Author: Peter Rousselot

Peter’s Take is a weekly opinion column. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com. 

While most members of the general public are not paying attention, Virginia legislators are trying to restore the old ways of doing business. Senate Bill 692 passed by the Virginia Senate on February 15 would water down even the overly-modest government ethics reforms enacted in 2015.

What Virginia did in 2015

Last year, begrudgingly, Virginia enacted modest government ethics reform legislation. The highlight of the law passed last year was placing a $100 annual limit on gifts to public officials from lobbyists and some others. Last year, current Senate Majority Leader Tommy Norment (R-James City) was quoted as saying that the only reason that the legislation was considered in the first place was because “the media is on our backs.”

Undermining 2015’s reforms

Norment is leading the effort this year to water down last year’s work.

Among the new loopholes incorporated into SB 692:

• A suggestion by Sen. Richard H. Black (R-Loudoun) that would exempt “food and beverages” from the definition of gifts that must be disclosed and counted toward the $100 annual aggregate gift amount. Black told fellow senators that last year’s legislation had “unintended consequences” that have been “demeaning to us as legislators,” because of “the very notion that if somebody gives me a prime rib as opposed to a hamburger I’m going to change my vote.” Meals accounted for nearly half of the gifts lawmakers disclosed last year, according to the Virginia Public Access Project.
• A suggestion by Sen. Stephen D. Newman (R-Lynchburg) that would prohibit lobbyists from disclosing the name of any “legislative or executive official, or a member of his family” if any of those people pay their own way to attend an event that is subject to being reported because the event itself is paid for by a lobbyist.
• The Joint Rules Committee could exempt any 501(c)(3) organization from the gift rules for gifts to any legislator. The same gift to a member of the executive branch or a local official would still be a gift.

Last year, the legislature enacted modest ethics reforms primarily due to relentless prodding from Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe. Unfortunately, this year, Governor McAuliffe’s own administration is caught up in a controversy over whether certain members of the administration, including Virginia Commerce Secretary Maurice Jones, failed to disclose gifts of Redskins skybox tickets valued at more than $100.

What Virginia should do in 2016

The House of Delegates should reject all of the proposed new loopholes embodied in SB 692. Governor McAuliffe should veto any legislation that embodies any of these loopholes.

In addition, Virginia should create a new, independent Ethics Review Commission with teeth, including subpoena and enforcement power. A large majority of other states, including Massachusetts, South Carolina, and Pennsylvania have permanent ethics commissions. In Massachusetts, for example, its Ethics Commission can impose the following penalties:

• A civil penalty of up to $10,000 for each violation of the conflict of interest law or the financial disclosure law, and
• A maximum civil penalty of $25,000 for bribery.

Our legislators should be able to find a model for Virginia that combines effective enforcement power with safeguards against partisan abuse.

Peter’s Take is a weekly opinion column. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

Over the next few months, APS will develop a new version of its 10-year Capital Improvement Plan (CIP). The CIP identifies capital improvement projects, estimates their cost, and proposes how to finance them. The School Board will adopt this CIP as student enrollment continues to grow at all levels of instruction. If the latest projections are right, APS enrollment will reach levels last seen in the mid-1960’s.

The table below displays the latest projections for Arlington’s current three comprehensive high schools:

These data–which exclude high school students who will attend HB Woodlawn and other alternative programs–present a strong case for beginning to plan now for a fourth comprehensive high school to open by 2022.

Arlington should cap enrollment at somewhere between 2,000 to 2,500 at each of its comprehensive high schools

There is an extensive body of educational research concluding that ideal high school enrollment is in a range from 600 to 900 students. That ideal goal obviously is not practical for comprehensive high schools in Arlington. However, that same body of educational research also concludes that there is a significant adverse impact on learning in those high schools that enroll more than 2,100 students.

Finally, the research demonstrates that the significant adverse educational impacts at the high schools that enroll more than 2,100 students fall disproportionately on those students of low socio-economic or minority status.

