Neighborhood Conservation
Glencarlyn Neighborhood Conservation Program
Glencarlyn participates in Arlington County’s Neighborhood Conservation Program, a grass-roots effort to engage residents in conserving and improving their communities by developing and updating Neighborhood Conservation Plans. These plans are the basis for requesting county funds for improvements such as sidewalks, curbs and gutters, streetlights, park renovations, neighborhood art, beautification, traffic management and pedestrian safety.
Each participating neighborhood selects a representative for the Arlington County Neighborhood Conservation Advisory Committee (NCAC). These representatives attend monthly meetings and prioritize neighborhood-initiated projects, following the county’s defined process. Glencarlyn’s current NCAC representative is Kathy Reeder.
The Glencarlyn Neighborhood Conservation Plan describes the community’s history, development, natural environment, cultural sites and infrastructure, along with the goals for conservation and improvement identified in a neighborhood-wide survey. The plan is updated by the community as needed.
In the past, Glencarlyn has undertaken such Neighborhood Conservation Projects as developing a Sidewalk Location and Street Width Master Plan, and installation of curbs, gutters and sidewalks around the core Village Center block.
Additional information is available on the Arlington County Neighborhood Conservation Advisory Committee site. For a status of current NCAC projects for Glencarlyn and other neighborhoods, see Capital Improvement Projects.
Please contact Kathy Reeder at kathleenreeder@comcast.net with any questions.
NCAC Projects
NCAC 4th Street Project (5500 and 5600 blocks)
Project Scope:
The project scope includes the installation of a 4’ wide sidewalk adjacent to a 2’-4’ wide utility strip on the north side of the street, plus curb and gutter on both sides of the street.
On-street parking will be maintained on both sides of the street except where the roadway width narrows to 22’ in order to protect a large, mature tree on the south side of the street.
This project also includes some storm water drainage and infrastructure improvements.
For More Information:
To see more information about this project, including status, documents and plans, please go to 4th Street South – Projects and Planning (arlingtonva.us)
Proposed Project for Kenmore Wooded Area (5500 and 5600 blocks):
The Arlington County Neighborhood Conservation (NC) Program staff recently provided an updated draft list of improvements for Glencarlyn’s proposed Neighborhood Conservation project. The improvements are for the wooded area at the west end of the Kenmore Middle School property, as well as the S. Manchester St. entrance and frontage, the 2nd St. S. dead end, and the east side of S. Manchester St.
The updated list was reviewed at the November 1, 2021 GCA meeting. Attendees voted unanimously to support the project. The next step is to submit the project for NCAC approval in their December 2021 funding round.
Proposed improvements include treating and removing invasive plant material; evaluating the health of existing trees and removing those that are dead, dying or diseased; replacing an old wooden fence with a low stone wall along S. Manchester St.; and adding native grass, plants and trees in various locations. For a more detailed description of the proposed project, including photos, see S. Manchester Street Project – Glencarlyn Project Scope – Draft .
Please keep in mind that this proposed scope of work is not final. It is still being investigated and discussed by county staff and Arlington Public Schools (APS). As the property owner of the wooded area and adjacent locations, APS will have a major voice in determining the final scope of work. It may not be possible to include all the ideas listed in the draft document in one NC project. Some items that GCA proposed may need to go into a future NC project or be pursued by collaboration between APS and GCA.
Project Background
In 2019, GCA’s NC project submission described the Kenmore wooded area project: “This area has non-native and overgrown vegetation, insect infestation, a ‘social path’ for students, dumping of trash and soil, drug-related items, and questionable activity due to limited visibility.” This submission placed the project on the county-wide list of proposed NC projects to be considered for future funding.
In early 2021, NC Program staff met at the Kenmore wooded area site with Julie Lee, GCA President, and Kathy Reeder, NCAC Delegate, to better understand the improvement challenges and begin the scoping process. Suggestions from the staff and GCA led to consideration of additional improvements in nearby areas.
Please send any questions to kathleenreeder@comcast.net.
NC Presentations at GCA Meetings
Other NC Information
Spreadsheet of environmental projects under consideration
October 2018 Questionnaire Summary for non-NC Projects
October 2018 Questionnaire Summary for NC Projects