Columbia Heights Civic Association has been concerned about predatory towing in Arlington. The County Board will be considering changes to the rules in November 2016. Attached is a letter with recommendations. We have attached an updated letter to the county board dated Dec 12th 2016 about these recommendations. We propose the following rule changes to protect consumer interests and support small businesses:

1)Require two signatures before a vehicle is towed, with only one signature provided by the towing company, regardless of their contracts with property owners.
2)Require the towing company to call in information about a vehicle to the police PRIOR to hooking up the vehicle for towing.
3)Require the towing company to photograph the vehicle from all four sides before securely hooking up the vehicle for towing.

If you support these changes, please sign our on-line petition

A Conversation About the Future of Policing in Our Community –

June 22, 2016 | 7–9 p.m.
Thomas Jefferson Middle School Library
125 S Old Glebe Rd, Arlington, VA 22204

About the Strategic Management Plan

The ACPD Strategic Management Plan guides
the more than 450 men and women of the
Department as they fulfill their responsibilities
and serve our community. The plan looks to the
future, focusing on crucial issues and helping ACPD
allocate resources to the most essential services.
Members of the community are invited to attend a
public information session and offer comments on
the future of ACPD’s Strategic Management Plan.

Columbia Heights Civic Association
Membership Meeting
Monday, June 13, 2016
7:00 p.m.
Walter Reed Community Center

Status Update on Traffic Calming on 16th Street
Designing a New Elementary School at Thomas Jefferson Park
Update on Bus Plans for Columbia Pike

Sarah McKinley will provide a power point presentation about development plans for a new elementary school at TJ, which will serve the Patrick Henry school community. School and county officials have been meeting with community groups to work on designs for that site, including parking, parent drop-off, and massing the school on the parking lot on the western side of the Thomas Jefferson middle school and community center.

The site design, so far, envisions buildings that will serve as joint facilities for both schools as well as the larger community. It will also increase green space, including a new soccer field.

We will also have an update on the County’s plans for transportation on Columbia Pike.

Columbia Heights Civic Association
Membership Meeting
Monday, April 11
7:00 p.m.
Walter Reed Community Center

Hot Topic: New Bus Schedules for Columbia Pike

Arlington County is planning an ambitious upgrade of bus lines for Columbia Pike and has asked for community input. But some of the changes may not be so welcome. It has come to our attention that some buses will not be stopping in the Columbia Heights neighborhood, like the bus stop in front of Penrose Plaza! Please come to discuss the bus routes and what we can do to make the County aware of our needs and concerns.

Subject line: Community Meeting to Discuss Construction Plans for Rappahannock Site

Columbia Heights Civic Association
Membership Meeting – Open to All!
New Time and Place
Thursday, April 7
6:30 p.m.
Walter Reed Community Center

This month we are joining forces with the developers of the Rappahannock Coffee Shop site. CHCA will hold a brief business meeting from 6:30 – 7:00 p.m., then join a larger community meeting to discuss the revised plans for the site that now houses the Rappahannock Coffee Shop. Since the last community meeting to discuss this proposal, there have been changes to the design.

Please join us for a full discussion of this plan and its impact on the neighborhood.

Columbia Heights Civic Association
Membership Meeting
Monday, February 8
7:00 – 9:00 p.m.
Walter Reed Community Center

Agenda:
Traffic Calming in Arlington Village and on 16^th Street
Pedestrian Safety
Complete Streets Program
Update on the Columbia Pike Revitalization Organization (CPRO) – impact on CHCA

Presentation on the Neighborhood Conservation Advisory Committee
Sarah McKinley, CHCA Board Member and Chair of NCAC

Discussion of CHCA input into the Public Spaces Master Plan

Working with neighboring civic associations along the Pike for input on open spaces, including the parks, Pike Plaza and other public space assets, both for public and recreational use. –  Takis Karantonis Board Member

http://projects.arlingtonva.us/public-spaces-master-plan-psmp-update/

“The CHCA invites you to pay your membership dues, please go to our web page, and select the tab “Become a member”.  You can make your payment online:https://columbiaheightsva.org/

Columbia Heights Civic Association
Community Meeting
Monday, January 11, 2016
7:00 p.m.
CPRO Office, 2611 Columbia Pike

Please join CHCA for our first meeting of the next year.  This month we have a special guest to discuss the Virginia Department of Transportation’s public-private partnership of the Rte. 95 Express Lanes project.  The state recently announced plans to extend the 95 Express Lanes about eight miles north on I-395 to the D.C. line.  This project will convert today’s two HOV lanes into three Express Lanes within the existing roadway.

Mike McGurk, from Transurban, the private partner in this project, will be on hand to explain the project, answer questions and get our feedback.  Please join us for this very important discussion.

Other items on our agenda include:
Traffic calming in Arlington Village
Pedestrian traffic and safety along Columbia Pike
CHCA Activity for the coming year

Special Meeting
Columbia Heights Civic Association
Monday, Oct 26, 2015 7:00 p.m.
2811 13th Road – Sarah McKinley’s house

Special Meeting to Consider School Sites

Columbia Heights, along with other South Arlington groups, are being asked to vote on
a site for a new school in South Arlington this coming week. This vote is based
on a new proposal across the street from TJ, that was just brought forward by a
local developer. We will be presenting this new option at the meeting and hope
for a full discussion of all the ramifications of this option.

Sarah McKinley and Lida Anestidou have been attending the South Arlington Working
Group, whose mission is to select a site for a new 725-seat neighborhood school in
South Arlington. The top choices for the first school to be built now are: the
Thomas Jefferson parking lot site (put on hold from last year), Drew Elementary
campus (which has enough space for another school) or Gunston (another school
campus with space for an additional school). Over the past two weeks, a new
possibility has been presented. A developer has proposed a land swap with
Arlington County near TJ at the Dominion Hills apartment complex on 2nd street,
across from TJ. The developer has proposed providing a two-acre lot to build an
elementary school across the street from the proposed TJ site.

The SAWG discussed this proposal last Wednesday. The leadership of the group wants
a vote on this proposal at our next meeting, now scheduled on Wednesday, October
28. This provides very little time for the community to absorb this new
proposal and the many possibilities that it presents. This emergency meeting
will explore these possibilities and provide guidance to Sarah and Lida as they
go into the next meeting to vote on the proposal.

The choices at that time
will be:

Support TJ as the preferred site.

Support Dominion Hills as the preferred site if it can be built by 2019. (Many have
doubts whether this could happen so quickly.)

Support Dominion Hills as the preferred site, even if final construction is held off to
2020.

Other issues include: alternative uses for the Dominion Hills site, trying to extend the
SAWG process past December, 2015, in order to get a more comprehensive decision-
making process.

If the siting of a new school is important to you, we would encourage you to come to this
special meeting.

Columbia Heights Civic Association
Annual Meeting

Columbia Heights Civic Association is hosting a Pike-Wide meeting to
discuss an alternative to traffic congestion. All are welcome!

Monday, September 28, 2015 - 7:00 p.m.
Walter Reed Community Center
This new technology solves many of the street-car complaints:
JPods - An Alternative to the Columbia Pike Streetcar!

Please come and see what this is all about.

Agenda for the Annual Meeting - Sept 28, 2015
Join Your Local Civic Association 2015
Annual Meeting
Flyer for the JPOD 
Falls Newsletter