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From YouTube: Oral History | Susan Bell
Description
Susan Bell is the retired Department Director for Arlington County Community Planning, Housing and Development. Bell worked for the County from 1983-2011 and oversaw some of the most dramatic changes in Arlington's history. Ms Bell is interviewed by Library Director Diane Kresh and Dept. of Technology Services Director Jack Belcher.
A
Hello
I'm
Diane
crash
director
of
Arlington
library,
joined
by
Jack
Belcher
Department
of
Technology
Services
and
Susan
Bell,
former
director
of
C
PhD.
This
is
part
of
a
continuing
series
that
we're
doing
with
people
who
have
made
a
difference
to
Arlington
County
welcome
Susan.
Thank
you
good
to
be
here.
How
are
you,
let's
start?
We
want
to
start
with
the
beginning,
really
how
you
came
to
Arlington,
County,
ok,.
B
Came
to
Arlington
and
79
as
a
graduate
student
and
ended
up
working
in
the
county,
starting
in
nineteen.
Eighty-Three
I
was
really
interested
in
economic
development,
but
my
background
was
in
planning,
but
with
a
focus
on
small
business
and
I
ended
up
in
the
planning
office,
because
I
didn't
get
a
job
in
economic
development.
B
It's
one
of
those
kind
of
things
that
just
happens,
and
then
life
happens
beyond
that
and
you
can
you
go
on
so
I
joined
what
was
then
the
Department
of
Community
Affairs
in
83
as
a
temporary
planner
one,
not
even
on
the
work
program
uh-huh
in
those
days.
It
was
a
very
focused
and
structured
work
program
that
the
Board
adopted
every
year
now.
B
Actually,
the
department
changed
pretty
dramatically
over
that
period
of
time.
Then
I
was
with
it,
and
so
by
changing
jobs
and
the
department
itself
changing
made
it
kind
of
easy
to
learn
a
lot
of
new
things
and
to
do
different
kinds
of
work.
I
had
the
opportunity
to
work
in
both
comprehensive
and
current
planning
for
the
first
two
or
three
years
that
I
was
with
the
county
and
then
in
1988
I
went
over
to
the
zoning
office
as
the
acting
zoning
administrator
and
the
ten
years
that
I
spent
there
went
very
quickly
very
quickly.
B
A
B
There
are
times
when
properties
are
identified
as
future
nursing,
home
site
or
future
park
site
or
whatever,
but
by
and
large
the
areas
that
were
yellow
on
the
plan.
The
single-family
neighborhoods
are
still
yellow
on
the
plan
today
and
even
though
the
two
transit
corridors
and
the
shirlington
area
have
changed
dramatically,
and
there
are
more
colors
on
the
map
more
gradations
of
color.
B
If
you
will
to
reflect
different
densities,
the
the
compact
that
was
struck
with
that
first
land
use
plan
whereby
the
neighborhoods
would
be
protected
and
development
in
the
corridors
would
be
held
to
what
is
effectively
eleven
percent
of
the
land
area
that
has
held
up
through
fifty
years
of
planning
and
development
and
construction,
and
that
is
remarkable
among
jurisdictions
and
probably
anywhere
in
this
country.
So.
A
B
Many
of
them
were
federal
employees,
but
they
were
active
in
their
community
as
volunteers
and
elected
officials
and
in
developing
that
land
use
plan,
they
recognized
that
the
card
or
the
transit
card
or
areas,
although
there
was
no
transit
yet
more
areas
that
needed
investment.
They
were
areas
that
would
be
the
commercial
course
of
the
community
and
that
they
needed
to
leverage
the
location
right
next
to
Washington,
DC
and
so
by
establishing
some
basic
principles.
B
The
transit
carters
became
the
backbone
of
the
plan
and
the
commitment
to
put
the
development
there
and
protect
the
neighborhoods
I
think
was
something
that
many
people
in
the
60s
and
70s
felt
was
a
good
decision
and
they
could
get
behind
it
and
stay
with
it.
But
beyond
just
the
basic
plan
itself
and
staying
with
those
principles,
the
board
said
about
having
staff
work
with
the
community
to
develop
area
specific
plans,
and
so
people
could
look
at
the
ballston
neighborhood.
B
They
could
look
at
virginia
square
Clarendon,
whatever
neighborhood
it
was,
and
work
with
staff
and
the
elected
officials
and
the
Commission's
to
develop
us
a
more
specific
plan.
So
they
really
saw
something
happening.
They
saw
that
things
that
they
wanted
for
their
immediate
community
were
reflected
in
the
plan.
There.
