Arlington Affordable Housing: County Board’s Pike Trolley will Eliminate Most Remaining Market-Rate Apartments, Says Arlington Greens leader, Jan. 30, 2011

The Arlington County Government’s redevelopment on Columbia Pike should be called by one of its real names– “the minority removal plan,” says Arlington Greens chairman John Reeder. Just the the cost of the trolley alone will exceed $240 million, much of which will likely come from county revenues, Reeder said.

County board Democratic chairman Mary Hynes tells us that she wants to keep current moderate income renters along the Pike, but the economic impact of the trolley makes that impossible, says the chairman of the Arlington Green Party. The county’s own economic consultant, Partners for Economic Solutions (PES), concluded that the cost to the county of subsidizing preservation of 5,000 of the existing affordable apartments along the Pike would be roughly $300 million ($60,000 per unit).

Over the past decade, the county government was unable to meet its annual countywide goal of adding 400 committed affordable apartments, in 2010 adding only 141 units and spending $5 million from its Affordable Housing Investment Fund for this purpose. It is highly unlikely that the county government will be able to come up with at least $300 million to keep 5,000 affordable apartments along the Pike, particularly given the severe school overcrowding, and need for more school classrooms.

“The County Board’s urban renewal for the Pike should be described as to what it really is: minority and low income people removal and a gift of public money to developers.” John Reeder, Chairman, Arlington Greens, www.greensofarlington.org

If you are concerned about affordable housing, fiscal responsibility for schools and and preserving your historic communities, Reeder says that the Arlington Greens county board candidate Audrey Clement will help by working to block the trolley and the inevitable loss of nearly half of the remaining market-rate rental housing in Arlington County. To help go to AudreyClement.org.

“Schools go green in Northern Virginia,” by Jessica Haney on January 18, 2012 in DCMoms.com

http://www.thedcmoms.com/2012/01/schools-go-green-in-northern-virginia

If you’re looking to go green in Northern Virginia schools, this is an exciting time. Last night, Arlington Public Schools held the first meeting of its new Sustainability Committee, one of the Advisory Committees that report to the Superintendent. Made up of 15 community members (13 of them with children in APS), the committee will review data at its next meeting regarding energy use, water, solid waste, products used in schools, and recycling. Once the members have a clear understanding of where things stand in schools and across the district, they will begin deciding on priorities to research and present in recommendations to the Superintendent in the fall.

With a little luck and a lot of community support, in a few months, this soggy spot will be home to the Campbell Elementary Wetlands Learning Lab
Arlington County Energy Manager Cathy Lin said there was great interest in the committee. Those selected to serve on the committee for at least one year represent schools and neighborhoods across Arlington and bring with them many years of work in environmental policy and law. The committee, which has one teacher from Washington-Lee High School, is looking for student representatives from each of the three county schools plus, the H-B Woodlawn program and the alternative programs as well. APS parent, former School Board candidate and anti-styrofoam advocate Miriam Gennari, who has been working for years toward getting APS to have an environmental coordinator or a committee like this one, emerged from the meeting very hopeful about the work that can be done by this “outstanding group of people who seem very committed and well-informed.”

One of the members of the group was Arlingtonians For a Clean Environment president Elenor Hodges, who is also working for the group NoVA Outside. On March 3, from 10 a.m. to 12:30 p.m., the group will hold an expo at George Mason University to showcase programs and opportunities for outdoor education in Northern Virginia. NoVa Outside was co-founded by Elaine Tholen, who works in Fairfax County as the Environmental Education Manager, a position Arlington doesn’t have. Lin did note that Arlington Planetarium director Jonathan Harmon will be putting together an inventory of what green efforts are happening in which schools while the planetarium is undergoing construction.

Yours truly piped up about her own home-grown effort: this Saturday’s Wetlands Benefit Concert to raise money for construction of a wetlands learning lab at Campbell Elementary School. The south Arlington school sits on top of Carlin Springs, and the fact that it was paved over decades ago is doing no favors to the Chesapeake Bay or the muddy swatch of the schoolyard. The new wetlands learning lab, designed by Nancy Striniste of EarlySpace, will take care of the water problem in grand form: by creating a wildlife habitat and natural landscape that will provide learning and play opportunities.

