At a virtual meeting Tuesday night (another meeting is set for Wednesday night), members of the Alexandria Office of Planning and Zoning presented their vision to improve affordable housing in the Arlandira-Chirilagua area.
The City started a community planning process in late 2019 in the Arlandria-Chirilagua and Del Ray neighborhoods to update the 2005 Mount Vernon Avenue Business Plan and the 2003 Long-Term Vision and Action Plan for the Arlandria Neighborhood. However, the coronavirus pandemic changed plans slightly — there is now a first phase focusing on community engagement in Arlandria-Chirilagua, and the process is picking up again now.
This first phase of the plan will focus on affordable housing while Phase II will focus on parks and other neighborhood amenities.
“The plan governing Arlandria was last approved in 2003. Updating the objectives and strategies for achieving the long-term vision is particularly important with the planned phased arrival of Amazon in Crystal City, the Virginia Tech Innovation Campus in North Potomac Yard, and the North Potomac Yard Metrorail Station,” according to the plan update website.
At Tuesday’s meeting, Jose Carolos Ayala, a city planner with the Department of Planning and Zoning spoke about the five main themes of the plan:
- Expand the number of affordable housing units in Alexandria-Chirilagua to allow residents to stay in the community and to preserve the culture of the neighborhood.
- Invest in the housing that currently exist in the area to improve living conditions and ensure that the basic needs of residents are met.
- Empower residents to improve living conditions and address housing concerns like renter protection.
- Provide more assistance to the community like access to medical care, food, virtual schooling support and other resources.
- Address the specific needs of the community like the need for affordable housing with more living space, amenities, childcare services and youth activities.
The City is providing multiple ways for residents of the Arlandria-Chirilagua community to participate in the planning process. They can WhatsApp or text the number 571-358-7569 with comments or submit a questionnaire on the plan website through Nov 13. The City will also host civic association meetings and pop-ups in the neighborhood. Two more virtual community meetings will be held on Nov 3 and 10. More information is available here.
After Nov 13, city planners will analyze public feedback and draft recommendations for the City Council to review and approve in the early part of 2021. The process for Phase II will begin later in 2021.
Information on the proposed updates to the FEMA floodplain maps in the Arlandria-Chirilagua area was also included in the meeting. The boundaries of the floodplains are set to be significantly expanded. More information can be found at www.floodsmart.gov. A public meeting will be held before the flood maps are finalized in 2022.
One resident of the Arlandria-Chirilagua community spoke up asking for help to pay rent in light of the pandemic. A representative of the Alexandria Office of Housing explained that the City has a COVID-19 emergency rent relief assistance program City residents are eligible to apply more than once to the program. Residents can call the hotline number 703-746-3100 for program information in Spanish or English.
An English version of Tuesday’s meeting with Spanish translation will be held on Oct 14 at 6 p.m. Details on attending the virtual meeting are below:
- Zoom webinar link: https://zoom.us/j/97225327887
- Webinar ID: 972 2532 7887
- Passcode: 639783
- Call in: 301.715.8592
- To access Spanish interpretation: Call 703.746.3009 (do not dial the Call-in number above) and enter Access Code 38100#
