This newsletter is an attempt to see the connections between all of these localities as the region as a whole prepares for growth. The idea is to detail as many of the nuts and bolts happening in a way that will allow regular readers to keep track of progress. This is a role that local journalism has historically played, and this newsletter keeps that tradition alive. 

Highlights this week:

• Charlottesville City Council has a full meeting Monday with an ordinance to govern city support for a potential redevelopment of the Carlton Mobile Home Park as well as an agreement to an amended lease for the Water Street Parking Garage which the city does not own. 
• Louisa County Supervisors will consider how to proceed with cost overruns for a project to build two synthetic turf fields at Louisa County Middle School. 
• Albemarle Supervisors will decide whether to proceed with a public-private partnership to build the Eastern Avenue extension and will have a public hearing on a rezoning of the 69-acre Granger property southwest of Charlottesville.
• The Louisa Planning Commission will have a public hearing Thursday for a Love’s Travel Shop at Interstate 64’s Gum Springs exist. x
• Fire and rescue volunteers in Fluvanna County will get a challenge coin.
• There’s no meeting in Greene County this week but the Board of Supervisors will come back on August 13. The Planning Commission will return on August 21. 
• There’s also no meeting in Nelson County this week but the Board of Supervisors return on August 13

The Piedmont Environmental Council sponsors this weekly newsletter with no editorial input and I’m grateful for their past four years of support. 

Monday, August 5, 2024

Council to take up agreement to partially fund redevelopment of Carlton Mobile Home Park

There are a lot of items on Charlottesville City Council’s first meeting in August which begins at 4 p.m. in City Council Chambers with a work session on the transition plan related to the Americans with Disabilities Act. (meeting overview)

The U.S. Congress passed the ADA in 1990 and the legislation expanded discrimination protections to those with disabilities. Title II of the ADA requires localities and state governments to evaluate their infrastructure and come up with plans to guarantee accessibility. 

“In April 2023, the City of Charlottesville awarded a professional services contract to

[Precision Infrastructure Management] to engage in a self-evaluation and to deliver an updated ADA transition plan to move towards current and full ADA compliance by the City under Title II,” reads the staff report for the work session. 

Council will get a briefing. 

The regular meeting begins at 6:30 p.m. and there is a proclamation for Farmers Market Week from August 4 to August 10 and a proclamation for Soul of Cville 2024 on August 16 and August 17. 

There are some key items on the consent agenda:

• There is the first reading of $420,000 from the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency’s Clean School Bus program to cover more than half the cost of purchasing two electric school buses. The total cost is $808,576 to purchase the two vehicles, about $65,218 more expensive than purchasing two diesel school buses. (learn more)
• There is the first of two readings of a federal grant of $7,120,650 that will go to replace a 100-year-old cast-iron natural gas pipeline with newer materials. (learn more)
• There is the second reading of a resolution to appropriate $123,614 in funds from the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services for the Victims of Crime Act. The funding will go to the city’s Department of Human Services for their Evergreen program. (learn more)
• There is the second reading of a resolution to amend the Emergency Medical Services Agreement that will see the Charlottesville Albemarle Rescue Squad become a designated component of the Charlottesville Fire Department. (learn more)
• There is second reading of a $3 million grant from the city to the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority toward the $31 million first phase of redevelopment of Sixth Street. (learn more)
• There is second reading of $750,000 in funding for Virginia Supportive Housing’s project at Premier Circle. (learn more)

There are two public hearings. 

The first is on an ordinance to extinguish a natural gas and waterline easement to allow the 130-unit Belmont Condominium apartment development to move forward. (learn more)

The second is on the increase of salaries for the five elected legislative possessions. 

“Current salaries for City Council are so low that they create a potential barrier to candidates that may not be able to serve on Council due to financial concerns,” reads the staff report. “The increase to salary may give people with less financial means the ability to serve, which would broaden the pool of potential candidates for office.”

