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.
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Small builders in a large-scale bureaucracy
Wyant said proffers from Wickham Pond could go toward infrastructure, such as the proposed eastern connector, and Supervisor Sally H. Thomas said such a development could limit growth in the rural areas.Excellent point, and one on which I have been masticating for some time. NYTimes:In recent years, the difficulty of getting things built has made business harder for small, local builders and easier for big companies, with their greater resources, to gain control of the housing market. “The large builders have taken the position: we’re just going to fight,” Chris Mayer, a housing economist at Columbia University’s business school, says. ” ‘We have lawyers, we have experts, we have money, we’re going to buy these tracts of land and fight it out’ ” – that, according to Mayer, is their position…. But the local builder who used to have the benefit of knowing the local people – that has become far less important than the ability of the big builders to fight the current regulatory environment.” As Mayer points out, virtually every state in the country now has policies to restrain developers. No matter the region, he says, the small developer is at a tremendous disadvantage.Ryan Homes are already here.
Crozet’s Growth
Charlottesville Tomorrow has a good summary of the Albemarle County BoS meeting today, specifically relating to the Crozet Master Plan. Also nice is that Cville Tomorrow has a podcast of the event.Wickham Pond was approved today as well.
Where is Albemarle Growing?
From Brian Wheeler’s SchoolMatters: Where is Albemarle Growing?:I recently updated my analysis of the Albemarle County building reports from the past two years which document each quarter where new building permits are being issued in the County. These do not reflect newly approved developments (e.g. Old Trail Village), but rather homes in developments previously approved where a building permit has now been issued.The report includes all types of housing, but my analysis is limited to single family detached homes, as those are a leading indicator of future enrollment growth for Albemarle County Schools.Brian has done an excellent job and service by providing the actual data that should be used when considering redistricting in Albemarle County. Determining where the growth will be is a difficult task. From one of Brian’s previous posts: If you look at the list of proposed and current housing developments used by the Redistricting Committee and Dr. Castner in isolation, you can easily conclude about 50% of the development is coming up Route 29 North. 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)…. Maintaining relatively small class sizes and efficient feeder patterns should be priorities. Using accurate, up to date data should be too.
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.