Between work, family and other activities, it can be hard to keep up with all the new building proposals around town. Now, a Del Ray-focused website is trying to help keep residents informed about what's being built in their backyards.
SaveDelRay.org started in March, the brainchild of resident Nate Hurto.
Misconstrued as a protest website against a specific Mount Vernon Avenue redevelopment, the site is actually meant to help Del Ray residents get involved and start conversations about the type of development that should be happening in the tight-knit neighborhood.
“The goal is for people in the neighborhood to understand what is happening,” Hurto said. “We want to make sure everyone is well aware before things are submitted, that they understand exactly when they can show up and get involved, and I want city council to understand that this is important to the community," Hurto said.
"Save Del Ray is a grassroots effort to ensure that the commercial redevelopment of Del Ray and the Mt Vernon Ave corridor continues to respect and adhere to the eleven guiding principles of the Mt Vernon Ave Business Area Plan and Potomac West Small Area Plan. We encourage the legacy of thoughtful development along Mt Vernon Ave which emphasizes historic and neighborhood context," the website explains.
Regarding the development proposal, at 2525 Mt. Vernon Ave. (the Community and Human Services building), Hurto said that projects like that proposed Bonaventure Realty project could be a bellwether.
"This is a starting point for what’s next in the neighborhood, meaning all the concerns we have around density — whether that’s sanitary sewers, water run off , traffic, sidewalk capacity, etc. — is that you can’t just look at this one building, you need to look at all the property that may be developed and look at every parcel and say, 'Do I want the going-in offer [from the developer] to be 49-foot, 3-inch and up with every variance that the city could pass?'”
Hurto said development can be positive if it's done properly.
"I'm not anti-development, but if we can do it in context of the scale and address the issues, development can be positive," Hurto said.
Hurto said residents should sign up for emails from the website, follow Save Del Ray on social media and get involved with the Del Ray Citizens' Association. More info and links is available at savedelray.org/whats-at-stake. Hurto said he is not sending out any letters or other mailings and has reporting instances of mail fraud to the appropriate authorities.
