Alexandria West Planning
What's New
On November 16, 2024, following a two-year community planning process, City Council unanimously voted to approve the Planning Commission's recommendation to adopt the AlexWest Small Area Plan, with revisions as specified in the approval (video at 4:10:00). The Ordinance to amend the Master Plan and incorporate the final approved Plan will be docketed for December.
Saturday, November 16, 2024 - City Council Public Hearing
- Docket Materials
- Meeting Video (begins at 3:12:30)
Why Plan?
In Fiscal Year 2023, City Council prioritized this planning process to update the long-term vision for the 1992 Alexandria West Small Area Plan and integrate the 2012 Beauregard Small Area Plan. Creating an updated community vision allows us to proactively plan for change and prepare for challenges and opportunities in the years to come.
An updated Plan will:
- Enable the 10- to 30- year-old land use plans to be updated comprehensively to address current community needs and incorporate current City policies and best practices;
- Address the issue of housing vulnerability and affordability by leveraging housing resources, policies, and funding opportunities to meet this challenge; and
- Develop an approach to guide and shape future development and make expectations clear for the community, City and developers.
Previous Meeting and Event Information
Phase 5: June 2024 - November 2024
- Saturday, November 16, 2024 - City Council Public Hearing
- Docket Materials
- Meeting Video (begins at 3:12:30)
- Thursday, November 7, 2024 - Planning Commission Public Hearing
- Docket Materials
- Meeting Video (begins at 29:30)
- September 5, 2024 - Planning Commission voted to defer the AlexWest Plan pending recommended updates.
- Meeting Video (begins at 34:00)
- August 23, 2024 - Materials posted for September 5 Planning Commission Public Hearing
- August 1, 2024 - Community Feedback and Staff Responses posted on June 25 Draft Plan
- Tuesday, June 25, 2024 - Community Open House and In-Person Community Planning Process Meeting 10
Phase 4: December 2023 - May 2024
- Thursday, April 25, 2024 - Virtual Community Planning Process Meeting 9
- Agenda
- Meeting Presentation
- Meeting Q+A
- Meeting Recording: English, Spanish, and Amharic
- March - May 2024 - Boards and Commissions Updates
- March 7:Alexandria Housing Affordability Advisory Committee
- March 14:Beauregard Design Advisory Committee (BDAC)
- March 18:Environmental Policy Commission
- March 20: Transportation Commission (slides 9 - 25)
- March 25:ARHA Board
- April 15:Park and Recreation Commission (PRC)
- May 1:Landlord-Tenant Relations Board
- Monday, March 4, 2024 - Virtual Community Planning Process Meeting 8
- Agenda
- Meeting Presentation and Interactive StoryMap
- Draft Plan Recommendations: English, Spanish, Amharic, Arabic, Dari, and Pashto
- Associated Maps and Tables Maps and Tables (1 of 2), Maps and Tables (2 of 2) Neighborhood Maps and Tables
- Meeting Recording: English, Spanish, and Amharic
- Meeting Q+A
- Tuesday, January 23, 2024 - City Council Legislative Meeting
- Presentation
- Meeting Video (Begins at 4:11:22)
- Thursday, January 4, 2024 - Planning Commission Work Session
- Work Session Presentation
- Meeting Video (Begins at 00:14)
- Monday, December 11, 2023 - Virtual Community Planning Process Meeting 7
- Agenda
- Meeting Presentation
- Meeting Recording: Amharic, English, and Spanish
- Meeting Q+A
- Draft Plan Recommendations
- Draft Plan Recommendations were available for public comment from March 4 through March 31. Community comments and staff responses to the Draft Plan Recommendations and the April 26 Revised Draft Plan Recommendations can be found below.
- April 26 Revised Draft Recommendations
- View Community Comments and Staff Responses
- Community Groups Compiled Comments
- Property Owners Compiled Comments
- Boards and Commissions Compiled Comments
Phase 3: July 2023 - November 2023
- Monday, November 13, 2023 - Community Open House and Hybrid Community Planning Process Meeting 6
- Agenda
- Meeting Presentation
- Meeting Recording
- Open House Boards: Housing , Transportation (1-3), Transportation (4-6)
- Community Open Houses: Three (3) Community Open Houses were held in-person on October 26, November 4 and 8 to engage directly with City Staff, ask questions, and leave feedback on proposed strategies for Land Use, Open Space, Mobility, and Sustainability. There was an online feedback form to submit responses for those unable to attend in-person. The open house boards, open house summary and individual responses from the open houses are below.