Learn more in a story I wrote last week as a preview. Legislation filed by Delegate Katrina Callsen increased the maximum cities can pay, but the law that took effect July 1 did nothing to increase the caps for counties. (staff report)

The next item under regular business will amend the city’s Human Rights Ordinance to allow human rights staff to conduct fair housing investigations on behalf of the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development. (staff report)

After that there will be an ordinance to allow the city to contribute financially to an initiative that some local nonprofits are putting together to purchase the Carlton Mobile Home Park. To help with their efforts, Habitat for Humanity for Greater Charlottesville and the Piedmont Housing Alliance are asking for a total amount of $8.7 million over the next five years to support their redevelopment efforts if they are successful in purchasing the six acre property that currently has 67 units. The new zoning would allow unlimited residential development for any entity that ends up owning the space. 

“The financial assistance would be subject to annual appropriation and the agreed-upon terms that will be defined as part of a Support Agreement,” reads the staff report. “No funds will be released until there is confirmation that the offer from PHA and GCHH has been accepted by the buyer and that PHA and GCHH, or some combination of the two, have secured the necessary funding and become the bona fide new owners of the property.” 

Under the ordinance, $325,000 in FY25 funding that had been set aside for a future “land bank” would be repurposed for this project.  None of the city funding would be bondable, which would mean the money would come directly from the general fund and not the capital improvement program. Bonded projects in the CIP are paid over the years like a credit card.

This proposal is the latest in a series of off-budget financial decisions related to affordable housing. Another item would be Council’s approval last year of $5 million for the Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority to purchase the 74 units that had been known as Dogwood Housing from Woodard Properties. Another would be the city’s purchase of 405 Levy Avenue from the CRHA earlier this year for $4 million for what was initially billed—and then retracted—as a potential homeless shelter. 

Here’s a link to the draft support agreement as well as the ordinance. 

Then the Council will move over to a transportation project and the selection of a preferred alternative for the Hydraulic Road / District Avenue that is funded through the Virginia Department of Transportation’s Smart Scale Program. There are two options.

“Alternative A removes southbound access to Cedar Hill Drive from the roundabout design, making that connection a one-way northbound only exit for the neighborhood,” reads the staff report. “Alternative B would maintain two-way traffic on the Cedar Hill Drive leg of the intersection. Alternative A would have fewer impacts on privately-owned properties in the City than Alternative B.”

No images are provided in the city’s materials. These are available on the VDOT’s webpage for the project (Alternative A) (Alternative B)

The next three items are resolutions approving the acquisition of land for park and open space uses. All three have previously been discussed.

• The city is set to purchase 0.542 acres on Grove Road at the western end of McIntire Park for $55,000 using funds from the Virginia Outdoors Foundation. This will complete a section of the trail that has been planned for the U.S. 250 bypass. The public hearing for this acquisition was held on May 16, 2022. (learn more) (view presentation)
• The city is set to purchase 0.22 acres of land on Cedar Hill Road for parkland for the Meadows neighborhood. The cost would be $100,000. There is no mention of whether a public hearing is required. There’s also no mention of the Parks and Recreation Master Plan that is underway. (staff report)
• The city is set to spend $10,000 for a 1.064 acre parcel of floodplain land off of Rialto Street that is along Moores Creek for a trail. (staff report)

Council to pay more to Charlottesville Parking Center for use of Water Street Garage

The final two items on Council’s meeting for Monday night relate to the cost of municipal parking in a city that lost control of what had been a reliable asset. The city owns the Market Street Parking Garage outright but constructed the Water Street Parking Garage as part of a public-private partnership. 

The Charlottesville Parking Center (CPC) was created in 1959 as a way to help attract or retain commerce in Downtown Charlottesville which was facing new pressures from suburbanization and new developments such as the Barracks Road Shopping Center. 

In 1994, the CPC and the city entered into a ground lease for the land on Water Street where the 1,019-space garage would be built. The CPC was governed by its shareholders, many of whom were interested in the economic health of the city’s downtown. 

