Core Values
Civility & Integrity
This is non-negotiable. Organization members will represent ourselves and each other well and work together. Disagreements will be resolved amicably and through thoughtful discussion. We will always be factual and honest.
Action Orientation
We are dedicated to taking action to combat the housing affordability crisis. We will show up to local council and zoning board meetings to make our case. We will participate directly in the political process. And we will be positive, focusing on the merits of what we support rather than the defects of what we oppose.
Issue Focus: Housing Affordability
Issue focus and message discipline will keep our tent big and our coalition strong. We will relentlessly pursue our goal of making housing affordable in Northern Virginia by making homes abundant. This will require much more and denser housing, which in turn will require providing residents with attractive, convenient alternatives to driving such as walkable amenities, protected cycling infrastructure, and transit.
Non-Partisanship & Pluralism
Our organization adheres to a strict policy of neutrality with regard to political parties. We may work for or against specific candidates, but not a party. Any partnership with a partisan organization should not be construed as an endorsement of it. All people of goodwill are welcome in our community.
Primary Policy Objectives
Enact policy changes that enable the construction of more and denser housing, including all housing types, in order to increase affordability for all Northern Virginia residents and prevent displacement of existing communities, especially low-income and marginalized ones. The organization will expend the most time, effort, and money on this goal. It may support individual developments.
- Reform zoning and all other land use regulations, e.g., minimum lot sizes, FAR, height limits, and dual staircase requirements for apartment buildings.
- Streamline or eliminate regulatory reviews to allow for “by-right” construction.
- Assert and restore property owners’ rights to invest in and improve their land and structures, including liberalizing the permitting process for renovations (e.g., to stop a basement from flooding).
- Expand policies for alternative models of home ownership, including Community Land Trusts, co-ops, condominiums, communal ownership, etc.
Secondary Policy Objectives
Enact policy changes that directly support denser housing and infill development. The organization may expend resources supporting these objectives, which may extend to individual projects.
- Promote alternatives to driving through infrastructure improvements such as sidewalks, networks of protected cycling infrastructure, and “complete streets” projects to accommodate every resident regardless of disability or language.
- Mixed-use development including commercial and light industrial to aid neighborhood walkability.
- Safer street and road designs and traffic calming measures such as lane narrowing.
- General support for transit and transit-oriented development.
- Smarter management of parking spaces including reducing or eliminating minimum parking requirements, pricing for parking, and reforms to residential parking zone permitting.
- Experimentation with congestion pricing, a system with an extensive record of success.
Tertiary Policy Objectives
Enact policy changes that address valid stakeholder concerns related to increased density and housing supply. The organization should not expend time, effort, or money directly on these issues. However, organization members may openly discuss specific projects and recruit other members to participate. The organization’s leadership may endorse such projects once plans are fleshed out and finalized.
- Mitigate school overcrowding by building or expanding schools, revising school zones, etc. One option might be converting disused office parks.
- Manage stormwater runoff.
- Preserve or expand green spaces, preferably with native flora, to make neighborhoods healthy and pleasant to live in.
- Improvements as needed to utilities including the power grid and generation capacity.
- Encourage the undergrounding of utilities for natural disaster mitigation.