B
It's
both
neighborhood
conservation,
but
also
the
sector
plans,
the
early
sector
plans
and
those
dovetailed
with
the
metro
stations
actually
being
opened
so
instead
of
sort
of
waiting
until
metros
building,
these
plans
are
being
developed
as
the
stations
we're
getting
ready
to
open,
and
so
people
knew
what
the
effects
would
be.
They
knew
that
okay,
we're
likely
to
have
spillover
traffic,
so
we're
going
to
have
a
variety
of
techniques
applied
to
keep
the
cars
out
of
the
neighborhood
and
so
forth.
B
They
also
developed
zoning
tools
to
implement
the
plans,
so
they
weren't
just
shelf
documents
that
felt
good
on
the
day
they
were
adopted
and
then
you
know,
got
dusted
off.
Five
years
later,
they
were
intended
to
be
used
and
applied
to
development
in
the
future,
which
is
also
fairly
unusual
sure.
So.
C
Part
of
it,
I
guess,
is
the
devil's.
It
comes
down
to
the
details.
You
look
at.
We
have
the
plan,
I
guess
that's
the
glove,
the
general
Lane
Mike
lamb,
but
then
there
are
the
details
that
take
place
in
your
professional
planner
and
you
brought
in
a
number
of
professional
staff
of
an
idea
of
how
to
implement
that
vision.
C
But
it's
sometimes
that's
contrary
to
the
what
the
interests
are
of
the
community
that
in
those
areas
the
case
employed-
and
we
talked
about
this
a
few
weeks
ago
with
your
planning
director,
former
polling
director,
Bob
Roslin,
about
how
market
commons
came
about,
and
there
was
a
debate
over
that
I
mean.
Should
mocking
comments
come
out.
The
way
it
is
today,
which
is
a
wonderful
place,
but
I
can
remember
living
here.
Discussion
was
that
would
be
a
great
home
depot
right.
C
C
B
This
the
whole
concept
of
sector
plans
was
well
underway
when
I
joined
the
county
in
the
80s,
but
the
clarendon
sector
plan
was
developed
and
kind
of
nothing.
Much
happened.
Ownership
was
really
fragmented
and
I
can
remember
economic
development
used
to
take
the
real
estate
bus
tour
around
clarendon
because
there
were
so
many
used-car
Lots.
It
was
really
a
you
know
felt
like
a
blighted
area
of
the
community,
but
Home
Depot
proposed
to
come
in
and
the
family
that
owned
the
property
that
is
now
market
common
thought
that
they
had
found.
B
You
know
the
golden
egg
for
their
property
I
happen
to
be
zoning
administrator
at
the
time
and
had
to
make
a
call
as
to
whether
or
not
it
was
a
permitted
use,
and
my
conclusion
was
that
it
was,
and
there
was
a
furor,
as
you
can
imagine
so.
I
met
with
people
a
couple
of
times
in
their
homes
to
talk
about
it.
Why
was
a
permitted
use
and
so
forth?
And
ultimately,
it
was
appealed
which
was
the
right
of
the
people
who
didn't
like
that
answer
to
do
that.
B
But
in
truth
it
was
about
a
10
acre
site
that
he
was
working
with
and
the
county
did
have
Edgewood
street
there
was
a
section
of
the
old
sears
parking
lot
that
was
actually
right
of
way
for
edgewood
in
easement,
and
so
the
county
had
some
ability
to
control
the
outcome
of
that
and,
of
course,
what
mr.
McCaffrey
wanted
to
do
required.
Public
hearings
and
rees
awnings
and
a
variety
of
other
things.
B
So
there
were
lots
and
lots
of
details
was
everything
from
the
backup
beepers
of
the
tractor
trailers,
unloading,
groceries
and
things
to
the
shops
to
the
kinds
of
materials
on
the
building.
There
were
lots
and
lots
of
issues,
but
at
the
end
of
the
day,
was
supported
and,
and
generally
the
community
came
around
to
supporting
it.
Mm-Hmm
now.
A
B
The
project
that
you're
referring
to
was
called
the
views
and
for
a
long
time
it
was
a
source
of
great
contention
in
the
community,
and
actually
there
was
a
lot
of
consternation
on
staff
at
different
points
in
time
about
how
we
were
going
to
make
this
work
or
not
work.
But
the
proposal
actually
came
to
the
county,
because
the
church
at
Clarendon,
the
first
baptist
church,
had
such
a
declining
congregation
that
the
remaining
members
decided
that
they
needed
to
really
make
a
decision
about
what
their
future
be.
B
They
recognized
that
they
couldn't
sustain
the
physical
plant.
