I forward below comments to Mary Hines, Chair Arlington County Board, from Suzanne Sundberg, board member of the Arlington County Civic Federation (ACCF)
Mark Antell

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February 27, 2015

The Honorable Mary Hynes, Chair
Arlington County Board
2100 Clarendon Blvd., Suite 300
Arlington, VA 22201

Subject: Destruction of Rosslyn Highlands Park

Dear Chair Hynes:

As a former Rosslyn resident (10 years) and an Arlington resident (coming up on 30 years), I am appalled to learn that the county plans to deed Rosslyn Highlands Park over to a private developer (Penzance).

Isn’t Rosslyn already as desolate and sterile a concrete jungle as could possibly be envisioned? In June 1975, the Rosslyn-Ballston Corridor Committee to the Planning Commission warned against the Rosslynization of the rest of the R-B corridor, specifically criticizing the deficiency of park and open space to offset Rosslyn’s massive density. Here we are 40 year later, talking about paving over what little remains of Rosslyn's park and open space.

As the Western Rosslyn Area Planning Study (WRAPS) make clear, staff’s proposal lacks reality-driven reasoning, ignores community will, and disregards the needs of Rosslyn’s inhabitants:

Destroying scarce, irreplaceable open space: Staff’s proposal would eliminate over two-thirds of the existing Rosslyn Highlands Park, transferring it to Penzance in exchange for construction of a new fire station. Once lost, this open space will never be replaced.
Selecting the worst option: The Ode Street connection would permit significantly more contiguous open space—a community priority. Instead, staff selected the mid-block street option—opposed by 87% of November workshop participants—which paves over a tremendous amount of space that could be used to consolidate the park.
Widening the open-space deficit: Rosslyn has enough hardscape plazas. It doesn’t need one that will be owned, programmed and controlled by the developer. Residents need parks that are accessible around the clock to Rosslyn’s growing population.
Reducing open/active recreation space in an underserved area: Residents (and neighborhood employees) are already highly underserved. Eliminating an existing park will reinforce Rosslyn’s image as a barren and uninviting place. As individuals and families move into the Rosslyn area, including those in APAH’s Queen’s Court affordable housing, the demand for parks and open space continues to increase dramatically.
Relying on questionable financial feasibility and planning: At the Planning Commission’s February 25 meeting of the Long-Range Planning Committee, staff reported that the approximate cost of a stand-alone fire station is $11 million, whereas it would cost $23 million to integrate it into a building. How does this make sense? Moreover, Fire Department studies have recommended consolidating fire stations #4 and #10, calling into question whether the current location of station #10 is best or another location for the consolidated facility might better serve public safety.
Ignoring real estate market realities: Even if the county wants to sell off existing, scarce parkland (of which there is already a deficit), how can it economically justify selling during a commercial market downturn? According to the county’s own budget materials, there is a 28% office vacancy rate in Rosslyn. Moreover, analysts’ reports (see attached) document rising multifamily housing negative absorption due to an increasing oversupply of expensive units. As we’ve seen with other sites in the Ballston/Virginia Square area, once a developer controls land—particularly when the real estate market is volatile—it may be years before redevelopment occurs and the county realizes additional tax revenue or other benefits from the site.

On February 25, 2015, the community learned at a Long-Range Planning Commission meeting that the county has been in formal negotiations with the adjacent property owner/developer for quite some time. Though few details were provided, the existence of an agreement—described as a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) or Memorandum of Intent (MOI)—signed in early 2013 (prior to the WRAPS process) came to light.

I ask the County Board to provide the details of this agreement (the MOU, MOI and any other related documents) to the community. We need to understand what limitations and conditions were already in place between the County and the property owner/developer before the WRAPS process began in mid-2014.

Thank you in advance for your time and assistance in this matter.

Sincerely,

Suzanne Smith Sundburg
Arlington, VA


Cc: Arlington County Board
Barbara Donnellan, Arlington County Manager
Jane Rudolph, Director, Department of Parks and Recreation
Steve Cole, WRAPS Working Group Chair, Planning Commission
Caroline Haynes, Parks & Recreation Commission Chair
Paul Holland, Parks & Recreation Commission & WRAPS Working Group
Michael McMenamin, Arlington County Civic Federation President
Stefanie Pryor, Arlington County Civic Federation Vice-President
Mark Antell, North Rosslyn Civic Association, Co-Chair Civic Federation P&R Committee
Jay Wind, Co-Chair Civic Federation P&R Committee
Katie Elmore, North Rosslyn Civic Association
Stan Karson, Radnor-Ft. Myer Heights Civic Association & WRAPS Working Group
Jonn Lau, Bluemont Civic Association President
Bluemont Civic Association Executive Board