<bt>Editor's Note: This is the first of a two-part series on the Mount Vernon Avenue Business Area Plan recently approved by the Alexandria Planning Commission and recommended to City Council.
<bt>Although Old Town may be the Alexandria on the tourist's agenda, it is only one of several "villages" that come together to form the city. Another of those individual elements is known colloquially as "The Avenue."
Formally it is Mount Vernon Avenue. It is a segment of the Potomac West Small Area Plan sector of the city and the subject of a recent amendment to Alexandria's Master Plan.
On March 1, Alexandria Planning Commission gave its unanimous approval to the Mount Vernon Avenue Business Plan. That action was supported by Alexandria City Council on March 12 by their concurring unanimous vote approving adoption of the plan. Council's approval was summarized by Vice Mayor Redella "Del" Pepper who said, "This is not something that's going to be put on a shelf. This (plan) is something that's going to serve as a pilot."
Work on this plan was initiated in the spring of 2003 with the formation of the Mt. Vernon Avenue Work Group. Their mission was to undertake a comprehensive planning effort for the Avenue's "Main Street" retail district, broadly defined as that area between Glebe Road and Luray Avenue. That mission culminated in a 114-page document covering what is envisioned for this segment of the City.
"That whole corridor is being rezoned. Council was given something they have never had before," said Eileen Fogarty, director, Planning and Zoning Department.
"What's coming forward is a plan supported by both the business community and the residents. It's very exciting to have this coordinated effort to create a meaningful plan that will benefit everyone while maintaining the unique character of that area," Fogarty said.
BEHIND THE 16-MONTH collaborative planning effort was the vision adopted by the 22-member work group composed of business leaders, residents and civic activists. It stated:
"Mount Vernon Avenue is a vibrant and welcoming Main Street that reflects the surrounding neighborhoods' diversity, integrity and small town charm. The Avenue is comprised of enthusiastic, successful and responsible community partners. We offer an eclectic and friendly living, working and shopping environment for Alexandrians and visitors alike."
Drawing on community input, guiding principles were developed to direct the study. These were:
• Preserve existing historic scale and character
• Protect and enhance Mt. Vernon Avenue as a vibrant commercial corridor
• Encourage and support mixed use development
• Celebrate the Town of Potomac Historic District
• Preserve and protect existing residential areas
• Promote partnerships
• Enhance public spaces
• Provide convenient parking and transportation solutions to support retail growth
• Encourage independent retail
• Capitalize on the neighborhood arts community
• Provide alternative multi-model transportation linkages
AT THE HEART of the plan are four primary objectives:
1. Encourage and control small infill development while discouraging consolidation of lots that appeal to large development;
2. A parking strategy that benefits both businesses and residents;
3. Development of a form based code; and
4. Creating a pedestrian friendly environment.
"It's a very constructive and forward-looking plan. It provides a good guide for infill development on the Avenue while preserving the scale and historic nature of the area," said Bill Hendrickson, a member of the Work Group.
"But, there's a lot of implementing to be done that will involve a lot of investment from both the city and businesses in the area. The city is going to have to step up and continue to help small businesses to succeed in this area. We've made significant progress but more is needed," he said.
Echoing Hendrickson's enthusiasm for the plan were two other members of the Work Group, Pat Miller and Tom Welsh. "This is a tremendous example of citizens and businesses cooperating to make something work. A prime example of that is the three-story building mixed use concept with retail on the ground floor, commercial on the second and residential on the third," Miller said.
"This plan is representative of all the various interests of the area. It addresses many of the ingredients necessary to help this community. A lot of energy was put in by all parties including staff and it has brought forth a wonderful plan," Welsh said.
A PRIMARY CONSIDERATION for the plan to succeed was parking. With such a compact area containing residential, commercial and retail, parking is at a premium. To address this issue, the plan offers a parking strategy "to share parking resources that will provide parking options for retail businesses," according to Kathleen Beeton, urban planner, with P&Z. "This would wave parking requirements for such uses in the area," Beeton said.
"In order to explore shared parking, we approached owners that had underused parking or parking not used at all during certain times of the day or evening to see if they would be agreeable to sharing. We got a very favorable response," she said.
"This also encourages small businesses to be developed on small lots where parking is not possible. The immediate goal is to create flexibility," Beeton said.
As stated in the plan, this strategy "is designed to capitalize on available resources, provide flexibility in the existing business environment, increase the supply with new construction activity , and monitor the parking situation over time to ensure that a balance of supply and demand are maintained."
It also notes, "Key to ensuring the future success of the Avenue as a retail center is implementing a parking strategy that allows for additional development and changes in use that will not significantly impact the neighborhood.
"A shared parking program would create greater efficiency in the use of existing public and private parking resources and reduce competition among residents, business employees and customers for on-street parking... relocating employee cars to off-street parking lots maximizes the use and turnover of on-street parking spaces by customers."
ONE BUSINESS GROUP not included in the proposed parking strategy is the restaurants. "Although we are proposing to waive the parking requirements for retail business, that does not include restaurants," Beeton said.
"The reason is that they have very different requirements for their customers. And they are in agreement with the proposal," she said. Restaurants would still be required to meet Special Use Permit requirements for parking, according to P&Z.
Along with the parking strategy, the plan outlines five other interrelated strategies. These include the form-based code that changes the necessary floor area ratio requirements, pedestrian lighting changes along The Avenue to make it more user friendly and inviting, multi-model transportation connections, and the encouragement of mixed use. These will be addressed in the next part of this series.