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| INTERSECT-
Newsletter of the Washington Regional Network for Livable Communities
Volume 9 Number 2 For back issues of Intersect, visit www.washingtonregion.net/news.html
Summary: |
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WRN Forum: April 21, 2005 Can wide, fast roads be tamed to serve people trying to walk to the Metro station? Learn about Maryland's new thinking in managing high volume streets to better serve transit riders, walkers, local residents and shoppers. Presenters will use recent efforts at the Wheaton Metro station in Montgomery County to show how concepts for retrofitting suburban-style roads to better serve pedestrians and transit riders can work. Speakers will also explore how these designs can be more broadly applied and accepted by residents, transportation engineers, and public officials throughout the region. RSVP (attendance only): WRN, 202-244-1105, or e-mail: staff@washingtonregion.net. This event is free of charge. For more about WRN, see: www.washingtonregion.net
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Leslie Steen Honored with Second Annual Livable Communities Award Braving a snowy night Feb. 28, 62 civic activists, politicians, and business leaders joined WRN in honoring Leslie Steen with the second annual Livable Communities Leadership Award. Special guest speaker Eric Price, former D.C. Deputy Mayor for Economic Development, paid tribute to Steen. Leslie Steen is former President and CEO of Community Preservation and Development Corporation (CPDC), and is now with the Housing Partnership Network. For 15 years, Steen led CPDC in the redevelopment of more than 3500 homes in 23 apartment complexes in D.C., Maryland, Virginia and other communities. This annual award recognizes individuals for outstanding efforts to help the Washington, D.C. region accommodate growth, create diverse, livable communities, and protect the environment. Steven Jones, president of the WRN Board of Directors stated, "Leslie's work to restore large, troubled housing complexes and preserve the affordability of properties threatened with conversion to high-end housing is a tremendous contribution to smart growth. Maintaining the diversity of existing communities and enhancing access to jobs, services, and education for families of all incomes is a core part of smart growth. This is a critical part of a strategy to equitably accommodate our region's growth, enhance existing communities, and protect the natural environment." The event's gold sponsors were Stout and Teague and the JBG Companies. Silver sponsors were Edgewood Management, JER Hudson Housing Capital, Mid-City Financial Corporation, New Legacy Partners, and Torti Gallas and Partners CHK, Inc. |
| New Report Calls for Dedicated Local Funding for Affordable Housing
By Stephen Wade A new study released this week, "Affordable Housing Isn't Cheap: The Status of and Need for Dedicated Local Revenue for Affordable Housing Production and Preservation in the Washington, D.C., Region," shows that only a few of the region's governments are providing significant and stable local funding for affordable housing. This basic policy could be adopted in many jurisdictions as housing values rise, affordability decreases, and property tax revenues climb. "Dedicating a local source of funding for affordable housing is often times the first and most basic step a jurisdiction can take to address its affordable housing need," noted Cheryl Cort, Executive Director of The Washington Regional Network for Livable Communities (WRN), the sponsor of the report. "We need to directly reinvest revenues from this booming real estate market back into affordable housing. This is an important opportunity to enable families to live in the communities in which they work," she said. WRN compiled the report to document the region's gaps in local funding for affordable housing, and to recommend amounts and sources of funding so local governments can take more decisive steps to address the crisis. The report found that housing prices are increasingly out of reach for low- and moderate-income families across the Washington, D.C., region. Housing supply has not kept up with job growth, wages have not kept up with the rising price of housing, a majority of low-income families pay more than 30 percent of their income on housing costs, and a majority of the units that low-income families can afford are occupied by higher income households that could afford more expensive units. "As housing costs increase in the inner core jurisdictions and the local governments fail to respond with appropriate policies, families with modest incomes get pushed farther from their jobs," said Cort. WRN's previous report, "The Affordable Housing Progress Report: What the Washington, D.C., Region's Jurisdictions Can Do to Combat the Crisis," found that a housing trust fund, with a dedicated revenue source, is a leading tool in a larger affordable housing strategy. Dedicated funding provides a reliable source of support for quality affordable housing to