Since 1994, both the city and CPC have representatives on the Water Street Parking Garage Condominium Association (WSPGCA), a body with eight members that is a party to a ground lease related to the use of the garage. Membership in the governing body on ownership of specific spaces and storefronts in the structure. 

In 2014, developer Mark Brown purchased the CPC outright for $13.8 million giving him sole ownership control of the parking structure building as well as a surface-parking lot next door. 

Brown and the city had different positions on how much the city should be charging for hourly and monthly parkers. 

CPC sued the city in March 2016 as I wrote at the time for Charlottesville Tomorrow. In late April, the city sued CPC for breach of contract for acquiring additional spaces in the garage. 

By 2018, the dispute was resolved and CPC agreed to lease their share of parking spaces to the city to allow for a third-party company to manage the garage. 

The terms of the original ground lease include a clause that the rent to be paid to CPC would be reset in 2024 based on a new appraisal. The staff report describes this as a “significant increase” in rent the city pays the Charlottesville Parking Space in rent according to the ground lease. No dollar amounts are mentioned nor is CPC identified in the staff report as the other party. 

“In an effort to avoid litigation and make this increase more gradual the association and tenant sought to negotiate an alternative solution,” reads the staff report. 

An agreement has been brokered that would:

• Amend the ground lease to establish a specific rent from July 1, 2024 to June 30, 2044
• Amend the parking space lease to establish a set sent to between July 1, 2024 and June 30, 2044. 
• Give the city the option to purchase the land and the parking spaces effective July 1, 2044.

“The amendments remove the opportunity for future appraisal disputes, provide known costs and allow current parking operations to continue uninterrupted,” the report continues. 

Here are some terms in the amended ground lease:

• The city will pay $1.8 million in FY2025 to cover the ground lease to Charlottesville Parking Center. There is no figure given for what the rent under the ground lease has been, or what CPC had originally proposed. 
• Through 2044, rent will increase by either three percent or the annual inflation rate as measured by the federal Consumer Price Index, whichever is higher.
• There will be a 15 percent increase in the ground lease that goes into effect on July 1, 2034. 

The monthly rent for the city to rent 317 parking spaces owned by CPC will be $57,984.64, or $695,815.68 a year. This will also increase either by three percent a year or the annual inflation rate. 

I recently spent a week writing up a story for C-Ville Weekly on the history of the Belmont Bridge replacement and could easily spend a week detailing what happened with parking in Charlottesville beginning ten years ago when Brown’s acquisition of the CPC was complete.

In an attempt to add options to a parking portfolio it could control, City Council purchased a lot on Market Street for $2.85 million in January 2017 for a future garage. A later City Council canceled work on that project and the Lucky Seven and the Guadalajara franchise on the property still pay rent to the city. 

The final item on Council’s agenda is to use $1.4 million from the city’s Capital Improvement Plan contingency plan to cover the cost increase for the ground lease. 

“The WSPGCA’s governing documents provide that the base rent for the land underneath the Water Street Parking Garage (the “Garage”) must be renegotiated every ten years, based on the appraised value of the land as if the land was unimproved,” reads that resolution. 

Stay tuned.

Bids for two synthetic turf fields in Louisa County come in over budget 

The seven-member Board of Supervisors in Louisa County returns after a mid-July break with a meeting that begins with a closed session at 5 p.m. They convene in the Louisa County Public Meeting Room with a regular session beginning at 6 p.m. (agenda)

There are some items on the consent agenda worth reviewing. This is where you can track the interconnected nature of federal, state, and local governments through a series of well-established grant programs. 