They
also
recognize
that
they
have
a
daycare
center
and
Theological
Seminary
there,
and
these
were
important
features,
but
that
there
just
wasn't
enough
there
and
that
their
mission
could
be
furthered
by
selling
their
property
into
a
development
for
affordable
housing
and.
A
B
The
proposal
was
brought
to
some
of
the
board
members
as
they
often
are
it.
You
know
in
sort
of
a
conceptual
stage.
Would
you
be
willing
to
look
at
this?
Would
you
be
willing
to
support
it
and,
by
the
time
it
came
to
staff,
it
was
well
understood,
I
think,
by
many
people
that
this
proposal
was
in
the
works
and
including
some
folks
in
the
community
where
the
consternation
came
in,
and
there
was
a
lot
of
it
was
that
many
neighbors
felt
that
the
county
was
actually
funding
the
church.
B
In
point
of
fact,
what
happened
was
the
church
created
a
development
corporation
that
was
a
separate
entity
and
that
entity
was
the
developer
for
the
project.
A
small
sanctuary
was
built,
but
it
was
largely
affordable
housing.
One
of
the
challenges
of
that
project,
however,
was
that
in
the
Clarendon
sector
plan
there
is
a
street
13th
Street
that
ends
in
the
church,
and
it
was
called
the
festival
Street,
and
the
idea
was
that
would
be
a
place
where
activities
could
occur
that
were
not
at
the
heart
of
Clarendon,
but
would
be
off
the
main
street.
B
That
would
draw
people
in
both
from
the
neighborhood
and
from
clarendon
itself.
This,
the
steeple,
the
iconic
steeple
and
the
narthex
of
the
church
were
considered
really
important
features
both
from
a
historical
standpoint,
but
also
from
a
character
standpoint.
It
was
a
real
character
building,
but
the
sector
plan
was
effectively
silent
on
what
the
future
of
that
parcel
was,
and
so
that
would
make
very
difficult
for
the
analysis
of
the
project
and
to
sort
out
what's
the
appropriate
answer
from
a
land
use
policy
standpoint.
B
B
So
we're
there
were
multiple
court
challenges
from
the
neighbors
over
it
on
issues
of
church
and
state.
There
was
a
challenge
to
my
interpretation
about
one
aspect
of
the
zoning
ordinance.
There
were
challenges
to
that
much
affordable
housing
just
generally
being
placed
there,
but
ultimately
the
project
was
built
and
least
up
almost
immediately
as
you.
B
A
More
comment
about
Clarendon
during
the
70's,
of
course
it
was
the
home
and
businesses
from
the
Vietnamese
people
and
they're
mostly
gone
now,
and
so
we
talk
a
lot
about
inclusion
and
and
embracing
diversity
in
this
community
and
yet
that's
a
neighborhood
that
completely
chained
to
changed
over
in
less
than
20
years
time.
So
how
do
we
keep
balancing,
preserving
neighborhoods
where
there's
more
diversity,
cultural
diversity
and
yet
making
way
for
other
needs
of
the
community?
The.
B
Influx
of
Vietnamese
businesses,
I
think,
came
as
a
shock
to
a
lot
of
people
in
Arlington.
I
can
remember
somebody
calling
me
when
I
was
doing
data
saying
of
it.
They
didn't
understand
how
so
many
people
were
coming
here.
They
didn't
really
get
why
they
would
choose
arlington
over
other
places,
but
in
fact
people
often
will
come
in
a
refugee
condition
to
the
nation's
capital
at
the
time
that
they
came.
B
There
was
a
lot
of
sort
of
moderately
to
not
very
successful
retail
space
in
clarendon
a
lot
of
vacant
space
and
they
took
it
over
and
had
a
thriving
restaurant
business.
But
it
seems
to
me
anyway
that
many
of
those
businesses
actually
left
ahead
of
the
redevelopment
of
clarendon
I.
Think
the
goal
of
many
of
those
business
owners
was
to
be
even
more
successful
than
perhaps
it
was
to
be
in
arlington
specifically,
and
so
many
of
them
left
before
the
redevelopment.
Some
left
because
of
the
redevelopment
I
think
there's
very
few
of
them.
A
B
The
economic
development
office,
but
it's
a
lot
harder
and
arlington,
has
never
been
big
on
subsidies
for
businesses.
It's
always
been
about
loans
and
getting
you
on
your
figure
and
not
sustaining
you
and
I.
Think
that's
one
of
the
great
challenges
we've
had
both
there.
I
don't
columbia,
pike,
sure
talk.
C
A
little
bit
if
he
could
about
Rosalind
I
mean
that's
the
Gateway
I
hollington,
but
it's
had
these
stops
and
starts,
and
I've
been
here
for
she's
must
be
20
or
30
years,
and
I
was
at
georgetown
right,
Christ.
