This morning on the way to the Metro the Growler was shocked to see what looked like a City contractor planting trees on the public right of way on West Street.
As an ardent gardener, the Growler can tell you that trees are best planted in the fall when the weather is cooler.
Grrrrrrrrrrrrrrrr!!!
Who would conceive of planting trees in August during a drought and on a day when temperatures are expected to make it into the mid-90s? Who is going to make sure these poor saplings are watered several times a week while they are becoming established? One of the West Street trees was already looking stressed at 9:30 AM and its leaves were drooping and curling.
Incidentally, some 10 days ago the Growler noticed that the trees the City recently planted in the two pocket parks were already in a bad way. The Cranky One will check their status again on the way home from Metro, but considering their condition at the time they are likely to be on their last gasp right about now.
If the City's behind it, it's a colossal waste of money, especially if it becomes necessary to replace the dead trees with new saplings.
17 comments:
"If the City's behind it, it's a colossal waste of money,"
Granted, that's usually the case, whether it be planting trees or some other program. A gentle reminder, though, we as citizens can help out and water our street trees. I agree it's a pain in the #&#, but it's easier to water a tree that to influence City Hall.
i don't think it's the city -- i hd three trees planted a couple of years ago infront of our houses and the city arbhorist would only do it in november.
Did the civic association not buy the pocket park plantings using adopt a park money? Betcha the city thinks residents are watering at least some of the trees. As for planting I agree now is a lousy time of year. Maybe the city wants to tout trees have us think them environmentally friendly when we next meet to discuss the Braddock Road plan.
"it's easier to water a tree that to influence City Hall."
I'm sorry, but I love the way this rolls off the tounge so I'm going to write it again.
"IT'S EASIER TO WATER A TREE THEN TO INFLUENCE CITY HALL"
Now I feel better, but not for the trees.
Council, if you're reading this like we know you all are, please stop wasting our money.
The city does stuff like this all the time. I agree, it is a huge waste of money and effort.
OT Post -
It looks as if there is some gym equipment in one of the ground floor spaces at Monarch. Has anyone heard if a health club is opening there? Will it be for everyone to join or only for Monarch residents? If it's the latter, why is it going in a ground floor retail space that will be of no benefit to the neighborhood? Isn't that the idea of having ground floor retail?
There is a tree on Royal Street near my house that is in need of pruning. The arborist finally came too see it, but has not done pruning. It overlooks ARHA, so I suppose the city doesn't think people care about it. I think that if the city would landscape around various ARHA properties, maybe residents would be less likely to trash everything.
Speaking of ARHA residents, we've had two teen arrests this week on Royal Street, for fighting, vandalism and unruly, late-night behaviour. Anyone else feel like there needs to be a ten pm teen curfew? Nine pm for kids under thirteen.
I guess the neighborhood will quiet down once the cold weather rolls in. Here's hoping for a few good snow storms!
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OT - if you are squeamish or easily angered, dont read this:
But as you can clearly see, it looks like Glebe Park is going nowhere. And if thats the case, you can forget about Bland or Adkins changes anytime soon.
From the Times:
http://www.alextimes.com/article.asp?article=7090&paper=1&cat=1
Glebe Park questions still exist
By CARLA BRANCH
August 2, 2007
The Glebe Park stakeholders group has finished its work and concluded that there are real divisions among the members and that there is no consensus about how Glebe Park should be redeveloped.
According to Jon Liss, who represented Tenants and Workers United, “Everyone got to express his opinion and the vote was pretty evenly split between two options. The city is going to have to decide.”
Mayor William D. Euille established the group after neighbors expressed concern about the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority’s proposal for redeveloping the property became public and after ARHA’s application to the Virginia Housing Development Authority for low-income tax-credit financing was rejected. “This gave us some time to take a look at just how this site should be redeveloped and get community input before proceeding through the development process,” Euille said.
Glebe Park currently contains 152 apartments that are a mixture of public housing and market-rate units. Mold and aging electrical and plumbing infrastructure have caused a number of units to be removed from service with others likely to follow if something is not done soon. Last year, ARHA asked for redevelopment proposals and selected Eakin Youngentob, with whom they partnered on Chatham Square, the successful redevelopment of The Berg, to partner with them on Glebe Park.
The initial ARHA/EYA proposal would have reduced the number of units at Glebe Park from 152 to 103 with all of those units public housing. After community input, but before the low-income tax credit application, that proposal was modified to include six market-rate town homes.
