Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Who is going to want to buy a $2M single family house next to an small apartment building with affordable housing?

Oh, right ALL of you who voted for this.

Have fun!

It' not quite like that. The apartment building won't be very affordable. But it will still tower over the nearby house.

How will a two-story four-plex tower over a two-story one-plex? Please explain.

Anonymous wrote:Who is going to want to buy a $2M single family house next to an small apartment building with affordable housing?

Oh, right ALL of you who voted for this.

Have fun!

It' not quite like that. The apartment building won't be very affordable. But it will still tower over the nearby house.

Anonymous wrote:Who is going to want to buy a $2M single family house next to an small apartment building with affordable housing?

Oh, right ALL of you who voted for this.

Have fun!

So the zoning reform will result in affordable housing? Great news!

Who is going to want to buy a $2M single family house next to an small apartment building with affordable housing?

Oh, right ALL of you who voted for this.

Have fun!

Anonymous wrote:We're voting with our feet and leaving the city of alexandria. It's like a crazy nightmare of backwards world we're leaving.

Same! The insanity of Alexandria is mind boggling.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Failing schools, imploding commercial real estate, and murders are not quite enough to destroy Alexandria, so the Council is a freight train about to vote on Tuesday to eliminate all SFH zoning. Yay.

Hooray!

Don't worry, OP, they are not eliminating detached one-unit residential buildings. They are simply eliminating zoning that bans everything except detached one-unit residential buildings. Property owners - like you - will now have more options for your property.

Great, so our neighbors can build condos next to our bedrooms and destroy the single family neighborhood we love.

So let's play this out....

There is a neighborhood of say 100 homes. How many of those owners do you think will sell in the next ten years? Of those, how many do you think are currently "tear down" such that it is more palatable for a developer to purchase than for a new family to move in? Of those, how many have lots large enough to put in more than a duplex? And if they were to build that duplex, how likely is it that it would be any larger than a huge house that would otherwise be built?

The sky is not falling.

When Alexandria raises property tax assessments to reflect the increased lot value based on the potential for multi-family unit development, more and more homeowners (particularly those on flat or fixed incomes) will be forced to sell out, whether they want to or not. This has the potential to transform some single family home neighborhoods in just a few years.

Any reason to believe that will happen? Serious question. Did it happen in Arlington or other areas that were rezoned? I understand the "highest use" analysis, but I know that my neighbor who has a much smaller house on the same-sized lot does not pay the same taxes as I do....

I don't know about your son's mobility and the route between your home and the OT/PT appointments, but typically, it's possible to comfortably walk in 25-30 minutes to destinations 1.3 miles away.

Not for him. If it were possible to comfortably walk we would, of course, be doing it.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Failing schools, imploding commercial real estate, and murders are not quite enough to destroy Alexandria, so the Council is a freight train about to vote on Tuesday to eliminate all SFH zoning. Yay.

Hooray!

Don't worry, OP, they are not eliminating detached one-unit residential buildings. They are simply eliminating zoning that bans everything except detached one-unit residential buildings. Property owners - like you - will now have more options for your property.

Great, so our neighbors can build condos next to our bedrooms and destroy the single family neighborhood we love.

So let's play this out....

There is a neighborhood of say 100 homes. How many of those owners do you think will sell in the next ten years? Of those, how many do you think are currently "tear down" such that it is more palatable for a developer to purchase than for a new family to move in? Of those, how many have lots large enough to put in more than a duplex? And if they were to build that duplex, how likely is it that it would be any larger than a huge house that would otherwise be built?

The sky is not falling.

When Alexandria raises property tax assessments to reflect the increased lot value based on the potential for multi-family unit development, more and more homeowners (particularly those on flat or fixed incomes) will be forced to sell out, whether they want to or not. This has the potential to transform some single family home neighborhoods in just a few years.

The increase in total property tax receipts needs to happen somehow because this city has a boatload of infrastructure improvements that need paying for. The question is would you rather just see the base rate keep going up (especially relative to Arlington) or would you rather keep the rate the same and have your value go up too? I definitely choose door number two!

I will also say I’ve sat through every public speaker in both council hearings and the number of people expressing concerns that they will personally be pushed out of their homes by unaffordable property tax costs was… not many. Possibly dwarfed by people accidentally saying the quiet part about “deserving blacks” out loud.

If it’s a real issue, I have no issue with temporary property tax relief to prevent existing homeowners from being pushed out while they live in the homes, but let’s not go all prop 13 CA style either.

Ohmygoodness. That's dedication!

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Failing schools, imploding commercial real estate, and murders are not quite enough to destroy Alexandria, so the Council is a freight train about to vote on Tuesday to eliminate all SFH zoning. Yay.

Hooray!

Don't worry, OP, they are not eliminating detached one-unit residential buildings. They are simply eliminating zoning that bans everything except detached one-unit residential buildings. Property owners - like you - will now have more options for your property.

Great, so our neighbors can build condos next to our bedrooms and destroy the single family neighborhood we love.

So let's play this out....

There is a neighborhood of say 100 homes. How many of those owners do you think will sell in the next ten years? Of those, how many do you think are currently "tear down" such that it is more palatable for a developer to purchase than for a new family to move in? Of those, how many have lots large enough to put in more than a duplex? And if they were to build that duplex, how likely is it that it would be any larger than a huge house that would otherwise be built?

