Author: Daniel Egitto

County boasts progress in Green Valley but public intoxication hasn’t gone away

By Daniel Egitto
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The Arlington County Police Department has ramped up efforts to curb public intoxication and other illegal behavior near a Green Valley elementary school.

Despite these efforts, however, some of that behavior persists, according to some community members and ARLnow’s observations.

Police, true to their word, have increased foot patrols and community engagement in Drew Park and John Robinson, Jr. Town Square after the neighborhood heard shots fired and witnessed a shooting over one week in December. During an Arlington County Board meeting on Tuesday, County Manager Mark Schwartz said that authorities have “seen a difference in some of the behaviors,” including drinking in public, in the area near Dr. Charles R. Drew Elementary School, and announced other forthcoming measures to curb this activity.

County Board member Matt de Ferranti applauded police on three arrests in connection with the incidents, along with outreach such as conducting security surveys and hosting a visit from Santa and Mrs. Claus.

“The residents who have sat there and said, ‘We want results’ — you have pulled through and so has ACPD,” de Ferranti said.

Around 1 p.m. Friday, however, at least one person on a sidewalk within eyesight of Drew Elementary was visibly drunk. He had an empty beer bottle in his hand and was dancing energetically to music.

From reiterating demands for public restrooms to calling for more investment in area businesses, some community members said Green Valley has a long way to go.

“I will say, the county has been very empathetic to the situation,” said Yordanos Woldai, co-founder of the public safety advocacy group Green Valley Matters. “But I want to judge by the action.”

Striking the right enforcement balance

Among the complexities of intervening in Green Valley is how to do so while being sensitive to the area’s strong hangout culture. The drunk person was dancing next to several other people who sat in lawn chairs outside The Shelton, an affordable housing building, who did not confront him.

  • A middle-aged woman enjoying the warm weather was dismissive when asked whether she has seen any changes in how the county approaches her neighborhood.
  • “Nope,” she said. “I’m keeping it real with you right now. All they do is talk.”
  • The woman, who declined to give her name, called the town square’s lack of restrooms, shade and functional water fountains “disrespectful” and scoffed at the suggestion that police have redoubled efforts to keep her community safe.

“If it wasn’t for these older guys that they complain about out here? They look out for us,” she said.

For Schwartz, the focus on Green Valley goes beyond the public nuisance crimes to more serious offenses. The neighborhood is among the “top three or four” in Arlington for firearms offenses and is in the top 12 neighborhoods for a category of offenses that includes weapon law violations, theft, assault and homicide, he noted.

“I’m not going to sit here and tell you that all civic associations are created equal. Some are in more urban areas; some are in less urban areas,” Schwartz said. “But the reason we’re focusing on Green Valley has to do with firearms crimes.”

One approach will be to improve tracking and public reporting of crimes at the neighborhood level. Schwartz announced last week that a new dashboard displaying crime numbers, broken down by civic association, should go live in the near future.

(more…)

Arlington to consider several ways to combat office vacancies this year, starting with looser parking restrictions

By Daniel Egitto
An office building with a leasing availability sign in Courthouse in December 2022 (via Google Maps)

Several measures designed to combat Arlington’s persistently high office vacancy rate are slated for discussion next month.

On the table are expanded opportunities for shared and offsite parking, as well as more lenient parking requirements for fitness centers. Officials are also set to consider whether to allow large media screens for outdoor entertainment in some business districts.

The Arlington County Board is scheduled to vote next month on whether to advertise requests to amend Arlington’s zoning ordinance to make these changes. County Manager Mark Schwartz told the Board last week he hopes that these and other ordinance changes can make it easier for Arlington businesses to get started and grow.

“Very often you’ll have a business that, if it could take advantage of parking very near to it, would be able to move ahead,” he said on Tuesday.

Schwartz noted that fitness centers have particularly strict parking requirements.

Large media screens, meanwhile, could assist with “placemaking” in certain commercial business districts. Currently, it’s an exceptionally arduous process to get large outdoor displays approved.

The county also plans to pursue bigger-picture ordinance changes, Schwartz said. Later this year, the Board is expected to discuss guidance on office-to-apartment conversions as well as potentially simplifying the major and minor site plan amendment process, which landowners must navigate when repurposing or renovating large development projects.

Within the next six months, Board members are also expected to consider plans to facilitate change of use within existing buildings and adopt a more flexible ordinance around signage.

