Planning commission backs city'026-27 long-range work program and interactive map tool

The Alexandria Planning Commission on June 4 voted 7-0 to recommend that City Council approve the Department of Planning and Zoninglong-range work program for the 202627 cycle, a coordinated two-year schedule of interdepartmental long-range planning projects and implementation tasks.

Carrie Beach, division chief of neighborhood planning in the Department of Planning and Zoning, brought the item back to the commission and described the program as the cityopportunity to align staffing and projects with the master plan and council priorities. "Tonight I'm bringing back to you the long range work program for 2026 and 2027," Beach said, summarizing changes since a February draft and noting two new projects added to the program.

Why it matters: the work program sets priorities and sequencing for plan updates, small-area plan implementation, and capital implementation projects across multiple departments. Commissioners stressed the programvalue for coordinating resources for high-profile efforts such as school facilities planning, city real-estate analysis, and Old Town North's arts district evaluation.

What staff proposed and commissioners discussed - New items added since February: a city real estate analysis to evaluate the feasibility and market readiness of city-owned properties and an Old Town North arts district evaluation to assess how effectively the arts-district tools are working in that small-area plan. Beach said the real-estate effort would proceed in two phases, focusing first on the most market-ready properties. - Staff previewed a web-based interactive story map intended to link small-area plan documents, land-use maps, building heights, and implementation actions with an easier public interface. Beach described the tool as a "digestible" way for residents to find the small-area plan for a given address and to view existing conditions and future framework maps. - The work program includes tentative timing and phases (internal work, community engagement, adoption), and implementation projects that feed into capital and regulatory work such as the Duke Street transitway/land-use coordination and a potential update to the 2018 joint Alexandria City Public Schools (ACPS)/city long-range facilities plan.

Commissioners applauded the programwith repeated praise for the interdepartmental coordination. Vice Chair Koenig and other commissioners highlighted the city real-estate analysis as important to understand changing commercial market dynamics and potential city opportunities to pair facilities and housing innovations. Commissioners also asked staff to return with a scope and process for the 2018 facilities plan update; Beach said the item is currently tentative and that city council will provide guidance when it reviews the work program.

Public comment and next steps - One public speaker, Melissa Kunan of the North Old Town Independent Citizens Association (NOtice), urged the commission to evaluate the Old Town North arts district pilot, citing build-out obligations placed on arts organizations in development agreements. - Beach said staff would continue to refine the program over summer outreach, with a planned launch of the interactive map in the fall.

The commission's recommendation to council is the formal outcome: the commission voted 7-0 to forward the revised long-range work program to City Council for approval.