-rate townhouses and one affordable townhouse at 5216 Seminary Road. Each home will be three stories plus a roof deck and garage.
Alexandria is considering making trailers permanent structures.
The city’s special use permit process currently allows commercial businesses and schools to use temporary trailers for two years, followed by an option to extend the use for an additional period.
A developer is submitting a proposal to Alexandria’s Planning Commission this fall to replace a single-family home on Seminary Road with seven new townhomes.
The proposed “cluster” development is planned for 5216 Seminary Road. The development would have seven parking spaces on-site.
