Not THE Gas Tax, but a Gas Tax IncreaseAnother Round of Tax IncreasesAn Opportunity for Truly Smart Growth in VA”Over the long term,” Kaine told the General Assembly, “the most important single change we can make is to reform the way we plan at both state and local levels.” He added, “Our current system, in which local governments make land-use decisions and the state follows behind with transportation planning and funding, creates a situation where the left hand doesn’t know what the right hand is doing.”The bad news is that, while the governor’s diagnosis is generally correct, his solution focuses too much on what not to do. The language about development and growth is not about wisely directing it, but rather about slowing it, curbing it, even halting it.In advocating more investment in transportation projects, especially adding lanes or building new roads, the governor has missed the opportunity to tie transportation investments much more explicitly to state, county and municipal land-use policies and practices.Kaine plan on Traffic Unleashes Swift BlitzIt “would in fact result in a complete moratorium in the construction of new housing in Northern Virginia,” (said) home builder W. Craig Havenner ……Havenner refused to give up: “We don’t believe that the right approach is to shut down the economy while we catch up from 20-plus years of a complete lack of funding, particularly in the transportation area.”Wrong.More on the two WP articles later.
Browsing Category Politics
Albemarle BoS reviewing development process
CvilleTomorow has an excellent post on the Albemarle BoS’ review of the Development process. New Supervisor David Slutzky seems to deliver the kind of thoughtful, articulate analysis he showed in the campaign. I will listen to the podcast tomorrow. I’ve said it before; CvilleTomorrow is providing an excellent service to the community. Their information sharing is outstanding.
Eminent Domain coming to Charlottesville?
The City of Charlottesville is reaching – reaching for new powers to take property from private individuals for the express reasoning of redistributing that property to others. Four especially troubling paragraphs (bolding mine): (a)[1] To acquire land or buildings in the city for the purpose of providing housing for low ormoderate income persons or for elderly or handicapped persons;[8] to acquire any dwellings or dwelling units in the city for the purpose of providing housing to low or moderate income persons, and to dispose of such dwellings or dwelling units, by sale or lease, to low or moderate income persons or to a nonprofit organization or limited profit organization which has as its principal purpose the provision or development of housing for low or moderate income persons;In addition to being able to exercise the above-mentioned powers with city funds, the city isauthorized to participate in any state or federal program related thereto and to use state, federalor private funds in the exercise of such powers.[12] The exercise of any of the powers granted in this section is hereby declared to be a publicpurpose and public useFirst: Government has no business stealing others’ property so that they may repurpose said property. If they want a “dwelling or dwelling unit” they should make an offer and pay for it, same as the rest of us. What is particularly troubling is that this does not even touch the concept of blight, one of the more traditional reasons for stealing an individual’s property. The definition of “public purpose” seems to be quite broad here. What’s next?This was from Cvilleindymedia; their site has been down for several days, the complete letter is below. PROPOSED CHARTER AMENDMENT FOR CHARLOTTESVILLE, VIRGINIA (November 21, 2005)Sec. 50.7.
Kaine to tackle growth
In his first policy address to the General Assembly, the new governor will urge passage of a law that gives local governments the right to halt housing construction if roads are not adequate. Kaine also will acknowledge the need for more money to build wider highways, buy more buses and trains and erect bridges. But he will not suggest an increase in gas or sales taxes or offer specific legislation that details how he thinks the state should raise the new funds …”I am proposing initiatives that better link land use and transportation decisions so that uncoordinated development doesn’t overwhelm our roads and infrastructure,” Kaine says …One would require developers to submit a standardized traffic impact statement whenever they request a rezoning. That would give the Virginia Department of Transportation and localities the ability to monitor the cumulative impact of development across the state.A second proposal would strengthen the state’s office of intermodalism, which is responsible for ensuring that people and goods can make connections between ports, airports, roads and rail lines. The office would get more resources and more accountability, the adviser said.Kaine also will promise to convene a bipartisan commission to set measurable goals for spending on transportation “so that we invest in the most critical projects first, ensure that the traveling public gets the most for their money, and holds elected leadership — you and I — accountable for the performance of our transportation network.”More bureaucracy, more hoops and no clear roadmap (pun intended) of how to pay for these goals. The ends may be worthy and commendable, but the methods do not seem to promote efficiency and efficacy. It will be interesting to see how these initiatives impact our region. The full article is here as well.
Builder shortage, etc.
Hmmm.We are hearing from economic developers and employers reporting that they have more jobs than people. The availability of affordable housing to attract manufacturing workers is starting to become an issue. The housing that is being built is too expensive for the market, but these communities can not attract developers to build what is needed.Where’s the problem? The demand for home builders far exceeds the supply…. Contractors can not recruit and hire enough skilled tradespeople to do the carpentry, plumbing, electrical, and other construction work that is involved in building houses. Because of building needs in the storm-damaged gulf region and in burgeoning China, construction materials are in short supply. Source.Eminent Domain’s threat to small business.Gas prices to rise in 2006? Thanks to an unlikely source – environmentalists.
Crozet’s Growth
The DP has a nice summary this morning of last night’s Crozet Community Association meeting.It was an interesting meeting, attended by approximately 300 people, most of whom may fit directly into the”How many people want Crozet to be half the population of Charlottesville?”The County has created this Master Plan, in essence asking for the public’s trust. This is a different situation – it is imperative to coordinate infrastructure and growth. The argument against building the infrastructure – roads/schools/etc. seems to hold less weight and value when the County is currently planning for that growth. The growth is not unexpected; it is in fact targeted for the Crozet area. Why Dennis Rooker played the role of politician extremely well. It is no surprise that he was re-elected last year.
Transportation items
Charlottesville Tomorrow has a detailed report on yesterday’s Meadowcreek Parkway Interchange meeting. Meadowcreek Parkway has been discussed, and planned, and discussed for an obscene amount of time. Our area needs this to be built. I hadn’t seen this before – 250 Bypass Interchange Project site.This is what happens when government is not involved in a construction project (for better or worse) – The North Grounds Connector will be open for traffic Friday. The new route connects Massie Road with the 29/250 Bypass. The University used its own money to build the Connector, which is opening five months ahead of schedule. (bolding mine) A project gets done!