those families most in need. The dedication of local revenue towards affordable housing is a significant regional trend that represents a strong first step for many jurisdictions in addressing a growing housing affordability problem, the report concludes. "Stronger commitments to housing trust funds could prevent the displacement of hundreds or thousands of residents and create affordable homes for low-income people throughout Northern Virginia," said Jon Liss, Executive Director and Tenants' and Workers' Support Committee. Montgomery County, Md. is the only jurisdiction in the region to have a dedicated local revenue source committed to affordable housing. The District of Columbia has the revenue source and amount identified and promised by law, but the specifics of the funds flowing yearly into the Housing Production Trust Fund remain dependent on the vagaries of the budget process. Arlington County, Va., has a semi-dedicated source of local revenue going into its Housing Investment Fund. Its local revenue commitment to affordable housing has remained consistently high over the 15-year existence of its Housing Investment Fund, but it is not dedicated. Fairfax County, Va., and the City of Alexandria, Va., have affordable housing trust funds that have relatively small, non-dedicated sources of revenue. Therefore, the amount of public funds invested into affordable housing is variable and dependent on yearly budget allocation decisions and other contributions. Prince George's County, Md., and Loudoun County, Va., representing the lower and higher ends of the region's housing price spectrum respectively, do not have affordable housing trust funds. The report recommends that all local jurisdictions match the District of Columbia and Montgomery County, Md., in their local revenue commitments to affordable housing on a per capita basis. D.C.'s and Montgomery's large dedication of funds are part of a recent trend. Other jurisdictions are currently considering making substantially increased commitments. Fairfax County is considering a 1 cent property tax dedication or $17 million. While this is a dramatic increase over its current $1 million average allocation, the report recommends a $30 million, or 2 cents dedication of funds. Similarly, the report recommends the City of Alexandria dedicate approximately $5.5 million per year to its Housing Trust Fund and Arlington County increase its local funding commitment to the Affordable Housing Investment Fund to $12 million per year, and dedicate the revenue source. Prince George's County should create a Housing Trust Fund and dedicate approximately $15-35 million per year; and Loudoun County should create a Housing Trust Fund and dedicate approximately $8.6 million per year, according to the report. The report is available at: www.washingtonregion.net. |
| D.C. Comprehensive Plan Revision Kicks
Off: Transit-Oriented Development and Affordable Housing Viewed as Critical
Issues
By Cheryl Cort Transit-oriented development and affordable housing were hot topics at the D.C. Office of Planning's recent set of public meetings that kicked off a major revision of the city's comprehensive plan. More than 500 District residents attended four workshops across the city to discuss how the overall land use plan should be revised. The Comprehensive Plan has not been thoroughly revised since it was adopted in 1984. The kick-off event follows the City Council's adoption in June 2004 of the policy framework to guide the revision of the Comprehensive Plan, entitled "A Vision for Growing An Inclusive City." While some residents seem to fear change in their neighborhood, others are working to make sure that future growth in their neighborhood brings with it benefits for most people. It appears that for some residents there remains a disconnect between a desire for affordable housing, less traffic, and neighborhood services and a hesitancy about new residents and redevelopment, as they often go hand in hand. At the January workshops, much of the discussion around land use focused on issues of appropriate mix of uses and the scale and intensity of uses. While some participants cautioned against directing growth to Metro stations, others embraced the idea that increased housing and businesses should be focused around transit stations and corridors. "Density is not something I need to be protected from - the issue is how to make density attractive at different scales" said one participant at the McKinley High School session. Mixed-use development emerged as a priority solution as it offers opportunities to meet goals of mixed-income communities and housing types. There was a strong sentiment that developers need to be controlled better by the government, but many acknowledged that hopes for affordable housing and neighborhood quality rested with developers and the right level and mix of incentives was frequently discussed. There was no clear consensus about the level growth in general that the District should work toward. Availability of automobile parking was debated by participants. There was much disagreement