I have had a hard time working up this, as the two and a half hour meeting on Thursday night seemed to be so much of the same conflict, same discussions, same end result.For a fact-based account and podcast, see CvilleTomorrow.There was no question and answer session, as those questions posed were directed at the BoS; when given the opportunity to stand and respond, Crozet’s Supervisor chose to remain seated.The best way to summarize the meeting is to say that little was said or presented that helped to alleviate or mitigate the uncertainty that exists. To paraphrase one of the commenters (listen at 8:00 of this podcast) When questioned, the County gives the pat answer of “well, it’s in the Master Plan” yet, Wickham Pond is shown as an environmental set-aside on the Master Plan map … why was this taken from five by-right units to 107 units, the answer the planning department gave was “the master plan is just a guide …… we need a firm plan.”It is hard to answer clients’ (and my wife’s and neighbors’) questions about the future of Crozet’s growth as no one seems to really know…. From a recent (and on-going discussion) with someone who is seeking to relocate to the CharlAlbemarle area from NoVa: If C’ville continues to try to imitate No VA (i.e. concerns centering around Crozet development, developers squeezing in as great a density as permitted—well there goes the QOL and the neighborhood). Again, I reiterate, it’s the “country” of Charlottesville with the little flair of charm, artsy craftsy, good restaurants, etc. created by UVA in downtown and “clean,pure wine country, that is C’ville. If you haven’t been to NoVA lately—come and see us—particularly at rush hour. You’ll get a jolt of reality and what you DON’T want to see happen to C’ville along with all the apparent wishful thinking of many of your folks in the real estate/development industry who seem to be chomping at the bit to try to ignite.Well said.
Browsing Category Growth
So much to blog …
So little time …I read so much every day and my “blog this!”… in that vein, here are a few of the things that I have been reading lately that are applicable to the Central Virginia real estate market in at least some form or another.This really deserves its own post: Land use regulations cause housing prices to increase. “The database and the housing report show that the regulatory obstacles are especially onerous for higher-density and smart growth projects. We are losing environmentally and we are losing our competitive edge. We need a drastically different approach if we want to maintain our quality of life.â€YIMBY – avoiding the “NIMBY” attitude.We have so much of the “NIMBY” mindset in this region that oftentimes, good development is lost or chooses not to even attempt to come. What we may have left are those entities that have the time, money, patience and attorneys to outlast public opposition and governmental inefficiencies.If more developers used these tactics, I’ll bet that there would be better developments.Wooing locals is nothing new to developers, though they often received a rubber stamp to build shopping centers and residential complexes as cities grew in the past 50 years. Today, however, the best prospects are increasingly urban and suburban redevelopment projects, on land often surrounded by residents with the money, the know-how and the will to fight. As a result, developers must run something akin to a political campaign to get their projects approved — and in the process, give residents much of what they demand.Loudoun County as a proving ground for how not to grow.How Loudoun deals with its growth can teach the rest of the country a great deal,” says James DeFrancia, a trustee of the Urban Land Institute.
VPTC Economic Development forum
CPN has the podcast of yesterday’s forum.
Another Albemarle Place update
CvilleTomorrow has another excellent update on the plodding path of Albemarle Place.I may be ignorant here, but this seems to be a partial reason for its non-approval so far:Buildings are being proposed that would exceed the 90’ height limit for residential/mixed use at this location … The applicant expressed frustration about the challenge of getting approval, all at once, for all aspects of a massive urban project like Albemarle Place. …
Morning reading
Spread of the “Urban Village” conceptTransfer of Development rightsPolitics in a nutshell:”What I’m saying is, don’t be bellyaching about ‘we’ve got all this new money and we want to cut rates to reduce the amount of money,’ and then not talk about services,” he said. “We all do it, and I’m saying I don’t have to worry about it this year, so I’m going to raise hell about it.”Translated: Now that I’m not running for re-election, I can do what I think is right. Sometimes politics/politicians make me sick. Why not do what’s right to start?
Will Albemarle Place ever happen?
Charlottesville Tomorrow has an excellent update on the status of the proposed/pending/possible Albemarle Place development. The impact that this development will have on its immediate surroundings is not insignificant. Adding thousands of vehicle trips every day to this area, with no substantial infrastructure improvements will be a “bad thing.” This project has been in development for an unreasonable and unfair amount of time – unfair and unreasonable to all involved – the developer, the residents, possible tenants … On the question of a long-term grade-separated interchange for US 29 and Hydraulic (i.e. Hydraulic road traffic would pass over US 29), Frank Cox says he has come to an agreement with VDOT and the County to fund the preliminary engineering for a design. This interchange design would then become part of the “official map†and thus a clearly defined transportation project. That, however, does not guarantee any funding or a specific timeline for construction. An interchange plan would allow Mr. Cox to move ahead with development of Albemarle Place as the right-of-way line would be designated allowing him to finalize building locations.
February Forum watch is posted
This month’s Free Enterprise Forum watch is now online. This is an excellent resource for information on the region’s more pressing issues regarding growth, development and more. You can check it out at their website. The issues facing our region are not isolated to one particular locality, be it Charlottesville, Albemarle, Fluvanna, et. al. – they are regional issues; the FEF does a great job of consolidating this information.