Fall 2024 Meeting

Please join members and officers of Seminary West Civic Association at our next quarterly meeting! You do not need to be a SWCA member to attend a meeting.

Thursday, October 10, 2024
7:00pm on Zoom (email us for the link)

Agenda

1. New Developments
   Corner of Seminary Rd and Echols Ave (5216 Seminary Rd)
   A discussion of the seven townhouses proposed at this intersection. The property is adjacent to the Seminary Park townhouse community.

2. Project Status Reports

   1. Alex West Small Area Plan

   2. West End Transitway

   3. Seminary Road traffic study + operational issues

   4. 1900 N. Beauregard St. Development

   5. Zoning For Housing: Lawsuit by Coalition for a Livable Alexandria

   6. Holmes Run Trail repairs

3. How Can SWCA Help You?
   An invitation for members to flag issues of concern that SWCA can help address

4. A Call For Leaders
   A reminder that the current SWCA Board’s term expires in January 2025, and new volunteer leaders need to step forward
   

Ongoing Initiatives

Housing & Land Use In Alexandria West

Read the latest SWCA correspondence to the City re: Alexandria West planning here.

Seminary Road Updates

For information and updates about committee and City work on Seminary Road, click here.

From the President

As many of you know, the City has started the Alexandria West Plan, which will update two previous plans for the City west of I-395, one from 1992 and the other from 2012. The plan that will be developed will guide the City's review and approval of development, transportation, housing, and parks/open space for several decades to come. 

The Seminary West Community was well-represented in the development of the 1992, which chiefly helped guide the development plan for the Winkler properties of Mark Center. That plan expressly stated that the preservation of our area was a priority, and that increased density and taller buildings belonged between N Beauregard St and I-395. The 2012 Beauregard Small Area Plan also had Seminary West representation on an Advisory Committee, but despite best efforts, that plan was chiefly driven by new owners of the former Winkler properties who wanted significantly increased density and heights, and wanted them to spill over to west of N. Beauregard. Thus, we got things like The Blake Apartments at Seminary/Beauregard, the upcoming Upland Park, and the apartments and townhouses right up the sidewalk in the 5100 block of Fillmore Ave.

The current planning effort is being done without  a citizen advisory committee. Your Association's Board is greatly concerned about the plan not being community-based, as almost every other small area plan in the City's history have been. Thus, I wrote to the Director of Planning & Zoning, and copied the Mayor and City Council, the following memo, explaining the critical need for direct citizen involvement to guide the plan for our community.

Read Memo

This week, I received the following response from Mr. Karl Moritz, the Director. Staff is taking a new direction, with the intent of opening up dialogue with the full diversity of persons in the Alexandria West area.

Read City Response

Your Board understood the City's explanation when we wrote them in December. We agree — all voices need to be heard. Indeed, we are very happy to join our voices with those who rent in the many large apartment complexes adjacent to Seminary West, as we believe we have far more in common with those neighbors than we do have differences. The preservation of their affordable rentals, keeping high-rise and dense development from threatening garden apartments, townhouses, and detached single family homes, the safety of pedestrians along Beauregard and Seminary, continuation of very high levels of transit service, fixing/improving our parks, and the preservation of our tree canopy are all points we believe nearly everyone in Alexandria West supports. 

By solely relying on online polls and pop-up encounters at shopping, and then a few very large community meetings, we are concerned that staff and the developers will have the chief say on how our community should look over the next few decades. We support a Citizen Advisory Group to be named to work week-in-and-week-out with staff, in addition to the other community outreach which is all staff are planning to do. Broadly based, representing all voices, such a group can help ensure that the Plan reflects what the residents want, whether they are renters or owners.

Please join SWCA meetings and let your voices be heard about how critical it is for direct citizen involvement with this plan.

Thank you,

Owen Curtis
President
Seminary West Civic Association