• Supervisors will consider a resolution declaring a drought disaster, clearing the way for affected property owners to apply for federal relief funds from the United States Department of Agriculture. (learn more)
• Louisa Supervisors will also allocate over $1,184,826.50 in unused federal COVID relief funds for several building renovation projects. (learn more)
• Supervisors will appropriate $46,555.60 in funding from Virginia’s Office of Emergency Medical Services for training of EMS Personnel. (learn more)
• Supervisors will adopt a resolution recognizing J. Douglas “Doug” Straley II as the 2024 Virginia Superintendent of the Year as recognized in April by the Virginia Association of School Superintendents. (learn more)
• Supervisors will accept $69,318 in grant money from the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services for the Victim Witness Assistance Program. (learn more)
• There’s another $100,455 in federal funds passing through the Virginia Department of Criminal Justice Services for the Strengthening Families program. (learn more)
• There’s a resolution marking the Louisa County Animal Shelter being recognized by the organization Best Friends for having a “save rate of 90 percent” or more for cats and dogs, ensuring that only animals with irreparable medical or behavioral issues were humanely euthanized.” (learn more)
• Supervisors will approve $55,000 that the General Services Department plans to use to update existing fluorescent light fixtures with more energy efficient LED fixtures at the Ogg Building. (learn more)
• Supervisors will approve $100,000 to replace the cooling system at the Louisa Branch of the Jefferson-Madison Regional Library. (learn more)
• There’s also an approval to spend $121,311.79 from the FY25 budget on replacement of motor vehicles. (learn more)
• Supervisors will ask the Virginia Department of Transportation for a speed study on Belle Meade Road, the first step toward a reduction in the speed limit. (learn more)
• Supervisors will approve a letter of support for the Thomas Jefferson Planning District Commission for funding they are seeking for a housing needs assessment. (learn more)

Under regular business, there will be a presentation from Lake Anna Rescue. There are no advance materials, but I learned the service dates back to 1998 and originally operated out a barn with one ambulance. 

There are four action items.

• Supervisors will approve a total of $550,000 to the Louisa County Water Authority for two projects. One is $350,000 for a Sludge Vac System for the Northeast Creek Wastewater Treatment Plant and $200,000 for the James River Water Authority for right-of-way maintenance. (resolution)
• The Louisa County Sheriff’s Office received accreditation in FY2024. That requires more documentation to be kept about department activities and there is a request to purchase software from Neogov called PowerDMS for $20,438. The source of funds would come from assets seized by the departments. (learn more)
• Louisa Supervisors recently raised the transient occupancy tax rate to seven percent and a portion of that revenue must go to tourism-related activities. There’s a resolution to formally set aside that revenue into its own fund in the county budget. (learn more)
• There will be a briefing on a budget shortfall related to construction of two synthetic turf fields at Louisa County Middle School. Supervisors allocated $3,556,830 to the project and so far $328,395 has been spent on engineering, purchase of nutrient credits, and project bonding.
  
  Bids have come in over the $3,228,435 left remaining and Supervisors will be asked to select between two options going forward including reducing the project to one field. (read the recommendation)

There are two public hearings:

• Supervisors will take public comment and potential action on an increase in various fees charged by the Community Development Department. The Planning Commission recommended denial for a variety of reasons. (memo)
• There will be a public hearing on a rezoning for Louisa Mini-Storage related to the type of vegetation that can be used in a required landscape buffer. The Planning Commission will take up changes on Thursday to the overall ordinance to allow more flexibility on this topic. (memo)

In other meetings: 

• Albemarle usually has an Architectural Review Board on the first Monday of each month but this one is canceled. 
• Albemarle’s Fire/EMS Executive Committee will meet at the Albemarle County Department of Fire Rescue’s Conference Room 2. On the agenda, there are two Field Operation Guidelines for high-rises and townhouses. (agenda) 

Tuesday, August 6, 2024

A quiet day. The only thing I can state is that the Charlottesville Sister Cities Commission will hold a virtual meeting on Zoom at 4:30 p.m. They’ll get an update from a recent grant recipient. I don’t really write those meetings up in detail, but I do love the idea of connections to other parts of the world. 