Donations from family, alumni and the community have been pouring in, so the Campbell PTA is hopeful that it will be able to tell contractor Green Earth Landscaping the school can take the company up on its offer to do the work for a discount this winter. Saturday’s event will have plenty of items up for bid at a silent auction plus musical guests Forty Miles Home folk/roots band at 2:00, Groovy Nate at 3:15, a Music Together (TM) Sing-Along by Little Steps Music at 1:30, four Bolivian dance performances, and storytime.

Hours are 1:00-4:00 p.m., Saturday, January 21. Tickets are $10 per family. Campbell is located at 737 S. Carlin Springs Rd., Arlington, VA 22204. The event will take place in the Multipurpose Room and the gym (park in back, enter school in front).

When she’s not fundraising, Jessica Claire Haney blogs at Crunchy-Chewy Mama, writes for her Washington Times Communities column, “Ingredients for Healthy Living,” and for All Things Mothering.

Arlington Connection, Oct. 26 – Nov. 1, 2011,
A Streetcar Named Disagreement
Green Party candidate disagrees with Democratic incumbents about streetcars.
By Michael Lee Pope
The Connection
Should Arlington County drop hundreds of millions of dollars on a new Columbia Pike streetcar system? The all-
Democratic County Board is solidly behind the program. But when voters head to the polls in November,
they’ll have a choice. Green Party candidate Audrey Clement says the streetcar system is a waste
of money, unnecessarily diverting a funding stream that could be used to improve bus service in
other parts of the county. “It’s a sinkhole,” said Clement. They’re taking a stream of revenue and sinking it into one project, which is a mistake.”Clement says Columbia Pike is already well served by buses, including the ART service as well as Metrobus service. As a result, she said, the county should find another use for the funding stream identified to pay for the $160 million initial capital investment in purchasing the streetcars.

But incumbent Democratic County Board member Mary Hynes said that elected officials promised the business community that the money from the add-on tax would be used for capital investment rather than funding the operation. “We made a commitment,” said Hynes. “And it wouldn’t be right to go back on that commitment.” “Before the streetcars were approved, we had a full community process where people could participate and tell us what they wanted,” said Tejada. “People overwhelmingly supported the streetcar option.”

ARLINGTON COUNTY has been moving toward installing a streetcar on Columbia Pike for almost a decade. Since that time, the county has adopted a land-use plan to revitalize Columbia Pike and approved redevelopment in anticipation of the streetcar system. Supporters of the plan say delaying the investment will add to the tax burden on the existing community because the demand for services will continue as future development fizzles. The Green Party candidate isn’t buying it. “Arlington likes to bill itself as this great place for transit, but most of the county just isn’t walkable,” said Clement. “The county hasn’t invested in bus service in the north and west parts of Arlington.”

Hynes agrees, to an extent. When asked about Clement’s criticism, she acknowledged that she would like to see increased bus service in parts of the county that are currently under-served or not on bus routes at all. But because those areas are largely suburban, she said, they don’t have the kind of density that could justify a county-subsidized bus service — especially considering the fact that the county already subsidizes existing bus service to the tune of about 80 percent.
“Much as I would like to see bus service expanded, the ridership would be very small,” said Hynes. “The question is do we want to subsidize that?”
FOR NOW, Hynes said, she feels the responsible course of action is to maintain the course of action with the streetcar system. Although the initial capital investment is far more than purchasing buses, she said that the county could potentially save money in the long run because more than one car can be operated by a single driver, saving on labor costs. And county leaders are expecting the system to lure additional development to the corridor, creating more tax revenue to fill
county coffers. Clement isn’t so sure this is working. “Our schools are already overcrowded and our roads are clogged,” said Clement. “I’m also not sure that it’s the best idea to add streetcars to streets that are already clogged with traffic.”
This issue isn’t academic. Every year, $24million of revenue is collected from the addon tax that charges more for ommercial property than residential property. Hynes and Tejada would like to see that money go to the streetcar system while Clement said she would work to divert those resources toward expanding bus service to other parts of the county. Although both of the Democratic incumbents acknowledged they would also like to see expanded bus service, they said that abandoning the streetcar system now would be the wrong move for Arlington.
“We’re trying to push the envelope with this,” said Tejada. “We really see this as the next phase of public transportation, something beyond Metro and light rail.” Hynes and Tejada also agreed that setting money aside for the Metro system must have seemed questionable, although today the rewards are clear.

Meet the
Candidates
❖ Walter Tejada, 54: A native of El Salvador, Tejada came to America as a 13-year old and has lived in Arlington
since 1992. He studied government and communications at George Mason University. He lives in the Dominion Hills
neighborhood and votes at McKinley School.

