IN THIS ISSUE: Important Dates Zoning Issues Master PlanningWater Supply Transportation Policy Other Land Use Editorial Important Dates September 14 – Local Governmental Forum Chamber of Commerce see www.cvillechamber.comSeptember 14 – Albemarle County BOS work session – Overlot grading 6:00 pm ACOBSeptember 20 – TJPED Economic Development Symposium http://www.tjped.com/ 9:00 am PVCCSeptember 20 – Albemarle Planning Commission Hearing Lighting Zoning Text Amendment 6:00 pm ACOBSeptember 21 – Fluvanna BOS meeting development work session 7:00 pm FCGC ACOB – Albemarle County Office Building CCH- Charlottesville City HallGCAB – Greene County Administration BuildingFCGC – Fluvanna County Government CenterPVCC – Piedmont Virginia Community College Return to Top Transportation Policy Meadowcreek Parkway – The efforts to generate federal dollars in support of a Meadowcreek Parkway interchange were successful to the tune of $27 million dollars…. Story and map see http://www.timesdispatch.com/servlet/Satellite?pagename=CDP/MGArticle/CDP_BasicArticle&c=MGArticle&cid=1031784482548 Return to Top Zoning Issues Albemarle County Neighborhood Model Zoning Text Amendment – The previous iteration of the ZTA is now available online at http://www.albemarle.org/department.asp?department=planning&relpage=5236 Albemarle County staff held a focused discussion on March 31st 2004 to discuss the changes to the zoning with members of the development, building, real estate and community at large…. A map of the study area can be found here http://www.albemarle.org/upload/images/Forms_Center/Departments/Board_of_Supervisors/Forms/Agenda/2005Files/20050504/Northerndevelopmentattachb.pdfReturn to TopOther Land UseAlbemarle County Mountain Overlay Committee – This committee is now idle waiting for staff to draft proposed language for a Mountain Overlay District (MOD) Ordinance…. For additional details on their current deliberations, please contact neil@freeenterpriseforum.org .Albemarle County Lighting Zoning Text Amendment The Free Enterprise Forum has submitted a zoning text amendment to ask Albemarle County to reconsider it’s prohibition of spilled light on pedestrian walkways and right of ways.
Browsing Category Growth
Water
That they are requesting the public’s input is a credit to Tom Frederick, the Executive Director of Rivanna.Get involved (so long as you have an educated opinion!)Dear Interested Party:As you are aware, the Rivanna Water and Sewer Authority (RWSA) is in the process of selecting a preferred alternative for expanding its water supply system.
…With respect to streams, sites that are typically most suitable for restoration include previously channelized streams (channels that have been excavated, straightened, and deepened to prevent unusually frequent overtopping of their banks) or streams that have become highly eroded due to changes in the watershed (deforestation, development, new stormwater discharges, etc.)…. Even channels that have a lesser degree of degradation, are acceptable candidates for restoration.With respect to wetlands, sites for consideration would most likely include low meadows or farmlands adjacent to stream channels that have been manipulated so that the hydrology of the system has changed over time (for example, through ditching or draining). Sites that are wooded, and are more mature are not generally preferred, while a site that has experienced changes in hydrology more recently may be a better candidate.While stream and wetland restoration or creation projects would form the foundation of the mitigation plan, there are other actions that could lead to improvements or protection of the aquatic environment which could be included as a component of the Plan.
Albemarle Redistricting
This part is stunning – However, this report does not include Old Trail Village or Wickham Pond (two developments in Crozet submitted after the committee started its work). It also does not include the proposed development at the Breeden Farm (south of I-64 near Mill Creek and 5th Street). The Breeden Farm alone could be larger than all of the growth projected for Crozet (i.e. there could be housing for more than 12,000 people, the number projected for Crozet)…. People choose homes frequently based solely on school districts and they should have some faith that their kids will have some semblance of stability in their public education.
Speaking of Growth
Why is my daughter sitting three-to-a-seat on the bus to middle school?
Villages
This post at Bacon’s Rebellion pointed me to an editorial in the DP (I tend to forget that they have their editorials online).The county not only establishes strangely worded rules to rezone by, it sets up so many hoops for developers and nearby residents to jump through that all the hoop-jumping may disorient residents as much as it improves, or modifies, developers’ proposals.All the hoop-jumping probably has improved the Old Trail Village project about to gobble up land next to Crozet, but the county remains slow to make the necessary improvements to streets and sidewalks that could integrate the new development into the existing community.Whenever I hear the word “village” in this context, I am reminded of this…. A good summary of of APF’s is at the Virginia Conservation Network’s site – What is an adequate public facilities ordinance?An Adequate Public Facilities Ordinance (APFO) is a law adopted by the local government that allows it to defer the approval of developments based upon a finding by the governing body that public facilities would not be not adequate to support the proposed development at build out.What are the components of an effective APF ordinance?
…Anti-Growth Measures Defeated Once AgainVAR faced another year of numerous Adequate Public Facilities (APF) and impact fee proposals that would unreasonably restrict growth and drive up the cost of housing. APF ordinances allow local governments to defer approval of new development based on their finding that the existing infrastructure (such as roads and schools) is “inadequate†to support it.
Chicken or the egg?
One of the perennial questions with development – build first and then develop needed infrastructure, or build the infrastructure in anticipation of future, even impending, development?Old Trail was sent for approval this evening from the Albemarle County Planning Commission (pdf). At least 2000 more units in this development alone over the next several years …
Morning thought
Do people not walk or bike places because the infrastructure is not there or do they not build the infrastructure because folks don’t want to walk or bike places? What impact will gas prices have on development in the short- and long-term?