I’m really enjoying the Olympics and seeing people from all over the world compete has been very inspirational. If I was an assignment editor, I would put out a pitch to reporters to do an Olympics story based on those other places. Did they have any athletes who won, like we did from Charlottesville? (meeting info)

Wednesday, August 7, 2024

Albemarle staff to present “finding of interest” in recommendation to pursue Eastern Avenue partnership 

The Albemarle Board of Supervisors will meet at 1 p.m. in Lane Auditorium in the county’s office building at 401 McIntire Road. (agenda) (meeting info)

The first item on the agenda for the Albemarle Board of Supervisors on Wednesday is a “finding of public interest” related to the first “public-private partnership” the county is using to try to build infrastructure to support development. You may recall I wrote about this on May 31, 2024 in single-story edition of this newsletter.

On Wednesday, Supervisors will learn more details about how the Eastern Avenue extension project is coming along. In March, the Board agreed to guidelines for how the county can pursue this method of infrastructure development.  

“This long-awaited project is consistent with the Downtown Crozet Master Plan, adopted in 2004, as well as subsequent updates to that Plan,” reads the staff report. 

The Virginia Department of Transportation has committed $8.121 million to the project through a variety of sources, but the cost estimate sky-rocketed in the wake of the pandemic as did that for all transportation projects. Supervisors suggested staff pursue a partnership to get the long-awaited project moving. 

Section 1 of the “finding of interest” describes proposed improvements as being 3,100 linear feet of a two-lane road between Westhall Drive and Route 250 as well as a bridge over Lickinghole Creek. 

Section 2 of the document establishes that the total amount of public money that could go to the project is $17.3 million. Section 3 describes multiple methods of project delivery including that available under the Public Private Transportation Act. This section also suggests the project’s completion could be moved up to 2028 rather than after 2031 if private financing is also included. 

“Versus being required to select the lowest responsive bid on a design-bid-build delivery, the determination of a selected private partner can be based on qualifications, experience, cost efficiencies, design innovation, and other factors,” reads the finding of interest. 

Section 4 discusses the concept of “risk transfer” and Section 5 discusses “risk level.” Both of these ideas become factors in the procurement process which is detailed in Section 6. If Supervisors agree with County Executive Jeffrey Richardson’s recommendation to proceed with the private partnership, there would be a request for proposals. 

There are certainly many questions about this process, which is a novel one. Supervisors will have the chance to learn more at the meeting and at least three entities that describe themselves as journalists will present reports. 

This time around, the quarterly report from transportation staff is on the consent agenda rather than being presented in person. (read the report) 

One item in the report is a mention of an upcoming rezoning in Crozet for a development called Oak Bluff that Riverbend is pursuing and has discussed with the county what it might be able to contribute to a public-private partnership. Go back to that May 31 story for more background.

After this presentation, fire Chief Dan Eggleston will wildland fire prevention strategies and there will be a presentation from the Virginia Department of Transportation. That’s an in-person report. 

And another question: Does Albemarle County have a position on designs for the District Avenue Roundabout that Charlottesville City Council will see? 

In the evening session. There are four public hearings. 

• The first is for an increase in the compensation for voting members of the Planning Commission and the Board of Zoning Appeals. (staff report)
• The second is for a special use permit and special exception for the new Flow Hyundai to have outdoor storage. (staff report)
• The third is for a rezoning for the Granger development, a nearly 69-acre. I’m going to preview this one in a newsletter this week but for now here’s a link to a C-Ville Weekly story I wrote last September. (staff report)  
• The fourth is for a zoning text amendment related to critical slopes and grading standards. This is a very important topic for water quality and for allowing retaining walls to be higher. This blurb is not doing it justice. (staff report)

Supervisors will meet on August 14, 2024 in a joint meeting with the Economic Development Authority.

