Task Force Public Forum Meeting Summary – June 18, 2003

[Please note – The following is a summary of the meeting. For additional detail, an audio tape of the meeting is available for review during normal business hours in the County Manager's Office.]

Task Force Attendees : Robert Deason – Chain Bridge Forest; Helen Duval – Old Glebe; Peter Fallon – Donalsdon Run; Polly Hanson – Cherrydale; Bill Harkins – Cherrydale; Nancy Iacomini – Cherrydale; Craig Lawrence – Maywood; Dennis Macdonald – Dover Crystal; Kevin O'Brien – Cherrydale; Bill Owen – Rivercrest; Ed Parks – Ballston-Virginia Square; Bill Piatt – Cherrydale; Conrad Rehill – Vol. Fire Dept.; Sharon Rogers – Woodmont; Maureen Ross – Cherrydale; Scott Springston – Cherrydale; Thomas Terrill – Gulf Branch.

Other Attendees : Michelle Ferguson – County Manager's Office; Assistant Fire Chief Shawn Kelley; Claude Williamson – CPHD; approximately 150 members of the public.

1. Roll Call
   Task Force Chair Nancy Iacomini called the meeting to order at approximately 7:40 p.m. Roll call was taken.
   
2. Remarks by Chairman
   Iacomini welcomed all members of the public. Members of County staff were introduced. Iacomini outlined the procedures for the meeting. People interested in speaking must complete a speaker slip. A sign-up sheet was also available. Iacomini indicated that County Board Chairman Paul Ferguson would be attending the meeting at approximately 8:30 p.m.
   
   The charge of the task force indicates that the purpose of the meeting is for the task force to gather information, comments and issues from the community. It is a time for the task force to listen to the community, not to debate issues.
   
   Iacomini recognized the large number of Brown Honda representatives in the audience. Members of various civic associations were also invited to recognize themselves.
   
   Iacomini briefly outlined the history of the fire station relocation process. The task force is currently reviewing six sites and will submit their final recommendations of no more than 3-4 sites to the County Board by August 22nd. Serious consideration must be given to all sites in fairness to the final selection.
   
   The task force is not the final decision-makers. The task force is advisory, and the County Board will make the final site selection.
   
   In response to a request from a member of the public, information on how the task force ruled out all other sites will be posted on the County's website.
   
3. Presentation of the 6 Sites –
   Members of the task force provided brief three-minute introductions of each of the six remaining sites. Iacomini presented both the 7-11 site and the Cherrydale Station. Bill Piatt presented the front lot of Brown Honda. Maureen Ross presented Koons Toyota. Scott Springston and Kevin O'Brien presented the Nichols/Brompton's site. Bill Owen presented the Coldwell Banker/One Stop Mini Mart site.
   
