ALEXANDRIA TENANTS PROTEST

CITY COUNCIL FORCED TO ADJOURN BY GROUP

About 200 tenant activists and residents of Arlandria's Dominion Gardens, protesting the displacement of hundreds of tenants from the low-income apartment complex, entered the Alexandria City Council chamber yesterday afternoon and forced the council to adjourn.

Alexandria Mayor James P. Moran said it was the first time the council had been forced to shut down by such a protest. There were no arrests.

Council members had gone into a room adjacent to the chambers for a briefing on the proposed relocation of Rte. 1, when they heard the protesters approaching City Hall and then entering the council chambers.

Moran left the room to face the group, which demanded that the city government acquire Dominion Gardens and participate in a plan drawn up by residents to keep the 416-unit complex as low- and moderate-income rental property.

As Moran challenged the economics of the group's plan, protesters shouted him down with chants. Mitch Snyder, an advocate for the homeless, at one point yelled in the mayor's face as he tried to make himself heard. Other council members were in the room but did not speak.

The Artery Organization, a major developer in Maryland and Northern Virginia, purchased Dominion Gardens, off West Glebe Road near Shirley Highway, last year and plans a major renovation project. Many of the approximately 1,500 low-income residents, 90 percent of whom are black, Hispanic or Asian, have already received eviction notices.

The typical Dominion Gardens tenant pays $460 for a two-bedroom unit. After the renovation, the rent would rise to $650, according to city officials.

When Moran first suggested that the council adjourn, council member Robert L. Calhoun objected, saying that such a move would give the protesters a victory. One proposal discussed was to send an immigration officer to the complex, where it is believed that a number of the residents are illegal aliens, city officials said.

Moran said later that the action was still being considered, but that he did not favor the idea. "I don't think it would be fair to the residents, because it would put most of them in jail," he said.

The vote to adjourn was 4 to 3.

"You have shut down the City Council," Snyder announced to the group after the vote. Having declared victory, the protesters left the chambers.

"What's happening here is very important, because {the displacement of low-income residents} is happening all over the country," said Snyder, who has gained national fame with his protests for both federal and local aid for the homeless.

Several developers are beginning to renovate apartment complexes in the Arlandria area, and as many as 5,000 low-income residents could be displaced.

Moran had said earlier that the city would not have the protesters arrested, even if they stayed. He had noted that processing that many people through the court system would be too costly.

The tenants proposed that the city take over Dominion Gardens by eminent domain and turn it over to a cooperative developer willing to accept less profit. Their plan calls for financing the purchase with tax-exempt bonds, foundation money and city contributions.

But council members said the cost of the plan would be far higher than the tenants' estimates. The current owners would have to be paid fair market value for the property, considerably more than the $13.2 million assumed in the plan, Moran told the protesters.

The millions more that the tenants propose to get from the city and foundations simply is not available, he added. Even if the city acquired Dominion Gardens, rents would have to double or triple to pay for the purchase and renovation costs, to perhaps $700 to $900 for a two-bedroom apartment, he had said earlier at the session.

Tenant leaders disputed this and insisted that the plan is economically feasible.

"I would prefer to be on their side. That's the side of the angels," Moran said later. Staff writer John Harris contributed to this report.

Articles appear as they were originally printed in The Washington Post and may not include subsequent corrections.