Alexandria’s City Council is expected to vote Jan. 21 on a new $50 million rezoning plan that will increase density along the city’s historic Potomac River waterfront. During the past four years, the city has held numerous public hearings and “charrettes” to persuade residents to sign on to its gauzy vision of chic boutique hotels and expanded green space. But many Alexandrians are not buying the dream. In fact, “the political potato is getting hotter and hotter,” Waterfront Plan Work Group member Burt Ely told The Washington Examiner.

That’s because, as Ely points out in his minority report, the plan “is nothing more than a marketing brochure” for increased commercial development along the river. Two of the most important parts are missing: a study on how higher densities will affect Alexandria’s traffic congestion, and any specifics on water-related access. “That second issue is totally unresolved.”