For the first time in a while, the first week of a month lands in such a way that there are meetings of both the Albemarle Board of Supervisors and Charlottesville City Council.
Albemarle County & the City of Charlottesville
The staff in PEC's Charlottesville office works with citizens to solve the many land use and conservation challenges facing the Charlottesville and Albemarle area.
Lessons from Loudoun: What can Albemarle County learn from Loudoun County’s Rural Roads Program?
As Albemarle takes another look at its own future—and how to preserve what it has historically done well—now seems like a good time for local advocates to hear from their counterparts in other localities, who have been successful in similar socio-physical landscapes.
Week Ahead for April 25, 2022: New reservoir for Greene County to move forward; Albemarle Supervisors to decide on athletic fields
What defines whether a week is slow or busy? After producing this newsletter for over three years, I’ve lost an ability to know for sure. I do know that in an area with nearly 250,000 people, there will always be a government meeting that will affect people’s lives.
Documenting the Freetowns of the Southwest Mountains
PEC is working with community members in Albemarle County to research and document the history and associated historic resources of African American communities in and around the Southwest Mountains.
Week Ahead for April 18, 2022: Albemarle to consider over $4M in affordable housing projects; Greene County PC to review possible slaughterhouse rules
One of the most important tasks of any locality’s elected body is to approve a plan for how money will be raised from the public in order to pay for government services.
Shaping Albemarle’s Next 20 Years
Over the next few months, Albemarle residents will have an increased opportunity to play an active role in shaping the County’s future through the comprehensive planning process.
Week Ahead for April 11, 2022: Charlottesville PC to review changes to 209 Maury Avenue; Albemarle PC to review changes to Albemarle Business Campus project
Neither the Albemarle Board of Supervisors nor the Charlottesville City Council have substantive meetings this week, but there is no shortage of planning activity across the six localities covered by this weekly newsletter.
Week Ahead for April 4, 2022: Charlottesville City Council to take final vote on Grove Street rezoning; Pippin Hill seeks expansion of Crossroads Tavern in North Garden
Another week, another month, and another full roster of government meetings in and around Charlottesville. Every week this newsletter seeks to make sure as many people as possible know what’s coming up and to help me sort through what I’ll be covering.
Rivanna Bridge Update
Update (August 1): The MPO submitted the Bridge proposal (with the Wool Factory terminus) to VDOT this afternoon for SMARTSCALE funding. We will find out if the project is approved in January of 2023.
Read the full project background here.
As you may know, the Metropolitan Planning Organization’s Policy Board voted last week to pursue VDOT SMARTSCALE funding for a pedestrian bridge connecting Pantops and Woolen Mills at the end of Market Street (the Wool Factory). Allison Wrabel wrote a good story about the vote.
Getting a pedestrian connection over the Rivanna in this area is a big win for the community, and I’m excited for the next step. Although the public survey and MPO Technical Committee both preferred the Chesapeake Street location, Market Street has powerful logic of its own and some late-breaking and not-obvious factors were decisive in the vote.
For one thing, much of the support for Chesapeake Street was contingent on the bridge being an elegant suspension bridge, which came into doubt late in the process. Many people might well have voted differently if they had known the bridge style would likely be more industrial in nature. Of course, it would have been better to know this from the beginning, but the process did work in that it brought the issue to light before the final location was selected.
What’s more, the Albemarle Board of Supervisors has a strong preference for the Market Street alignment adjacent to the Wool Factory site, which locates the bridge entirely in the County. Albemarle is stringing together a series of projects that merge economic development and community wellness in Pantops, the Old Mills Trail, the Wool Factory and Broadway. The bridge at Market Street ties them all together.
Not only is Albemarle putting forth plans, it is putting money behind them. The existing improvements at the Wool Factory are one example. Also quite interesting is the fact that the county has recently juiced several transportation projects with millions from its Transportation Leveraging Program.
That kind of local support (or Economic Development funds) could help mitigate the cost difference between the two bridge location options and be of critical importance if unforeseen contingencies arise. Although both options had strong appeal, the Policy Board (with representatives from Albemarle, Charlottesville, and VDOT) selected the one that it would best be most able to get behind and push to completion.
For all those reasons, this is a very positive outcome.
Week Ahead for March 28, 2022: Budget season continues with real estate tax increase likely in Charlottesville
No week is ever slow in local government, but this one appears to be a lot less intense. It’s the final week of a month, and the beginning of a new month and a new quarter. After an intense March, this is a good week to try to catch up. There are no meetings in Greene County or Louisa County this week, and only one in Fluvanna. The word of the week remains budget.