[Archived] City of Alexandria Offers Compromise Proposal to the Old Dominion Boat Club

The City of Alexandria has offered a compromise proposal to the Old Dominion Boat Club (ODBC) in an effort to end years of negotiations about the Club’s parking lot in the Waterfront Plan area.

The Proposal to Resolve Old Dominion Boat Club and City Issues outlines nine parameters comprising significant concessions to ODBC, while affirming the City’s approved Waterfront Small Area Plan for improving the waterfront’s appearance, increasing public access, and implementing vital flood mitigation measures.

Among the changes, the City proposes purchasing parking spaces on the Strand from ODBC; making improvements to the entire ODBC parking lot, resulting in a footprint of about 11,500 square feet; increasing public access along the Potomac River and on the Strand; and moving boat storage off-site. Other changes would include replacement of the current chain link fence with a new fence (to be reviewed by the Old and Historic Board of Architectural Review), repairs to storm sewers and implementation of flood mitigation measures.

In developing this response, City Council reviewed nearly eight years of negotiations and concluded that a framework solution, reached between the two parties in late 2011 when ODBC and City negotiators agreed on eight of nine points, would form the basis of this proposal.

It is generally not the City’s practice to negotiate matters like this in public. However, as this proposal was released in response to a recent Freedom of Information Act request to a member of the public, the City felt it was of enough significance that it should be made available to the entire community.

The City believes this proposal addresses these issues in a fair and equitable way. It underscores the City’s firm position; serves as a fixed, unchanged foundation for working out the implementation details; and represents an exceptional set of long-term solutions for both the City and ODBC.

For more information, contact Tony Castrilli, Director of Communications and Public Information, at tony.castrilli@alexandriava.gov, or 703.746.3958.