❖ Mary Hynes, 56: A native of Ames, Iowa, Hynes was raised in St. Cloud, Minn., and moved to Arlington in 1977. She has a bachelor’s degree in textiles from the College of St. Benedict. She lives in the Lyon Village neighborhood and votes in the Lyon Village Community Center.

❖ Audrey Clement, 62: A native of Gainesville, Fla., Clement was raised in Pittsburgh and moved to Arlington in 2004. She has a bachelor’s degree in fine arts from the University of Pennsylvania, a master’s degree in political science from Temple University and a doctorate
in political science from Temple. She lives in the Westover neighborhood and votes at Swanson Middle School

http://files.connectionnewspapers.com/PDF/current/Arlington.pdf

The Mt. Vernon chapter of the Sierra Club decided to endorse incumbent Democratic County Board members Hynes and Tejada over the Arlington Green candidate Audrey Clement, ignoring the incumbents sorry or nonexistent record for environmental measures in the Arlington community. The Sierra Club has proven itself once again to be merely a wholly owned subsidiary of the Democratic Party, and loses all its credibility as an organization that promotes environmental causes.

Frankly, the Mt Vernon chapter of the Sierra Club–which include Arlington, and much of Fairfax County–proved once again to be on the wrong side of the environment. The Sierra Club refused to back the Arlington Greens proposal to ban single use plastic bags and food styrofoam containers in Arlington stores on Earth Day 2011. It refused to support Arlington Greens who opposed widening I-66 highway in Arlington to accommodate more single-person cars in rush-hour.

The Sierra Club’s credibility with independent, Republican, and even Democratic leaning voters is low or nonexistent owing to its position as a junior partner of elected Democrats in Virginia. The club’s endorsement of Barbara Favola (intertwinned with many Arlington developers and their money and interests) in the August Democratic primary for state senate against progressive Democrat Jaime Arzeiga Soto demonstrates the crass, cynical level to which the Sierra Club has fallen.

At the state level, the club has been outstandingly ineffective in promoting environmental legislation. Could part of the reason be that the club is merely an appendage of elected state Democrats who receive large corporate contributions from polluters and coal interests?

Arlington and Virginia Green Party officials sent the following letter to the Sierra Club, asking for its justification of rejecting the Arlington Green candidate Audrey Clement who has a long and distinguished environmental record and platform:

My name is Miriam Gennari and I am the Press Secretary for the Green Party of Virginia (the real Green Party). I wanted to speak to you about endorsements of candidates this election cycle. I am particularly interested in an endorsement by the Mt. Vernon Chapter of the organization. They endorsed Mary Hines (D) and Walter Tejada (D), both incumbents over Green Party candidate Audrey Clement. I have been following this race very closely, I have attend meetings where Ms. Clement has outlined a plan for renewable energy, increased recycling and conservation measures for government, school and private business as well as robust education initiative on all areas related to protecting the environment. I have also seen her speak boldly about the need to move “Beyond Coal” in Virginia, an issue we as a party are very focused on and have work closely with the Sierra Club to promote. In fact, some have said that her platform is too heavily weighted towards protecting the environment. Even her jobs program revolves around free energy audits for home owners, so perhaps she is guilty of as charged. What can one expect from an environmentalist. Conversely, I have heard Ms. Hines and Mr. Tejada speak on several occasion. In many cases I have recorded their remarks and other then using the words sustainability and protecting the environment, neither appears to have plan on how they would accomplish that goal. Also their Waste to Energy Program is something after speaking to Glenn Besa the Sierrra Club opposes, the Energy Task Force does not call for renewables in new buildings, even as destiny is increased and enforcement of recycling is so poor in Arlington that we remain average in VA in spite of our single stream recycling program with government on of the biggest offenders at on 12%. In fact both Hines and Tejada publicly applauded Audrey for efforts to stop the spot widening of RT. 66 an issue with wide support by environmentalist in Arlington. Since you are the political arm of the Sierra Club you understand your endorsement carries great weight in an election and your endorsement sends the message to the community that the candidate you support mirrors the values of your organization. I want to be sure there is nothing I am missing as I prepare a story for the media. I could really use your help in understanding how these endorsements came to be. I have been in touch with Pat Soriano, Political Committee Chair at Mt. Vernon, but it seems his business schedule is interfering with his response to my questions. I would really appreciate your urgent attention to this inquiry.