But wait, there’s more on the consent agenda:

• There are minutes for approval for two meetings in 2022 and one in 2024. Other localities release their minutes in draft form but Albemarle does not publish them until Supervisors have adopted them. 
• There is a re-appropriation related to the decision by the Sheriff’s Office to no longer service temporary detention orders. That means the police department has to pick up the slack and a new position has to be authorized. Off-duty officers can also get a bonus for providing the service. (learn more)
• Supervisors will approve a personal property tax refund of $103,663.36 to Bonumose and a personal property tax refund of $67,109.08 to Farmington Country Club. There’s a third one to a trust of $11,133.17. (read the resolution)

There’s a lot in all of these meetings and so many of these are a story. What would you want to know more about? Let me know in the comments.

Cost increasing to resurface track at Fluvanna County High School 

The five member Fluvanna County Board of Supervisors meets at 5 p.m. in the Circuit Courtroom of the Fluvanna Courts Building. (agenda packet)

This is a fairly light agenda but there are several items of interest.

The meeting begins with a recognition of fire and emergency medical service volunteers. 

“The volunteers of Fluvanna County Volunteer Fire Departments, Lake Monticello Volunteer Fire Department, Lake Monticello Volunteer Water Rescue, and Lake Monticello Volunteer Rescue Squad are dedicated to providing compassionate and lifesaving measures to the residents and visitors of Fluvanna County,” reads the resolution (page 11)

All volunteers will receive a challenge coin. If you don’t know what that is, there’s an episode of the podcast 99 Invisible from 2015 worth a listen. (take a look or a listen)

Under action items:

• There will be an appeal of staff interpretation of the subdivision ordinance related to a private road. This pertains to the number of allowable lots on Terre Haute Lane. (learn more)
• Olympic alert! There will be a request for a supplemental appropriation of $221,000 in FY2025 for the track at Fluvanna County High School. The existing asphalt is damaged and cannot currently have a synthetic track surface added to it as expected. (learn more)
• There will be an official adoption of the budget calendar for FY2026. The first meeting will be an October 8 Planning Commission work session on the Capital Improvement Program. (learn more)
• There is a resolution to ask VDOT for a speed study on Route 15 from Route 6 to Route 612. (learn more)
• And a second resolution to ask VDOT for a speed study on Route 53 from Lake Monticello Road to the Albemarle County line. (learn more)

There are over 30 items on the consent agenda and here are some of the highlights. 

• There is an amendment to the minutes of the June 5, 2024 meeting to note when it was called to order. (learn more)
• There is an appropriation of additional aid from the Commonwealth of Virginia for the Fluvanna Library that is above what had been anticipated. The adopted FY25 Virginia budget increased the amount $16,214 to $178,193. (learn more)
• There’s an agreement to participate in an Agricultural and Forestry Infrastructure Development (AFID) grant. This is related to the Siller Pollinator Company. The Albemarle Economic Development Authority approved its agreement in July. Learn more about the award from an article I wrote in early July.   The county has to provide a $6,500 match as did the Albemarle EDA.
• There’s an approval of the spending of $291,818 to purchase a “demo model ambulance” from FESCO Emergency Sales. (learn more)
• There’s an agreement with MTFA Architecture for restoration work at the historic courthouse. They will be paid no more than $85,630.36. (learn more)
• There’s a memorandum of understanding with the Fluvanna County Fair Board Association regarding the use of Pleasant Grove Park. (learn more)
• There’s an approval of a vehicle purchase agreement for four Ford Interceptors with Sheehy Ford of Richmond for a total $155,747.04. (learn more)

There are no public meetings. Fluvanna Supervisors will be back on August 21. 

Thursday, August 8, 2024

Public hearing in Louisa County for Love’s Travel Stop 

The Louisa Planning Commission has two public hearings at its meeting at 7 p.m. but only one of them is likely to attract a crowd. (meeting overview)

Loves Travel Stop is seeking rezoning of about 23.4 acres in the Mountain Road District at the Gum Springs exit on Interstate 64. They would need to have the land converted from Agricultural-2 to General Commercial-2 and be granted a conditional use permit to operate a truck stop which would include a variety of uses. They also seek three special exceptions. 

