At the 2/13/2019 Planning Commission (PC) meeting, it was clear that the PC had expected Town staff to analyze, or at least categorize, the comments that were part of the Town’s Visual Preference survey. E.g., how many people mentioned parking as an issue, that sort of thing. That appeared to be part of the original plan. But Town staff dismissed the idea. Just won’t do it, plain and simple.
So I will. Continue reading Visual preference survey comments analysis tool, 2/16/2019
All of the new MAC-mandated outdoor dining space adjacent to Maple seems … delusional, to me. I think that no sane person is going to want eat dinner sitting 15′ from the Maple Avenue curb. Not if they have any alternative. At least not until electric vehicles are the norm. Because with 33,000 vehicles a day, serving as an artery for all kinds of commercial traffic, the space adjacent to Maple is noisy and polluted.
Edit 2/19/2019: I was out and about on Tuesday 2/19/2019, around 3 PM, so I decided to record what it would be like to try to sit 15′ from Maple and have a conversation. I sat in the bus stop (below), and recorded myself talking in a conversational tone of voice, with my cell phone facing me at arms length. So here’s my best impression of what it will sound like to hold a dinner conversation in the fine streetside dining provided by these new MAC buildings. (And note, this isn’t even rush hour.) Continue reading What seating is there, 15′ from the curb on Maple? 2/15/2019, updated 2/19/2019
The pro-MAC members of our Town Council have sold MAC as preserving “small town” Vienna. Putting aside truth or fiction of that claim, one of the key features of MAC buildings used to make that claim is that these buildings are only four stories tall. (They are four very large stories, but, again, put that aside). Continue reading MAC buildings are four stories? Guess again, 2/15/2018
The Board of Architectural Review (BAR) held a work session on 2/15/2019 to provide comments on the new Maple Avenue Commercial visual guidelines. This is the meeting what was originally scheduled for a week ago, but was (somewhat chaotically) postponed until today. Continue reading Board of Architectural Review work session 2/15/2019, audio recording
Updated 2/28/2019 to remove a couple of properties that I thought were vacant, but are either occupied or in the process of being occupied. I’ll put the new material in … whatever color you’d call this. Continue reading Retail vacancy rate estimate, 2/13/2019, REVISED 2/28/2019
The 2/13/2019 Town of Vienna Planning Commission work session addressed a) the proposed 40-condo development at 380 Maple West, and b) the first draft of the MAC “visual guidelines”. You can find the Town’s materials for that meeting at this link.
My audio (.mp3) recording of the 2/13/2019 Planning Commission meeting is available on Google Drive, at this link. There are two mp3s (for two parts of the session) and an Excel (.xls) file that serves as an index to the recordings. Continue reading Planning Commission work session 2-13-2019, audio recording
Go to this page if you want to listen to an audio recording of the meeting.
Before I provide commentary, I should briefly describe what this meeting was about.
The first section of the meeting was a presentation on revising (what used to be called) the Vienna citizen’s guide to traffic calming. This document lays out the process by which citizens can ask for traffic-calming measures on their streets. For example, a change in speed limit, speed humps, caution signs, and similar.
The second section of the meeting was an introduction to the new “visual guidelines” for MAC buildings. This was the part I was there to hear, and most of my comments focus on that.
The final section of the meeting was a discussion of the process by which the Town may accept “proffers” from builders. This part of the session was motivated by the irregular manner in which the Town accepted a last-minute proffer from the developers of 444 Maple West (Tequila Grande) before passing that proposal.
Commentary follows. Continue reading My comments on the 2/11/2019 Town Council work session, 2/13/2019
I made an audio recording of the 2/11/2019 Town Council work session. You can download this recording of the meeting from Google Drive, at this link. There are three MP3 files for the three parts of the meeting, plus copies of the Town’s documents for the meeting. These were recorded at very high volume, so turn the volume down on your device before you play them.
This work session dealt with the new “visual guidelines” for MAC zoning (and to some degree, with changes in the MAC rules). There was also a section on proffers (voluntary offers by developers to make their developments more attractive to the Town). And there was a section on the Town’s guide to traffic calming. Continue reading Audio recording, Town Council work session 2-11-2019, links to all audio added 2/13/2019
This week there are three public meetings regarding MAC zoning. One meeting will include a discussion of the proposed 40-condo building at 380 Maple Avenue West (corner of Maple and Wade Hampton). All three meetings will include discussion of the Town’s process for revising the Maple Avenue Commercial zoning regulations over the course of the next few months.
All meetings are in Town Hall. You may attend these meetings, but you will not have any opportunity to speak. These meetings will not be videotaped or live-streamed by the Town.
Tonight (Monday), 2/11/2019, 7:30 PM, Town Council work session. This is the kickoff for the Town’s efforts to revise the Maple Avenue Commercial zoning rules. Town staff will present a schedule for making those revisions. The Town Council will also discuss the conditions under which developers can make “proffers”, i.e., offers of money or other contributions designed to make their proposals more attractive to the Town.
Meeting materials are here:
https://vienna-va.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=654189&GUID=C5C898D9-E1E2-4322-A562-324ECE3B4ECC&Options=&Search=
Wednesday 2/13/2019, 6:30 PM, Planning Commission work session. The Planning Commission will have an hour-long discussion about the proposed new 40-condo building for 380 Maple West (corner of Maple and Wade Hampton). Then, at 7:30, they will get their own briefing, from Town staff, on the schedule for revising MAC zoning regulations.
Meeting materials are here:
https://vienna-va.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=673395&GUID=8D035A53-35AA-4F67-9D80-11A40105A330&Options=info&Search=
Friday 2/15/2019, 8 AM (NOTE that this is AM, not PM), Board of Architectural Review work session. The Board of Architectural Review will begin to discuss the new guidelines for MAC buildings and revisions to the MAC zoning regulations.
Meeting materials are here:
https://vienna-va.legistar.com/MeetingDetail.aspx?ID=678627&GUID=32374BC4-ED55-4E99-B05C-8ED3E026DAD4&Options=info&Search=
The Town reserves the right to change or cancel meetings on short notice, so check the Town’s general calendar before you go, at this URL: https://www.viennava.gov/Calendar.aspx?NID=1&FID=220
I have reports that the stakes holding up my green savemaple.org yard signs are breaking. I would like to keep these signs up through the May 7 2019 Town election.
I have bought replacement stakes and have left them at the end of my driveway at 226 Glen Ave SW. If the metal stake for your sign has broken, please drop off the broken one and pick up a new (but somewhat smaller) one from the end of my driveway. Continue reading Replacement yard sign stakes, 2/10/2019