Sun Gazette Arlington, December 28, 2017

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VOLUME 83 NO. 5 DEC. 28, 2017-JAN. 3, 2018

ARLINGTON’S SOURCE FOR HOMETOWN NEWS SINCE 1935

Acquisition of Parkland Draws Fisette Caution

FROM YORKTOWN TO AN F-16 COCKPIT

Outgoing Board Chairman Seeks Better Justification for Purchases SCOTT McCAFFREY Staff Writer

Yorktown High School Class of 2011 graduate Andrew Nash, now a first lieutenant in the U.S. Air Force, was recognized as the youngest fighter-jet pilot in the Air Force at a ceremony earlier this month marking his graduation from F-16 pilot school at Luke Air Force Base in Arizona. See “Schools & Military” on Page 26 for more details.

Chamber Irked as County Board Fast-Tracks Housing-Preservation-Districts Framework SCOTT McCAFFREY Staff Writer

Leadership of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce is not happy with action by the County Board to create housing-conservation districts, but plans to stay engaged as the plan is fleshed out during 2018. County Board members on Dec. 16 adopted what they’re calling a

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“policy framework” as part of an effort to stem the exodus of affordable-housing units from the increasingly gentrifying community. County officials say they are taking steps to meet a need, but the local business organization suggested it was a rushed, ready-fire-aim approach without the requisite community input. “This plan will limit the devel-

opment potential of a property, impede access to financing for property owners to reinvest in these properties, and could discourage redevelopment of older housing,” Chamber officials said in an e-mail to their membership after the vote. In addition to concerns about a lack of transparency, Chamber ofContinued on Page 22

Like Dwight Eisenhower warning of the militaryindustrial complex back in 1960, Arlington County Board Chairman Jay Fisette used his last days in office to voice concern about willy-nilly acquisition of parkland without first focusing on how the new parcels will fit into the big picture. “It could get out of hand,” Fisette said of requests by neighborhoods for the county government to swoop in and purchase up residential or commercial parcels to turn into pocket parks, depleting the government’s financial resources for parkland acquisition. Fisette’s comments came as the County Board on Dec. 19 voted 4-1 (with the chairman in the negative) to spend $1.235 million to acquire two adjacent lots totaling about a quarter-acre in the Virginia Highlands neighborhood, on the periphery of Pentagon City.

New County Board member Erik Gutshall lays out priorities – see story, Page 3.

Fisette mused aloud how the county government would now be able to say “no” to the next “five or 10 or 20 or 30 requests” from neighborhoods to purchase properties. The Aurora Highlands Civic Association asked the county government to purchase the parcels, one of which is vacant and the other occupied by a 1920sera bungalow. The parcels, combined, were assessed at about $1.07 million in JanuContinued on Page 22

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