Specialized program high schools, like Arlington Tech, are not adequate substitutes for a fourth comprehensive high school

Whether because it underestimated the degree of high school enrollment growth in the last CIP, or because it did not choose to confront the challenges of siting and constructing a fourth comprehensive high school then, APS is two years behind schedule in planning for a fourth comprehensive high school. Over the long term, Arlington Tech is not the answer to Arlington’s projected high school enrollment surge.

Other considerations in planning for a fourth comprehensive high school

It is essential for APS to conduct a thorough and transparent process to choose a site for a fourth comprehensive high school in this CIP cycle.

One possible option is to turn Kenmore into a high school, and to build a new middle school at the Carlin Springs hospital site. Despite clear traffic issues, this location for the fourth comprehensive high school would enable substantial enrollment reductions at both Wakefield and Washington-Lee.

Conclusion

Even after the new elementary school opens at the Thomas Jefferson site, and the new middle school opens at the Stratford site (following HB Woodlawn’s relocation to the Wilson School site), Arlington will need to add thousands more seats at all grade levels. In addition to a fourth comprehensive high school, this probably means adding at least two more elementary schools and another middle school over the next 10-12 years.

A comprehensive public high school education lies at the core of APS’ mission because APS should assign priority to providing that opportunity before providing narrower program options.

A fourth comprehensive Arlington high school should be up and running within 5-6 years.

Peter’s Take is a weekly opinion column. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com. 

The Arlington County Board should adopt a formal numerical target of adding a minimum annual average of 3 acres of County parkland for the next 10 years. A recent paper produced by the Arlington County Civic Federation’s (ACCF’s) Parks & Recreation Committee presents a compelling case to support the adoption of this numerical target.

Parks are a critical core service

Public parks and recreational facilities are a core government service. Parks are critical to the quality of life and health of Arlington’s residents and to environmental sustainability.

As I noted in an earlier column  , parks reinforce our social fabric, providing opportunities to socialize and exercise. Trees, shrubs and grass reduce air pollution, decrease storm-water runoff, and ameliorate the urban heat-island effect with shade and cooling.

Acquiring more parkland is vital

More County parkland represents an investment in Arlington’s future. Current demand for parks and recreational facilities far exceeds supply because land acquisition has lagged behind population growth.

The County projects adding over 75,000 new residents by 2040. Nearly all new households will be located in multifamily buildings with little open/green space of their own–meaning demand for open, green, and recreational spaces will become even more acute.

We can’t rely solely on sharing community facilities to solve our present and projected parkland shortfall. The 2015 Arlington Community Facilities Study noted the following on p. 56: “Although there are success stories from sharing facility resources, the open space system has been pressured by recent and forecasted population growth.”

In 1995, Arlington County had 10.8 acres of parkland per 1,000 residents. By 2014, the parkland-to-population ratio declined to 7.9 acres per 1,000 residents. However, in high-density corridors like the R-B corridor, parkland acreage per 1,000 residents is considerably lower than these averages.

Our neighbors are doing much better: DC has 13.2 acres of parkland per 1,000 residents; Fairfax County has over 20 acres of parkland per 1,000 residents and is planning to purchase an additional 2,015 acres for parks. Nationally, compared to other high-density communities, Arlington falls behind Los Angeles, Seattle, Minneapolis, the District of Columbia and Oakland. [Source: TPL’s 2015 City Park Facts, p. 10]

Why 3 acres per year?

Over a 20-year period, Arlington County acquired an annual average of 3.8 acres of new public parkland. The most recent trend has been lower–just 0.63 acres were purchased in 2015. Whereas a higher acreage figure could be justified given the 20-year average, current unmet demand and projected population increases, ACCF’s Parks & Recreation Committee settled on the 3-acre target because it represents a practical, reasonable goal that helps correct the recent downward trend.

Conclusion

On February 2, with only one dissenting vote out of over 60 cast, the ACCF approved a resolution that the County Board should add a minimum annual average of 3 acres of County parkland for the next 10 years. The County Board should do so.

Peter’s Take is a weekly opinion column. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com. 

I have written several columns focusing on how the Arlington County government can improve the transparency of its activities. This column focuses on how the Virginia state government can improve its transparency.

