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Agenda:Alexandria has replaced one of four panelists and revised parts of the framing for its rescheduled housing panel, now set for March 23, according to a promotional email the organization sent Monday.
The city's Director of Housing — one of the original panelists announced in the organization's February press release — has been replaced by "the Co-chair of the Alexandria Housing Affordability Advisory Committee (a City panel)", according to the organization.
According to the city's website, the AHAAC "advises City Council on issues regarding the maintenance and promotion of affordable housing, makes recommendations for policies governing the expenditures of the City's Housing Trust Fund monies, and oversees the administration of the Trust Fund".
Although not named by Agenda: Alexandria, City records identify the current AHAAC chair as Sean Zielenbach. Recent meeting minutes of the AHAAC, identify Shelley McCabe as a co-chair.
The swap removes the senior city official who administers Alexandria's affordable housing programs. The AHAAC co-chair role, by contrast, is a volunteer appointment. The city's Zoning for Housing initiative — the policy that CLA challenged in a lawsuit it lost in November — is overseen by the separate Department of Planning & Zoning, but the housing director is a central figure in the city's broader response to its affordability crisis.
Agenda:Alexandria did not explain the change in its email and did not respond to a request for comment. It is not clear whether the housing director declined to participate or was replaced by the organization.
Ryan Belmore
What changed
The Monday email also includes several new discussion questions that were not in the original press release: "the impact of federal and state policies on local decisions," "Alexandria's role in the regional housing shortage" and "what do we really mean by 'affordable' and other housing buzzwords."
The regional housing question is notable. A story by The Alexandria Brief in February found that the original questions tilted toward concerns about density and city character — language that closely mirrored CLA's advocacy — while omitting broader questions about regional housing needs, the cost of inaction and the effect of CLA's litigation on housing production.
The email also adds a parenthetical description of CLA as "a group that opposes some of the recent zoning changes." The original press release identified CLA only by name, with no mention of its lawsuit, the court ruling against it, its appeal or its fundraising campaign. The new description still omits all of that context.
What didn't change
The panel still does not include a market-rate housing developer, a representative specifically speaking for renters, anyone from a YIMBY or pro-housing organization, or anyone from the Alexandria Redevelopment and Housing Authority. Renters make up 57% of Alexandria households. More than 19,000 people are on ARHA's waiting lists.
Panelists are still not identified by name. The economist, whom Board Chair Steve Davidson told The Alexandria Brief in February was unconfirmed, is again described only by title.
The remaining panelists are the Director of Housing Alexandria, a nonprofit community developer, and Byrd. Since the original panel was announced, CLA met its Feb. 27 fundraising deadline, raising $28,000 to fund its appeal of the court ruling. CLA has reported total litigation expenses exceeding $280,000.
The event was originally scheduled for Feb. 23 but was postponed due to a snowstorm that closed the school building where it was to be held.
A new board member
The organization's website, which still displays a group photo labeled "2025-2026 Board of Directors," now lists 12 board members — up from the 11 listed when The Alexandria Brief first reported on the panel in February.
The additions include Carter Flemming, Bill Dickinson and Victor Ignaco. Flemming's addition is the most notable. The Alexandria Brief's February investigation identified her as one of Agenda:Alexandria's most frequently featured voices, with appearances at no fewer than four events between 2022 and 2025. When informed of that, Davidson said the frequency was "news to us" and that the organization should keep better statistics.
Flemming is also the current chair of the Alexandria Federation of Civic Associations, the same organization that publicly opposed the Zoning for Housing initiative before City Council in November 2023, urging a postponement of the vote. She now sits on the board that, according to the organization's own website, "sets the direction for the year's season and works to plan each program."
Vice Chair Linda App, who has served on the Agenda:Alexandria board since its 2025-2026 season, is also listed as the Director of Operations for the Alexandria Republican City Committee, the local arm of the Republican Party.
The event begins at 7 p.m. Monday, March 23, with a social hour at 6:30 p.m., at the Forum on the Minnie Howard campus, 3775 W. Braddock Rd. Admission is $10 for nonmembers. Questions can be submitted in advance to housing-questions@agendaalexandria.org.
The organization's remaining spring schedule includes "Water, Sewers, Flooding: What You Need to Know, What We Can Do About It" on April 27 and "Immigration and Alexandria: Separating Fact from Fiction" on May 18, which will also include the annual board election. Both events are at the Forum on the Minnie Howard campus.
Update, March 16, 2026: This story has been updated to correctly identify the Department of Planning & Zoning, not the Office of Housing, as the city agency that oversees the Zoning for Housing initiative.
