Pull to refresh
Logo
What Changed
Following Why Sign Up
Alexandria council sides with 3600 Russell Road owners, keeps both addresses

Alexandria council sides with 3600 Russell Road owners, keeps both addresses

Rule Changes Alexandria, VA local

On Oct. 17 City Council affirmed the appeal; 3600 and 3600½ Russell Road keep their numbers

October 17th, 2026: Council affirms the appeal; addresses stay

Overview

Updated Oct 24

Alexandria's City Council voted Oct. 17 to leave both Russell Road addresses as they are, granting the first appeal filed under the city's new renumbering ordinance. The house at 3600 keeps the number it has carried since 1939, and 3600½ stays 3600½ rather than becoming 3578.

The ruling leaves Darien and Lisa Tillinghast, who asked the city in May to fix nine years of misdelivered mail, with the half address their local postmaster says does not exist. City staff had proposed renumbering both houses. The council instead sided with their neighbors, Susan Saffelle Hughes and Michael A. Hughes, who appealed the change to their own address.

Why it matters

One neighbor's appeal can now block a city-ordered renumbering, setting the rule for every future address fix in Alexandria.

Last Monday's email for Alexandria, VA

Sent Nov 2. It carried:

Get next Monday's: one short email a week. Free. Unsubscribe in one click.

Questions about this story

Free account needed to ask — your question is kept and asked for you right after sign-up. Answers are public.

No questions yet — be the first to ask.

Key Indicators

9 years
Misdelivery history at 3600½
The Tillinghasts say mail and packages have gone astray since they bought the house in April 2017.
2
Properties in the renumbering plan
Staff's plan gave both 3600 and 3600½ new numbers on the Russell Road block.
1st
Appeal under new ordinance
First appeal to reach city council under Section 5-2-94, adopted unanimously April 18.
0
Addresses renumbered
Council affirmed the appeal on Oct. 17; 3600 and 3600½ keep their current numbers.

Voices

Curated perspectives — historical figures and your fellow readers.

Sign up to generate historical perspectives on this story.

Log in Sign Up

People Involved

Darien and Lisa Tillinghast
Darien and Lisa Tillinghast
Owners of 3600½ Russell Road; applicants requesting renumbering
Council affirmed the neighbor's appeal Oct. 17; 3600½ keeps its half address
SH
Susan Saffelle Hughes and Michael A. Hughes
Owners of 3600 Russell Road; appellants against renumbering
Won their appeal Oct. 17; 3600 Russell Road keeps its 1939 number
 William Cook
William Cook
City planner, Department of Planning & Zoning
Handled the renumbering case; staff recommend council affirm the decision

Organizations Involved

Alexandria City Council
Alexandria City Council
Municipal legislative body
Affirmed the appeal Oct. 17; both addresses remain as they are

Unanimously adopted the renumbering ordinance and now hears its first appeal.
Alexandria Department of Planning and Zoning
Alexandria Department of Planning and Zoning
City department
Recommended council affirm the renumbering; council instead affirmed the appeal Oct. 17

Staff reviewed the request twice and proposed new numbers for both houses.
United States Postal Service
United States Postal Service
Federal agency
Described 3600½ as not existing; returned packages "No Such Number"

The local postmaster told the Tillinghasts that 3600½ does not exist.

Timeline

April 2017 October 2026

10 events Latest: October 17th, 2026 · 3 weeks ago
Tap a bar to jump to that date

  1. Council affirms the appeal; addresses stay

    Latest Procedural

    City Council affirmed the appeal of the city manager's renumbering decision. Per the action docket, the addresses for 3600 and 3600½ Russell Road will remain as is.

  2. Council defers the appeal to Oct. 17

    Procedural

    City Council considered a deferral at the start of the meeting and deferred the appeal to its October 17, 2026 public hearing.

  3. City publishes Sept. 19 agenda with appeal hearing

    Procedural

    The council agenda lists the address renumbering appeal for the Saturday hearing.

  4. Package for 3600½ returned as 'No Such Number'

    Incident

    A package goes out for delivery and returns three days later marked "No Such Number."

  5. Appellants submit more material

    Legal

    The Hughes/Saffelle side adds supporting documents to the docket.

  6. Owner of 3600 files appeal

    Legal

    Susan Saffelle Hughes and Michael A. Hughes appeal the staff decision.

  7. Staff propose new numbers for both houses

    Decision

    Planning & Zoning recommends 3600 become 3550 and 3600½ become 3578.

  8. Tillinghasts file renumbering request

    Filing

    They submit through the city's Alex311 system, citing nine years of misdeliveries.

  9. Council adopts renumbering ordinance

    Policy

    Council unanimously adopts Section 5-2-94, giving the city manager authority to change addresses.

  10. Tillinghasts buy 3600½ Russell Road

    Origin

    The couple says misdelivered mail starts immediately after purchase.

Historical Context

2 moments from history that rhyme with this story — and how they unfolded.

1909

Chicago's 1909 address renumbering

In 1909, Chicago renumbered every property address in the city to fix a chaotic system where numbers bore no relation to distance. The city adopted a grid based on blocks, with addresses tied to a baseline at State and Madison streets.

Then

Residents and businesses had to update mail, signage, and records across the whole city at once.

Now

The grid-based system became the national model for clear, predictable addressing.

Why this matters now

Shows both the disruption of address changes and the reason cities adopt them — this Russell Road case is the same trade-off on a scale of two houses instead of a whole city.

1968–2000s

National 911 emergency addressing reform

As 911 emergency call centers spread, counties and towns across the U.S. forced rural and suburban property owners to adopt standardized house numbers so dispatchers and responders could find them. Thousands of nonconforming addresses were renumbered or reassigned.

Then

Property owners lost old addresses they had used for decades.

Now

Consistent addressing became essential to emergency response times.

Why this matters now

The Tillinghasts' stated fear — that emergency services might not find the right house — is the same logic that drove nationwide addressing reform, and it is central to staff's recommendation.

Sources

(5)
+1
City of Alexandria Legistar Alexandria Brief DocketCity The Zebra Alexandria Brief