To the editor:

The mayor wasnt the only one who was deeply concerned by Alexandria planning and zoning director Faroll Hamers original remarks that even token enforcement of the student cap limiting Alexandria Academy to 20 students without a special use permit was draconian (City now says it will enforce student enrollment law, published on the web September 7, 2010).  

If Hamer feels that enforcing a $50 fine is draconian so too would enforcing just about any other zoning requirement. To fail to enforce the zoning laws would be tantamount to breaking the historic district. She does not seem to grasp how Old Towns success is a carefully crafted balance between commercial and residential interests.

Frankly, though, Hamers remarks are not out of character with business-as-usual at City Hall. It has a history of ignoring certain things on an one-off basis. 

Yet the city didnt hesitate to cite my metal shed whose roof bent under Februarys snow storm, even though it posed no public hazard. City Hall is contemplating bulldozing the Jefferson-Houston site as if the Parker-Gray historic district doesnt mean anything and that site doesnt contain any historic structures. 

According to the skunk at the garden party (also known as the local press, specifically the Alexandria Times), Hamer has not been asked to resign. Why not?