4. Public Forum –
   
   All information distributed at the meeting by the task force will be posted on a distinct place on the County's website.
   1. Kapasours Kostas –
      Has been a business owner of Hair Vogue in Cherrydale Station for 23 years and would hate to leave the area
   2. Alexandra Evans –
      Owner of Sun and Moon Yoga; has over 900 students that attend the studio each week; a large number of Arlington students will not come to Fairfax studio; if displaced, they will lose a huge portion of their business; want to stay in Cherrydale; love Arlington; can't afford to leave Arlington location; a number of yoga students in the audience were recognized
   3. Valerie Mann –
      Live on N. Pollard; enjoy Cherrydale Station; want to maintain village feel; voiced support for Cherrydale station; why do Brown employees need to lose their jobs?; why can't they relocate?; why would response times improve to the north if the Coldwell Banker site was chosen since there is another station nearby [station #8]?
   4. David Tarter –
      Attorney who represents Ed Peete; oppose selection of the Brompton's site for the fire station; County had the property under contract at one time but did not pursue; Peete went through lengthy land use process; if the County wanted this property, they should have taken it then; Peete's development is adding a number of public amenities (sidewalks, utility undergrounding) to the area; there are a number of businesses that the community wanted to see in the development such as bakery or ice cream shops and Mr. Peete is looking for those tenants; he has entered into agreements with a number of tenants for the townhouses; at the planning commission the Fire Chief said this is not a preferred location; Mr. Peete has spent substantial sums since the project was approved and entered into agreements with purchasers; Mr. Peete opposes the selection of this site.
   5. Charles Stringfellow –
      Brown Honda representative; the County had approached Brown Honda in the past about the rear 23,000 square feet and Brown indicated that taking the land would damage the business; does the County really want to remove a fixture from the community?; there are laws that prevent dealers from moving too close to other dealers, therefore they cannot relocate; if they were to relocate, they would need a minimum of 5 acres; there are 3 dealers within the 7 mile bubble which prevent them from relocating anywhere other then where they are; would be expensive; there are no 5 acre tracts in Arlington County; no by right zoning for automotive; no place to go; could not put Honda and Nissan together; impressed with the homework the task force has done; since the task force criteria does not include a financial impact analysis, the process is jaded; somebody needs to take those considerations into account; site is too big and way too expensive for the County to acquire
   6. Gordon Riddle –
      General Manager of Honda; Brown has been in Cherrydale for 25 years; congratulated Mr. Piatt for an excellent presentation of the site; 110 employees; each one depends on their jobs; 35,000 Brown Honda customers; 9,000 customers from Arlington; dealership site location has been in operation for 42 years; one of the best dealers in the Country in terms of sales and customer satisfaction; bring into Arlington $200,000 in tax revenue; there are other sites that are viable that would not displace as many sites, such as the Channel 14 site; it is just under 40,000 square feet and is for sale and would not displace an existing business; thanked everyone for their support
   7. Anne Quinn –
      3 year Cherrydale residents; moved to area for the urban village; shops in Cherrydale are an asset to the community; can't understand how a 4-bay station makes an urban village possible in the middle of Cherrydale; very opposed to 7-11 and Cherrydale Station; no businesses should be displaced; upset with County for not choosing Brompton's; please don't take away our existing shops; not happy with Channel 14 site because she lives across the street
   8. Chuck Kipp –
      Owner of Sterling Picture Framing in Cherrydale Station for 20 years; it's a lot of work to build a business; supports his family with his shop; don't want to move out of area; just putting business on the list has had negative impact on business as people wonder whether or not the business will stay here; hope the task force finds another site
   9. John Grant –
      Asked a question about the process; the task force has been working with the County and the Fire Department - when the task force is done with their recommendations, is the list of 6 in front of us going to be the same or can the County override the list and select another site? If yes, has the County voiced this, and is the Fire Department with you in this process?
   10. Melanie Schaengold –
       Owner of Curves in Cherrydale station; opened March 10th; has 300 members; what a sense of community in the area; members that belong to Curves enjoy the area; such a tremendous sense of community in Cherrydale and Cherrydale Station helps create that; it's hard to create that sense of community; supports Cherrydale Station
   11. Bart Collart –
       3 year resident of Cherrydale who supports local shops; moved to Cherrydale from Sterling; in Sterling had to drive a long way to get to anything; don't appreciate what we have in Cherrydale until you aren't able to walk to so many places; special area; don't want to see that change
   12. Joe Hood –
       Cherrydale resident; feels this process is a front to the community; don't understand why someone had to file a FOIA to find out how people on task force had voted; will eminant domain be used?; Why a 3-4 bay station?; Will impact on community be studied?
   13. Gail Dennis –
       Resident of Maywood; everything old is not necessarily bad; don't throw out baby with the bathwater; going to throw out residents and merchants who have served us well; why are we throwing this out? Because Arlington Board has not implemented what the citizens asked for a number of years ago; feel badly for the volunteer firemen that live and work in this building; they were promised things 12 years ago and they have been suffering; it's time we stop worrying about Mr. Peete and his financial situation and start worrying about our life styles; Brompton's is going to be too big for the site; currently she has sewer problems as a result of all of the rain and there could be more problems with plumbing and sewers in the neighborhood with more and more buildings; hope that somebody can put some sense into the Arlington County Board
   14. Frank Cooper –