Other possible ordinance changes concern storage uses at office buildings as well as the process for converting underutilized parking spaces.

“We promised we’d be coming to you with sort of a regular rhythm of items, and starting next month we will do that,” Schwartz told officials.

Arlington’s office vacancy rate is currently just over 22%, the county manager said — up from 21.5% in October. Arlington Economic Development predicted in October that this number would continue to rise, as about a quarter of Arlington office space is at risk of sustained vacancies.

The county has scrambled to find uses for its office buildings since the pandemic, passing several zoning changes on a compressed community engagement timeline. Recent adjustments allow urban farms, breweries and podcast studios to move into older office buildings without seeking special permissions.

Despite these efforts, a shrinking commercial base has left Arlington residents shouldering a growing portion of the county’s budget. Historically, the commercial and residential tax base split the budget 50-50 but in recent years, this has shifted to a 55-45 split.

Board member Matt de Ferranti last week called office vacancies “a huge challenge” and praised ongoing efforts by county staff.

“I think it is important to reiterate strong support for the direction we are going in,” he said.

Photo via Google Maps

Parking rates along Rosslyn-Ballston and Route 1 corridors could change this March

By Daniel Egitto
Parking meter in a performance parking zone in Ballston (staff photo)

The cost to park in many of Arlington’s busiest neighborhoods could change March 1.

The most popular places to park along the Rosslyn-Ballston and Route 1 corridors could ultimately cost up to $5 per hour, according to a county report. Less popular spots, meanwhile, could become less expensive than the current rate.

These changes are part of a state-funded “performance parking” pilot project that seeks to make it easier to find a parking spot in Arlington by incentivizing drivers to park in underused areas.

Arlington County kicked off the project earlier this year, installing sensors to collect data on parking behavior and determine what streets and neighborhoods should see higher and lower prices.

“These goals relate to improving the experience with parking at the curb, as well as reducing the negative impacts associated with inefficient or unsuccessful search for parking,” the report says.

On Saturday, the Arlington County Board voted to hold a public hearing about a proposed ordinance on Feb. 24. If it is approved next month, the pilot program would last until March 2026.

Parking rates could change up to once every three months but large, sudden changes are unlikely, according to the report.

Although costs could vary based on the time of day and length of stay, the project would not involve surge pricing or an across-the-board rate hike. Instead, each rate change would probably bring a roughly $1 increase to parking rates at some spots and a $0.25 decrease to other spots.

Arlington’s parking rates are currently capped at $1.75 per hour at short-term meters and $1.50 per hour at long-term meters.

A map of areas included in the performance parking pilot (via Arlington County)

While county staff would set the rates, they could never charge more than $5 per hour without the County Board’s approval, per the proposed ordinance.

The pilot program would follow in the footsteps of similar initiatives in major cities including D.C., Boston and San Francisco.

“These pilots have generally shown measurable changes in drivers’ parking behavior, reductions in negative impacts, and more efficient use of available space,” the report notes.

County staff would track this project’s effectiveness using some 4,500 sensors installed in parking spaces in the Rosslyn-Ballston and Route 1 corridors. The county has already begun investigating where and when parking is most readily available in these areas — along with how often drivers pay for parking.

A recent analysis found that on average, only a third of vehicles parked at meters in these areas had actually paid to be there, which will inform how the county uses its limited cadre of parking meter enforcers.

Parking compliance in October 2023 (via Arlington County)

Although similar programs have tended to increase revenue, the report says this project is primarily designed to improve parking conditions for drivers — not to extract more money from them.

“Intentionally, there is no project goal regarding revenue impact,” the report says. “This is because the project goals are about curb space performance from the community and customer perspective.”

Public art studio, complete with velociraptor sculpture, opens at Amazon HQ2

By Daniel Egitto
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An art studio featuring free classes and a light-up scrapyard velociraptor opened its doors yesterday (Wednesday) in Pentagon City.

Catherine Anchin, executive director of the Museum of Contemporary Art Arlington (MoCA), cut the ribbon for the new Innovation Studio + Store alongside several local officials at Amazon’s second headquarters. The project, a collaboration between Amazon and MoCA, seeks to take a fresh approach to connecting the public with contemporary art.

“It’s really about innovation and helping people to understand contemporary art a little bit better, and get excited about being creative,” Anchin said.

