I’m voting for Scherer and Huskey

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I’m voting for Scherer and Huskey
(Graphic/Jessica Kim)
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To the editor:

In the heated controversy over Zoning for Housing, one of the threats to single-family neighborhoods that is easy to visualize is how Mayor Justin Wilson and the incumbents running for reelection are determined to turn every residential street into a gasoline alley: cars everywhere.

If a citizens’ lawsuit to overturn ZFH fails and Phase II is approved, ZFH will obliterate developer guardrails like setbacks from curbs and adjacent properties, height limitations and, crucially, on-site parking requirements. A developer could replace a single-family home with a large sixplex, with two bedrooms in each unit. Because the city also revoked the definition of a family, up to 24 people can live in a sixplex. That’s a potential 24 cars coming and going at all hours from street parking.

The city envisions 80,000 more residents within 30 years. That’s after a rise from 118,000 in 1995 to 160,000 today – a 42,000 increase in population already.

Incumbents and some new Council candidates say homeowners “should have the option to build generational wealth.” They’re really saying that sellers can expect premium prices from developers. The sellers win, their neighbors lose. The street’s character, feeling of space, safety, quiet, know-your-neighbor vibe, greenery and tree canopy have been taken away in a Soviet-style expropriation authorized by City Hall.

In the city’s great neighborhoods, many houses are the owner’s dream home, occupied by families of every ethnicity. You see them on Trinity Drive, Timber Branch Parkway and St. Stephens Road – nearly everywhere. Scattered among dream homes will be rooming houses.

There are those, including some candidates, who said or implied that opponents of ZFH are racist. As a very progressive city, Alexandria has been doing right by people of color for decades, creating the Affordable Housing Fund and assuring developers offer affordable units. Candidates who call opponents racist are ignoring recent history and the goodwill of their neighbors.

Alyia Gaskins is adamantly against rolling back ZFH. Once, defending it at a forum, she rambled, sounding more like a student than a seasoned veteran of the issue.

Amy Jackson continues to call for a waiting period to study single-family zoning. When asked one-on-one for a yes or no answer on whether she’ll roll ZFH back, she hesitated before saying she didn’t like the law. At least she’s listening to the public’s concerns. Steven Peterson said he’ll roll ZFH back.

For Council, I’m voting for Charlotte Scherer and Jonathan Huskey. The rest of the ballot will be blank.

Alexandria, founded in 1749, could be destroyed over the next 30 years.

–Philip Barbara,

Alexandria

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