What do most people think about when they think about “Charlottesville”? The Downtown Mall? It’s in the City. Monticello? That’s in the County. So’s the Rotunda. And John Paul Jones Arena. Know what doesn’t get…
Posts tagged Albemarle
The Western Bypass is Apparently Dead. So What’s Next?
One decades-old question was answered with a resounding no.
“A bypass is not something we would consider,” Norfolk-based consultant Philip A. Shucet, the head of the advisory panel and former commissioner of the Virginia Department of Transportation, told the board.
Nearly two years after officials awarded a contract for the bypass, and after $54 million was spent on the project, the planned 6.2-mile road has become a footnote.
The transportation board, a 17-member panel of gubernatorial appointees that presides over Virginia’s transportation system, will determine what happens to unspent money from a project state officials had valued at more than $244 million.
If nothing else, this seems to remove the uncertainty from the conversation about the Western Bypass. We can return now to our discussions about the woes of traffic on 29 North and how the CharlAlbemarle area is woefully incapable of understanding the issues and equally incapable of implementing solutions. Such is life.
Rather than go into the history of the Western Bypass (it goes on for decades), discuss the various regional influences (Lynchburg is key), the various local players (broadly it’s growth vs no-growth) and whether VDOT is going to sell the houses it bought many years ago (it should if the Bypass is truly dead) or even whether the Western Bypass was the right route (it wasn’t but that’s because it’s a 30+ year old design, designed well before massive growth on 29 North) – start looking at background at Charlottesville Tomorrow.
There is a fundamental disagreement over what, exactly, U.S. 29 is. Is it a major north-south transportation corridor with the goal of providing relatively unimpeded traffic flow to through traffic along its 1,000-mile path or is it, in Charlottesville and Albemarle County, a local retail strip? It can’t be both. …
Charlottesville and Albemarle, however, still persist in their silly, outdated belief that U.S. 29 is really just “Emmett Street,” the local retail strip, and has no connection to the rest of the state. That’s evident in Albemarle’s “plan” to address improvements on Emmett Street: a silly, utopian Places29 with overpasses ” built where major retail centers now sit” for through traffic, pedestrian-friendly amenities and added lanes for traffic.
I think they’re right. If the bypass is truly dead, what’s the solution?
Short story – a new solution needs to be implemented. One would assume it would need to be agreed upon first, so let’s accept that the segmentation of the Charlottesville – Albemarle region will continue. Not that that’s a bad thing, it just is. (more)
One of the first things I thought about what this line from Ocean’s 11.
I’m thinking we will need to wait for Elon Musk’s hyper loop.
3 Reasons I Like Radon
I’ve said to my clients often enough that “I Like Radon” that one of them suggested I write a story with this title.
Sure, radon is a colorless, odorless gas that emanates from the earth’s crust that causes cancer.
Sure, the Charlottesville area is in Zone 2 of the EPA’s Map of Radon Zones. “(Zone 2 counties have a predicted average indoor radon screening level between 2 and 4 pCi/L(orange zones):
I still like radon. So why do I like radon?
I like radon in real estate negotiations because the solution to radon is known and relatively inexpensive. Generally, in my experience, a radon mitigation system costs between $800 and $1500. In the scope of a real estate transaction, that’s relatively insignificant.
Let me distill this page which is chock full of lots of radon information into an easily digestible sentence or two that is relevant to those (who may be seeking to buy a home) in the Charlottesville area:
– We have radon in our area – generally at least 50% of the homes I see tested have actionable levels of radon.
– You might as well get a test during the inspection period (it costs ~ $150)
– I don’t think radon is that big of a deal, but it’s a good negotiation item and it’s easily remediable.
– I don’t see radon (or radon mitigation systems) as having any impact on market value
From an NPR story a couple years ago that put context to the radon risk conversation (I wrote about it then, too):
Phil Price, a physicist at Lawrence Berkeley National Laboratory in California, has spent a lot of time studying radon. He is willing to accept the government’s rough estimate that radon causes about 21,000 deaths from lung cancer each year. But, he says, people should know something about that number.
