Thanks to Charlottesville Tomorrow for their extensive voters guides. Get educated before you vote beyond whether a candidate is a “D” or and “R”.
Browsing Category Politics
Local Elections Matter – Charlottesville and Albemarle Edition
Local elections matter immensely – they’re where our growth, land use, property taxes, police and more relevant policies are implemented. I’ll be writing about the Albemarle, Charlottesville and Greene elections more as we get nearer to the elections, but for now, three of the most important resources available for Charlottesville and Albemarle and local/state politics, respectively are:
– Charlottesville Tomorrow’s Candidate Forum Calendar. They will be posting their comprehensive Election Guide soon.
– VPAP, the Virginia Public Access Project tracks money in elections. Sadly, it appears that Albemarle and Charlottesville are the only two local localities participating.
— Albemarle – So far, $86,303 is being reported as having been raised between the three races. Duane Snow is getting killed in fundraising – Liz Palmer reporting nearly $30k versus his $8,500
— Charlottesville – So far, about $12k is being reported as having been raised. Will this be the year a non-Democrat gets elected to City Council?
– C-Ville’s recent Albemarle County Supervisor interviews. Rio District, Samuel Miller and Jack Jouett.
C-Ville and The Western Bypass
Graelyn Brashear’s story in C-Ville on the Western Bypass is remarkable; its depth, range, imagery and clarity are outstanding. Take 30 minutes to read it.
Also notable is C-Ville’s presentation of the story; it’s useful and makes a subject of this breadth easier to digest. I particularly like the Medium-like commenting, which is particularly useful for a story of this length. Really, go see it and read it.
The Western Bypass debate/conversation/saga has been ongoing for so long that it’s often impossible for anyone – even long-time residents of Charlottesville (read: Charlottesville + Albemarle + Central Virginia) to fathom or comprehend the scope of both the proposed road and the political/business/transportation dynamics of the Western Bypass (and our region’s collective inability to efficiently solve transportation and planning challenges).
The C-Ville story is an outstanding summary.
I know this:
– Route 29 is a disaster. Hydraulic/29 and Rio/29
– For years, many of my clients target their home search locations as either “not North of Rio” or “not North of Hydraulic”
– The current termination of the Western Bypass is silly
… the current design of the northern terminus is flawed: Northbound traffic from the Bypass is dumped out onto Route 29 just before the light at Ashwood, where the highway narrows from three lanes to two.
I mean, really?
– I’ve told my clients for years that transportation is one of the Charlottesville-Albemarle area’s greatest detractors
– Charlottesville and Albemarle – and the entire region need to be involved in this conversation, not just “the City” or “the County”
Something has to be done, but it really needs to be done 25 years ago. The best solution? I don’t know, but I know that the flawed current proposal is severely flawed. If only our system allowed for a reasonable debate instead of politicians and interest groups fighting rather than compromising.
All this as another anti-Western Bypass group motivates.
Charlottesville – Albemarle Transportation in 2040
What do you think transportation in Charlottesville – Albemarle should/will be in 2040?
The Charlottesville-Albemarle Metropolitan Planning Organization (MPO) is proud to announce the launch the 2040 Long Range Transportation Plan (LRTP) website at www.tjpdc.org/lrtp.
Tonight between 5pm and 7pm would be a good time to start providing your input.
By 2040, maybe the Western Bypass extension will be close to being planned. And we’ll have thought about where the next growth areas will be.
Before we know it, 27 years will have passed. Better to get involved now.
Charlottesville’s 2013 Comprehensive Plan Adopted
Charlottesville Tomorrow reports that the City of Charlottesville has adopted their comprehensive plan.
The most substantial revisions were made to the city’s housing chapter. To help the city meet its goal of having 15 percent of housing units classified as “affordable†by 2025, an emphasis will be placed on rehabilitating existing housing, and partnerships will be encouraged to promote workforce housing.
Looks like I have some reading to do on how the Plan will/might affect my clients.
In good news:
Shortly before adoption, the council held a final debate about language in the plan. Smith called for a goal that said the city should “consider the effect of housing decisions when considering the proximity of existing units and the effects of unit location on schools, neighborhood demographics and associated infrastructure.â€
Councilor Dave Norris made a motion to move that language to a separate goal calling for an inventory where affordable housing current exists and where future opportunities lie.
“I don’t want to have anything in our plan that enshrines the possibility of redlining affordable housing in the community,†Norris said. He added his suggested amendment would better connect low-income residents with opportunities in the rest of the city”
Good. Government really need not be in the practice of identifying who will live where.
Tweeting Albemarle Community Advisory Council Meetings
I attended last night’s Crozet Community Advisory Council meeting, tweeted as much as I could and just put together a Storify of the meeting. Albemarle has a few of these Advisory Councils:
Crozet Community Advisory Council, Pantops Community Advisory Council, Places 29 (29 North), Village of Rivanna (east of Pantops) – and there are vacancies on the Pantops, Places 29 and Village of Rivanna Councils.
Here’s the thing – I learned a ton by being at and live-tweeting the meeting, and I noticed that I was getting interaction and questions from other people on Twitter who were unable to attend the meeting. I’ve made no secret of my affinity for Charlottesville Tomorrow; they are invaluable and their recent partnerships with the HooK and C-Ville will prove moreso.
But … having someone in the meeting engaging the community following was super-valuable. I’ve noticed this in Crozet several times as a watcher – one following the meeting from the outside. I’m interested in what’s happening at the meeting, but can’t attend (kids, work, family, etc) and a live-stream wouldn’t be as useful as tweets.
Take a look at the storify from last night’s Crozet meeting – there were a couple things in there that likely wouldn’t have made any story published elsewhere – they’re asides, but valuable asides, and mentions that don’t warrant individual stories. They’re valuable tweet-worthy asides.
What’s the point? The point is this –
If you can, find your way to community meetings – particularly ones that aren’t covered by media – and get involved, tweet the meetings and tell others. A lot of stuff happens and gets discussed in these meetings, and most often, the wider public learns about them after decisions are made.
Biscuit Run Still Not Moving Forward
No one’s surprised by this, are they? Charlottesville Tomorrow reports that two years after the sale of Biscuit Run to the Commonwealth “there is no approved master plan or funding to open the park.“