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Alexandria releases draft FY2026-27 long-range planning work program covering Duke Street, parks, housing and flood resilience
Summary
City staff presented a draft two-year interdepartmental work program prioritizing the Duke Street plan, parks and recreation updates, urban forestry, housing master-plan actions, flood resilience measures, and lower King Street construction coordination.
City staff presented a draft FY2026'027 long-range planning interdepartmental work program to the Alexandria City Council, outlining a multi-department schedule of planning, community engagement, and implementation steps across housing, transportation, parks, environment and zoning.
"We're going for this item. We're going to do a quick summary and background go over the actual work program with some highlights for each of the topic areas," said Carrie Beach of the Department of Planning and Zoning as staff introduced the packet. The presentation covered projects ranging from the Duke Street corridor plan to a parks-and-recreation master-plan update and an urban forestry plan update.
Why it matters: The work program sets staff priorities and timelines that feed into the city's capital and operating budgets and guides public engagement on major land-use and infrastructure changes over the next two fiscal years.
Key initiatives and timing: Staff highlighted several marquee efforts: - Duke Street corridor planning: internal preparation and stakeholder outreach are under way; formal launch anticipated May'June to align with a multimodal design and transitway work. - Parks and Recreation Master Plan and an Urban Forestry Master Plan update: both to be refreshed and coordinated with new GIS open-space inventories and the citywide parks plan. - Housing master-plan update (Housing 2040): a housing needs assessment has begun; staff plan a March 18 community meeting and intend to bring a package of actionable items this year with a possible Part 2 next year. - Flood Action Alexandria work, Flood Resilience Plan and Chesapeake Bay TMDL Phase 3 actions: Transportation & Environmental Services will lead resilience planning and code amendments to Article 13 of the Alexandria Zoning Ordinance for resource protection areas. - River Renew and Orinoco outfall remediation progress reports: project timelines noted, including an extension of River Renew implementation to July 1, 2026 and anticipated substantial completion in April 2026.
Staff stressed cross-department coordination: the presentation emphasized a coordinated approach for construction in Lower King Street to reduce disruption to businesses and visitors and to ensure public safety and consistent communications during construction.
Council feedback sought: Council members asked about federal funding uncertainty, coordination with WMATA on transit-station joint development, school facility planning coordination with Alexandria City Public Schools, and how resident-survey priorities informed the work program. Staff said they would return with more detailed timelines and, where appropriate, proposals for added outreach or cross-agency studies.
Ending: Staff will take council direction and return with a final draft of the work program in late spring (May or June) to reflect council guidance and budget constraints.