Virginia is a “Dillon Rule” state. That rule prohibits localities like Arlington from enacting ordinances unless expressly authorized to do so. For that reason, Arlington citizens have a greater stake in state government transparency than we would have if Virginia were a “Home Rule” state.

Unfortunately, “Virginia has a terrible record when it comes to transparency.” Last year, Virginia received a grade of D for transparency from the Center for Public Integrity:

Virginia again scored poorly on information access, lobbying disclosure and political financing. The state’s Freedom of Information Act has many exemptions, notably including all work conducted by the major regulatory body for businesses, insurance, financial institutions, utilities and railroads, known as the State Corporation Commission.

Discussed below are reforms that would improve state government transparency.

State Senate

The Virginia State Senate continues to hold committee meetings at the desks of Senators on the Senate floor. This practice was discontinued in the Virginia House of Delegates because it lacks transparency. It’s time for the Senate to discontinue the practice as well.

House of Delegates

In the House of Delegates, Democratic Delegate Mark Levine, who represents some Arlington precincts, says he will post on his personal YouTube page videos of all committee meetings about his bills:

By videotaping every one of my bills, which are really my constituent’s bills, I can show them what happened. If they are voted down, they can see who voted them down [and why]. If they were amended, people can see why ….

Kudos to Levine, but why shouldn’t videos of all committee meetings on all bills be made and posted on the General Assembly’s official website?

Executive Branch

Republican Delegate Jim LeMunyon has offered a bill that would overturn a recent Virginia Supreme Court decision that allows state agencies to withhold entire documents rather than redacting only the portions that are exempt from disclosure:

The First Amendment, among other things, says that people have a right to redress grievances. Well you don’t know what to grieve unless you know what the government’s doing. And so this is the way that the people can find out.

Conclusion

Although its budget exceeds $100 billion, Virginia state government has a grade of D for transparency. Regardless of what your positions are on issues like guns, reproductive rights, health care, education or transportation, we should all be able to agree that the state should strive for a much higher grade on its next report card.

Peter’s Take is a weekly opinion column. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com. 

Several months ago, I wrote a column outlining some of the legal and policy issues raised by Airbnb’s operations in Arlington. That column presented public information about the scope of Airbnb’s Arlington activities and concluded:

Right now, Arlington County should NOT go down the path of cities like Richmond, Charlottesville and Roanoke by spending time and energy looking for strictly local ways to regulate and tax Airbnb or its participating property owners. Instead, Arlington first should focus on seeking a fair and uniform state-wide regulatory framework for Airbnb and entities like it. A Virginia state-wide solution ultimately might lead to an agreement by Airbnb and similar entities to act as the tax collection agents for localities like Arlington. Airbnb already has worked out such deals in D.C., San Francisco and Portland, Oregon.

The possibility that there might be a Virginia state-wide regulatory framework to regulate Airbnb’s operations has moved a step closer. Del. Chris Peace (R-Mechanicsville) has filed a relevant bill (H.B. 812).

Summary

As currently drafted, H.B. 812 would do three things:

1. Establish a uniform, state-wide regulatory framework to regulate operations like Airbnb and FlipKey
2. Preempt any local ordinances and regulations inconsistent with that state-wide regulatory framework
3. Allow limited regulation by localities like Arlington so long as that regulation only relates to areas specifically authorized in the state legislation.

State-wide Regulatory Framework

H.B. 812 uses the term “limited residential lodging” (§ 55-248.53) to define the types of stays that platforms like Airbnb facilitate. Limited residential lodging means:

the accessory or secondary use of a residential dwelling unit or a portion thereof by a limited residential lodging operator to provide room or space that is suitable or intended for occupancy for dwelling, sleeping, or lodging purposes, for a period of fewer than 30 consecutive days, in exchange for a charge for the occupancy, provided only that…the primary use of the residential dwelling unit shall remain as a household living unit.

The Virginia Department of Taxation would be authorized to collect a tax from either the residential lodging operator or a hosting platform like Aribnb, and to remit a portion of those revenues back to a locality like Arlington. H.B. 812 would not apply to limited residential lodging of 90 or more days in a calendar year (§ 55-248.54 (C)).

