Fannon: City Council Eagerly Awaits Waterfront Work Group Report

City Council is looking forward to getting the report that’s currently being crafted by the mayor-appointed Waterfront Plan Work Group, according to Councilman Frank Fannon.

“We want more citizen input,” Fannon told Patch at a Sunday evening event hosted by Citizens for an Alternative Alexandria Waterfront Plan.

The event attracted hundreds of Alexandrians at a packed to see a presentation by CAAWP co-founder Andrew Macdonald and to pay $20 for a copy of the .

Fannon said he had heard from a number of citizens that they had concerns over commercialization of the waterfront and with establishing hotels along the river.

“We didn’t vote on the plan because there are improvements to be made,” he said, referring to City Council’s decision to delay a vote on the plan until next year. “There’s two schools of thought on the issue, and it will be a very tough vote for council members.”

Ford’s Landing resident Jane Crawford said she attended the event because she is “deeply concerned” about the city’s waterfront plan “not going in the right direction.”

Fred Parsons of S. Lee St. said he supported the group, which opposes the city’s Waterfront Small Area Plan. “The city has not consulted citizens,” he said.

Bert Ely, who is a waterfront plan work group member and a member of CAAWP, kicked off the event and recognized fellow work group and CAAWP member Bob Wood in the audience, among others.

Planning and Zoning Department Deputy Director Karl Moritz also attended.

CAAWP co-founder Boyd Walker characterized the city plan as being driven by economic interests at the expense of city history.

Macdonald acknowledged Mayor Bill Euille in the audience and Councilman Paul Smedberg, a non-voting member of the work group, but criticized the city for conducting a waterfront redevelopment planning process on its own, in secret meetings with land-use attorneys.

“We all want people who represent us to represent us openly and transparently,” said Macdonald, who is a former vice mayor of the city and is considering a run for mayor as an independent.

Macdonald spoke to a welcome crowd, who clapped when he said the city shouldn’t push the Old Dominion Boat Club off the water and take its property by eminent domain.

The boat club “has been on the waterfront since 1850. We shouldn’t be pushing people like that off,” he said, adding later: “We have to talk more seriously about how to make history come alive.”