Livability22202 Updated Priorities
At the June 20th meeting of the Crystal and Pentagon Cities Council (CPCC, formerly the CCCRC), County staff asked the Council to prepare a list of the highest priority large public amenity projects for our community. The Council agreed that the way to do that was to start with the Livability Framework and update it for current priorities. Following several months of consideration, an Open Meeting on October 26 and meetings of all three civic associations to receive feedback from the community, the final letter was transmitted to the County on December 14, 2023. Highest priorities are for: an Elementary School; a centrally located community center; an update to modern functionality for the Aurora Hills Library; planning, design and delivery of more open space; and landscape design to support the local ecosystem and more detailed design guidelines (and schedules) developed for the Green Ribbon. Read the details in the letter.
Input had previously been provided to the Crystal and Pentagon Cities Citizens Council (CPCC) for its December 11, 2023, meeting. The CPCC is preparing its own letter to the County and will be shared here when available.
Livability22202 Reboot Meeting October 26, 2023
Some 65-70 participants in the October 26 Livability22202 Reboot meeting reviewed the draft updated priorities and provided feedback. You can see the PowerPoint presentation here or watch the entire 2-hour meeting here. We took ample notes of all the feedback at the meeting, as well as the informal “votes” on highest priorities done with colored dots at the end of the meeting. These will be considered as we go forward towards finalizing the priorities. Next steps are:
- 3 civic association meetings to review the priorities (AHCA 11/8; CCCA 11/15; ARCA 11/16)
- Deadline for written comments to the 3 civic association presidents: 11/17
- Letter with updated priorities from Livability22202 to Crystal and Pentagon Cities Council (CPCC) for its December meeting tentatively scheduled for 12/8
- Letter with updated priorities from Livability22202 to County staff and Board in December
- 2024: Follow up on revitalizing the 6 workshops
- Workshop topics under consideration TBD in 6 working groups
- Contact your CA president on ideas and on interest in joining one or more working groups
Reminder: We are having an important meeting this Thursday October 26 from 7-9 pm to discuss updating the LIvabiity22202 priorities set in November 2019. Following several months of consideration and in response to feedback from all three civic associations and others, the revised draft priorities have changed slightly. You can see them here. We will be focusing Thursday primarily on Tier One and Two with two goals in mind to eventually: 1) provide input to the Crystal and Pentagon Cities Council (CPCC) for priorities to send to the County; and 2) provide Livability22202 updated priorities directly to the County.
The united front of the three civic associations in 22202–Arlington Ridge, Aurora Highlands, and Crystal City–has had a decided impact on County and developers’ planning. We want to maintain a united front on our top priorities, especially those that may require extensive financial support.
The meeting will be held in Amazon’s beautiful new Visitor Landing Center at 545 S. 15th Street (entrance at the corner of 15th and Elm Streets. Please come join us to learn how the priorities can be updated, ask questions, and express any concerns you might have. We need to come to closure by the end of November, so this meeting is an important step in the community process.
MEETING NOTICE: Come to the October 26, 2023, information meeting from 7-9 pm at the Amazon Visitor Landing, 545 S. 15th Street. (It’s a good chance to see part of Amazon’s HQ2 at MetPark as well, as Amazon has offered us the space for our community meeting.)
Livability22202 is a coalition of the 3 civic associations of 22202 – Arlington Ridge, Aurora Highlands, and Crystal City. The three associations all face common pressures and impacts from rapid commercial and residential development. Community leaders, activists, and interested citizens came together in 2018 to tackle the challenges facing our area with holistic strategies based on shared livability themes to create a better, more livable community. Through collaborative hard work, the Livability22202 teams created working groups, offered workshops and public meetings, wrote key reports, and drafted and finalized the Livability22202 Action Plan and Framework. The Livability Framework has been cited and recommendations incorporated into new guidelines in various County projects, such as the Pentagon City Sector Plan, and government projects, such as the VDOT Route 1 Multimodal Study. Key recommendations such as the “green ribbons” are now being incorporated into new developments such as the RiverHouse Neighborhood.
At the June 20th meeting of the Crystal and Pentagon Cities Council (CPCC, formerly the CCCRC), County staff asked the Council to prepare a list of the highest priority large public amenity projects for our community. The Council agreed that the way to do that was to start with the Livability Framework and update it for current priorities.
Livability22202 leaders met recently to evaluate the current Framework and draft new recommendations through a collaborative process with the civic associations during September. Presentations were made at the 3 civic association meetings (9/13: AHCA; 9/20: CCCA; 9/21: ARCA). The current draft, which includes input from the civic associations, was presented to the Crystal City Pentagon Cities Council (CPCC) on October 3. The CPCC will use the draft to prepare their letter to the County with recommendations for community benefit priorities. The most current draft of Livability priorities is posted HERE.
Come to the community meeting October 26, 7-9 pm. Livability22202 leaders will inform the community of the draft priorities and seek feedback.
Rebooting the Livability22202 plans gives us an opportunity to invite new community members into the process. Please consider volunteering for working groups of interest to you and participate in the updates.