Posts tagged Growth

Redfields Neighborhood Growing?

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This is as good a time as any to remind people that if you don’t own that open space over there it’s liable to eventually become something you don’t like .

… Local developer Gaylon Beights has petitioned the county to allow him to develop a 58-acre site as a new phase of Redfields. Some neighbors say they were promised that the land, located in Albemarle’s rural area, would be preserved as open space and they want the county to put the brakes on the planning for the 138-home rezoning. … Virginia is a caveat emptor state, which means that the onus of responsibility is ultimately on the buyer to do his or her due diligence when investigating a property.

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Denied.

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Albemarle County Planning Commission denies new development near the Ashcroft neighborhood . This seems to be as good a time as any to remind those who are seeking to buy in Charlottesville or Albemarle (or anywhere, really) that if you don’t own it, it’s going to change . Never assume that that field/cul-de-sac/dead end is going to stay that way. Is the decision good/bad/ugly?

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One Year Later, Taxpayers Know How Much Biscuit Run Cost

in Albemarle Growth Politics on

Last December Biscuit Run sold for $9.8 million , but no one knew the value of the tax credits.

… Still, with $20 million at stake, the fight is not over, and the results might not be made public. … An appeal goes to the state tax commissioner, Craig Burns, and the results of such appeals are not public. If that appeal is denied, Forest Lodge LLC could appeal the ruling to circuit court.

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Simplifying our (Country’s) Way to Success

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It’s not often that I write here about something completely unrelated to real estate, but the following story form yesterday’s Washington Post was brilliant in both its recommendations and simplicity to reform our country.

…There is one common technique that has been used in successful legal overhauls, from Justinian’s recodification in ancient times to the Napoleonic code that is the basis of modern European civil law to the uniform commercial code adopted in the United States in the 1950s.

…But neither party, we now know after the lengthy debate on health-care reform, will take the political risk of challenging these wasteful practices.

Bringing this back to the political environment of the Central Virginia region, think about this statement in context of Charlottesville’s and Albemarle’s inability to build a road or address our water supply. (bolding mine)

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Should Taxpayers Pay for a Subdivision’s Gratuitous Water Supply?

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The Glenmore community has a single source of public drinking water, a 4-mile pipeline that runs along U.S. 250 east of Charlottesville. However, if Albemarle officials decide to add a backup storage tank, they will use $2 million of the county’s capital funds rather than ask the developers or Glenmore residents to pay for it.

“ It is not something that is needed to provide [water] for Glenmore,” said James Bowling IV, legal counsel for the Albemarle County Service Authority. “ It’s a convenience [but] one that you would certainly call a necessity if there was an emergency.”

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The Meadowcreek Parkway Might Be Completed

in Albemarle Charlottesville Growth Politics Transportation on

Councilors voted 3-2 — with Mayor Dave Norris and Councilor Holly Edwards opposed — to allowActing City Manager Maurice Jones to endorse the project’s draft memorandum of agreement, which lists the measures the city will take to lessen the negative consequences of building the two-lane road through one of Charlottesville’s largest parks. The proposed measures outlined in the memorandum are to establish two rain gardens that exclusively use native plants; have a landscape plan to integrate the city’s portion of the parkway into the setting’s existing natural features and minimize its influence on McIntire Park; install signage prohibiting truck traffic and posting a speed limit of 35 mph; complete photographic documentation of the eastern side of the park; and complete historical documentation of the McIntire Golf Course.

…I still wonder – if we were designing a transportation solution today rather than trying to implement a 40-year-plus plan , would we create the Meadowcreek Parkway?

… The relationship between the City of Charlottesville and the County of Albemarle is akin to that of divorced parents who really kind of hate each other but are able to keep it together justenough to keep the kids fed.

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