Limited Local Regulatory Authority

Localities like Arlington would retain authority to regulate residential lodging operators with respect to nine subcategories of issues (§ 55-248.55) such as noise, safety, and liability insurance.

Conclusion

The status quo — in which Airbnb and other similar hosting platforms operate in Arlington and throughout Virginia in a legal never-never land — is not good public policy. Whatever its prospects in this legislative session, H.B. 812 represents a significant step forward in identifying the kinds of issues that state-wide legislation must address.

However, the 90-or-more-day carve-out from the “limited residential lodging” definition is far too harmful to hosts and should be scrapped.

Peter’s Take is a weekly opinion column. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

In Arlington, we have high expectations — a generally top-notch APS professional staff and a supportive community of taxpayers who value education.

The School Board has set a goal to achieve reading SOL pass rates in the 90-95 percent range for every subgroup of students measured by the Virginia Department of Education. Only White and Asian students have reached the target. Pass rates in 2015 — see slide number 15 — were:

• 74 percent for Black students
• 71 percent for Hispanic students
• 69 percent for economically disadvantaged students
• 59 percent for students with disabilities

Based on information supplied to the citizens English Language Arts Advisory Committee (ELAAC), APS’ elementary school reading screening tests have documented doubling failure rates with each passing year. Four percent of kindergarteners, 8 percent of first graders, and 15 percent of second graders have been identified as reading below grade level.

APS’ middle school reading screening tests tell an even bleaker story of our students’ reading abilities. Thirty-seven percent of Gunston, 44 percent of Jefferson, 45 percent of Kenmore, 24 percent of Swanson, and 19 percent of Williamsburg students are reading below grade level. This is the equivalent of 1,500 out of 4,500 middle schoolers, outlined in the ELAAC Report on pages 20 and 21.

Narrowing These Reading Achievement Gaps

A very significant number of APS students are falling behind in reading because they are dyslexic. Numerous studies — from the Yale Center for Dyslexia & Creativity, the National Institute of Child Health & Human Development and the International Dyslexia Association — have established that dyslexia is a reading disability that affects up to 20 percent of the population. APS currently enrolls about 25,000 students. That means that up to 5,000 APS students could be affected by dyslexia.

What APS Has Done

In response to over 10 years of parent advocacy, APS has established a Dyslexia Task Force, trained staff in an alternative reading methodology, conducted Dyslexia Awareness Training in every APS school, and established an APS Dyslexia Webpage.

However, all of these accomplishments have taken many more years than they should have. As a result, a group of over 45 APS parents sent a letter in July to APS protesting how long the process has dragged out. The parents’ letter confirms what APS has done is riddled with elements of dysfunction and only superficially appears to support dyslexic students.

APS’ ELA Department may have a potential conflict of interest that is blocking rapid progress.

Curriculum reform would help thousands of APS students with dyslexia learn how to read. However, APS’ Supervisor of the English Language Arts (ELA) Department, Dr. Michelle Picard, who is responsible for designing and implementing APS’ ELA curriculum, is also the published author of her own reading curriculum. APS has bought her curriculum with our taxpayer dollars and uses it.

If APS were to follow the guidance published on its own webpage, those identified students would have to be provided with an alternative reading curriculum, not Dr. Picard’s.

Conclusion

APS urgently needs to:

1. Specifically identify all of its dyslexia-affected students
2. Build an adequate capacity of staff trained in the alternative reading curriculum those students need
3. Effectively deliver reading instruction to those specific students

Each year APS fails to act is another year in which thousands of poor readers continue to struggle academically and emotionally. No one can turn back that clock.

Peter’s Take is a weekly opinion column. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

At its traditional New Year’s Day organizational meeting, Arlington County Board members found common ground on critical issues, including making major improvements in Arlington government transparency and bringing new voices to the table to solve Arlington’s many pressing challenges.

Libby Garvey, who was unanimously elected by her Board colleagues as Chair of the Board for 2016, offered these observations:

Arlington is known for its civic engagement, but we must bring the Arlington Way into the 21st Century. There are still far too many people who have the talent and expertise our community needs, who want to contribute, but who cannot…Few of our residents and business owners have the time to sit in a long meeting every month as is required to serve on most of our commissions and task forces.