- Flyers: Amharic, Arabic, English, Spanish, Dari, and Pashto
- Open House Boards: What is Planning, Parks, Sustainability, Land Use, and Transportation
- AlexWest Draft Objectives
- Summary and Individual Responses
- Wednesday, September 27, 2023 - Hybrid Community Planning Process Meeting 5
- Agenda
- Meeting Presentation
- Meeting Recording
- Meeting Q+A (check back soon)
- FAQs on Proposed Housing Affordability + Land Use Strategy
Phase 2: February 2023 - June 2023
-
Wednesday, June 28, 2023 - Hybrid Community Planning Process Meeting 4
- Agenda
- Meeting Presentation
- Property Owner Introductions Morgan Properties | Hekemian Co. | CIM/Southern Towers | Monday Properties
- Meeting Materials
- Meeting Recording
- Meeting Q+A
- Monday, May 8, 2023 - Hybrid Community Planning Process Meeting 3
- Agenda
- Meeting Presentation
- Materials for Group Discussions
- Meeting Recording
- Community Comments (Virtual)
- Group Discussion Report-Outs
- Meeting Q+A
- Monday, March 27, 2023, 6:30 p.m. - Hybrid Community Planning Process Meeting 2
- Agenda
- Leah Hendey - Urban Institute Presentation
- Housing Interview with Dominic Moulden of ONE DC (Full Video)
- Staff Presentation (English)
- Materials for Group Discussions
- Meeting Recording
- Group Discussion Report-Outs
- Meeting Q + A
- Community Poll #2: Summary
-
Community Poll #2 was conducted from May 9 to June 7 to gather feedback to inform the draft Plan objectives. We received 247 responses online, on printed copies, and in multiple languages. Poll responses were voluntary/self selected and do not constitute a random sample.
-
Phase 1: November 2022 - January 2023
- Tuesday, November 15, 2022, 7 p.m. - Virtual Community Planning Process Kick-Off Meeting
- Meeting Recording: English, Amharic, Arabic, Spanish
- Meeting Poll Responses
- Question and Answers
- Community Pop-Ups: Summary
- Community Poll #1: Summary
- Community Poll #1 was conducted from November 25 to January 25 to gather feedback to inform the planning process. We received 970 responses online, on printed copies, and in multiple languages. Poll responses were voluntary/self selected and do not constitute a random sample.
Document Translation
Information on this and all City webpages can be translated by selecting the Google Translate button at the top right hand corner of the page.
To translate documents posted to the website, follow these steps:
- Download the document you want to translate.
- In your browser, go to Google Translate.
- At the top, click 'Documents'.
- Choose the languages to translate 'to' and 'from'.
- Click 'Browse' your computer.
- Select the file you want to translate.
- Click 'Translate' and wait for the document to finish translating.
Inclusive Community Engagement
Approach
The Alexandria West plan area is home to a multicultural, multilingual community, a diversity of businesses and institutions, and community organizations representing diverse stakeholders and neighborhoods. The planning process implements current best practices to engage all parts of the community in ways that reduce barriers to participation and provide equitable opportunities for community members to participate – ensuring that all voices are included and heard.
In preparing to launch the planning process, the City reviewed several participation strategies, including an advisory group, to ensure an equitable and inclusive process. The City determined that a variety of in-person and online strategies would best serve this need, including meetings and pop-ups in multiple languages at a variety of times and locations throughout the Plan area. With this approach, all members of the community are invited to participate, discuss, and collaborate on a shared vision for the future by participating in the range of options that work best for them. All engagement materials and feedback will be posted to the project website and shared with the community. In addition to engaging individual stakeholders through the options discussed above, Staff is also contacting all civic, business, non-profit and community organizations and agencies to gather feedback and guidance.
Community Organizations Engaged in AlexWest to date (2/10/23)
Frequently Asked Questions
Questions and/or comments can be sent to Christian.Brandt@alexandriava.gov.
Project Schedule
What We've Heard
- Community comments from Community Poll #2
- Community comments from March 27 meeting
- Community comments from Community Poll #1
We received the following letters from community groups:
- June 16, 2023, Letter to City from Legal Aid Justice Center (LAJC) and Tenants and Workers United (TWU)
- May 30, 2023, Letter to City from Fairlington Villages Residents
- May 6, 2023, Letter to City from Seminary West Civic Association (SWCA)
- January 30, 2023, Letter to City from African Communities Together (ACT) , LAJC, and TWU
- December 21, 2022, Letter to City from SWCA
Project Video Updates
Resources and Information
- Renter Resources
- AlexWest Background Packet
- AlexWest Open Space Report
- Draft Transportation Study - Existing Conditions
- Draft Transportation Study - Future Conditions Analysis
- Draft Transportation Study
- Fact Sheets: Inclusive Growth, Housing Affordability, Mobility + Safety, and Public + Connected Open Spaces
- Zoning for Housing/Housing for All
- Plan Funding
- City Council approved $300,000 to fund the planning effort; $200,000 was approved in the FY2022 City budget and $100,000 in the FY2023 City budget. The funding is for technical planning related and economic studies, community engagement and translation services. Similar to other planning efforts, the cost of the transportation study will be funded by developers within the Plan area, with the scope and technical review of the traffic managed by the City and reviewed and discussed with the community.
- Alexandria Master Plan
- 1992 Alexandria West Small Area Plan
- Beauregard Small Area Plan Implementation
- Zoning Ordinance
Alexandria West Related Projects
Questions?
Contact Christian Brandt, Urban Planner, Department of Planning and Zoning, 703.746.3859, or WhatsApp text messenger 571.358.7569.