Zoning Changes. The City is currently considering changes to zoning that would allow the construction of multi-families homes in areas currently zoned only for single-family homes, among other changes. (Note that the east side of Rosemont is already zoned to allow two-family homes on most lots.) The City web page about the proposal is https://www.alexandriava.gov/planning-and-zoning/zoning-for-housinghousing-for-all; the next community meetings to discuss the proposal are scheduled for May 10 and May 22
Next Meeting. The next RCA meeting will be at the Good Shepherd Lutheran Church, 100 West Luray Avenue, at 7pm on Wednesday, June 21. We expect that the zoning changes will be the lead agenda item, along with changes to how association membership is handled
July Fourth. We are starting to plan for the annual Independence Day event at Brooks Elementary; as always, the support of volunteers will be essential. We will plan to circulate additional information in the near future.
PELT Update. See below for an update on rail bridge issues from the PELT committee
Keeping Informed. We try to provide regular updates on local news, Rosemont history, and general happenings in the neighborhood and Alexandria via our Facebook page (https://www.facebook.com/RosemontCitizensAssociation) and Twitter (https://twitter.com/RosemontCitizen) and general resources on our web page (http://rosemontcitizensassoc.org). The independent community email list can be accessed at https://groups.io/g/rosemontva.
Jol Silversmith
President, RCA
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Notes from in person meeting on April 13,2023 between representatives of the Virginia Railroad Passenger Authority (VRBA) and the Rosemont Citizens Association’s Planning/Environment/Land-use/Transportation Committee.
The entire PELT Committee met with three representatives of the Virginia Passenger Rail Authority (VPRA) on Thursday afternoon, April 13, 2023 at Amtrak’s Alexandria Station, where the group toured parts of the station and visited the King Street and Commonwealth Avenue railroad bridge sites.
VPRA Project Manager Mark Schnauffer provided an informative overview highlighting that the bridge projects were part of a long-term, much broader plan for all of the Southeastern U.S. to increase railroad capacity with dedicated lines for passenger and cargo trains and two additional tracks crossing the Potomac River. To learn more about the “Transforming Rail in Virginia” program, visit TRV – VPRA (vapassengerrailauthority.org).
Following the meeting, VPRA community affairs manager provided the following link for information and updates about the projects: https://vapassengerrailauthority.org/kingandcommonwealth/.
Options for the bridges were identified, including increasing the height of the King Street bridge to at least 14’6” to meet modern minimum height requirements (the Commonwealth Avenue bridge is already higher than the required minimum). There is a high likelihood that both bridges will be widened, providing the opportunity for the City of Alexandria to “re-program” the roadways, including multimodal improvements. The City of Alexandria will evaluate the feasibility of multimodal improvements that would connect to and enhance the existing transportation infrastructure and will engage the public when determining what options could be considered. Uses would meet (or exceed) the American Disabilities Act (ADA) standards. The City would perform that work as a separate project from VPRA’s King & Commonwealth Railroad Bridges Project.
The bridge designs are currently 30% complete and are expected to be 60% complete by the end of August 2023, at which time the public’s input will be requested. The designs are scheduled to be finalized by January 2024.
VPRA is hoping to engage one rather than multiple contractors to minimize the amount of equipment on-site. Construction is scheduled to begin during the second quarter of 2024 and is foreseen to last over two years.
As an aside, VPRA is leading the bridge reconstructions, and is coordinating with CSX, METRO, and the City of Alexandria.
PELT will continue to update RCA on VPRA’s progress, and in turn provide input to VPRA from the community to VPRA.
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