between those calling for increased parking supply and public garages, and those wanting to make walking, transit and car sharing even more safe and convenient to relieve neighborhood traffic and parking issues. Better bus service was identified as a top transportation priority, and some suggested that improved bus service, including better crosstown routes and dedicated bus lanes, should take precedence over investment in new light rail service. Pedestrian safety and improved bicycling conditions were also identified as priorities by many participants. One participant commented that the city needs new levels of service measurements "that reflect how well the streets work for bikes, pedestrians, residents, [and] mass transit. Current traffic engineering thinking is 50 years out of date." The workshops showed an overwhelming sense that affordable housing in the city was at "an emergency crisis status." Participants ranked as a priority the practice of tax rules to reduce financial hardships for seniors and lower income households as home prices rise. D.C. currently provides property tax breaks to seniors and people with disabilities, but not low income residents in general. Participants also agreed that neighborhood services should be improved as a way to create more desirable housing for families. Many respondents spoke of the benefits of a diverse population, such as one including low income, young professional, and student residents in all neighborhoods. Expiring federal subsidies providing housing assistance to low income families were ranked as an important concern for participants as was the need for mandatory inclusionary zoning and other housing efforts. Others expressed great reservations about inclusionary zoning's offer of bonus housing units to provide compensation in exchange for including affordable units in private development projects. Several participants expressed concern that increased housing would be a "stress on neighborhood traffic, parking, schools, and flow of emergency vehicles." While the fears of growth and new housing were expressed by many participants, others expect that more residents will have a positive impact on their neighborhoods and the city, putting more eyes on the street and creating a customer base for neighborhood businesses. The discrepancy between expressions of concern about an affordable housing crisis and reluctance to provide increased housing opportunities in the city due to concerns about traffic congestion and parking continue to be ongoing themes in debates about development. The Comprehensive Plan Task Force meets monthly; all meetings are open to the public. The next public workshops are set for June. To learn more about the Comprehensive Plan process and meetings schedules, see: www.inclusivecity.org. |
| Metro's Budget Holds Fares with
Higher Subsidy; Seeks Safety and Customer Improvements
By Melanie Mayock Metro's draft FY06 budget proposes no fare increase, and an 8 percent increase ($32 million) in subsidies from state and local governments to pay for higher operating costs and new programs. Higher costs are due to several factors: service at new rail stations (New York Avenue, Largo); new bus service to relieve overcrowding; higher employee benefits costs; higher fuel costs (a 25 percent increase); and new programs to improve reliability. Metro has proposed a "Customer Service & System Reliability Plan" as part of the FY06 budget to improve Metrorail and Metrobus performance. This includes funds for: adding Metrorail track inspectors; adding supervisors and station managers to busy Metrorail stations at peak hours; adding staff to clean rail cars, rail stations, and buses; and increasing customer service staff. Metro staff view these programs as desperately needed to maintain service for an aging system with record ridership. At $10 million, the cost amounts to less than 1 percent of the agency's operating budget. Metro's Customer Service Department is the primary means of communication between riders and Metro. Complaints from riders about service problems can help Metro managers learn of problems and make corrections. In addition, informative and meaningful responses to rider complaints can help improve riders' confidence in the system. However, Metro's Customer Service Department is struggling under the strain of increased complaints. Comments to Customer Service have increased from approximately 2,000 per month in 2001 to approximately 6,000-7,000 per month today, and each of the department's eight staff members must respond to an average of 50 comments per day. To help improve responses to riders, Metro's budget proposal includes funding for 16 additional Customer Service staff members. Metro is projecting an $8 million surplus for FY05, which ends June 30, primarily due to higher than expected ridership in response to last year's fare increases. It is unclear whether Metro can use this surplus to invest in programs immediately, or will have to return the funds to the member jurisdictions. Metro Board Chair Dana Kauffman recently announced several new initiatives to improve openness and public involvement at Metro. Most of these reforms were proposed by the Sierra Club in a December letter to the agency. The initiatives include: establishment of a Riders Advisory Committee; public comment at monthly board meetings; posting board meeting presentations. online; and simulcasting board meetings. View the Sierra Club's letter To view Metro Board meeting presentations. |