The studio at 525 14th Street S. will rotate through artists-in-residence every six weeks. The first of these creatives, Arlington artist Adam Henry, plans to take an active role in the neighborhood by sketching people and partnering with local restaurants and businesses — in addition to showing off his raptor.

“Our secret is, we make things we like and try to make them, like, really ‘wow,’” Henry said.

The creator soon plans to host the studio’s first class, which will be a vision board workshop. He will also start work on cardboard sculptures with the help of his 17-year-old son and apprentice, who is also named Adam Henry.

Patrick Phillippi, head of community engagement at Amazon HQ2, said the studio is part of Amazon’s broader focus on “being a good partner to this neighborhood.”

The tech giant has already bankrolled $14 million in renovations to Metropolitan Park, adjacent to HQ2. That park hosted the debut of a new farmer’s market when the first phase of the massive office complex opened in June.

New locations of local businesses, such as Conte’s Bike Shop and Good Company Doughnuts, have also opened in ground floor retail spaces since then.

Phillippi said he wants to further the mission of MoCA — formerly known as the Arlington Arts Center — which celebrates its 50th anniversary this year. He spoke warmly of his experiences at the Virginia Square museum, which rebranded in 2022, during the ribbon cutting.

“You really just get an immediate sense that art is accessible, that art is open to everybody,” Phillippi said. “And this studio is such a great expansion of that. It is a privilege for Amazon to have you guys here.”

Guests at Wednesday’s grand opening included business leaders, who praised the project from both an arts and a business perspective.

Tracy Sayegh Gabriel, who leads the National Landing Business Improvement District, said she believes the project will serve as “a true cultural anchor” that serves the area’s needs.

“We’ve had a lot of business openings in the last year or so, but our community has really been craving more arts and cultural offerings and programming,” she said. “We’re so thrilled to, with MoCA, have a museum presence in our neighborhood.”

Kate Bates, president and CEO of the Arlington Chamber of Commerce, is eager to see how the studio contributes to the area’s sense of community.

“The culture is a huge, important part of what makes Arlington a great place for our businesses to locate in, and those of us who live here as well,” she said. “Congratulations to MoCA. We look forward to 50 more wonderful years and then some.”

Long Bridge Park aquatics center pool to close early until summer for needed repairs

By Daniel Egitto
Olympic-regulation diving boards at the Long Bridge Park Aquatics & Fitness Center (staff photo)

(Updated at 11:15 a.m.) The 50-meter pool at the Long Bridge Aquatics & Fitness Center will have shorter hours for several months for needed repairs.

The pool area will close at 8 p.m., about two hours early, on weekdays starting next Monday, Jan. 29 to replace leaky pipes and water-damaged ceiling tiles caused by a corroded sprinkler hose, the Arlington County Dept. Parks and Recreation said in a press release. Weekend hours will not be affected.

The faulty sprinkler and the damage it caused were discovered by the contracting company given the $60 million contract to design and build the facility in 2017, Coakley Williams Construction, the county says. Coakley Williams will handle all the maintenance work and pay for the repair costs.

After attending to the 50-meter pool, repairs to the leisure pool will begin in early April. Its temporary operating hours will be available at a later date.

All repairs should be complete by this summer, the county said.

Some classes held at the pool have shifted their schedules because of the repairs. Affected participants will receive emails with more details.

It’s not the first time infrastructure issues have troubled the $70.7 million recreation complex. Delays in installing electrical power caused a $1.2 million increase in construction costs for the facility, which opened in 2021. An electrical emergency then caused the center to close briefly last April.

More information from the press release is below.

Repair Schedule

The repair schedule will begin with the 50-meter pool area on January 29. For the duration of the 50-meter pool repairs, it will be closed to the public by 8 p.m.— two hours early on weekdays, and the current closing time on weekends. Crews will work at night from 8 p.m. to 5 a.m. to allow for a maximum number of operating hours. Through the duration of each phase, the work area will be sectioned off to allow programming to take place in other parts of the pool. During the daytime, scaffolding equipment will remain in the areas being addressed to allow for quick transition to maintenance work once the pool is closed. The leisure pool will operate as normal until repairs begin in early April. Details of this schedule will be shared at a later date. All repairs to both pools are estimated to be complete by summer, 2024.

As repair work begins at 8 p.m. on Mondays through Fridays, the fitness rooms will also continue to operate on a normal schedule.