Audrey Clement, candidate for the Arlington County Board is looking at waste
management from all angles. Most recently her campaign team has been reaching out
to the pet owners in Arlington County and educating them on the options for picking up
pet refuse. Clement volunteers are chasing down pet owners and handing out
biodegradable “doggie poop bags” at dog parks and on bike trails. Each bag is stuffed
with her campaign card.

On Saturday October 8, at the Lacey Wood Parkʼs Dogtober
Day and Baker Bash several pet lovers shared why they agree with Ms. Clement. Time
for a Walk, a pet walking and sitting company only uses biodegradable bags. Owner
Christine Keough explains why. “We wanted to use something that is not going to fill
our land fills with waste.” When asked if making the decision to use the bio bags, which
are made primarily of corn starch, was a big financial investment, Ms. Keough
responded, “ Not much more at all, actually quite affordable and the decision has not
affected our low rates.”

John Reeder Arlington Green Party Chairman, explains the campaign rationale, “We are
hoping pet owners will like the idea of reducing their carbon footprint and and ultimately
show support for the ordinance to ban single-use plastic bags which Audrey submitted
to the County Board on behalf of the Arlington Green Party in April.

It appears the decision to switch could prove a wise business move, as many pet owners
have already made the transition. Kim Klingler was out mingling among the pooches
with her two furry friends, but instead of taking a bag offered by volunteers, Kim shared
that she already uses biodegradable bags. Cost is not an issue because she orders
bags online at what she describes as a “great price.” Kim went on to say, “I know plastic
bags are a big issue in landfills as well as littering the Chesapeake Bay, once I
understood how easy it was to switch, finding the right size bag for my dogs was the
only challenge.”

“This switch to biodegradable bags is more then symbolic,” says Chairman Reeder, a
long time opponent of plastic bags. “They clog drains, gum up recycling conveyers belts
and are among the leading contributors to pollution worldwide.” The manufacturers of biodegradable bags report that they decay as quickly as an apple.

Letter to the Editor

Arlington Sun Gazette

July 12, 2011

Sir:

The Arlington County Government’s plan to build a trolley up Columbia Pike should be called by one of its real names– “the minority removal trolley” or “the urban renewal trolley for the rich.” (“Streetcar Plan Finding Critics on Left and Right,” July 11). Cost of the trolley may reach $160 million, all of which will likely come from county revenues.

The County Government’s hired planner, Dover, Kohl, reported that that the trolley will sharply increase rents along Pike apartments. Dover, Kohl described existing bus service as “outstanding,” and wrote that redevelopment of the Pike is commercially feasible only if current low-rise apartments are replaced with much more expensive, high-rise units at triple the current density.

So the effect of the trolley will be to raise the value of land, encourage high rise building of expensive apartments, and eliminate those current residents who do not earn substantially more than $60,000 a year. Pike residents earning less will be forced to leave, and rich residents brought in. Private landowners will reap billions of dollars, and the public will be stuck with the trolley cost.

County board Democratic members like Mary Hynes and Walter Tejada tell us that they want to keep current moderate income renters along the Pike, but the economic impact of the trolley makes that impossible. The county’s own economic consultant, Partners for Economic Solutions (PES), concludes that the cost to the county of subsidizing preservation of 5,000 of the existing affordable apartments along the Pike would be roughly $300 million ($60,000 per unit).

Over the past decade, the county government was unable to meet its annual countywide goal of adding 400 committed affordable apartments, in 2010 adding only 141 units and spending $5 million from its Affordable Housing Investment Fund for this purpose. It is highly unlikely that the county government will be able to come up with $300 million to keep 5,000 affordable apartments along the Pike, particularly given the severe public school overcrowding facing the entire county, and need for more school classrooms.

The Arlington Democrats urban renewal for the Pike should be described as to what it really is: minority and low income people removal and a gift of public money to developers. It is for these reasons that Arlington Greens have for the past six years opposed the building of a trolley for rich people and a one-way ticket out for minorities and low income residents.

John Reeder

Chairman

Arlington Greens

Miriam Gennari, former Green Party candidates for the Arlington School Board, and active Arlington parent and advocate for sustainability and progress in Arlington Public Schools spoke at the School Board meeting on June 17, 2011:

I want to begin by thanking [School board member] Abby Raphael for attending last night’s concert to save the planetarium, granted she is running for reelection, but I was under the impression Arlington Public School’s Children’s Spanish Chorus and the planetarium had a few friends on the school board, I have no doubt that each of you will find time for the ribbon cutting when the renovations are complete.