| Virginia Supreme Court Rules Loudoun Must Re-Adopt Rural Zoning: Technical Decision Hinged on Question of Lucketts Being Part of Western Loudoun By Laura Olsen On March 3, the Virginia Supreme Court issued a ruling that required the Loudoun Board of Supervisors to re-advertise and re-enact the new zoning provisions put into effect for western Loudoun two years ago. "Despite significant public engagement and notice about the proposed zoning changes two years ago, the court ruled that because there may have been some confusion in the newspaper advertisement about whether Lucketts is a part of western Loudoun, Loudoun will have to go back and re-enact the rural zoning," said Andrea McGimsey, with the Campaign for Loudoun's Future. "The rural zoning has ensured us in eastern Loudoun that we won't have thousands of additional cars on our roads and thousands of new houses competing with us for school funding." During the last update of Loudoun County's zoning ordinance and comprehensive plan, the potential build-out of the western portion of the county was lowered in order to both ensure the viability of agriculture and to allow the county the financial ability to provide necessary services in the eastern portion of the county. Loudoun County conducted four public hearings and twice sent letters to 64,000 residents countywide explaining the proposal and notifying property owners that they would be affected. In addition, there were newspaper advertisements, Web site notices, and extensive media coverage of the public hearing dates, the substance of the hearings, and the likelihood of a decision by the Board of Supervisors. The Court did not rule on the substance of the rezoning nor that the letters to property owners and the public hearings did not provide sufficient notice. The Court ruled that the newspaper advertisement, which under current law is the defining element of public notice, may not have provided sufficient definition of "western Loudoun." When the new comprehensive plan was adopted two years ago, there were about 7,000 homes in the rural policy area of western Loudoun. Before the zoning change, an additional 51,000 housing units could have been built in western Loudoun adding more than 150,000 new residents to the county, almost doubling the size of Loudoun. The Virginia Supreme Court reversed an earlier decision by the Circuit Court. Developers, all of whom attended the public hearings held about the proposed changes to the zoning ordinance, brought the lawsuit against Loudoun County. For updates on growth proposals, see Campaign for Loudoun's Future at: www.LoudounsFuture.org |
| Arlington Appeal and Virginia
Anti-Affordable Housing Bills Dropped: County Rearticulates Affordable Housing Policies in General Land Use Plan
By Stephen Wade Arlington County and Virginia legislators backed down from a stand-off on a dispute over how local government can ask the private sector to contribute to affordable housing. Arlington agreed to drop its appeal of a lower court decision striking down its 10 percent affordable housing guidelines in exchange for the withdrawal of two Virginia General Assembly bills aimed at halting Arlington and Alexandria efforts to obtain contributions to affordable housing as part of private development projects. On December 10, an Arlington Circuit Court issued a ruling that the 10 percent affordable housing guidelines were in fact a requirement and not voluntary, thereby not legal under Virginia's Dillon Rule, which restricts local authority. As the county moved forward to appeal the ruling, state-level legislation quickly moved through the General Assembly to codify the court's decision. The bills, introduced by Del. Gary Reese (R-Fairfax) and state Sen. William Mims (R-Loudoun), not only reinforced the local court decision against Arlington. The legislation would have restricted all voluntary contributions made by developers for affordable housing unless they were compensated with "bonus density." Since the expanded state legislation would have been damaging to both public sector and private sector affordable housing efforts, Arlington County offered to drop its appeal if the state legislation is also withdrawn. The compromise was accepted, as even many developers viewed the bills as an overreach. On Feb. 15, the Arlington County Board adopted a resolution rearticulating how its affordable housing programs are related to the county's General Land Use Plan (GLUP). The GLUP shows density maximums that are the ceilings and not the base for development. Many parties involved in the site plan process incorrectly perceived the maximum densities to represent the base level of the development. As the county voluntarily offers more density in site plan projects, more community benefits, including affordable housing, will be expected. Second, instead of the 10 percent affordable housing guidelines, Arlington County will create a tiered system, or sliding scale, that clarifies how much affordable housing will be expected with each increase in density above by-right levels. By clarifying its affordable housing guidelines, Arlington County intends