We must experiment with new and improved ways to involve people and use technology even more…We should use clear language and not an alphabet soup of terms that confuses people and makes them feel like they can’t speak the language of Arlington.

John Vihstadt described a promising new initiative on which he and Katie Cristol plan to collaborate:

Our 40-some County-appointed advisory boards and commissions serve as the County Board’s eyes and ears on a range of issues from housing to transportation and social services to urban forestry. Sometimes, these groups are perceived as merely rubber stamps for pre-determined County actions. Yet at other times, we may fail to even consult with them. And while seasoned perspectives are invaluable, so are new people with new ideas from new communities.

My colleague Katie Cristol and I will initiate a new ad hoc working group to examine our commissions, including how to foster greater diversity of representation to practical ways of staying connected and approaching issues. Robust discussion from a multiplicity of voices is an essential component of the Arlington Way.

And, Christian Dorsey stressed:

We must restore faith that public participation is valued and valuable. Professionalized public participation in conceptualizing, planning and/or implementing policy initiatives is a key component of sustainability and will go a long way toward our residents and stakeholders remaining a part of a community they help create.

Incorrectly claiming to act according to a genuine community consensus, prior Boards championed major policy blunders like the Columbia Pike streetcar and the Clarendon dog park. Prior Boards never obtained a genuine community consensus because:

1. The Arlington Way is broken
2. Prior Boards were too insular

Refreshingly, Garvey, Vihstadt, Cristol, and Dorsey — all of whom are in their first terms on this Board — agree that the Arlington Way needs to be rejuvenated.

Peter’s Take is a weekly opinion column. The views and opinions expressed in this column are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the views of ARLnow.com.

The past year was filled with revealing stories about Arlington and Virginia politics and government. Here are my top five:

5. Republicans retain control of VA State Senate

Democrats and Republicans combined to spend more than $43 million on Virginia State Senate political campaigns in 2015. After all that spending, the partisan breakdown of that legislative body remained exactly the same as before: 21 Republicans and 19 Democrats. Because the Republicans will continue to control the Virginia legislature, Democratic Governor Terry McAuliffe will need to reach bi-partisan compromises with Republican legislators to enact critical legislation during the two remaining years of his term.

4. Arlington hires independent auditor

The County Board approved the hiring of an independent auditor. The auditor will report directly to the Board rather than to the County Manager. This initiative was championed by Vihstadt and strongly supported by Garvey. Del. Hope played a key role by obtaining authorizing legislation from Richmond. County Board candidates Dorsey and Cristol also supported this plan. The independent auditor was initially resisted by Fisette, Hynes and Tejada, but Fisette and Hynes ultimately supported the plan.

3. Community facilities challenges continue

Arlington’s Community Facilities Study Group (CFSG) highlighted five pressing challenges:

• Scarcity of land for public facilities
• Changing demographics — Arlington’s population is projected to grow from 216,700 today to 283,000 in 2040
• Threatened commercial tax base
• Strategic facility planning and priority setting — The County needs a clear and open structure for setting priorities among competing needs
• Revamping the community dialogue — To reach all members of our community, Arlington needs to make participation easier, earlier and more meaningful.

2. Pace of development remains controversial

As CFSG highlighted, the prospect of 66,300 more Arlington residents by 2040 brought renewed attention to the subset of development that can only occur if our local government acts to enable it. This subset includes changing zoning to permit greater density than now authorized. Many activists — including me — believe we need to step back and re-assess whether, when, where, how and under what terms and conditions local government acts with respect to this aspect of development.

1. Dorsey and Cristol elected to County Board

In 2011, Arlington County Board members included: Zimmerman, Favola, Hynes, Tejada and Fisette. Effective tomorrow, the members are: Garvey, Vihstadt, Dorsey, Cristol and Fisette.

The heavily-Democratic Arlington electorate has spoken clearly that it wants major changes in the ways by which the Board does business and significant changes in some policies and priorities. Dorsey’s and Cristol’s 2015 elections reflected voters’ judgments that they were best able to continue to move Arlington in these new directions.

Conclusion

These stories provide important background for 2016.