Today I would like to grade you school board members on your own initiatives.

Mr. Landers: you talk about community partnerships, long term vision and energizing parents. Well James, you have exhausted me and many others here today. Thousands of women and man hours have gone into educating this board about the importance of environmental literacy as it relates to motivating our children and still you remain on page one of the text. Your grade, T-talk.

Ms. Garvey: you talk about a sustainable economy, employment, energy efficiency and preparing our children to thrive in the global 21st century, yet you have spent your time on this board squandering our schools most valuable resource, parent volunteers. As you move on to higher office, your grade is “I” -incomplete.

Ms. Sanchez: you want to make our schools student centered, the way to do that is not by building that look like government offices, but by teaching the fundamental values of stewardship and resource management. We can’t even build an outdoor classroom teachers can use to teach hands on learning of the SOL’s because this board has blown the budget on theatre equipment and remote controlled sunroofs. Your grade is “W” for waste.

And Ms. Baird: we sparred on the campaign trail over recycling and conservation. You spoke vividly about raising minority achievement, health wellness and building cultural competence. And yet your own administration contacted us to find out what sustainability means. Have you not even done a google search on what experts are saying about how to achieve your goals? Your grade is “P” -politics.

Abby Raphael: you need to decide, it is pass or fail. Are you going to make sure that Sustainability, Stewardship, Environmental Literacy find their way into Arlington Public Schools Values or will you too need a challenger to put words in you mouth. Tell these parents, because there are several very qualified citizens who are able to lead Arlington Public Schools in a direction that will raise achievement, bring value to the community and ensure a successful fulfilling future for our children. There is urgent work to do.

As John Grunsfeld of NASA told the children last night, at the concert most of you missed, “You must be prepared for the unexpected.”

Now, I have some homework for each of you. I will let you look up the sources, because if I printed it, I doubt you would read it. Good luck with the Strategic Plan. I have done everything I can, this is your opportunity to seize or neglect.

Arlington Greens Urge Improvements to the Proposed Community Energy Plan at the County Board hearing, April 26, 2011

Good evening. My name is Stephen Davis, and I have lived in Arlington County for 33 years. I’m here tonight on behalf of the Arlington Green Party to address the Community Energy Plan contemplated in Consent Item 26.

The Arlington Green Party has been monitoring the development of the Community Energy Plan with great interest, and we believe that the County government should be commended for initiating this effort,

As a general matter, with the exception of developing a District Energy model, the Task Force report seems to regard the County government’s roles primarily as citizen/business energy education, moral suasion, and serving as a resource for individuals and businesses in implementing the actions recommended in the final Report. We agree with these policies, but we also believe that the County government should more aggressively seek ways to provide direct financial incentives, that the County should place greater emphasis on raising environmental and energy consciousness in Arlington’s public schools, and
that the County should more actively advocate with state and federal officials for those policies which will assist it reaching its Community Energy Plan goals.

In general, we agree in principle with most of the Task Force recommendations, but there are a few exceptions. Specifically I would refer you to the comments we submitted to the draft report and which are found on the County’s website.

Tonight I would like to address one of the larger concerns we have with the proposed Community Energy Plan. This is the District Energy model.

Clearly, the District Energy model provides significant benefits for higher density developed areas, such as greatly improved efficiency, better security and a smaller GHG footprint. In our view, the establishment of District Energy entities is the key to the Community Energy Plan.

Nonetheless, implementation of an Arlington District Energy model remains unclear at best due to the Dillon Rule legal doctrine. Thus, to create a District Energy entity, Arlington would have to seek and obtain authority from the Commonwealth.

The question of the legal sufficiency of the District Energy model was raised several times during the Task Force meetings, but each time the response was that the issue was “being explored.” In our view, until this issue is resolved, the likelihood of successful implementation of the Community Energy Plan is in doubt.

Linked to the establishment of the District Energy model is the recommendation to create a mixed-use, net-zero energy scale project. This recommendation is critical to demonstrate the viability of the District Energy concept, and the District Energy model is critical to the success of the scale project. However, if the District Energy idea itself is not feasible, then this scale project recommendation becomes moot.