       Angry at the County Board; angry that Paul Ferguson won't consider the Brompton's site since it is what we obviously want; the task force should stand up to the County Board and tell them that the neighborhood wants Brompton's because that was what the community was promised; don't want to displace businesses; put the station where it belongs
   15. Teri Murphy –
       Lives on Pollard; seconded previous speaker's comments; looks like Mr. Peete was jerked around; want to know why the Brompton's and Coldwell Bank sites area not the best sites
   16. Judson McIntire –
       Maywood resident for almost 20 years; like to speak to the long-term development of the Cherrydale downtown; it's a pleasure to walk to the shops and restaurants in the area; urge the County board to consider the long-term best possible development use of Cherrydale to maintain a growing walkable downtown with visual image
   17. Bill Hamrock –
       Chef/owner of Portobellos Restaurant; been there for less than 2 years which is not enough time to grow a business; thanked the community for their support; neighborhood resident; love being in Cherrydale; Brompton's – should be a big asterisk on that site, how did they let that get away; something is wrong with the County process and they need to know about it; suggested the site across from Washington-Lee High School [SPC site]; why can't the original fire station be expanded?
   18. Stephen Jarrett –
       Lives on Quebec; bitterly opposed to fire station on 7-11 site; somebody is going to be hurt, angry; bowling alley site is 40-50 yards outside of the fire department ½ mile circle; driving from center of the lot to the center of the I-66 bridge takes only six seconds; urged the task force to consider this site
   19. Elise Kress –
       Lives on Quebec; thanked the task force for all of their hard work; upset with some of the choices; large fire station at 7-11 would be in their backyard; please drop this site and the Cherrydale Station site; what kind of community do we want to be; the community goes into these businesses all the time and adores them; it is irrational not to consider the bowling alley site; it's a huge lot; would be off the road and major access; should be considered
   20. Justina Brewer –
       Co-owner of Sun and Moon Yoga; spoke on behalf of Cherrydale shops that have been built up in Cherrydale over the years; over 1,000 students; offer all different types of yoga classes; focus on building community; there is history in the area; please do not break up the community
   21. Adam McClure –
       Representing Northside Veterinarian Clinic; serving community for over 50 years small family-owned business that exemplifies what this area is all about
   22. Steve Newman –
       Lives about a block and a half from the fire station for almost 30 years; recalls spending many hours in meetings to build the Cherrydale Master Plan as part of the Cherrydale Neighborhood Conservation plan; when was that eliminated?; did not read about it in the task force's evaluations; going from one engine to three engines is a 300% increase in operations; where is the environmental impact assessment?; what happened to the Cherrydale Conservation Plan?; what happened to the park improvement activity?; think about the scale of putting this giant thing with 4 fire engines on top of the 7-11 site just 30 feet from people's homes; absurd; off in terms of scale and noise; what happened to the village concept?; acknowledged that there is no real easy way out of this; we would not be here if the County Board had done its job
   23. Michael McManamin –
       President of Maywood; thanked members of the task force for their work; adamantly against taking of Cherrydale station; concerned about its proximity to residential and the number of parking spaces that would be displaced; against the 7-11 site; Brompton's is not really on the table; we need to accept that reality; car dealerships are left and provide the most feasible alternatives given the list, unless other sites are added, such as the bowling alley site
   24. Derek Brock -
       Pollard Street resident for about 10 years; why do we need another station?; Pollard is a cut through; if Cherrydale Station is selected, Pollard Street would have to be widened and would be an even bigger cut-through; don't know what is going on with Mr. Peete issue; not sympathetic to developers; if we've cut some kind of deal with Mr. Peete then why can't we bend the rules a little bit and choose the bowling alley site; we're talking quality of life; this site doesn't have major impacts to the community; hopefully this solution will appeal to the task force
   25. Doug Wakefield –
       Moved to Cherrydale from Ballston this winter; had County install audible crossings to go to the 7-11, not a fire station; would be surprised if this committee dared to choose the 7-11 or Cherrydale shops without having their bags packed; don't want to put 110 people out of work; don't think Brompton's is really off the table just because current Board members have signed something that said they would not consider it; where there is a vote there is hope; after the election the whole arena may change; [Iacomini said all 5 County Board members are not elected at once.] it makes no sense to let a new business go in at the expense of taking an existing business; let's get some light shed upon this; contact the press
   26. Tri Le –
       Owner of the small nail salon in Cherrydale Station for 4 years; warm and wonderful neighborhood; working hard late at night to make the business work; have two jobs; this is the land of opportunity so please don't take away this opportunity
   27. Ron Rohall –
       Land owner of Brown Honda; I know you all have worked hard; want to talk about quality of life; don't know how many task force members have owned businesses but in Cherrydale you need a lot of different types of businesses to make it work; car dealers bring people into this area; when people get their car serviced they go to shops, restaurants; when you lose those larger businesses you affect all the other businesses directly or indirectly; Brompton's and TV site – maybe the developer would be interested in swaping the front of Brompton's with TV site and townhouses could be built on TV site
   28. Cynthia Hilton –
       Live on Quincy Street; I don't know where I was 2 years ago when the citizens spoke and the Brompton's site was lost; can't look at fire station in isolation; Brompton's site creates a number of problems for the neighborhood, such as inadequate parking; there are other ways to go about this without putting people out of business; noise and trucks on Quincy Street is not appealing; the task force has a difficult job but also an opportunity; from the reactions here you can't leave here tonight and not know what we would vote for