Options
The stakeholders group asked for additional options. Ultimately they reviewed three concepts. Option 1 left the 48 units on W. Glebe and the 24 units on the west side of Old Dominion as public housing. The remaining units, east of Old Dominion, were a combination of market-rate, work-force and public housing: eight market-rate units, 10 work-force units and 12 public housing units.
Option 2 left the W. Glebe and the west side of Old Dominion as public housing and split the units on the east side of Old Dominion equally between public housing and market-rat units.
Details
Options Considered
Option 1 –
Left 48 units on W. Glebe and the 24 units on the west side of Old Dominion as public housing. The remaining units were a combination of market-rate, work-force and public housing: eight market-rate units, 10 work-force units and 12 public housing units.
Option 2 –
Left W. Glebe and the west side of Old Dominion as public housing and split the units on the east side of Old Dominion equally between public housing and market-rat units.
Option 3 –
Original concept of six market-rate and 28 public housing units.
Finally, Option 3 was the ARHA/EYA original concept of six market-rate and 28 public housing units. “The architect did a very good of drawing these different options on this very difficult site,” said Connie Lennox, ARHA’s director of development. “We wanted to try and retain the same footprint but show the various options the group wanted to see.”
At the group’s last meeting on July 23, the vote was four members in favor of Option 3, four in favor of Option 1 with various modifications and two people who wanted something outside of the three options.
The economics
EYA and the city’s Office of Housing produced a very preliminary cost estimate for the three options, which ranges from $2 million for Option 3 to $6 million for Option 2. “And that’s if everything goes perfectly,” Lennox said. “Those net costs include paying off our $5.7 million mortgage on the property, obtaining the tax credit financing, entitling EYA to James Bland and James Bland Addition for redevelopment, the sale of the land under the market-rate units and adequate density at James Bland and James Bland Addition. All of those variables make it very hard to guess just how much this is going to cost.”
The next tax credit application is due in March of next year. “By then, we must be through the Development Special Use Permit process and have approval for the project from City Council,” said A. Melvin Miller, ARHA chairman. “City Council is going to have to decide exactly how much they want to spend and what density they are going to allow.”
Euille said that he does not want to make those decisions outside the Braddock Road Small Area Plan process, which is ongoing. “Any decision about density at James Bland and James Bland Addition should be made in the context of this planning process,” he said. “The new planning director has recommended that we work on a master plan of sorts for all of our public housing and that’s a good idea. I am absolutely committed to keeping the number of public housing units that we currently have but we need to do so as part of our over-all planning processes throughout the city.”
The economics are, of course, an important consideration. “We need to have a clearer understanding of just what each option is going to cost and how much of that the City is going to need to provide. Public housing is a very high priority for all of us on Council but it is not our only priority and we have limited funds,” Euille said.
ARHA, too, has economic constraints. “We cannot afford to take on another loan,” Miller said. “We have our land and the sale of some of that for market-rate units needs to help finance the Glebe Park redevelopment.”
Decisions
The final stakeholder group report will be delivered to Council in September. “I’m not sure that is going to shed much light on what to do,” Liss said. “In my opinion, the housing market right now isn’t right for a major redevelopment project that relies on selling expensive homes. It might be better to rehab the units that are there now and wait five to seven years to do some major project.”
Waiting only works, according to Miller, if “the City pays the mortgage. Then, they can do what they want so long as the public housing units that are there now are put back into service somewhere,” he said.
With the Arlandria neighborhood concerned about the number of public housing units already there and the ongoing debate about just how many public and market-rate units are going to be permitted at James Bland and James Bland Addition, and with the constraints of a declining housing market and thus declining real estate tax revenue, any decision is likely to be unpopular with someone. “We will all work together and come up with the best solution we can,” Euille said.
That decision is likely to be made some time early this fall.
"Speaking of ARHA residents, we've had two teen arrests this week on Royal Street, for fighting, vandalism and unruly, late-night behaviour. Anyone else feel like there needs to be a ten pm teen curfew? Nine pm for kids under thirteen.
"
We had an incident yesterday at Adkins where two ARHA residents zoomed buy in a dirtbike and ATV...as in zoomed right through about 5 Fayette St. Stop signs, all the while looking for cops....
DURING RUSH HOUR
Before they headed over to Madden Uptown. The people on the street at the time were looking at them like "ARE U COMPLETELY INSANE?"