As I noted previously, we support most of the proposals outlined in the Report, although we believe that some could have gone further, but until the legal issues inherent in the District Energy model are resolved, we do not believe that the proposed Community Energy Plan can move forward.

Posted at 01:26 PM ET, 04/22/2011
Arlington Greens call for a plastic bag and Styrofoam ban
By Christy Goodman
The Arlington Green Party called on the Arlington County Board to ban plastic bags and Styrofoam products from supermarkets and food retailers Friday morning.

“The need has never been greater since the EPA (U.S. Environmental Protection Agency) has called for a massive reduction in the waste that flows into the Chesapeake Bay watershed, much of it consisting of plastic bags and Styrofoam debris,” said Audrey Clement, a candidate for Arlington County Board, outside of the county offices.

Audrey Clement, a Green Party candidate for Arlington County Board, calls for a ban on plastic bags and Styrofoam products from county supermarkets and food retailers. (By Christy Goodman/The Washington Post)
The District successfully adopted a five-cent plastic bag tax last year. Montgomery County is considering a similar law. Bills to tax the bags in Maryland were rejected this year by the state’s General Assembly.

Arlington officials have said that under the Dillon Rule, they need permission from the General Assembly to enact such a ban. The county backed state legislation adding a tax on plastic bags for the past three years, but the bills have not been successful.

The county can adopt its own ordinances for the ban, Clement said. Virginia allows localities to adopt solid waste management plans, subject to Virginia Waste Management Board rules, she said.

“The Dillon Rule doesn’t apply,” said Clement, who encouraged the board to adopt the ban and allow people to challenge it in court.

Clement delivered a letter addressed to Board Chairman Chris Zimmerman (D) and copies of 2007 San Francisco ordinances banning plastic bags and Styrofoam to the county clerk’s office.

Board members J. Walter Tejada (D) and Mary Hynes (D) are up for election this year.

http://www.washingtonpost.com/blogs/virginia-politics/post/arlington-greens-call-for-a-plastic-bag-and-styrofoam-ban/2011/04/22/AFKpipPE_blog.html?referrer=emaillink

On Earth Day, April 22, 2011, Arlington Greens asked the County Board to ban the use of carry out plastic bags and Styrofoam food containers at retail stores. Audrey Clements, treasurer of the Arlington Greens, announced the Greens’ petition to the County Board which included two model ordinances drawn from existing laws in the City of San Francisco, California.

The letter to the County Board is below:

Honorable Chris Zimmerman
Chairman, Arlington County Board
2100 Clarendon Blvd., Suite 300
Arlington, VA 22201 April 22, 2011

Dear Chairman Zimmerman:

The Arlington Green Party calls on Arlington County Board to adopt ordinances banning plastic bags in supermarkets and chain drugs stores and eliminate Styrofoam from food service outlets. The need has never been greater, since the EPA has called for a massive reduction in the waste that flows into the Chesapeake Bay watershed, much of it consisting of plastic bags and Styrofoam debris.

Arlington County has the authority to enact the bans because Section 10.1-1411 of Virginia Code authorizes municipalities to draw up plans to reduce waste, subject only to regulations from the Virginia Waste Management Board. Furthermore in an email to Arlington Greens on January 24, 2011, Cindy Berndt, Director of Regulatory Affairs for the Virginia Department of Environmental Quality (DEQ), acknowledged that neither Virginia Code nor the Waste Management Board’s regulations stop a municipal bag ban as a form of waste management reduction.

County Board says it wants a tax on plastic bags like the one adopted by the District of Columbia in 2010 that reduced bag use by 80 percent. However, the Virginia General Assembly took that option off the table by recently defeating in committee two bills to tax plastic bags. As a result the county has no alternative other than a ban to reduce waste dumped into landfills and the Potomac River watershed.

In 2007 the San Francisco Board of Supervisors adopted ordinances banning plastic bags and Styrofoam. The result, according to a 2008 NPR report, was the elimination of 5 million bags per month. The Arlington Green Party does not want to re-invent the wheel. We ask that Arlington County Board adopt the language of the San Francisco ordinances. The bans San Francisco enacted have stood the test of time and reduced waste in that great city. They can work here also. All it takes is a commitment to stop green washing and start greening Arlington County. Copies of the proposed ordinances and the email from DEQ are attached.

Sincerely yours,

John Reeder
Convener
Arlington Green Party
P.O. Box 50473 – Arlington, VA 22205
Email: info@greensofarlington.org