City Council Approves Falls Church Housing Corporation’s City Center South Apartments Proposal
The Falls Church City Council has approved a series of actions to allow construction of a new affordable housing complex at 350, 360 and 370 South Washington Street. The 174-unit, seven-story residential apartment with ground floor non-profit office space, was proposed by the Falls Church Housing Corporation (FCHC), Homestretch, Inc. and developer Atlantic Realty.
The Council meeting lasted until 1:30 a.m. on Tuesday, August 11, partially due to a large number of residents who spoke on either side of the issue. Issues raised by speakers included an estimated $1 million annual cost to taxpayers, an anticipated 25-space parking deficit, movement of senior citizens from existing housing to the new high-rise project, the impact of converting Winter Hill Apartments to condominiums, and whether a late-in-the-process Memorandum of Understanding between the City, FCHC and 360 S. Washington owner Educational Options, is legally binding on the proponents,
At times action on the Council dais took on a harsh tone, with Council Member Daniel Sze twice voting “Hell no” on motions by Council Members David Snyder and Nader Baroukh.
A number of votes occurred, most on a 5-2 split, with Mayor Robin Gardner, Vice Mayor Hal Lippman and Council Members Dan Maller, Sze, and Lawrence Webb voting in the affirmative and Baroukh and Snyder opposing. On the fundamental vote of changing the use of land from “business” to “mixed use, Snyder voted with the majority “in order to show support for affordable housing” even as he voiced objections to several aspects of the project.
Proponents of the project still must secure funding from a variety of sources and conduct further negotiations with the City on details of the project.
Roll call votes:
Motion by Snyder to delay consideration of the project until September 22 in order to obtain additional information: Failed 2-5 (Yes-Baroukh, Snyder; No-Gardner, Lippman, Maller, Sze, Webb)
Motion by Baroukh to delay consideration of the part of the project pertaining to 360 South Washington Street until September 22 to allow city staff to evaluate the project in the normal manner under the special exception process. [The property at 360 South Washington was added to consideration of the project on July 23. Baroukh stated that the 360 South Washington property did not go through the same examination process as the properties at 350 and 370 South Washington.] Failed 2-5 (Yes-Baroukh, Snyder; No-Gardner, Lippman, Maller, Sze, Webb.)
Motion by Lippman to approve a Resolution to Amend the Comprehensive Plan of the City to change the designation of 1.2 acres of land located at 350 and 370 South Washington Street from “Business” to “Mixed Use” on the City’s Future Land Use Map. Passed 6-1 (Yes-Gardner, Lippman, Maller, Snyder, Sze, Webb; No-Baroukh.
Motion by Lippman to approve an Ordinance to Amend Chapter 38 of the Official Zoning Code of the City by amending Section 38-4 (f), Special Exception; 4 (a.) Primary Criteria. Passed 5-2 (Yes-Gardner, Lippman, Maller, Sze, Webb; No-Baroukh, Snyder.)
Motion by Lippman to approve a Resolution to Grant Special Exceptions(s) for Residential Development within Mixed Use Projects and for a Residential Height Bonus under Section 38-4 (f) in a B-2, Central Business district on 1.2 acres of land located at 350 and 370 South Washington Street. Passed 5-2 (Yes-Gardner, Lippman, Maller, Sze, Webb; No-Baroukh, Snyder.)
Motion by Sze to approve a Resolution, The City Center Housing, LLC, Memorandum Of Understanding To Be Entered Into By The City Of Falls Church, The Falls Church Housing Corporation, CC South, LLC, Ed Options, Inc., And Thomas E. Sawner, owner of the 360 S. Washington property. Passed 5-1-1 (Yes-Gardner, Lippman, Maller, Sze, Webb; No-Baroukh, Abstain-Snyder.)
By Stan Fendley, Falls Church City
August 12, 2008
It has been my opinion that the City Council has once again set aside the desires of the community and the issues raised by the Planning Commission to bully through another “high flying” project without a full understanding and legal commitment from all parties?
Tell me, who in their right mind would approve either buying; a car, a house, college tuition, or entering into a serious financial arrangement without full disclosure of each and every participating parties obligations and commitments?
In this case, the majority council members seem to confuse handing over both city assets and obligating an undetermined sum of our tax money (for many years) with their own money. To engage this project at this juncture is fiscally irresponsible. The MOU is a confused attempt to mask the uncertainty of the obligations and risks.
The city is going broke – most projects undertaken already are far underperforming their revenue projections. The city tells us the projects are successful because the assessed values have dramatically increased. In simple terms it is revenues that pay all of the bills and you can figure it out from there. The telling tale will be the new tax rates that you will see next year.
It didn’t help matters that Mr Bodmer of the Falls Church Housing Commission opened the Council session by accusing opponents of the project of race baiting. Many who attended found his remarks deeply offensive. Unfortunately, this tactic has been used repeatedly by affordable housing advocates to claim the moral high ground and vilify the opposition.
Signifcantly the FCNP and a prominent local blog did not reference Mr Bodmer’s comments in their accounts of the session. Perhaps they recognized that such mudslinging served to dimminish the case for the project rather than serve it.