to reach a negotiated solution that will create a more seamless and satisfactory
development process and outcome for the community and private sector. |
| Silver Spring Transit Center
Plans Considered by Planning Board: Concern Raised About Key Public Features
Being Squeezed Out By Wayne Phyillaier After a decade of planning, a massive new Silver Spring Transit Center is back before the Montgomery County Planning Board for review. Silver Spring hosts the busiest Metrorail/Metrobus station in Maryland. Approximately 60,000 commuters pass through the station every day and that number is expected to rise to nearly 100,000 in the next five years. The initial plan in 1996 was only to add bus bays to the Metrorail/Metrobus station. But local residents and planners worked to create a station concept that would be a landmark multi-modal transportation that was planned to begin construction in 2001. The Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority (or Metro) then stopped the project to explore a public-private joint development proposal from developer Foulger-Pratt. Since then the transit center planning has been largely out of sight while the interested parties negotiated. Now the public-private project team is bringing its new vision for the transit center forward. The public part of the project was presented to the Planning Board at the March meeting. The public project includes a three level multi-modal transportation center with 38 bus bays, an intercity bus terminal, a ticketing office for MARC trains, a transit media store, relocated taxi spaces, a relocated Kiss-and-Ride, new pedestrian crosswalks, a segment of the interim Metropolitan Branch Trail, space along the tracks to accommodate a permanent Capital Crescent/Metropolitan Branch Trail segment and a future Bi-County Transitway/Purple Line, and a relocated park. Space is set aside on the site for the private part of the project, described in the December 2004 Draft Environmental Assessment to include a 9-12 story office building, a 9-12 story hotel with 195 rooms, a 10-14 story residential building with 260 units, retail stores, and a three-tier, 400-space underground parking facility. Initial reaction to the new transit center concept has been generally supportive, with some significant reservations. Public officials and civic activists agree that the transit center is badly needed, and that the new concept attempts to make full use of this valuable space in the Silver Spring urban center for mixed-use, transit-oriented development. But as described in testimony to the Planning Board by Harry Sanders of Action Committee for Transit, this is like trying to "put 10 pounds into a 5-pound bag." Several important public components that were in earlier concepts are in danger of being compromised or lost. The new concept does not currently allocate space for street level retail along Colesville Road. With retail space more limited, the transit media store may be little more than a kiosk. The bike station, proposed in earlier concepts and considered important to providing bicycle parking and services to support increased bicycle commuting, has been moved out of the public part of the project and may be lost. Street changes proposed on Colesville Road and Wayne Avenue to accommodate new traffic patterns for buses turning into the transit center may conflict with a street environment needed for friendly pedestrian access. The Planning Board recommended these issues be addressed as the concept
moves into the next level of design. Construction of the public part of
the transit center may begin in summer 2006. For more information visit: www.m-ncppc.org/silverspring/ .
For more on the bike station and trails. |
| "Reality Check" Focuses New Growth Near Metro and Protects Open Spaces
By Laura Olsen A "Reality Check" on Feb. 2 brought together 300 elected officials and community, environmental, development, and business leaders from more than 20 jurisdictions throughout the region to participate in a unique one-day exercise to discuss how the region will absorb another 2 million people and 1.6 million jobs over the next 25 years. The event was sponsored by Urban Land Institute/Washington and Smart Growth Alliance, a coalition of business, smart growth and environmental groups. "There was considerable agreement that growth should be contained, focused near transit stations, with a balance of housing and jobs," noted Gerrit Knaap of the University of Maryland in his presentation of the results at the afternoon session. Through discourse and negotiation, all 300 participants proposed alternative growth scenarios