Granted, I have no idea how if they are poor, they can afford an ATV and a dirtbike, but they nearly caused 2 accidents and didnt seem to care what anyone would do to them.
I can only imagine if they would have been barreling up Fayette when agents were trying to sell Madison or 620 Payne units. I am sure the prospective owners would have been like "WHERE DO I SIGN"
"Waiting only works, according to Miller, if “the City pays the mortgage. Then, they can do what they want so long as the public housing units that are there now are put back into service somewhere,” he said...With the Arlandria neighborhood concerned about the number of public housing units already there and the ongoing debate about just how many public and market-rate units are going to be permitted at James Bland and James Bland Addition, and with the constraints of a declining housing market and thus declining real estate tax revenue, any decision is likely to be unpopular with someone. “We will all work together and come up with the best solution we can,” Euille said.
RU F*** KIDDING ME!!!
IS CARLA BRANCH AND EVERYONE AT THAT "NEWSPAPER" ASLEEP AT THE WHEEL!!! Oh, Arlandria is concerned about the number of units in their neighborhood. Well I guess we just say come on over, we have NOOOOO concerns. We have far more units in this neighborhood than in ANY OTHER IN THE CITY. What are they smoking and are they sharing it with the Mayor?
Why can't they seem to cover the fact that we PARKER GRAY NOT ARLANDRIA NOT ANY OTHER NEIGHBORHOOD IN THE CITY are overrought with the ills of the city's neglect for public housing and the people that live in these units.
I can bet we in Parker Gray all know where Melvin would love to put those units he wants to move but keep in play--right back into Parker Gray at the new & improved-- with increased density for more public housing units--Bland and Bland Addition redevelopment projects he dreams of crafting with EYA.
DREAM ON BOYS--OVER MY DEAD BODY--OR BETTER YET, OVER MY NICE, SPACIOUS, NEW HOUSE IN FAIRFAX COUNTY WHEN I LIKE OTHERS BEFORE ME SAYS SCREW YOU RIGHT BACK TO THE CITY THAT CAN'T STOP BENDING ME OVER. I am this close to taking my property taxes elsewhere, lord knows I already taking my sales tax elsewhere.
Sorry Growler, but this was sooo not the day!
Has anyone seen the canopy on the northwest corner (Fayette and Pendleton) of the Monarch? NIIICE!
There were two trees planted on the south side of Interior Park this past spring. A neighbor of mine has been watering them and they still look good.
What does public housing have to do with a tree story?
And stop shouting -- all caps have been considered rude on the Internet since at least 1995.
Guess you forgot to take your meds again.
If you are unwilling to fight City Hall about public housing in any forum besides this blog (which seems to be your only outlet), then go ahead and move to Fairfax County.
Guess you forgot to take your meds? Very nice thing to say to someone, Growler.
The poster said the comment was off topic. My point on the trees is that trees and shrubs on ARHA'S properties are clearly a lower priority than say, the landscaping on King Street.
As to the ATV driving ARHA kids, I have seen them as well. They ride around with no helmets, or license plates, in a reckless manner. Darwinism will take care of them soon enough. Only way to stop them is to take photos and videos and post on Youtube. In fact, that would be a good way to handle the loiterers as well. If the cops have detailed video of some of these events, maybe they would actually be able to do something about it. ARHA certainly won't.t.t.
"What does public housing have to do with a tree story?"
Thats easy...virtually anyone who lives around Adkins or Madden knows that shrubbery and tree branches are prime targets for miscreants. I have watched them step on them, kick them, break them off, and pee on them. Thats what public housing has to do with trees. Last time I checked they dont make Miracle Gro out of urine and breaking tree limbs off doesnt help trees grow higher.
Plus, I find it odd the City will shell out for trees to beautify the neighborhood prior to September when the whole ARHA bailout issue requires a level of money we as a City dont have.
Back to your tree story (where the comments belong) - is it not less money spent by our fair City if residents water nearby trees than if trees are kept in a nursery and watered at taxpayers' expense (ie, out of City funds)? Whether the trees live or die, the City no longer has the expense of caring for them.
Seems more like the City is trying to stop the bleeding that has been going on during the Euille administration. Although bringing the City's quickly-expanding budget under control will require much more than cutting corners.
Being a tree-lover, I've been watering the poor things near my home, as well as filling up the bird bath almost daily.
Regardless of whose responsibility it should be, and the suspicious timing, the trees are a nice addition to the neighborhood if we can keep them alive during the heat.
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