When St. James came into existence, the roads around the school were unpaved and the children probably arrived each morning in horse-drawn carriages or walked, much like many do today.
And as those children walk to the campus they may soon encounter a hotel that is now being developed across the street from this elementary school. The proposed hotel would be very close in proximity to the playground and gymnasium... less than a kicked ball away.
The hotel, while an appropriate use of a commercial district, is not a good neighbor for an elementary school or the surrounding residential homes.
A hotel at its most basic level provides anonymity to a transient population. Those who stay in hotels are not required to register with local police and if they are convicted criminals there is no mechanism to alert neighbors and parents to their presence.
The hotel and motel business is an important, necessary industry. But reason and common sense must also apply when deciding where to construct temporary housing for a city or town's visitors.
The facts speak for themselves: A variety of crimes are committed in hotels - both those that are violent and those against society. With the regrettable prevalence of adults in the general population with dangerous interests in children and the increasing use of the Internet to solicit children online to gain access to them, a hotel creates an increased risk of predation that would otherwise not exist.
Some jurisdictions have recognized this threat and have enacted safety zones around schools prohibiting the construction of hotels within that area. Others have prohibited registered sex offenders from staying at hotels near schools. But this latter rule is difficult to enforce. A far preferable approach is to simply prohibit the construction of a hotel close to a school.
If built, guests could look down from the six story structure on children - ranging from ages five to fourteen - as they play during recess or walk to and from school. Hotel guests, unfamiliar with their surroundings could be rushing to meetings as school is opening or checking-in as it lets out, risking the safety of child pedestrians and motorists with children.
Pedestrian injury is a leading cause of death in children ages five through fourteen.
The developer has justified the construction of the hotel as a means for the city to raise tax revenue to the benefit of the public schools, which with one exception, are all located outside the city limits, in Fairfax County.
In contrast, St. James Catholic School is the largest school within city limits and will be directly and permanently impacted by the hotel's presence. As one city school parent stated at last week's public hearing on the issue, to argue hotel tax revenue will benefit the public school children is to sacrifice the safety of the Catholic school children. To pit the public school children against the private school children is "unconscionable."
Parents whose "day jobs" are in law enforcement have counseled against allowing the hotel to be built. On the record, they have pointed to state crime statistics that show a nexus between crimes against society - including our children - and the visitors that reside in the hotels.
They have noted that the hotel would increase the threat of sexual predation by providing an adjacent opportunity that would otherwise not exist. At the same public hearing, an anti-narcotics professional stated she would never counsel in favor of a hotel next to a population of little children and young adults.
As a parent, I believe that the safety and security of children is paramount.
A sad truth of today's society is that there are those who focus on injuring others, particularly the most vulnerable and cherished among us - children.
We must hold our elected officials accountable for their actions. It is my civic responsibility to voice my opposition to building a hotel in such close proximity to a school.
I conclude this post with a set of questions to the Falls Church City Council, the authority ultimately in charge of this process:
Which is the higher value - estimated tax revenue or the safety of the children? What if one - just one - child is harmed by a transient in this particular establishment?
Common sense must apply. We must place the interests and safety of our children above all else, including tax revenue.
I ask the City of Falls Church to place the interests of the children attending a hundred-year old organization above a developer's personal interest and his promises of increased tax revenue.
stjamesparent is a reader of (but previously not a contributor to) Raising Kaine, and a parent within the St. James Catholic School community. If you'd like to sign a petition relating to the hotel development, please click here.