Vacation has been good – I’ve read three books so far, but staying out of touch with the world is a skill I have not yet allowed myself to master. Merv’s aggregate analysis of the market is spot-on.Kickball?… Who doesn’t love kickball?Brian Wheeler provides the most comprehensive analysis of Albemarle’s district growth out there. The decisions the City of Charlottesville make today will impact the lives, both financially, socially and in many other ways we haven’t even conceived of yet. Are they doing the right things? Are tall buildings the way to go?Not guilty. And, on a side note, the victim’s brother is a Realtor. If you’re a blogger and have at least 30 minutes, Pew Internet has an interesting survey on blogging.
Browsing Category Politics
Growth in Albemarle
Fresh off her recent accolades, Jessica Kitchin with the DP brings us two excellent stories this morning on Growth. First up is an overview of where Albemarle County is today. The second story is the first in a series of growth articles to come this week. Albemarle is becoming much, much more segmented and defined as such by the various developments associated with those segments – Old Trail in Crozet, Biscuit Run to the (slightly) South, 29 North and Pantops Mountain. One thing to be added (for now) is this -County officials have said the issue was merely one of miscommunication, and they hope that as the vision of the Master Plan plays out – and as they seek more funding to provide infrastructure – residents will find renewed faith.When government asks the public to have faith in their actions rather than form opinions based on their prior actions – watch out.There are so many desired and unintended consequences related to growth – it is excruciatingly difficult to manage them all.I am left with two questions – if we don’t grow, what happens? And – what do we do and talk about after the growth?
Clustering, Phasing and Mountaintop Roundup
There has been much discussion in the past several days and weeks about the future direction of Albemarle County’s growth. The decisions about to be taken by the BoS may have a profound impact not only on the Albemarle County real estate market, but that of the surrounding counties as well. If Albemarle becomes more of a no-growth zone and CharlAlbemarle remains the employment hub of the region, house prices will be impacted, roads will be impacted and discretionary income will as well, due in no small part to rising fuel prices.If the BoS does in fact make building in the growth area easier/more streamlined and restricts building in the rural area, we will see different patterns of development than we have seen for the past several years. These very local decisions will have regional implications.Bacon’s Rebellioncvillenews (Cascadia)cvillenews (North Pointe)CvilleTomorrow (Crozet & Cascadia)CvilleTomorrow (North Pointe)Fascinating Podcast – if you do nothing else, take the time to listen to this.
Misspellings and free money
Very few things irritate me more than misspellings. There really is no excuse in today’s world of system-wide spellchecking. (With the notable exceptions of there/their, to/too, et. al.)From Charlottesville’s new website:TIME IS QUICKLY RUNNING OUT !ABSOLUTE DEADLINE FOR APPLICATION IS SEPT 01!IF YOU LIVE IN YOUR HOME & YOUR HOME IS VALUED AT OR BELOW $238,200 –READ ON –DO NOT MISS THIS GRANT (NO PAY BACK) OPPERTUNITYFree money from the City!! Whoo-hoo!
Whom should we tax?
Maybe we should tax those who have moved to the area in the past five years…. fix those roads!Bacon’s Rebellion responded to the RTD’s transportation poll last week. The Daily Progress speaks this week (HT: CvilleTomorrow) about said poll and advocates specifically for a gas tax. Growth affects everybody – those who live here, those who move here, those whose livelihoods depend on the real estate market … Until we can trust our government to do what is right, no progress will be made. Should we continue to allow our regional transportation needs to stagnate and deteriorate, our region (and Commonwealth) will slide in terms of our hallowed rankings and simply as a nice place to live. The longer we wait to build vital infrastructure, the more this infrastructure will ultimately cost to build…. Those who delay are demonstrating negligence towards their constituents.
Helping those who help us
To:Area FirefightersArea Law Enforcement OfficersArea TeachersIn appreciation for the work you do for the people of the Charlottesville/Central Virginia area, I am now offering an incentive for you to help you with the sale of your home and/or the purchase of your new home.I will discount my normal commission for you on the house you are selling to help you save on the sale of your home. Whether you’re selling a home or buying your first home, I will offer you a rebate on my commission I earn on the purchase of your home and apply it toward your closing costs to help you at closing.There are no strings attached. While I have never been in the public service, I have friends and family who have benefited from your service and expertise. I appreciate the hard work you put into your careers and know civil servants don’t always make the highest salaries for the work they do.Please call or email me with any questions. 434-242-7140 CAAR’s Workforce Housing Fund is one aspect of the community’s recognition of this crisis. Hopefully my little drop in the bucket will help.From the “Credit where Credit is Due” department: I was inspired by Marty Martin’s post.
No excuses
Albemarle County has been doing a good job publicizing and communicating the upcoming decisions on clustering, phasing and mountaintop protection. Go to their website. Educate yourself. Save the dates (1 August and 3 August). Inform yourself and make your voice heard.If you don’t take the time now, don’t complain when you don’t like the outcome. If you do and you still don’t like the outcome, please complain in a constructive manner.