   The public forum was closed. County Board Chairman Paul Ferguson was introduced. Iacomini answered some of the questions that were raised in the public forum.

   Proximity of a fire station to Coldwell Banker – The Fire Department has a station master plan. Station #8 will go through a similar community planning process and it is likely that the station will not be as close to the Coldwell Banker site as it is now.

   Honda relocation – Mr. Stringfellow spoke to this issue previously. They don't feel they have enough land, and there are franchise law constraints.

   Bowling Alley site and TV Station site – These sites were removed from the task force's list but after tonight, the task force will take another look at these sites. Iacomini said the task force cannot promise that either of the sites will ultimately be selected, but the task force will review them.

   Can the County Board override the recommendations of the task force? – The County Board is the final decision-maker, and they could override the recommendations of the task force. There is a slim possibility that they might not take any of our recommendations. Iacomini said that this citizen process is not futile; we are learning a lot and that is positive.

   Use of Eniment domain – The County has used it in the past and could use it here.

   Inclusion of 3-4 bay – This is a growing community and 3-4 bays have always been in the mix.

   Noise analysis – Noise analysis has not been conducted and the task force will look at this issue.

   Why can't the current fire station be expanded? - Historic buildings can be expanded. In order to do that on this site, land would be taken from the Brompton's or Brown Honda.

   Use of Revitalization Plan – Task force has reviewed the Cherrydale Revitalization Plan relative to the sites chosen. However, over time some rearrangement of the plan has taken place.

   Land swap with TV station and Brompton's – The task force will look at this, but do not know if it is possible.

   In response to a request from a member of the public, Chairman Paul Ferguson addressed the audience. Ferguson thanked all members on the task force for their hard work. Ferguson said it is highly unlikely that the County Board will ignore the recommendations of the task force, but the Board cannot delegate a decision to a non-elected body. Ferguson was also asked to explain why the Brompton's site is not being considered. Ferguson said the idea behind putting a new fire station in this area was to try and do the best possible to improve response times. The Fire Department recommended that another site would serve the community better. The County Board went through an extensive process during the review of the site plan. Ferguson said that, during that process, he did not hear that putting the fire station on the site was the primary reason for the opposition to the Brompton's. The County Board is leaning on the fire chief to tell us what the best site is to serve the community. His hope is that we have a site that the task force, the community and the fire department feel is the most appropriate for Cherrydale and the entire area.

   A member of the public asked for an inquiry into the issue. Ferguson said that handouts, which outlined the history of the process, were available in the back of the room.

   Assistant Chief Shawn Kelley was asked to address response times. He said the County is building a fire station not for today but for the next 20 years. The County has changed by increased density, demographics, etc. The County made a commitment to not negatively impact the response times to the north. The Fire Department has not influenced the decisions of the task force. The Fire Department has provided information at the request of the task force. Kelley indicated that the Fire Department's preferred site, the back Honda lot, was not included in the task force's list of sites.

   Based on several studies, the Fire Department has determined that call volumes will increase east to Rosslyn and south to Ballston.

   In response to a question, Kelley indicated that the Cherrydale Fire Station runs 2,400 calls per year, 70% are EMS calls and 30% are fire calls.

   By a show of hands, task force members were asked to identify their votes from the last task force meeting.

   In response to a question, Kelley said that the Brompton's site is not the preferred site, but it is an acceptable site for the Fire Department.

5. Next Task Force Meeting –
   The next task force meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, June 25th from 7:30 p.m. – 9:30 p.m. at the Cherrydale Fire Station.
6. Adjourn -
   Iacomini adjourned the meeting at approximately 9:35 p.m.