Williamsburg Civic Association -- WCA Accomplishments May 2002

Williamsburg Civic Association
Accomplishments for 1 May 2002 - 1 May 2003

1. Membership Meetings: We held eleven membership meetings (every month except December). Each meeting began with a half hour of refreshments, featured a program with one or two speakers, and included a business meeting.

2. Communication:

Eleven newsletters: Every other month we did an eight-page newsletter which is mailed through the US Postal Service. In the in-between months, we did a four-page newsletter which is distributed door to door. Newsletters were funded through advertisement.
Several e-mail action alerts on developments with regard to the Sycamore Street structure.
Web Site: We updated the web site in May 2002 and expanded it significantly.

3. Neighborhood Conservation Projects:

Little Falls 1: Construction work for the medians on Little Falls 1 began in December 2002. On February 5, 2003, the Little Falls Working Group met with Arlington County staff to plan the landscaping for the medians. The plantings were installed in April 2003. WCA began lobbying to get the bike and parking lane markings installed.
Little Falls 2: WCA voted for a slightly modified median plan to allow sidewalks to be carved out of existing roadway, rather than neighbors' front yards.
Minor Hill Use Plan: Work to develop the Minor Hill Use Plan (Minor Hill 1) got underway during the winter of 2002. After a series of working meetings with relevant County staff, we completed a draft Minor Hill Use Plan and set about getting neighborhood feedback. The Use Plan was approved by WCA at our membership meeting in July 2002. During our August 2002 meeting, we approved a motion to incorporate the Use Plan into our Neighborhood Conservation Plan. The County Board approved this change in November 2002. The Executive Committee decided to use the $25K remaining from our initial Minor Hill project to fund the measures for Area A.
Minor Hill 2: During our September 2002 business meeting, we approved a resolution that Williamsburg adopt the Minor Hill II Project as our priority NC project for the Fall 2002 funding round. We submitted it to the Neighborhood Conservation Advisory Committee. It came up for approval at the December NCAC funding session, but was not funded. In March 2003, we voted to resubmit the Minor Hill 2 project as our priority project at the Spring 2003 NC funding round. This time it was accepted.
Williamsburg Boulevard Project: WCA members approved this project as our priority project for the June 2002 funding session. The project was approved.
Sycamore Street NC Project: WCA initiated this project in the summer of 2002. A Sycamore Street Working Group was formed; the project was presented at a membership meeting and publicized in newsletters. In September 2002, WCA requested that the County begin traffic counts of the street to determine whether the street was appropriate for narrowing. The Sycamore Street Working Group developed a draft project proposal and submitted it to the County.

4. Traffic Calming/Pedestrian Safety:

WCA continued to lobby the County to press forward on a traffic calming program covering arterial streets, such as Sycamore Street and Little Falls Road.
WCA lobbied the County to implement the Powhatan Street Traffic Calming Project.
WCA monitored other citizen requests for neighborhood traffic calming.

5. Williamsburg Circle Project:

WCA helped publicize the 22 June 2002 flag dedication ceremony for the flag in Williamsburg Circle.
The County completed plantings in the Circle.

6. Zoning/Infill:

WCA monitored developments relating to the Sycamore structure and reported to the membership through membership meetings, the newsletter, and the web site.
In response to a request by the membership, WCA wrote a letter in February 2003 to the Board of Zoning Appeals, requesting that the Board refuse to grant any further time extensions to the owner of the property.
In March 2003, WCA wrote to the County Board, asking it to defend the most recent ruling of the Board of Zoning Appeals.

7. Arlington Civic Federation: WCA delegates attended Civic Federation meetings and provided feedback to Williamsburg residents through the newsletter, WCA meetings, and web site.

8. Neighborhood Conservation Advisory Committee: WCA representatives attended NCAC meetings and provided feedback to Williamsburg residents through the newsletter, WCA meetings, and web site.