5 Items On Alexandria Planning Commission Agenda In January

ALEXANDRIA, VA — After the holidays conclude, numerous proposals will go to the Alexandria Planning Commission on Jan. 5.

The agenda includes final recommendations to allow accessory dwelling units in the city, renaming proposal for Swamp Fox Road, proposals for the Oakville Triangle plan and more.

If docket items are advanced, they will get a City Council on Jan. 23 unless otherwise noted. The Planning Commission meeting starts at 7 p.m., and citizens may sign up to speak on a docket item.

1. Accessory dwelling units

An amendment to the zoning ordinance is sought to allow accessory dwelling units citywide. An accessory dwelling unit is an apartment-style residence sharing a lot with a larger house. The unit has a separate kitchen, bathroom and bedrooms from the main house, and its size limitations typically limit it to four or less people. The city's policy would allow a "low-impact, secondary dwelling unit to be located on a lot developed with a single-family, two-family or townhouse dwelling." According to a staff report, the accessory dwelling units proposal seeks to permit an incremental increase in housing supply "while maintaining the established character of the City’s neighborhoods." Final recommendations can be found on the city's accessory dwelling unit web page.

2. Oakville Triangle approvals

Developer Stonebridge Associates is seeking approval for the infrastructure plan with subdivision for the construction of site wide infrastructure for Oakville Triangle. The subdivision would establish four development blocks envisioned by the Oakville Route 1 plan. In addition, a vacation of a 24,389-square-foot portion of public right of way is sought on Oakville Street. The infrastructure plan and subdivision requires Planning Commission approval, while the public right of way vacation would also require City Council approval. Separately, development special use permits are being sought for a 93,000-square-foot Inova Healthplex at Oakville Triangle as well as a mixed-use multifamily residential building with ground floor retail.

3. Renaming of Swamp Fox Road

Hoffman Company is applying to change the name of Swamp Fox Road, which connects the Eisenhower Metro Station with Mandeville Lane at the Hoffman Town Center development. The new proposed name is Hoffman Street to recognize the Hoffman family’s contribution to the development of the Eisenhower Valley area, which includes the Eisenhower Valley's first mixed-use project, Hoffman Town Center. Street renamings must be done through a City Council ordinance. A new street renaming and naming policy was developed by city staff in June, but City Council and the Planning Commission have not yet reviewed it.

4. Episcopal High School dorms and wellness center

Episcopal High School, a private boarding school, is proposing a campus expansion to construct two dormitories, a health center, additional off-street parking and the extension of Stadium Drive. The dormitories are sought to improve the student-faculty housing ratio across campus. The 18,600-square-foot health and wellness center will replace the current infirmary. The project site is the location of the former Hoxton Field site, the school's main athletic field from the 1930s to 2019. A new stadium is under construction.

5. New owner for the former Charlie's on the Avenue

Alexandria Restaurant Partners plans to open the former Charlie's on the Avenue as a new concept called Joe's Kitchen. Charlie's on the Avenue, a restaurant from the owners of Live Oak and The Garden, closed in early 2020. The administrative special use permit request was approved by the Department of Planning and Zoning earlier in December. This approval is noted in the Planning Commission docket but does not require action from the Planning Commission or City Council.