Remember,
looking
at
a
trois
and
I
saw
the
development
that
took
place,
I
mean
what
happened
in
rosslyn.
Why
hasn't
realized
itself
as
to
be
a
gateway
vendor
to.
B
Rosslyn
is
still
challenged
by
its
history.
In
one
sense,
the
initial
office
construction
that
happened
in
Rosen
was
really
intended
to
capitalize
on
proximity
of
the
federal
government
and
a
lot
of
those
older
buildings
were
built
for
federal
tenants,
but
they
were
also
built
at
a
time
when
retail
on
the
ground
floor
and
the
idea
of
walkable
communities.
Just
really
wasn't
a
thing.
It
really
wasn't
even
a
planning
principal
at
that
time,
and
so
Roslin's
retail
was
very
inward.
Lee
focused
was
focused
on
the
tenants
in
the
building.
B
Only
and
to
have
an
outward-facing
tenant
actually
required
special
approval
by
the
County
Board.
It
just
wasn't
done,
and
so
within
sort
of
Roslin's
history.
It
was
a
place
that
effectively
shut
down
at
five
o'clock
on
friday
and
reopened
on
Monday
morning
and
so
I
think
what's
starting
to
happen
in
rosslyn,
although
it's
still
a
challenge,
because
so
much
of
Rosslyn
is
about
throughput
to
the
various
bridges
into
DC.
If
you're
on
the
streets
anyway,
I
think
Roslin
is
beginning
to
change
where
you're
starting
to
get
some
retail.
B
The
central
place
project
will
hopefully
bridge
the
metro
site
to
the
rest
of
Roslin
a
little
more
effectively
than
the
kinds
of
retail
that
were
there
in
the
past.
You
know,
and
with
the
programming
in
that
one
acre
park
but
Roslin
has
has
really
been
challenged.
I
think
you
know
you
either
go
through
it
on
the
metro
for
the
most
part
or
in
cars
you
get
on
one
of
the
bridges
yeah.
B
C
Surely
didn't
scenario
would
if
you
could
actually
make
a
case
for
being
in
the
southern
gateway
down
mm-hmm
and,
as
you
know,
shirlington
was
just
a
flat
piece
of
land,
we're
and
above
non
defined
stores
and
whatever
there
and
garden
apartment
side
no
comments,
and
now
it's
become
a
wonderful
venue
mm-hmm.
Why
did
that
work
there?
Well.
B
C
B
The
car
traffic
to
get
up
on
the
other
side
of
arlington
boulevard,
the
housing
that
is
there-
is
not
as
readily
accessible
to
the
core
of
Rosslyn
and
the
area
of
what
used
to
be
called
Arlington
towers,
which
is
your
now
river
place.
Coops.
That
area
is
even
somewhat
separate
from
the
rest
of
Roslin.
Shirlington
is
fabulous,
but
I.
Think
part
of
it
is
because
it's
largely
flat,
there's
lots
of
housing
right
there
on
site
and
around
it,
and
you
have
a
mix
of
businesses
that
are
not
focused
solely
on
the
office
worker.
B
A
C
Little
bit
about
the
islands
in
a
way
because
we
pride
ourselves
of
being
an
all
inclusive
community
where
decisions
amazing,
the
openers,
transparent
everybody
knows
what's
going
to
happen,
hang
but
I
have
to
tell
you
some
of
my
neighbors
say
you
know
what
you
guys
go:
make
decisions
in
the
back
room
and
we're
not
part
of
that
discussion,
and
so
there's
that
it
may
be
says
if
you
could
look
out
of
a
perspective
of
your
time
here.
Maybe
that's
something
new
where
I'm
describing
maybe
it's
always
been
there,
but
never
articulated
in
that
fashion.
Yeah.
B
B
Think
that
process
heavy
meeting
driven
way
of
gaining
input
and
making
decisions
worked
what
Arlington
was
less
dense
community
very
well,
you
know
when
I
came
here,
the
population
was
probably
30,000
people
less
than
it
is
today
and
gosh,
probably
150
thousand
less
jobs
than
it
is
today,
it's
just
a
very,
very
different
community,
but
that
same
process
that
has
not
evolved
and
matured
enough
to
address
the
way
this
community
is
chain.
For
example,
I
mean
the
civic
association
structure,
which
works
very
effectively
for
things
that
are
happening
within
a
single-family
neighborhood
many
times.
B
Not
all
the
time
doesn't
really
address
vertical
neighborhoods.
