Over the loud protests of residents, the unfinished Alexandria waterfront plan is moving ahead to the City Council for approval. A rowdy, vocal crowd of residents packed a recent Alexandria Planning Commission meeting, urging commissioners to delay their scheduled vote on the plan. Most keyed in on new changes proposing two options for the Old Dominion Boat Club marina and parking lot at the base of King Street that were not in the original plan.
The city and boat club are still negotiating how that property would fit into the plan’s original goal of connecting King Street to the Potomac River and Waterfront Park.
“You need to allow the community more time to digest these issues,” said John Gosling, president of the Old Town Civic Association, who added he didn’t want an incomplete plan sent to council.
The crowd of about 100 residents frequently interrupted testimony with applause and cheers while occasionally directing boos at the planning commissioners at last week’s meeting. Several times, Chairman John Komoroske gaveled the crowd into silence, telling them to behave or risk being ejected.
But there was no quieting the group when one resident concluded his testimony by yelling for everyone in the room who wanted a delay in the commission’s vote that night to stand up — at which point more than half the room stood to applaud. Props weren’t off-limits either as another neighbor arrived carrying a crutch with a sign that read, “Not the right plan,” the name of a recent editorial published by Gosling.
The changes were made in mid-April after the boat club said it would not move its parking lot from the base of King Street. One option is to build a boardwalk from the base of King Street and along the rear of the lot, connecting to an existing path at Waterfront Park. The other would create a small plaza at the base of the street with a view to the water and park.
Although most residents said they were happy to see the original plan — which included a new restaurant building — scrapped, they wanted more public hearings on the alternatives. Or better yet, they said, wait until the boat club and city reach an agreement before moving ahead.
But the boat club’s board Chairman Eric DeSoto said such an agreement could take much longer.
“What allowed us to get to where we are was by not allowing the attorneys to attend the meetings,” he told the commission. “The attorneys are attending the next round of meetings.”
The commission voted 6-1 to send the plan to council, which scheduled a public hearing for May 14.
