Zoning, housing affordability and density are hot topics in Alexandria, and while few people oppose affordable housing, the changes in regulations around zoning and density have rankled many vocal residents.
On the other end of the spectrum, a group of residents has formed with the goal of making housing more affordable by supporting increased density, which they believe will in turn encourage the development of communities that are diverse, sustainable, connected and productive, while also being more public transit and bike/pedestrian friendly. The group is the YIMBYs of Northern Virginia. (YIMBY stands for "Yes In My Backyard," the opposite of the more well-known anti-development phrase "Not in my backyard.")
Alexandria resident Luca Gattoni-Celli had been interested in the issue of affordable housing for a while, but he began to dig deeper into issues like zoning and transit after urbanist and avid cyclist Jim Pagels, was killed while riding his bike in D.C. in April 2021. Gattoni-Celli founded YIMBYs of Northern Virginia a few months later.
Since its founding, the group has grown to nearly 600 members. “We love living in Northern Virginia and are passionate about making it better for everyone,” reads the statement of purpose posted on the group’s website.
“We think growth is good. We think communities are like a living thing, dynamic and if you try to stop a community from changing it will just die over time, slowly and painfully,” said Gattoni-Celli, who lives in a townhouse near Southern Towers in the western part of Alexandria. Gattoni-Celli explained that density doesn’t always mean towering high rise apartment buildings. It includes townhomes, duplexes, triplexes and similar types of structures.
He pointed out the extreme housing shortage in the region, where houses often sell very quickly with multiple offers above asking price. To him and other YIMBYs of Northern Virginia members, this shortage desperately needs a solution. “The way to do that is reducing the regulatory burdens to housing, making it easier to build and allowing for denser housing which makes better use of valuable land,” Gattoni-Celli explained.
Group member Alex Goyette bought half of a duplex off of Duke St. during the pandemic (competing with nine other offers on the house). He enjoys the house’s proximity to shopping, dining and the farmers market, which is easily reached via biking and walking. It was this house hunt that spurred Goyette to join YIMBYs of Northern Virginia.
“I was reading a lot more about what kind of housing exists in the region, why it exists, why certain kinds don’t exist. I was really grateful that the half a duplex did exist in Alexandria because we couldn’t have afforded a single family home around here," Goyette said. He saw joining the group as a way to pay it forward to others, while also wanting his baby daughter to be able to afford a house in the area someday if she chooses. Both Gattoni-Celli and Goyette admitted that despite making good money, they had to borrow money from family in order to afford their homes, a luxury that they recognize isn’t an options for many, especially minorities and low-income people.
YIMBYs of Northern Virginia’s primary tool for increasing affordable housing is by advocating for changes in zoning regulations allowing for denser housing and for schools, retail and other amenities to be interspersed where people live. Single family homes currently make up 14 percent of houses in Alexandria and 40 percent in Fairfax County. In Alexandria, the majority of land is zoned for single-family or similar low density housing.
“The way zoning laws work is essentially preventing variety and choice for people’s housing options,” explained Goyette. “People who live in a single family home already know that nothing is happening to that house. It might mean it becomes legal to build something else on that property should they choose to sell it but no one’s existing housing structure is changing, it’s simply providing more choice and more flexibility to people,” he continued.
“This isn’t about taking anything away from anybody, it’s about giving people choices,” Gattoni-Celli echoed. “If somebody tries to take your car away, or someone tries to seize your single family home with eminent domain, I will be first in line to fight that tooth and nail because I don’t think that’s right, and that is just not on the horizon,” he emphasized.
As a non-partisan group, YIMBYs of Northern Virginia is made up of individuals with a variety of ideological and political views. Most members are young to early middle-aged. Gattoni-Celli hopes that as the group continues to grow, it will only become more diverse.
You can find out more about YIMBYs of Northern Virginia and its objectives on the group’s website yimbysofnova.mailchimpsites.com or by joining the Facebook group here.
