Community Clips
Smart Growth News for the Washington, DC Region

November 29, 2006


In this issue:

• Tribute to Tom Muller
• Groups Announce ICC Lawsuits
• Town Hall Meetings with Newly Elected Officials
• Tysons Tunnel: It's Not Over Until It's Under
• DC Ward 3 House Party and Fundraiser December 14
• Volunteer Opportunities
• Upcoming Events

Tribute to Tom Muller

The smart growth community lost a powerful voice recently with the passing of Tom Muller, a giant in the field of urban economics. A vocal opponent of Disney's 1994 plan to build a theme park near Manassas, Mr. Muller was instrumental in defeating the proposal. Over his long career he established himself as a successful author, consultant, researcher, and professor. He was the co-director of the land use center at the Urban Institute, and testified frequently before congressional committees on policies related to growth and land use. Read the Washington Post's article about his life.

Groups Announce ICC Lawsuits

The Audubon Naturalist Society, Environmental Defense, and the Sierra Club have announced plans to file lawsuits challenging Gov. Ehrlich's proposal for a 3-billion dollar toll road. The suits, which will be filed within the next few weeks, contend that the State and Federal Highway Administrations failed to consider reasonable alternatives to building the highway and the full range of impacts, including health. Read our press release and WTOP's coverage.

Town Hall Meetings with Newly Elected Officials

Town Hall meetings with your new elected officials are an opportunity to convey what you think is important. You can talk about accommodating new growth near Metro stations and in older commercial corridors, expanding carsharing, maintaining the agricultural reserve and/or making sure we have more affordable housing choices near jobs and transit.

Check our Upcoming Events calendar below for upcoming opportunities with two of the region’s new executives, Mayor-elect Fenty and County Executive-elect Leggett. The meeting are a chance for you to make sure they are paying attention to issues you think are important to DC, Montgomery and the region.

Tysons Tunnel: It's Not Over Until It's Under

We have endorsed the tunnel option for rail through Tysons Corner. We believe the elevated rail would deter well-designed, pedestrian friendly redevelopment and lead to reduced transit ridership. Moreover, the American Society of Engineers' study showed the tunnel to be cost effective -- just $250 million more for a project which would last twice as long (120 years). The tunnel would avoid the massive traffic and utilities disruption of the elevated system. And perhaps you don't know, but the state is currently not planning a competitive bidding process for the project -- giving Bechtel a sole source contract.

We've joined TysonsTunnel.org, a coalition advocating for a fair and competitive bidding process for the Metrorail extension to Dulles International Airport and for reopening consideration of the tunnel under Tysons. Please join us in supporting the tunnel. Visit www.TysonsTunnel.org to sign the petition and be sure to write to Governor Kaine and your Congressman and Senators. With billions of dollars at stake, we need to get this right.

DC Ward 3 House Party and Fundraiser December 14

Ward 3 Vision, a group working to ensure that development in the Upper Wisconsin Avenue area is positive and forward-thinking, has come a long way in the past year. Plans for 2007 include greatly expanding membership, hiring a summer fellow to focus on outreach, and offering a range of community programs and events. Visit the group's website at www.ward3vision.org to get involved. Also, mark your calendar for a Ward 3 Vision House Party and Fundraiser to be held in the Tenleytown neighborhood December 14 from 6:30 pm to 8:30 pm. Email Rebecca (rebecca<at>smartergrowth.net) for details.

Volunteer Opportunities

We’re looking ahead to an exciting December here at the Coalition. At our monthly office volunteer night, Tuesday, December 5, we’ll be working on organizing our library of smart growth resources and scanning much of it into digital form. Depending on the results of the DC Council’s Mark-up Session on the Comprehensive Plan that day, we may also need immediate help with phone banking to our DC citizen network. We'll meet from 6:30 to 8:30 pm. On December 12 we'll be hosting a Volunteer Holiday Party from 7:00 to 9:00 pm at Biddy Mulligan’s, in Dupont's Jurys Hotel. Also, on December 14, we need volunteers from 6:15 - 9:00 pm to help at the Ward 3 Vision House Party and Fundraiser in Tenleytown. Email Lauren (lauren<at>smartergrowth.net) for details and to RSVP for the volunteer events.

Upcoming Events

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