Charlottesville and Albemarle Governments Clash. Again.

in Albemarle Charlottesville Politics on

For anyone interested in a prime example of the City of Charlottesville’s and County of Albemarle’s occasionally dysfunctional relationship, Rachana Dixit and Brandon Shulleeta have great story in today’s Daily Progress . … The clash over money between Charlottesville and Albemarle County is turning into a political civil war, with warnings that each step from here will undermine collaborations that would cut expenses and instead possibly cost taxpayers big bucks down the road.

…Many county officials say it’s unfair that a state formula that determines education funding for localities — based largely on localities’ wealth — fails to account for the revenue-sharing agreement. Bell’s amendment proposal would count the money Albemarle pays Charlottesville toward the city’s wealth instead of the county’s wealth — which would increase state education funding for Albemarle in fiscal 2012 by $2.6 million and decrease Charlottesville’s state education funding by that same amount. …

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Nest Realty Introduces Tom’s Garden

in sideblog on

We at Nest talk about sustainability and local food; now we are enabling others actually do something about this. … While Central Virginia is in the deep freeze at the moment, some of us are dreaming of Springtime, or more specifically, our Spring gardens and the fresh veggies they yield! With that in mind, the Nest team is thrilled to introduce Tom’s Garden , an initiative to support and fund Community Gardening in the Charlottesville-Albemarle community. The agents at Nest, in addition to sharing a profession, share a commitment to our community, an interest in the local food movement and ecology, and a firm conviction that community gardens enhance quality of life.

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Charlottesville Twitter Updates for Week Ending 7 February

in Albemarle Charlottesville sideblog Twitter on

RT @ TobyBoyce : I don’t care if you are fighting with your wife or other real estate agents. http://bit.ly/98TiOV [fixed the “agents”] #

… RT @ DRPnet : I’m proposing a snow plan for schools-buses only run on main corridors & parents have to get kids to snow bus stops or 2 school.

… VDOT says “Any story that we are “expecting” 40-50 inches of snow is incorrect.” http://bit.ly/dbGeM9 – But when will we have school again?

… Hey @ 511northwestva All the rumors I hear of snow coming in excess of 20 inches start with “VDOT says ..” – how much snow are you expecting?

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Light Industrial and a Gas Station in Crozet?

in General Real Estate Growth on

A spirited crowd of Crozet residents was on hand at a public forum Thursday to challenge the notion that western Albemarle is a prime location for expanded industrial development. The Albemarle County Board of Supervisors has asked for consideration of a new light industrial business park in the Crozet Master Plan’s first five-year update.

“We’ve been waiting for this meeting and don’t know if the Board of Supervisors has already made a preliminary decision or not,” said Meg West, a Crozet resident for over 25 years who is opposed to the new park.

…At its meeting Monday, the ARB told the applicant’s representative, Jo Higgins , that the Re-Store’n Station plan had not improved enough over the past year and still had a negative impact on the adjacent neighborhood and historic area of Free Town.

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The Burden of Proof – Real Estate Assessment Appeals

in Politics on

HB570 is an outstanding bill in the Virginia General Assembly that takes on particular relevance in 2010, with property assessments likely being challenged by some in Charlottesville, Albemarle and surrounding Counties. … It “Changes the burden of proof from the taxpayer to the assessor when a taxpayer appeals the assessment of real property to a board of equalization or to a circuit court.” … The burden of proof shall be upon the assessor when a taxpayer seeking seeks relief to show that because the property in question is valued at more than its fair market value, that the assessment is not uniform in its application, or that the assessment is otherwise not equalized. In order to receive relief, the taxpayer must produce substantial evidence that the valuation determined by the assessor is erroneous and was not arrived at in accordance with generally accepted appraisal practice.

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Yes Charlottesville – It is Supposed to Snow

in Charlottesville Off-topic on

Local Interactive Weather Map for Charlottesville, VA (22901) - weather.com-1.jpg Again .    CBS19Weather says – @ JimDuncan Some models are indicating 12-18″; that is of course preliminary & subject to change. Our prediction comes closer to time (tk)       and :    WINTER STORM WARNING until early Wednesday for: Albemarle, Nelson, Greene, Madison, Orange & Culpeper Cos. (tk)       I’ve heard we’re supposed to get 2-4 inches tonight, and this weekend anywhere from 12 to 40 inches of snow in the Charlottesville area.

… CBS19Weather : @JimDuncan warning means it’s occurring or is imminent…a watch means that we’re on the lookout…i like your definitions though!

… CBS19Weather : @JimDuncan warning means it’s occurring or is imminent…a watch means that we’re on the lookout…i like your definitions though!

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Glenmore Embezzler to Plead Guilty

in sideblog on

This is reason I advise my clients to pay the most attention to the budgets of HOAs. I’m writing about this for no reason other than I think it’s an important lesson for buyers – as in, no homeowners’ association is immune, and I’m testing out the Diverse Solutions’ plugin that displays listings. [idx-listings linkid=”32199″ count=”5″]