Adjusted Programming and Operating Hours

Most Winter ENJOY and 55+ classes will continue this season. To accommodate as many programs as possible, some classes have been shifted to either a different time or pool area. Class cancellations have been limited and are only being instituted for those that cannot be moved. Participants who have signed up for Winter ENJOY and 55+ programs at LBAFC will receive direct emails that detail adjustments to their program and refund options if they choose to use them. Program adjustments for these classes will not begin until the first day of repair work on January 29.

All LBAFC membership and passholders, as well as daily passholders, may use open sections of the pool during the adjusted operating hours. To see when lanes are open for drop-in use, please refer to the pool hours and lane schedules page. The schedule is updated with the week’s programming schedule every Sunday.

We look forward to a speedy and efficient repair process and want to make sure you stay in the know! To get the latest information, sign up for updates at the bottom of the Long Bridge Aquatics & Fitness Center webpage.

Plans to upgrade East Falls Church bus loop move forward

By Daniel Egitto
East Falls Church Metro Station bus bays (via Google Maps)

A larger, more accessible bus loop may soon be coming to the East Falls Church Metro station.

The Arlington County Board on Saturday approved a $527,681 project-coordination agreement with the Washington Metropolitan Area Transit Authority. This is part of a $12.7 million plan to provide the station with additional routes, expanded passenger capacity and improvements to parking and crosswalks.

The bus loop is set to get three more bus bays as the four current bays are at maximum capacity, per the report. Other proposed upgrades include improving the physical condition of the bus loop’s pavement and sidewalks and replacing the traffic signal at the N. Sycamore Street entrance.

On Saturday, County Board member Susan Cunningham said she is particularly excited about upgrades to the station’s bus shelters. She encouraged her colleagues to remain attentive to the bottom line of improvement projects, however.

“We all need to keep an eye on how those projects go,” she said. “They’re often quite complex, and we want to make sure we’re doing everything we can to control costs going forward.”

County staff publicly presented their plans for the Metro station at the intersection of N. Sycamore Street and Washington Blvd during a community meeting in March 2022.

“Overall, public response indicated support for the proposed concept design,” a county report says. “Respondents generally found the presented plans to be safer for all modes of transportation when compared to existing locations.”

The proposed construction site for improvements to the East Falls Church Metro station (via Arlington County)

Also included in the initiative, which is part of the county’s 2023-2032 Capital Improvement Plan, are plans to enhance landscaping and stormwater management; upgrade accessible parking, crosswalks and curb ramps; and improve pedestrian access from the Metro park-and-ride lot.

The last major upgrade to the East Falls Church Metro station was the addition of a $2 million bike parking facility. The 92-spot facility made its debut in the middle of the pandemic, though it was set to open in 2015. The structure was delivered five years late and $1.1 million over budget due to miscommunication and a lack of oversight, among other problems.

The county had hoped to add a second entrance to the station but put those plans on the backburner for at least a decade back in 2018.

Photo via Google Maps

This could be the year Arlington transfers ownership of the Reeves Farmhouse

By Daniel Egitto
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(Updated at 5:35 p.m.) A yearslong attempt to convert a historic Arlington property into a home for adults with developmental disabilities may be nearing the finish line.

The Arlington County Board is expected to consider agreements to transfer the Reeves Farmhouse into the hands of local nonprofits and allocate community development block grant funds later this year, according to a county report. In advance of this, the Board on Saturday took steps toward streamlining the efforts of Habitat for Humanity DC-NOVA, HomeAid National Capital Region and L’Arche of Greater Washington.

Officials voted to approve a use-permit amendment and accept permit applications for building and land disturbance activity — decisions that will make it simpler for nonprofits to renovate the property if they assume possession of it.

The county report argues that the nonprofits’ plans, which have been refined over extensive conversations with local agencies, are in keeping with the county’s vision for the 124-year-old Boulevard Manor structure.

“As proposed, the historic building will be renovated and expanded in a historically sensitive manner, to provide for the needs of the applicant and the intended residents of the building,” the report says.

Six years of planning and increasingly firm agreement on what to do with the farmhouse led up to this point.

The structure, which was built in 1900, sits on a property that was home to the last remaining dairy farm in Arlington County before it closed in 1955.

The county once considered transforming the farmhouse into a museum or learning center, but ultimately concluded these changes would be too expensive. The county entered talks about transferring possession of the property back in June 2018.

It took three years, but the county and nonprofits finally reached a non-binding letter of intent in February 2020 — just before the pandemic hit.

