In April, the Alexandria Planning Commission and City Council will vote on the proposed North Potomac Yard Small Area Plan. On Tuesday night, the two groups got a first look at the working draft.

The proposed small area plan includes the redevelopment of the Potomac Yard shopping center and the construction of a $240 million Metro station.

When residents of Alexandria’s West End learned that Fairfax County was considering proposals to redevelop the Plaza at Landmark and the Smoot Lumber site, they asked why the City hadn’t informed them and why Alexandria leaders weren’t involved in the decision making process. A third proposed Fairfax County redevelopment on Vine Street will be considered during Alexandira’s Eisenhower West planning process, which is scheduled to begin next year.

On Friday, Alexandria Police Chief Earl Cook resigned from the Alexandria Redevelopment Housing Authority Board, citing a conflict with State law, which precludes City employees from serving on Housing Authority Boards.

Cook, who once lived in public housing in Alexandria, was appointed to the ARHA Board in December.

Alexandria City Manager Jim Hartmann will balance the $534 million fiscal year 2011 budget by increasing the real estate tax rate seven cents, eliminating 55 full time equivalent positions, selling city property and reducing nearly all department budgets.

All spending cuts total $19.2 million plus an additional savings of $2.6 million in other financing. On the revenue side, Hartmann will close the budget gap by increasing the real estate tax rate from 90.3 cents to 97.3 cent per $100 of assessed value. This will result in $21.5 million in additional revenue in FY2011.

On Tuesday night, the Alexandria City Council voted to encourage a federal agency to select the Victory Center as its headquarters; approved a grant application that would partially fund bus rapid transit through Potomac Yard and agreed to send a letter to the General Assembly supporting the Virginia Municipal League’s guiding principles they should keep in mind during budget deliberations.

When the Alexandria City Council voted, 4-3, not to request any further city charter changes on local elections from the Virginia General Assembly, they were warned that more equipment would be required to handle the 2012 election. During the upcoming budget deliberations, Council will consider adding $270,000 to the fiscal year 2013 capital budget to purchase additional voting machines.

The Seminary Hill Association is mad as hell and they fired a warning shot over City Council’s bow at Saturday’s public hearing. The issue is the parcels of land on which Seminary Towers Apartments sits and whether it should remain a part of the 1992 Seminary Hill/Strawberry Hill Small Area Plan or become a part of the new Beauregard Small Area Plan.

Council Faces Increasing Deficit, Spends Money

On Tuesday night, the Alexandria City Council allocated $200,000 for DASH bus service; gave ACT for Alexandria $50,000 over two years to connect Alexandrians with human service and civic opportunities; learned that the cost of December’s record-breaking snowstorm is likely to be over $1 million and got the news that fiscal year 2010 revenues are down by between one and two percent, which will require legislators to cut $5 to $10 million from this year’s budget.

The City of Alexandria recently implemented a new business tax system for business license and business personal property taxes. The new system has created significant changes to business license renewal applications, which will be mailed to all registered business owners later this month.

As residential and commercial property values continue to slide, more owners are contesting their assessments. The City of Alexandria will ask the Virginia General Assembly to grant a charter change, which will allow the city to make adjustments to the local Board of Review of Real Estate Assessments, also known as the Board Of Equalization. That board hears and decides upon property assessment adjustments.