“A large fraction of those estimated deaths are thought to be among smokers,” he says. “One way to think of it is it’s just one of the things that goes along with smoking, is that it increases your chance of radon-related lung cancer.”
The EPA estimates that among people who have never smoked, radon accounts for fewer than 3,000 radon deaths each year. The huge difference in risk is because smoking and radon appear to have a powerful synergy when it comes to lung cancer.
This is what I tell my clients – “ a radon mitigation system accomplishes at least three things –
1) Provides peace of mind – for homeowners and buyers
2) Can be an asset when you sell your home – it’s one less potential objection from the buyers
3) It provides for a safer environment in which to live.
4) Anecdotally I’ve heard that a radon mitigation system can help to keep a basement dry (the air, not water infiltration)
2) Can be an asset when you sell your home – it’s one less potential objection from the buyers
3) It provides for a safer environment in which to live.
4) Anecdotally I’ve heard that a radon mitigation system can help to keep a basement dry (the air, not water infiltration)
5) There are lots of ways to die; life’s too short to worry about all of them and/or mitigate all risks.
Related reading:
– Homebuyers – Caution on Radon, Builders’ Reps and No Representation
Albemarle County May Increase the Property Tax Rate
Assessments are up. So might be the mil rate.
Recommended budget value: $349.3 million
Increase over current year: 8.3 percent ($26.8 million)
Proposed real estate tax rate: 80.8 cents/$100 assessed value
Current rate: 76.6 cents/$100 assessed value
Impact: The annual tax bill on a property assessed at $300,000 would increase from $2,298 to $2,424 at the proposed rate.
Proposed raises: 2 percent for county staff
So … the tax rate cannot go higher than 80.8 cents/$100 assessed value. And it could stay at 76.6 cents. Of the proposed 4.2 cent increase, nearly half of that would be dedicated to the Albemarle County schools. This should be an interesting debate.
If you’re curious to learn even more about the Albemarle County budget, the County has a lot of information on their site.
How’s the Weather in Charlottesville? (thanks, Charlottesville Meteorologists)
Thanks to Charlottesville meteorologists! I’ve found an awful lot of value in my Charlottesville Media Twitter list – it’s the first place I go to check on news in the Charlottesville area, and notably this year, the weather. Recently I realized just how valuable Twitter-friendly meteorologists can be. NBC29 is active on Twitter, but not to the degree as Newsplex’s weather folks.
Having a local, knowledgable meteorologist to whom I can direct my dumb questions *and get answers* is awesome. Thanks, @TravisKoshko
— Jim Duncan (@JimDuncan) February 20, 2014
So, thanks, Charlottesville weather people. For those not in the Charlottesville area and considering moving here, you might find value in following this list to get a sense of Charlottesville weather and news – it’s currently comprised of 43 accounts, and I think it’s up to date (it’s not uncommon for reporters to start in Charlottesville and move after a year or two).
March 2014 Note – Coaching Soccer, Market Update, Client Thoughts
I’m aiming to publish by Tuesday or Wednesday of next week. Curious or interested in reading some stuff I’ll likely never publish elsewhere? Too many posts in a month and you want just one email a month in which I recap some of the better stories from the previous month? Two clicks and you can subscribe.
How to Pay for Albemarle County Schools?
It costs nearly $12,000 per year to educate a kid in Albemarle County Schools. This year, the County Schools are facing a proposed funding gap of nearly $7 million and the cry from many parents, administrators and citizens has been to “fully fund the schools. (including emails from the schools’ email distribution newsgroups).â€
Rather than repeat myself, this is a story I wrote three years ago and it’s still relevant. Schools matter for housing values. Period. People move to the Charlottesville area all the time for the schools. Schools. Matter. (this is as good a time as any to remind folks to check your school district before you write an offer to purchase a home )
But …
How should the citizenry pay for the schools?
Would people support an Adequate Public Facilities legislation?
Asking for “more!†without referencing the “how?†in my opinion diminishes the argument.
* note: one of my kids graduated from Western Albemarle schools and one is currently enrolled.