You
know
the
condominiums,
the
core
of
Clarendon
high-rises
garden
apartments.
Very
little
that
happens
in
a
civic
association
incorporates
those
people
and
it
doesn't
incorporate
the
business
community.
So
while
the
Civic
Association
structure
has
been
relied
on
to
feed
into
the
public
process
on
a
variety
of
things,
it's
really
not
reflective
of
an
awful
lot
of
this
community,
whether
you're
talking
about
new
immigrants,
new
residents,
the
elderly.
B
You
know
people
who
just
can't
afford
the
time
to
go
to
meeting
after
meeting
after
meeting
after
meeting
or
come
to
the
courthouse
because
of
child
care
job
constraints.
Or
you
know
you
have
whatever
other
interests
they
may
have.
So
from
my
perspective,
the
Arlington
way
works
very
effectively
for
certain
things,
but
is
really
not
adequate
to
the
challenge.
B
Today
of
some
of
these
other
kinds
of
issues,
when
we
did
the
community
facilities
project,
which
is
just
now
wrapped
up,
that
came
out
loud
and
clear
lots
of
the
people
who
are
on
the
committee
very
active
in
the
community,
whether
it's
on
the
school
side
or
on
the
county
side
and
what
they
said
is
you
know
we
feel
like
we've
participated,
we
probably
participate
more
than
most.
We
feel
like.
B
B
We
still
I
think
expect
people
to
come
to
the
county
in
many
cases,
not
in
every
case
I
mean
libraries
are
only
done,
some
fabulous
programming
to
go
out
into
the
community,
get
people
to
drop
everything
and
read
or
to
you
know,
just
to
do
different
kinds
of
things:
trivia,
nights
and
bringing
people
to
the
library
for
for
fun.
Events
planning
is
not
typically
thought
of
as
fun.
B
A
I
think
we
also
have
some
challenges,
though,
with
respect
to
people
who
have
been
here
a
long
time
and
want
to
preserve
the
things
that
are
and
there's
a
tension
around
the
demographics
are
different
right.
We
have
to
build
vertically,
there
aren't
open
spaces,
and
so
I
can
speak
to
my
own
area
of
libraries.
The
libraries
are
cited
in
specific
locations.
Does
that
mean
forever
and
ever
they're
there
and
not
pentagon
city
crystal
city
Roslyn
any
emerging
the
west
end
of
columbia?
Pike?
Where
do
those
conversations
happen?
Can
they
happen?
Are
people?
A
B
I
think
the
study
has
recognized
and
pushes
for
a
lot
more
Public
Engagement
a
lot
earlier
in
the
process
and
a
great
deal
more
openness
so
that
it's
not
just
the
parks
people
talking
about
part
right.
It's
not
just
the
advocates
for
affordable
housing,
which
is
not
a
public
facility
talking
about
affordable
housing,
but
that
we
recognize
layered
needs
and
the
possibility
of
shared
uses
of
spaces
layering
of
uses
within
a
building
flexible
spaces,
so
that
you
know
what
makes
senses
say.
B
C
C
Your
two
daughters
are
going
to
school
of
washington-lee
your
mother's
now
living
in
the
time,
and
if
you
had
to
give
some
parting
words
of
advice
to
how
the
county
may
go
forward
and
especially
based
on
it
on
this
report,
you've
just
done
with
its
projecting
an
increase
of
thirty
one
percent
of
population
over
the
next
25
years,
and
we're
going
to
be
stretched
to
be
able
to
accommodate
everything
is
possible
in
this
community
being
the
smallest
County,
an
island.
What
would
you
have
to
say
well.
B
First
of
all,
it's
a
huge
number
of
people
that
it
takes
to
make
this
stuff
happen,
because,
whether
we
like
it
or
not,
it's
all
gets
done
through
a
process.
I
guess.
The
one
thing
I
would
say
is
that
the
land
use
plan
is
what
uses
the
basis
for
forecasting
the
future
of
the
community
and
the
forecasts
of
population
and
jobs,
and
all
of
that
are
factored
into
our
infrastructure.
B
I
mean
we
are
thinking
about
providing
adequate
infrastructure
for
the
future,
but
I
would
like
to
see
more
people
share
their
ideas
and
have
the
opportunity
to
share
their
ideas
about
what
the
community
should
be
I'm
using
some
of
the
different
techniques
that
we
did
use
through
this
process
and
others
that
we
thought
about,
but
didn't
actually
get
to.
I,
really
hope
we
can
sort
of
move
in
the
direction
of
getting
that
input
in
different
ways.
So
it
isn't
just
the
same
folks
doing
all
the
talk.
Thank
you
so.