The sky is not falling.

When Alexandria raises property tax assessments to reflect the increased lot value based on the potential for multi-family unit development, more and more homeowners (particularly those on flat or fixed incomes) will be forced to sell out, whether they want to or not. This has the potential to transform some single family home neighborhoods in just a few years.

The increase in total property tax receipts needs to happen somehow because this city has a boatload of infrastructure improvements that need paying for. The question is would you rather just see the base rate keep going up (especially relative to Arlington) or would you rather keep the rate the same and have your value go up too? I definitely choose door number two!

I will also say I’ve sat through every public speaker in both council hearings and the number of people expressing concerns that they will personally be pushed out of their homes by unaffordable property tax costs was… not many. Possibly dwarfed by people accidentally saying the quiet part about “deserving blacks” out loud.

If it’s a real issue, I have no issue with temporary property tax relief to prevent existing homeowners from being pushed out while they live in the homes, but let’s not go all prop 13 CA style either.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Failing schools, imploding commercial real estate, and murders are not quite enough to destroy Alexandria, so the Council is a freight train about to vote on Tuesday to eliminate all SFH zoning. Yay.

Hooray!

Don't worry, OP, they are not eliminating detached one-unit residential buildings. They are simply eliminating zoning that bans everything except detached one-unit residential buildings. Property owners - like you - will now have more options for your property.

This will destroy the charm of Del Ray.

I don’t fully agree with the proposed zoning changes, but this statement shows you must have never been to Del Ray. That neighborhood is one of the ones that is already full of mixed housing types. Walk down most streets and you will see duplexes, small apartment buildings, rowhomes and townhomes.

Anonymous wrote:

When Alexandria raises property tax assessments to reflect the increased lot value based on the potential for multi-family unit development, more and more homeowners (particularly those on flat or fixed incomes) will be forced to sell out, whether they want to or not. This has the potential to transform some single family home neighborhoods in just a few years.

Residents of the City of Alexandria who are either 65 years of age or older or permanently and totally disabled by November 15 of the current tax year, may be eligible for the City's Real Estate Tax Relief Program for Elderly and Disabled Persons. This program offers full or partial exemption from real estate taxes and/or deferral of real estate taxes to qualified applicants. Tax relief may be prorated for persons who turn 65 or who become disabled between January 1 and November 15 of the current tax year.

https://www.alexandriava.gov/RealEstateTax

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Failing schools, imploding commercial real estate, and murders are not quite enough to destroy Alexandria, so the Council is a freight train about to vote on Tuesday to eliminate all SFH zoning. Yay.

Hooray!

Don't worry, OP, they are not eliminating detached one-unit residential buildings. They are simply eliminating zoning that bans everything except detached one-unit residential buildings. Property owners - like you - will now have more options for your property.

The developers have more options and the economy of scale favors apartment buildings so that's what will be built. If you bought a SFH in a neighborhood of SFHs, tough luck. This will destroy the charm of Del Ray.

But Del Ray is already one of the most architecturally diverse areas in the city. You can have an apartment complex next to single family homes next to a duplex. It's one of the few things that I find appealing about Del Ray.

This is exactly it though you can’t build anything in Del Ray but a giant SFH anymore. At least in Del Ray, Z4H is a return to the neighborhood’s roots.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Failing schools, imploding commercial real estate, and murders are not quite enough to destroy Alexandria, so the Council is a freight train about to vote on Tuesday to eliminate all SFH zoning. Yay.

Hooray!

Don't worry, OP, they are not eliminating detached one-unit residential buildings. They are simply eliminating zoning that bans everything except detached one-unit residential buildings. Property owners - like you - will now have more options for your property.

Great, so our neighbors can build condos next to our bedrooms and destroy the single family neighborhood we love.

So let's play this out....

There is a neighborhood of say 100 homes. How many of those owners do you think will sell in the next ten years? Of those, how many do you think are currently "tear down" such that it is more palatable for a developer to purchase than for a new family to move in? Of those, how many have lots large enough to put in more than a duplex? And if they were to build that duplex, how likely is it that it would be any larger than a huge house that would otherwise be built?

The sky is not falling.

When Alexandria raises property tax assessments to reflect the increased lot value based on the potential for multi-family unit development, more and more homeowners (particularly those on flat or fixed incomes) will be forced to sell out, whether they want to or not. This has the potential to transform some single family home neighborhoods in just a few years.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:Failing schools, imploding commercial real estate, and murders are not quite enough to destroy Alexandria, so the Council is a freight train about to vote on Tuesday to eliminate all SFH zoning. Yay.

STOP!!! ARE YOU SERIOUS?!!!

As a heart attack.

Anonymous wrote:

Anonymous wrote:This isn't going to make any difference whatsoever to housing prices. This is just politicians selling gullible voters on easy answers to hard questions.

Building more has never made any difference to housing prices anywhere in DC. If anything, it's driven prices up.

That's right. But the development industry will continue to argue trickle down. And just wait: They will ask for relief from off-street parking requirements for multifamily, promising that if builders save parking costs that the savings will all be passed along to purchasers and tenants. Don't believe them! It will just go to the developer/investor's bottom line.