Talks about what to do with the building stalled for another three years. But they revived in April 2023 when Habitat for Humanity, HomeAid and L’Arche met with the Historical Affairs and Landmark Review Board to discuss the home’s future.

The review board gave its official stamp of approval to proposed renovation plans at a July meeting.

The nonprofit coalition hopes to build a two-story addition on the south side of the farmhouse and a one-story addition on the west side, giving the home a total of seven bedrooms. Housing fewer than eight people, per the county report, means the building would be legally classified as a dwelling and not a group home.

The prospective owners also intend to outfit the existing structure with the following features:

  • New exterior guardrails and handrails
  • A new front door
  • New gutters and rain spouts
  • New asphalt shingles
  • Two windows in the new shed-roof dormer

The farmhouse would receive a new driveway allowing for “adequate emergency vehicle access,” along with four parking spaces, two of which would be handicap accessible. Plans additionally include stormwater management facilities and landscaping enhancements.

Other parts of the historic property, including a popular sledding hill — heavily utilized after the recent snowfall — will remain open to the public.

“The sledding hill has been a constant. Everybody wants to make sure we kept that sledding hill,” County Board Chair Libby Garvey said on Saturday.

The Board’s vote makes it possible for Habitat for Humanity, HomeAid and L’Arche to continue pursuing their plans. County staff argued that this decision is in keeping with the goals for the Reeves Farmhouse that the county adopted in 2015.

“Staff believes that the proposed renovations and site improvements to accommodate the applicant’s intention to own, renovate, and operate the Reeves Farmhouse as a residential dwelling providing care for adults with developmental disabilities [continue] to meet these criteria,” the report says.

Arlington County mulls $75K in support for small, legacy businesses in National Landing

By Daniel Egitto
Restaurant Row in Crystal City (staff photo by Jay Westcott)

A round of recovery funds may soon be coming to long-time small businesses in National Landing.

Potentially up for grabs is $75,000 in funding from the National Landing Business Improvement District. The proposed initiative, which the Arlington County Board is set to consider on Saturday, would build on the ReLaunch program, which provides grants to small local establishments.

“While the current ReLaunch program is funded and is offered to all eligible businesses in the County,” a county report says, “the BID intends to prioritize National Landing businesses to increase the marketing to and availability of the program resources for this important segment of the small business community, which may need technical assistance to retool their businesses to remain competitive in a changing market.”

The funds are meant to assist “legacy” businesses “impacted by changing market conditions exacerbated by the COVID-19 pandemic,” the report continued.

Eligible businesses must be at least 10 years old, have fewer than 10 employees and have a primary location within the boundaries of the National Landing BID, which span Crystal City and parts of Pentagon City and Potomac Yard, the county says. They must also “in good business standing,” operating with up-to-date business licenses and current on, or on a payment plan for, all county taxes.

The BID, in partnership with the Restaurant Association Metropolitan Washington, has previously handed recovery funds to numerous Crystal City and Pentagon City establishments. Two rounds of the “Love Local” relief program each divvied out $100,000 in 2021 and 2022.

The latest batch of funding would go through the Arlington Economic Development BizLaunch Division, which would then distribute the $75,000 this year.

The county report noted the importance of supporting National Landing during a time of intense development and investment, including, most recently, the announcement that the Washington Capitals and Wizards would move to Alexandria — predicted to be a boon for the hospitality industry in the National Landing area.

“The area is experiencing transformative growth, with over $12 billion in public and private investment underway, including Amazon’s second headquarters, a surge of new residential construction and retail offerings, and major park and multimodal transportation investments that are enhancing a thriving residential, hotel, and business community,” the report says. “The BID is strengthening the experience and identity of National Landing.”

How Arlington plans to turn your poop into energy and fertilizer

By Daniel Egitto
The Water Pollution Control Plant in South Arlington (via Arlington DES/Flickr)

More dirty details have emerged in the county’s $175 million plan to start using sewage for consumer-friendly fertilizer and renewable energy.

The first step is a $32 million budget authorization, set to be considered by the Arlington County Board this Saturday, to begin new upgrades the Arlington County Water Pollution Control Plant.

The county says the upgrades are overdue. The plant currently relies on solids handling processes that date back to the 1950s through 1990s. Irritating fumes sometimes force staff to use respirators, according to a county report.

“The facilities that thicken, store, dewater, and stabilize the residuals are beyond their useful life and break down frequently,” the report says.

