Barcroft School and Civic League
Monthly Meeting Minutes
April 4, 2002
Prepared by: Eric Parker
Announcements
Call to Order
Pat Williamson Edwards called the meeting to order at approximately 7:30 PM.
Parking Committee
Bill Byrne, member of the parking committee, made the following announcements regarding process being made by this committee:
- The agenda for this evening was too full to include a full discussion of the parking issues in Barcroft. The May meeting will have parking on the agenda and will be attended by representatives from the county.
- Progress is being made on the school parking problems. Parking on Wakefield was taken out due to constructions but not returned when construction was completed. The "No Parking" signs will be removed, adding about a dozen spaces.
- The committee performed a tag survey on George Mason Drive. Many of the cars were from the Barcroft Apartments on the other side of Columbia Pike.
- On S. Buchanan, in the vicinity of the community house down towards Columbia Pike, many of the cars are coming from the apartment buildings (e.g., Buchanan Gardens). The apartment buildings have gone to permit parking, forcing cars belonging to illegal sub-lets and tenants without correct paperwork, onto the streets. Also, no commercial parking is allowed in the apartment parking lots. Some parking is not being used. Buchanan Gardens has space that could be converted to parking.
- The possibility of obtaining nighttime parking from surrounding businesses, the Arlington Mill Center, and the recycling center, is being investigated.
- Some commercial vehicles parked in the neighborhood are legal but some are illegal. The laws regarding the parking of commercial vehicles is not, by policy, enforced as long as the vehicle has a valid sticker from any Virginia jurisdiction.
- The law limiting parking within 5' of a driveway entrance is also not, as a policy, enforced.
- The county police officer working with the parking committee has suggested researching the option of permit parking in the neighborhood.
- A recommendation to install "no parking, here to corner" signs, to improve site lines, is being considered.
- The committee will be preparing flyers to place on cars asking people not to litter.
Interested residents can e-mail Tom Palance, tlpalance@yahoo.com, for additional information.
Traffic Committee
Elaine encourages everyone to respond to the request for feedback on the traffic calming process.
CPRO
Bryant Monroe praised Charles Monroe and Chris Zimmerman for their input into the development of the Columbia Pike Initiative.
Other
Mark Wigfield reminded attendees of the barn dance to be held on May 5th at the community house with music provided by a band that includes his wife.
Pat Williamson Edwards reminded everyone that May11th is neighborhood day. We will again be marching with the Barcroft School safety patrols.
The Columbia Pike Blues Festival will be held on May 12th at the corner of Walter Reed and Columbia Pike.
Presentations
Housing Assessments and Property Tax Rate Resolutions
Jim Casey and Randy Swart presented separate draft resolutions for potential delivery to the County Board, from BSCL, regarding the significant increase in home price assessments this past year and its effect on property taxes.
Jim's statement focused on the unusually large increase in assessments and questioned the assessment process. It requested that the board reduce the tax rate by 5%, guarantee that assessments will not exceed 25% in 2002, and that the department of real estate assessments provide more meaningful information on the assessment process.
Randy's resolution was based on the resolution prepared by the Arlington County Civic Federation. It requested that the board reduce the tax rate from $1.023 to $.0963 per $100 of assessed value and stated that BSCL supports the recommendations of the Arlington County Civic Federation to the county board for the FY 2003 budget.
Three votes were taken in response to these proposed resolutions:
Vote #1: Shall BSCL submit any resolution to the county board? There were 15 votes for submission and 4 opposed.
Vote #2: Shall BSCL submit Jim's resolution? There were 5 votes in favor of submitting Jim's resolution.
Vote #3: Shall BSCL submit Randy's resolution? There were 12 votes in favor of submitting Randy's resolution.
As a result of this vote, Randy's resolution was approved for submission.
Gardening Roundtable
Barcroft residents Sue Tenenbaum, of Annie's Garden, and Mike Lewis, of Green Acres Landscaping, led a roundtable discussion of gardening and landscaping in Barcroft.
The meeting concluded at approximately 9:00 PM.
This page was last revised on: April 24, 2002.
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