by placing LEGO blocks representing 2 million new residents and 1.6 million new jobs on a grid-covered map of the region. The participants worked in geographically and professionally diverse groups of 10 people at 30 separate tables. "Participants strongly articulated the desire to create more affordable housing close-in near job centers and to take more advantage of Metro by putting more housing and jobs close to the stations," noted Stewart Schwartz, Executive Director of the Coalition for Smarter Growth who participated in the exercise. "Nearly everyone recognized the need for more jobs on the east side of the region to reduce commutes and to take advantage of the capacity for growth near transit stations that currently lack development." The sponsoring groups said the results of this work will set the groundwork for needed regional dialogue and future action to accommodate growth in a way that leverages resources, adds value to communities, and protects the environment and quality of life. A full report compiling the outcome of the exercise will be released in April. A summary of the results are available at: www.smartergrowth.net. Visit Reality Check Washington or e-mail John Bailey for more information. |
| Events
Monday, April 4, 12:30-1:30 pm. The Challenges of Success: The Next Generation of Smart Growth. Chris Zimmerman, Vice Chairman, Arlington County, Va. Board will describe Arlington's successes and challenges as the "Urban Village" has matured, and its efforts to create vibrant places, house its workers, and complete the streets. National Building Museum, 401 F Street, N.W., Washington, D.C. (Judiciary Square Metro). The Smart Growth Speaker Series is free Thursday, April 7, and Saturday, April 30. Whitehurst Freeway Deconstruction Study. The District Department of Transportation (DDOT) is hosting two community meetings on the feasibility of removing the Whitehurst Freeway. April 7, 7-9 pm, St. John's Episcopal Church, 3240 O Street NW: discuss study scope and findings. April 30, 10 am-2 pm, Palisades Neighborhood Library, 4901 V Street, NW (at McArthur Blvd): workshop to review design alternatives. Click here for more information. Tuesday, April 12, 6-9 pm. Metro Board Town Hall Meeting at George Mason High School. WMATA Board members are looking for feedback from system users to improve service delivery. Tel. 202-962-1000. WMATA Saturday, April 16, 1-4 pm. "Celebrate Rural Montgomery" family open house at Poplar Spring Animal Sanctuary south of Poolesville. The open house is part of the countryside artisans' annual spring studio tour. A press conference is planned for 1 pm on April 14 at Poplar Spring. Rural Montgomery Thursday, April 21, 6 pm. "Creating a Safe Walk to Metro: A New View of Wheaton Metro Station & Beyond," a WRN forum at NCPC, 401 9th Street, NW, Suite 500. RSVP to WRN: 202-244-1104, staff@washingtonregion.net. April 1 - May 1. VDOT Idea-66 Study comment period. Virginia Department of Transportation and the Federal Highway Administration have completed a feasibility study on how to best ease congestion within the existing right of way on I-66 westbound from the Rosslyn Tunnel to the Dulles Airport Access Road. Idea 66 Monday, May 2, 8 am to 2:30 pm. 14th Annual Affordable Housing Conference of Montgomery County at Bethesda North Marriott Conference Center. Saturday, May 14, 8:30 am - 1:15 pm. "Good Design RULES:
Implementing Reality Check." Workshop hosted by Congress on New Urbanism/DC
Chapter at NCPC, 401 9 St., NW, Suite 500. Registration fee of $20.00,
includes breakfast and lunch. RSVP by May 3, 2005 to
Jessica Millman , 202.244.4408 ext. 2. www.cnudc.org. Thank You's: WRN wishes to thank the following friends of WRN for their generous contributions: Jim Campbell, Jim Clarke, Patrick Costigan, David Cristeal, John Dillon, Rosalyn Doggett, Dennis Duffy, Chris Forinash, Linda Freimark, Bill Gallagher, David Garrison, Lynne Hackney, Roberta Hantgan, Jay Hellman, Joe Horning, Joe Howell, Gerry Joseph, Jill Khadduri, Katherine Kravetz, Bill McLeod, John McIlwain, Chris Miller, Jon Morgan, Patricia Nicoson, Laura Olsen, Craig Pascal, Sczerina Perot, Kathleen Pritchard, Art Rodgers, Harry Sanders, Stewart Schwartz, Stephen Shaff, Suman Sorg, Frank Spielberg, Frances Stewart, Yolanda Takesian, Joshua Vincent and the Henry George Foundation, Carol Wayman, Janet Welsh Brown, Charles Wilkins, Jr., Stephanie Williams, Laura Yaffe. Intersect staff: Cheryl Cort, editor; Stephen Wade, Laura Olsen, Melanie Mayock, Wayne Phyillaier and Andrew Steeble, contributing writers; Lyn Stoesen, editorial assistance. Washington Regional Network For Livable Communities (WRN) is a non-profit organization that advocates transportation investments, land use policies, and neighborhood designs that enhance existing communities and the environment of the Washington, D.C. Region. Phone: (202) 244-1105, Fax: (202) 244-4225, E-mail: staff@washingtonregion.net, NEW ADDRESS: 4000 Albemarle St, NW, Washington, D.C. 20016. Give online to WRN at: www.washingtonregion.net |
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