“Staff has determined that the proposed rezoning and conditional use permit would promote the 2040 Plan goal of broadening the County’s tax base,” reads the staff report. “However, staff has also determined that the proposed Loves Travel Center is not in keeping with the intent of the mixed-use designation on the 2040 Plan.”

This is perhaps the first major project to be reviewed Supervisors adopted a Public Facilities plan as an amendment to the Comprehensive Plan in February. 

“As Louisa County grows, the pressure on public facilities and services intensifies,” the staff report continues. “The county expects proposed developments to consider the impacts on Public Facilities and to mitigate the impacts of the development.”

This allows the payment of impact feets and other ways for a development to demonstrate they are doing their part. How it will play out will be interesting to see. In this case, staff found potential impacts to law enforcement and fire/EMS. But Loves Travel Stop is proposing at least one amenity. 

“Community Development Department Staff believes this project would have a positive impact on Parks and Recreation with the addition of a dog park and rest area along Interstate 64,” the report continues. 

Several neighborhood meetings have been held and there are many concerns from neighbors. Staff are recommending 20 conditions including noise studies, water studies, and a prohibition on Bradford pear trees.

Love’s Travel Stops and Country Stores are based out of Oklahoma City, Oklahoma and there are more than 600 locations across 42 states. According to the 491-page application, they have a “goal of  providing professional truck drivers and motorists 24-hour access to clean and safe places to purchase fuel, food and travel items as well as take showers, do laundry, dump their RV waste, purchase propane and more.”

Louisa County does not have public water and sewer service at this location, so the proposed travel stop would not be on public water and sewer, so a well would need to be used and an on-site wastewater treatment facility would be built on site. The applicants argue there would be between 50 and 70 full-time jobs. Anticipating public opposition, Love’s points out the following aspects of this project:

• There would be no hi-rise sign visible from Interstate 64
• The application cites concerns from the Federal Highway Administration that there is not enough truck parking across the country
• For the fast-food component, the company is considering Arby’s, Dunkin’ Donuts, Hardee’s, Bojangles, and Godfather’s Pizza

That’s the second public hearing. The first is for an amendment to the Land Development Regulations to allow for more flexibility in landscaping requirements. (memo)

In other meetings: 

• The Albemarle Board of Equalization has a scheduled meeting from 8 a.m. to 3 p.m. in Room 241 of the county’s office building at 401 McIntire Room. (learn more)
• The Albemarle Solid Waste Alternatives Advisory Committee will meet virtually at 4 p.m. There’s no agenda at publication time. (meeting info)
• The Albemarle Conservation Easement Authority will meet at 4:45 p.m. in Room 235 of the county’s office building at 401 McIntire Road. (learn more)
• The Charlottesville Redevelopment and Housing Authority’s Board of Commissioners will have a work session at 6 p.m. in City Council Chambers. There is no agenda posted yet. (meeting info)
• The Places29-North Community Advisory Committee will meet at 6 p.m. at the North Fork Discovery Park in Building 4. There will be a presentation from the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority as well as a presentation on MicroCAT. (agenda)

Friday, August 9, 2024

Charlottesville’s Historic Resources Committee to meet

The appointed body charged with advising Charlottesville City Council will meet at 11 a.m. in the Neighborhood Development Services conference room in City Hall. (agenda)

On the agenda once again is a discussion of the Downtown Walking Tour Map and Engagement of the Descendant Community related to the historic use of Court Square to sell people kept in enslavement. The Memory Project at UVA is preparing a presentation to City Council on September 3. There will also be a discussion on a historic marker at Johnson Elementary School, as well as staff updates on Drewary Brown Bridge, McKee Block in Court Square Park, and family reunions at Pen Park. 

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This post was contributed by Sean Tubbs. Sean is a journalist working to build a new information and news outlet centered around Charlottesville and Virginia. In 2020, he launched a daily newscast and newsletter and also created a semi-regular podcast on the pandemic.

Support for Sean’s “Week Ahead” update comes from The Piedmont Environmental Council.