All that is supposed to change.

Better sludge storage tanks, improved odor control systems and anaerobic digesters all play a role in the county’s plans to turn sewage into fertilizer and harness the natural gas byproduct for energy. Additionally, while Arlington sewage byproducts already fertilize agricultural land elsewhere in the state, better equipment will make it possible to either sell the county’s biosolids as a retail product or make them available to residents.

“The upgraded processes will produce a higher quality biosolids product as well as renewable natural gas, which will reduce the County’s dependence on fossil fuels,” according to the report.

How sewage can become power and fertilizer (via Arlington County)

Arlington wouldn’t be the first municipality to sell its processed sewage to consumers. Anyone who enriches their garden or lawn using the fertilizer brand Milorganite does so using treated sewage from Milwaukee.

The county is budgeting $175 million for all the upgrades and changes, plus an additional $23 million in soft costs, bringing the total budget to nearly $200 million.

The bulk of the funding comes out of $510 million in bonds that Arlington voters approved in 2022. This project is part of a host of initiatives, upgrades and maintenance projects that make up the county’s 2023-32 Capital Improvement Plan.

Staff have discussed the project with community members since 2015, the county report notes. People near the Water Pollution Control Plant, near the Arlington-Alexandria border and west of Route 1, have raised concerns about noise and vibrations that construction might cause, as well as possible emissions.

The county has pledged to use techniques to minimize impacts on the neighborhood when possible, per the report. Following stakeholder concerns, the county also nixed plans to burn the biogas byproduct to generate electricity onsite. It will instead clean and inject the resulting natural gas directly into the Washington Gas pipeline.

Photo via Arlington Dept. of Environmental Services/Flickr

Holiday wreaths are headed out of Arlington National Cemetery this weekend

By Daniel Egitto
Wreaths on graves at Arlington National Cemetery (staff photo by Dan Egitto)

Arlington National Cemetery will lose some of its festive aesthetics on Saturday as volunteers remove holiday wreaths from the cemetery’s hundreds of thousands of graves.

Thousands of volunteers are expected to participate the annual “Wreaths Out” event, disposing of approximately 257,000 wreaths in Arlington as well as 14,000 wreaths at the Soldiers’ and Airmen’s Home National Cemetery in D.C.

“We are grateful to our volunteers and community members who join us at Arlington National Cemetery for the annual tradition of removing wreaths. This is an honorable undertaking that we could not accomplish without your support,” said Army National Military Cemetery Executive Director Karen Durham-Aguilera.

Drivers and those coming to volunteer should expect traffic congestion and delays on nearby streets, Arlington National Cemetery said in a press release.

The Military Women’s Memorial will be handing out hot chocolate and hot cider to volunteers, who are encouraged to dress warmly and bring work gloves.

Cemetery roads will be closed to vehicles until 3 p.m., but the Welcome Center Parking Garage will be “open to the public at 8 a.m. on a first-come, first-served basis.”

No tram service will be available Saturday. Arlington National Cemetery recommends that visitors use either public transportation or a ride-share service.

Visitors may access the military cemetery at all four of its entrances. Members of the public can enter through the Memorial Avenue Welcome Center, the Ord and Weitzel pedestrian-only gate and the Service Complex pedestrian-only gate. People with Department of Defense IDs can also enter through the Old Post Chapel Gate.

Seasonal decorations honoring fallen service members appeared on Arlington headstones and columbarium niches on Dec. 16 at the annual Wreaths Across America event. That event often has substantial turnout, with some 30,000-40,000 volunteers expected in 2022.

More, below, from the press release.

All visitors must pass through the cemetery’s security screening process before entering the cemetery. Prohibited items include: large bags or backpacks, firearms and weapons of any type, laser pointers, aerosol containers, soda cans, coolers, picnic baskets, tripods, lighters, screwdrivers (or similar tools), air horns, personal protection sprays and insulated beverage containers. Clear plastic water bottles are permitted.

Guidance for Visitors

  • Give vehicles and heavy equipment the right of way.
  • Remove Wreaths Across America wreaths only. Leave all other wreaths/decorations in place.
  • Place wreaths in dumpsters positioned throughout the cemetery.
  • When dumpsters are filled, carry remaining wreaths to unfilled dumpsters. Please do not place wreaths outside of dumpsters or anywhere else in the cemetery.
  • Please follow instructions from staff to ensure the safety of visitors.